I’m a Mormon, Not a Christian.

[elleng]

THANKS to Mitt Romney, a Broadway hit and a relentless marketing campaign by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormons seem to be everywhere.

This is the so-called Mormon Moment: a strange convergence of developments offering Mormons hope that the Christian nation that persecuted, banished or killed them in the 19th century will finally love them as fellow Christians.

I want to be on record about this. I’m about as genuine a Mormon as you’ll find — a templegoer with a Utah pedigree and an administrative position in a congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am also emphatically not a Christian.

For the curious, the dispute can be reduced to Jesus. Mormons assert that because they believe Jesus is divine, they are Christians by default. Christians respond that because Mormons don’t believe — in accordance with the Nicene Creed promulgated in the fourth century — that Jesus is also the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Jesus that Mormons have in mind is someone else altogether. The Mormon reaction is incredulity. The Christian retort is exasperation. Rinse and repeat.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/opinion/im-a-mormon-not-a-christian.html?_r=1&hp

[tularetom]

1. Two branches of the same nut tree n/t

[stopbush]

2. Exactly. And in other news, Ewoks think they're related to Wookies, while Wookies

think Ewoks are annoying.

[stopbush]

3. Notice the dig at the concept of the Trinity by saying the belief was

"promulgated in the fourth century," ie: that the idea of the Trinity doesn't date all the way back to the time that Jesus walked the Earth, so it must be a man-made idea ("The Mormon reaction is incredulity.&quot .

This from a Mormon, whose entire religion wasn't "promulgated" until 170 years ago.

[yurbud]

4. it is a crucial difference. in Mormonism, God is more like your upstream in Amway

than the final reality or whatever.

They believe that God was once a man like the rest of us, had a lot of kids and started his own universe, thus making him our God--but he has a God above him, and that God has a God above him and so on.

That's why they have a lot of kids--you've got to make your own universe if you want to get promoted to a God.

[hedgehog]

5. What about the Unitarians?

[gvr]

6. living in idaho falls

For the last seven years me my wife and daughter lived in Idaho Falls Idaho. We are not Mormon, what we found was a group of people nice to your face and thats where it ends. If your not with the mormons you will be shown every prejudice. My daughter found this out quickly in the school system, Not done in quarters but tri-mesters so that the mormon kids can go to their church functions, and let alone have a mind of your own that does not agree with their teachings your grades will reflect this. Never did I see anyone do anything for country, all for the church. The boyscouts put the flags out at the mormonhouses on holidays, never once did they stop by my house and say for a fee we will do the same for you, they did ask for food for charity.
When my daughter was just learning to drive she went to Rexburg Idaho, she was pulled over for doing 23 in a 25 surrounded by multiple cop cars and forced into a search against her will by being held against her will until permission gave, she was ticketed for having tabacco, not hers but an adults that was with her but because it was out in a consule of the car she was ticketed. The only reason she was pulled over was she was not mormon, bumper stickers on her car showed them all they needed to harass an inocent citizen.
This is not a group we want in the whitehouse. I think its fair to ask about Romneys military service? Or his sons military service? I am sure they all did there missions for church, but not one for country. Not willing to protect anything but there right to pay the church.
Will he send our boys to war leaving his flock behind hiding behind his skirt? I think so.

[davidpdx]

7. I don't envy you

I visited Idaho Falls when I was about 13 (my aunt lived there, she isn't Mormon). The situation with your daughter getting pulled over sounds idiotic.

Welcome to DU! We always look forward to hearing from people in those red states.