Posted by
Bob Siegel on Monday, January 14, 2008 9:39:05 PM
A couple of weeks
ago, on my radio show, I read some response letters to my controversial
writings and broadcasts about Mormonism in which I defended Mitt Romney
politically (preferring him to Huckabee, even though I am an Evangelical) yet
still discussed the teachings of Mormonism rather candidly.
Since then, several
Mormons have written and thanked me for my kind tone. Other Mormons took offense because I did
challenge their religion.
To put it mildly: Mormons don’t like being called a cult. This, of course, is very understandable.
Nobody wants to believe they are involved in a cult and people find the term
derogatory. Now there are different definitions of the word
“cult”. Would a Mormon leader take his people to Guyana and have
them commit suicide like Jim Jones did? No, of course not. Mormons are
usually pretty sane people. They don’t act weird or whacked out at all. So if that’s your definition of a cult, a group which acts weird, so be it. With that description I would agree; Mormons are not cultic.
However, Mormons do
tend to have a fairly blind unquestionable view of their prophets and I
wouldn’t trust men like Joseph Smith or Brigham Young any further than I can
throw. This suggests a different, yet,
popular cult definition: Groups that blindly
follow one or two individuals without proper scrutiny.
In any event,
amongst Christians, there is yet another definition in play and understanding
this definition may help to eliminate some of the confusion characterizing this
discussion. Christians believe in a certain kind of cult,
that is, a religion, which claims to
be Christian but contradicts even the most basic tenets of the Bible. With those criteria in mind, Mormonism
teaches Polytheism and the Bible teaches Monotheism. I realize Mormons believe
there is only one God for this earth (they make that clarification quite often)
but they do believe in the existence of additional gods elsewhere and the Bible
teaches there are no other gods at all. (Isa 43:10)
And so, according to
that definition; a church with a Biblical
claim that teaches unbiblical things, Mormonism is a cult.
Pointing out what a
religion teaches is not the same as showing disrespect. Hindus believe in multiple gods as well but
Hindus do not take offense when others display the belief. Why then, should
Mormons take offense? Well, not all of
them do. As for the others? Possibly because they realize how difficult it is
for a Judeo-Christian culture to think of a polytheistic religion as “just
another Christian denomination.”
Speaking of
denominations: Generally speaking,
denominations claim to be one
expression of Christianity. They
recognize other denominations as alternative expressions. Cults, on the other hand, usually claim to
be “the only true church.” Mormonism
makes that claim quite emphatically. It
is the whole foundation of their religion. Smith, supposedly, was given a
vision of God saying all churches were corrupt. His calling was to bring back
the true church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is exactly
that, The church of Jesus Christ, not a
church of Jesus Christ. Now, I
believe in freedom of religion and Mormons are free to believe what they want.
And I will still vote for Romney if he gets the nomination. But let’s be clear: In this discussion of who respects who, it
can be argued that those who think they are in the only true church are
anti-Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, etc.
I’m not saying we need to necessarily draw that conclusion. I’m just saying, it’s an interesting
phenomenon to ponder when Mormons accuse those who critique their church of
being anti-Mormon.
I still like you,
Romney. I even like you better than
Huckabee, the guy whose theology more closely resembles mine.
This is the Evangelical
Christian apologist, Bob Siegel, making the obvious, obvious
Other controversial posts by Bob Siegel
Was Joseph Smith Really a Prophet of God?
Why
This Evangelical Christian Minister Does Not Support Huckabee Posted at 5:24:28 AM on Saturday, January
05, 2008
Politically
Correct Quiz Posted at 9:07:37 PM on Friday, January 04, 2008
So What If He's A Mormon? Posted at 4:05:11 AM on Sunday, December 16,
2007
One Thing We Can Know Right Away Posted at 11:53:06 AM on Thursday, December
27, 2007
Maybe Next Time Big Bird Can Be The Moderator Posted at 1:16:39 AM on Saturday, December
15, 2007
Oh, That Horrible Christianity!
Posted at 4:53:43 AM on Thursday, December
13, 2007
Other:
Satire: The Ultimate Guide For Comparing the Candidates
Jihad Drill
A Eulogy For The Word, "Tolerance"
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