Posted on 10/31/2011 8:54:35 PM PDT by delacoert
Robert Jeffress made national headlines recently with his assertion that Mormonism is a "cult" and a "false religion." Peter Wehner, a political commentator whose blog I read regularly, immediately criticized what he termed "the theological and political errors of Pastor Jeffress."
What are the facts behind the firestorm? Is Mormonism a "cult?” The answer depends on your definition of the term.
If by "cult" you mean the popular caricature of a manipulative group that practices mind control and exploits its members, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints clearly does not qualify.
However, scholars use the word differently. According to Walter Martin's definitive The Rise of the Cults, a "cult" is "a group of people polarized around someone's interpretation of the Bible and is characterized by major deviations from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, particularly the fact that God became man in Christ Jesus." They claim a founder other than Jesus, follow a book other than the Bible, accept beliefs outside traditional Christianity, and seek salvation in ways other than by grace through faith.
There is no question that Mormons claim to be Christians. Responding to Jeffress, the church released a statement claiming that "Christ is at the center of our worship, study, service and faith." But what do they believe about God?
Their movement was founded 1,800 years after Christ by Joseph Smith (1805-44). He taught that "God was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens" (King Follett Discourses). According to Smith, "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's" (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). The church teaches that God the Father in his glorified physical body had sexual intercourse with the virgin Mary, resulting in the conception of the physical Christ (Journal of Discourses 1:51; 4:218).
Do they follow a book other than the Bible? In addition to Scripture, they consider the Book of Mormon to be "another testament of Jesus Christ" revealed by Jesus to descendants of Israel living in early America. They also follow Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, compendiums of theology and prescribed practices.
Do they accept beliefs outside traditional Christianity? Smith taught plural marriage as a "new and everlasting covenant" (Doctrine and Covenants 132:1,4). Though the church repudiated polygamy in 1890, some splinter groups still follow the practice. They baptize for the dead, believing that this action can speed the progress of the deceased in the afterlife.
Do they seek salvation in ways other than by grace through faith? Mormons believe that baptism purges their Gentile blood and replaces it with the blood of Abraham through the Holy Spirit. In this way they become the actual offspring of Abraham (History of the Church 3:380). They believe in three levels of glory: The telestial kingdom (for those who have no testimony of Christ); the terrestial kingdom (for those who fail the requirements of exaltation); and the celestial kingdom (reserved for members of the Mormon church who will become gods; Doctrine and Covenants 132:20)
Are Mormons Christians? That depends on the degree to which they accept the non-biblical teachings of their faith regarding God and salvation. I have met Mormons who assure me that they have asked the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive their sins and become their personal Savior and Lord. Many do not know as much about their church's doctrines as I do. However, I have also met Mormons who believe that their progress toward the celestial kingdom depends not on Jesus' sacrifice but on their missionary work and other church activities.
One final issue: Should the Mormon beliefs of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman influence Christians as they decide which candidate to support for president? Our decision should be informed by our answers to two prior questions. First, to what extent do Romney and Huntsman accept the non-Christian elements of their faith? Second, to what degree would decisions made by the president be impacted by uniquely Mormon beliefs?
Yes.
I will say we have a group of very “sick” people here on Free Republic.
The Basic Doctrine Of Protestant Christianity is (1) Justification/Salvation by Grace through Faith and (2) The Absolute Authority of the Scriptures.
“Other Denominations” and Churches do more than just differ from these two tenets. They try to rewrite the rules for Salvation or Add/Delete parts of the Bible they don’t like
Mormonism is a cult - Joe Smith takes advantage of feeble minds in gaining power and setting up a kingdom out west, later inherited by Brigham Young.
Seventh-Day Adventism is a cult - Miller’s false prophecies, along with the proven false prophecies of Ellen White, along with changing punctuations in the Bible to match their meanings of Heaven and no existence of Hell.
Christian Science is a cult - One need only look at the very colorful life of Mary.......too many names....Eddy
Jehova’s witnesses is a cult - I forget the name of the guy who started the Kingdom Halls, but he was a convicted criminal from what I can remember. Plus, it came out of San Francisco, which we all know is an evil place to begin with.
Want to know how to really pi$$ off a JW? Invite them into your home and show them your King James Bible and try to witness to them. The “head” guy will make sure the people are outta there faster than you can say supercalifragi....
Islam is a cult - A drunken camel driver figures out a way how to scheme a rich widow out of her millions and gain power. Tries to get along with everyone else, but exalts “His” status above others.
And now, probably the most controversial statement of all:
The Roman Catholic Church is a cult. Many teachings of the RCC are totally against Biblical scripture. Many of the sacrements are contrary to the teaching of Jesus, the exaltation of Mary to Jesus-equivalent status, the idea that Salvation through works is possible, the idea that the Pope is the infallible Word of God, the idea that one needs an intermediary (Priest) to talk to God, all have no Biblical basis.
Usually for my RCC friends, I refer them to here:
http://www.ourlittleplace.com/testimony.html
Again, “True” Christianity that ties most of the Protestant Non-Cultic denominations together are (1) Salvation by Grace through Faith and (2) The Absolute Authority of Scripture. Most cultists will differ from these two ideas, but some try to deceptively mirror them by adding their “own” non-Biblically based teachings.
If you don’t know they’re a cult, you haven’t studied their deeper teachings, which they don’t teach to people on the street because they have a saying, Milk Before Meat.
Get into their deeper doctrines and their history.
List examples. Name names and specifically demonstate occasions of sickness.
I vote for cult! I live just north of the FLDS compound in Eldorado, TX. Yep, seen it first hand. It’s a cult.
God has already sorted it out.
Since Mormonism is a religion made “by men for men” it is just like Christianity.
I figure that John Moses Browning contributed more to the defense of the nation than rather a lot of Christians.
That may have been despite, not because of Mormonism. Now if John Moses Browning gets to be a G-d in some world or another, we can expect it would at least be a properly running world.
If Mormonism tells you that your goal in life is to be a god or a goddess of a planet then it certainly qualifies it for culthood!
And who are the el sickos?
One must decide once and for all, either LDS "are Christians too," or they are "the one true church of Jesus Christ."
If LDS (Mormons) are "Christians too, just like others" then those "others also qualify as LDS."
If we are both Christians, then as a protestant, do you believe that I am a Christian, that I (without baptism for the dead after I have departed) will go to heaven solely on the basis of my faith in Jesus Christ?
Hawaii the Most Democratic State; Utah the Most Republican
All that wrong-thinking has led them...GASP!...to vote overwhelmingly conservatively. Better run 4 or 5 bashing threads a day on FR until this cult comes to its senses!
"From these facts it is evident for all to see that Mormonism strives with great effort to masquerade as the Christian church complete with an exclusive message, infallible prophets, higher revelations for a new dispensation which the Mormons would have you believe began with Joseph Smith, Jr.
But it is the verdict of both history and Biblical theology that Joseph Smith's religion is a polytheistic nightmare of garbled doctrines draped with the garment of Christian terminology. This in fact, if nothing else, brands it as a non-Christian cult system."
How do you KNOW they are wrong? Fact is, you don’t.
All religions are cults. Just calling another a cult doesn’t make yours any better.
Mitt Romney's grandfather escaped to Mexico, where he and other polygamists were chased by federal agents. To this day, the little village of COLONIA JUAREZ, Mexico has Romneys among it's residents.
Jon Huntsman is a third cousin of Mitt Romney.
None of these things are big secrets. But one can imagine the field day the media will have explaining Romney's faith.
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