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Dec. 15th, 2007 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liptonrm_backupWow, having time is an amazing thing. It gives me the freedom to do things like wash dishes and post. I've been meaning to talk on the following topic for a while now, and with all of the latest rigamarole there doesn't seem to be a better time than now.
So, without further ado:
Demystifying Mormonism, Part 2:
Are Mormons Christians?
I remember the first time someone asked me this question. My best friend in high school had very progressive parents, theatre types who made me call them by their first name from the moment I met them. So when her mom asked me if we believed in Christ I was a little taken aback. To me the answer was obvious, of course we did. It didn't compute that anyone would need to ask that question.
What I didn't realize then was how complex an issue it was, and how loaded a question it could be. Beyond the fact that Mormonism has yet to completely shed the stigma of being seen as a cult, there seems to be differing opinions concerning what a Christian is. To me, and I would hazard to say for most Mormons, a Christian is someone who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he lived, was crucified, and was resurrected three days later. Futher, a Christian is someone who strives to live by His teachings and follow the example He set. By that definition Mormons are unequivocally Christians.
What I've only recently learned is that there are people and denominations who agree with the above definition but add on to it the constraints of following similar creeds that have to do with the nature of God and the complete and sole authority of the Bible, to name a few. The narrowing of the definition of 'Christian' does remove Mormons from the group.
I'm not an expert in the varied doctrines of other denominations, but I do know that many of Mormonism's basic beliefs differ sharply from our Christian counterparts. Indeed, they may even seem blasphemous to them. We believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ have bodies of flesh and blood. We believe that the Bible is the word of God but that it's not the only ancient text that contains His words and teachings. We believe that God still calls prophets who He talks to right now. We do not believe in Original Sin because everything that happened was part of a greater Plan. We believe that every person who has ever lived on earth is literally a child of God. And the differences extend from there.
It's no wonder that so many devout Christians are befuddled by our beliefs. They're distinctly different from what has been accepted Christian belief for millenia. But for as different as we may seem any Mormon will tell you that for us it all centers on Jesus Christ, His words and His acts. That seems squarely Christian, at least to me.
And for as preposterous as any of our beliefs may seem, well, Christian belief in and of itself is fairly preposterous, from a certain point of view. It's one of the things that makes faith such a fascinating concept.
But I've always found that focusing on the differences is what causes problems to arise in the first place. At the end of the day, no matter what our beliefs, we're all just people trying to live our lives in the best way we can. I've never been a proponent of the politicization of religion and I continue to view it as a dangerous trend. There is nothing more divisive than religion and nothing more explosive, as history has proven time and time again. It causes us to forget that we have so much more in common than not. And we have so much more in common than we'll ever truly know.
And that's my two cents. As always, all commentary and criticism are welcome.
So, without further ado:
Demystifying Mormonism, Part 2:
Are Mormons Christians?
I remember the first time someone asked me this question. My best friend in high school had very progressive parents, theatre types who made me call them by their first name from the moment I met them. So when her mom asked me if we believed in Christ I was a little taken aback. To me the answer was obvious, of course we did. It didn't compute that anyone would need to ask that question.
What I didn't realize then was how complex an issue it was, and how loaded a question it could be. Beyond the fact that Mormonism has yet to completely shed the stigma of being seen as a cult, there seems to be differing opinions concerning what a Christian is. To me, and I would hazard to say for most Mormons, a Christian is someone who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he lived, was crucified, and was resurrected three days later. Futher, a Christian is someone who strives to live by His teachings and follow the example He set. By that definition Mormons are unequivocally Christians.
What I've only recently learned is that there are people and denominations who agree with the above definition but add on to it the constraints of following similar creeds that have to do with the nature of God and the complete and sole authority of the Bible, to name a few. The narrowing of the definition of 'Christian' does remove Mormons from the group.
I'm not an expert in the varied doctrines of other denominations, but I do know that many of Mormonism's basic beliefs differ sharply from our Christian counterparts. Indeed, they may even seem blasphemous to them. We believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ have bodies of flesh and blood. We believe that the Bible is the word of God but that it's not the only ancient text that contains His words and teachings. We believe that God still calls prophets who He talks to right now. We do not believe in Original Sin because everything that happened was part of a greater Plan. We believe that every person who has ever lived on earth is literally a child of God. And the differences extend from there.
It's no wonder that so many devout Christians are befuddled by our beliefs. They're distinctly different from what has been accepted Christian belief for millenia. But for as different as we may seem any Mormon will tell you that for us it all centers on Jesus Christ, His words and His acts. That seems squarely Christian, at least to me.
And for as preposterous as any of our beliefs may seem, well, Christian belief in and of itself is fairly preposterous, from a certain point of view. It's one of the things that makes faith such a fascinating concept.
But I've always found that focusing on the differences is what causes problems to arise in the first place. At the end of the day, no matter what our beliefs, we're all just people trying to live our lives in the best way we can. I've never been a proponent of the politicization of religion and I continue to view it as a dangerous trend. There is nothing more divisive than religion and nothing more explosive, as history has proven time and time again. It causes us to forget that we have so much more in common than not. And we have so much more in common than we'll ever truly know.
And that's my two cents. As always, all commentary and criticism are welcome.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-16 06:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-17 07:38 pm (UTC)And feel free to extrapolate on why the only good assumption was that of the Virgin Mary. I'm all intrigued, now. =D