Posted on 05/15/2010 7:58:57 AM PDT by Colofornian
Glenn Beck is a darling of Fox News viewers and a must-see for legions of religious conservatives. So given his profile and right-of-center views, it was no surprise when it was announced that Beck would be a featured speaker at this Sunday's commencement at Baptist-run Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., the brainchild of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority.
Falwell's son, Jerry Jr., is the current president of Liberty. In a statement explaining the invitation, he called Beck "one of the few courageous voices in the national media standing up for the principles upon which this nation was founded."
Yet if conservative Christians share Beck's political and social views, many of them also remain extremely suspicious of Beck's Mormon faith. Beck became a Mormon as an adult and credits his faith with turning his life around. But evangelicals generally consider Mormonism a "cult" and not Christian.
As a result, Beck's appearance at Liberty has generated an unusual amount of public infighting among evangelicals -- and creating the kind of controversy that is often associated with Catholic colleges, such as Notre Dame experienced last year when President Obama was invited to be the commencement speaker.
Ryan Begue, a Florida pastor who is in this year's graduating class from Liberty's theological seminary, said he was "shocked and disappointed" at Falwell's invitation to Beck.
"It seems that the leadership's decision in this matter gives the impression that it is more committed to conservatism than the Gospel," Begue wrote in the Florida Baptist Witness. "I have no beef with Glenn Beck as a person, but I certainly do with his religious beliefs. Why does Liberty not invite a Christian?"
Liberty University's Facebook page also lit up with the debate, while prominent Christian conservatives also weighed in.
"Alliances such as these are not glorifying to God, in that what association has God with false religions?" wrote John Ferguson, founder of the Voice of Truth blog. "The tangential dangers when the evangelical community unites with the secular world for the sake of social or political agendas are numerous because it leads to a dilution of truths from the Word of God, opens the door to give credence to non-believers within evangelical circles and ultimately leads to the eternal destruction of lost people."
A 2007 Pew Forum survey showed 25 percent of Americans would be less likely to vote for a Mormon candidate for president, with only Muslims and atheists earning higher negatives. But among white evangelicals who attend church weekly -- the GOP base and the dominant demographic of Liberty University -- the number rises to above 40 percent. In 2008, Focus on the Family, a leading lobby of the Christian right, pulled an interview with Beck over concerns that they would appear to be sanctioning his Mormon faith.
And during his 2008 bid, Romney faced a serious pushback from evangelicals who even opposed the idea of John McCain selecting him as his running mate on the Republican ticket, one of the factors that led McCain to finally choose Sarah Palin.
(Mormons insist they are Christians because they believe in Jesus Christ and consider the Bible Holy Scripture. But most traditional Christian churches do not accept the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- the formal name for Mormons -- as Christian because of the religion's beliefs on the nature of God, salvation, the Trinity and their scriptures, such as the Book of Mormon, and other texts discovered by founding prophet Joseph Smith in upstate New York in the 1800s.)
Falwell seemed to anticipate the risks of the Beck invitation when he noted in his statement that Liberty University has always held two end-of-year ceremonies -- a baccalaureate ceremony to confer degrees that "always includes a gospel message brought by someone who is in complete theological alignment with the university" and a separate commencement ceremony that "has always featured leaders from all walks of life and all faiths who share the university's social values and traditional family values."
"Commencement speakers," he noted, "have included representatives from the following faiths: Roman Catholicism, Judaism, mainline Protestant denominations such as the Episcopal Church, and even some speakers with no religious affiliation at all."
Falwell's effort did not forestall the controversy, however.
"We are not to put politics first and the Lord second," wrote Steve McConkey, another prominent Christian conservative, who is upset at the Beck invitation. "If this country is to have another revival, we need to get back to the basics, just like an athlete who has to go back to the basics to learn proper skills. We join Glenn Beck in many of his viewpoints, however, we do not endorse his Mormon beliefs."
