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To: Spiff; MHGinTN; greyfoxx39; colorcountry; FastCoyote; Pan_Yans Wife; Greg F
This will be a real test of evangelicals to see if they can put aside their many perceived and few actual theological differences with Mormons...

Listen, if the "theological differences" were really "few," Joseph Smith would have tried to be a reformer, not a restorationist. Joseph wouldn't have unloaded his try of a nuclear spiritual bomb by labeling "all" Christian creeds as "an abomination before God" and he wouldn't have labeled them as "all" corrupt.

But nice try. I mean the Reorganized Church of LDS doesn't even try to reduce their differences with the Mormon church as "few," and here both are Book of Mormon, restorationist-believing entities.

As for some of those "few" differences: Christians don't baptize dead folks; they're not polytheists; they don't believe they can become gods; their Heavenly Father wasn't a created being; they don't attempt to earn salvation or exaltation; they don't believe their only living prophet & spiritual interpreter lives in the Salt Lake City area; and I could go on and on about those "few" differences.

You also keep neglecting how it is that Mitt is supposed to inspire us when his faith keeps telling us: : "You are an apostate from Christ. Every creed of yours is an abomination before God. Your leaders are corrupt. So I can count on your vote, then?"

I mean I could head off down the street to a local major retailer and pull off a book right there published from Utah that outlines the so-called 100% apostasy of the Christian church. (100% = no true survivors outside the LDS church)

Why would we want a White House-hyped faith elevated by the Salt Lake City PR machine that specializes in diminishing the historic Christian faith and everyone who identifies with that?

15 posted on 10/11/2007 2:39:09 PM PDT by Colofornian
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To: Colofornian
>>>>>Christians don't baptize dead folks; they're not polytheists; they don't believe they can become gods; their Heavenly Father wasn't a created being; they don't attempt to earn salvation or exaltation; they don't believe their only living prophet & spiritual interpreter lives in the Salt Lake City area; and I could go on and on about those "few" differences.

Here's a few "Christians" who believed in some of those things. It's a long read but very interesting. You may be surpised what Justin Matryr, Origen, Tertullian, Barnabas, Hippolytus, Eusebius, Iraneus, Lactantius, Polycarp etc. believed.

Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity

A Restoration Church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) is a radical religion by the standards of most modern religions--and it was considered even more strange in the time and place it originated. Perhaps no other major religious movement in American history has given rise to so much controversy, curiosity, admiration, and animosity. The Church has been variously described as a non-Christian "revival of primitive paganism in a modified form"2, a "cult,"3 and, by a much more sympathetic observer, a completely new Christian religious tradition.4 But what does it claim for itself?

Mormonism emphatically claims to be Christian--but considers itself neither Protestant nor Catholic. Rather, it differs from both in that it claims to be the restored Church of Jesus Christ. That is, the Church claims that all other Christian traditions have come down to us as incomplete remnants of the original Church which Jesus organized, which necessitated God restoring the true body of Christ to the earth through a prophet--Joseph Smith, Jr. Thus, the Latter-day Saints claim their church is an actual restoration of primitive Christianity, as it existed under the Apostles in the first century A.D.

_________________________________

As for the Mormon/Evangelical split. As a Mormon I had preconcieved notions about Evangelicals and misunderstood many of their beliefs. This book helped me change some of my ignorance and helped me understand where Evangelicals were coming from in our differences.

How Wide the Divide?: A Mormon & an Evangelical in Conversation (Paperback) by Craig L. Blomberg (Author), Stephen E. Robinson (Author)

Book Description - Voted one of Christianity Today's 1998 Books of the Year! Mormons and evangelicals don't often get along very well, at least not once they begin to discuss their religious beliefs. They often set about trying to convert one another, considering the faith the other holds as defective in some critical way. Unfortunately, much of what they say about one another simply isn't true. False stereotypes abound on both sides, preventing genuine and helpful communication. Having discovered this sad state of affairs, Craig Blomberg, a committed evangelical scholar, and Stephen Robinson, a committed Mormon scholar, set out to listen to one another and to ferret out the real agreements and disagreements between them. In the conversation that develops, you will read what each believes about key theological issues--the nature and bounds of Scripture, the nature of God and deification, the person of Christ and the Trinity, and the essentials of salvation--and see how they interact with one another. What they agree on may surprise you. Though this book does not sweep differences under the rug, it is meant to help Mormons and evangelicals know and tell the truth about one another. It does not expect to end evangelistic efforts from either side. In fact, it may help to promote more effective communication because it can help to get rid of misrepresentations from both sides. In the end, however, you will be able to judge for yourself just how wide the divide between them is.

35 posted on 10/11/2007 3:54:22 PM PDT by Rameumptom (Gen X= they killed 1 in 4 of us)
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To: Colofornian

~”...and here both are Book of Mormon, restorationist-believing entities.”~

You do realize, don’t you, that Fred Thompson also belongs to a restorationist denomination? Let’s be consistent in our application of standards.


54 posted on 10/11/2007 4:26:35 PM PDT by tantiboh
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