There has arguably been some softening, at least among the Southern Baptist leadership, in their view of Mormonism, perhaps influenced by the "ecumenism of the trenches" -- that in a culture war, all social conservatives must stick together. That is part of the reason that evangelicals and Roman Catholics now collaborate on fights against abortion and gay marriage despite their historical cultural divide and their ongoing doctrinal differences.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints used to be listed under "cults and sects" by the Southern Baptist Convention, but today is categorized among "newly developed religions" by the SBC's North American Mission Board. Similarly, some Southern Baptist leaders, such as Richard Land, have referred to Mormonism as the "fourth Abrahamic religion" after Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
But as the Glenn Beck commencement controversy shows, even fourth place isn't enough to overcome such long-held suspicions
BTW: What is the technique you use to avoid Obama? All I have is AM radio, and it's no shield whatsoever!
How do you *DO* that?
;-)
I was giving you an example of people using phony tears to get attention. I was not attacking anyone. Some people are more emotional than others. And I do think Glen is more honest than most.
America was unique in its founding, because it took exception to the European practice of asserting that their nobility was appointed “by God”, to rule. This meant that those who disagreed with the nobility had also committed a religious offense, for which they could be punished.
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And yet Joey Smith was elected as “king” and he called hiomself “King of the world”
and Briggy Young declared himself “king” of Utah...
and anyone who disagreed was punished...
Gal 1:8 — But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
2Jo 1:10 — If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into [your] house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jo 1:11 — For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
All I have is AM radio, and it’s no shield whatsoever!
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Your radio has no OFF button ???
How do you *DO* that?
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I spend my time right here teaching people how to turn off their radios...
See post #56 for a major distinction. That distinction is called "militate." Does Espiscoplianism "militate" vs. the Christian faith? (Well, homosexual rectors may amount to that, and some liberal Episcopalian liberal leaders may do so...but most of that is a matter of orthopraxy issues -- leaders not holding to orthodoxy...)
Whereas Mormonism across the board counters Christianity on both orthodoxy and orthopraxy matters...and then goes further by an active militancy...52,000 missionaries...millions of print & electronic pages...etc.
Bottom line: Mormonism outrights militates vs. our faith. Lds calling us all "apostates" is the simplest, most obvious way to recognize that.
However, if he is to speak of morality, specifically of the Mormon version of morality, with considerable distance from the Baptist version of morality, this they could find objectionable.
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The mormon polygamy V Baptist monogamy or the “all Christian Churches are abominible” morality ???
I’m sure they do.
I like Beck. I’m sure he’ll give a great address.
I John 5:10
All 3 trust in their “membership.”
Even Christ said the tares would remain among the wheat. I don't mind a Mormon quoting to me 1 Tim. 4:1, where the apostle Paul said that in the latter days, SOME would depart from the faith. We can agree with Mormons apostates and tares exist. That's no skin off of anyone's back.
But when they tell you, Shezza, that all Southern Baptists are "apostates" and descendents of spiritual & generational "apostates." What do you think of Beck's belief about that?
Or when they tell, Shezza, that 100% of Baptists embrace a "corrupt faith" -- and that the Baptist church is not to be counted as among the only true church on the face of the earth. What do you think of Beck's beliefs about that?
B) I know some Liberty grads sitting in the audience today who are thrilled with the choice of speaker, and none that are not.
So what? The reason they are called "Southern" Baptists is because they split with the North over issues of slavery. We could go back to 19th century "audiences" where I'm sure, had we been there, there were some who were "thrilled" with those pastors who preached pro-slavery sermons (yes, I've read some of those), and you might have been hard-pressed in the south at that time to find some who would have been so provoked.
I'm not demeaning Southern Baptists when I say this. I share more in common with Southern Baptists by a whole lot than not...faith...etc. And I love Richard Land, even though I disagree with the way he framed Mormonism in this article. I've got a Baptist preacher in my extended family whose ministered greatly.
What I'm simply saying is that if we're going to determine truth by a small "audience" sampling, well, then which audience? Your Liberty grad audience "yes" -- but my example of a 19th century audience "no?"
Not 100% sure of your focus in citing this verse, but if I think you mean what I think you meant it for, then I would point you to 2 Cor. 11:3-4.
The apostle Paul said yes, there is "another" Jesus of whom we stray from a "sincere and pure" devotion to...
If you think the only thing to this are the exact words Beck will give on a platform, then you've greatly reduced what's involved here.
Free Republic wouldn't exist if Conservatives believed in "controlling content".
:-(
Both LDS & Jews would have problems with that passage...that’s why I pointed to it.
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