Are Mormons Christians? And Is Mormonism A Cult?
Pastor's comments raise questions: Are Mormons Christians? Are they a cult?
Written by Peter Smith
Why is Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress so insistent that Mormonism is a “cult religion”?
Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, has made headlines over the past week for endorsing Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican presidential race and calling the Mormon religion of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a “cult.”
Jeffress been making such statements since at least 2008 — long before his views went viral in recent days.
He doesn’t just believe evangelical Christian voters should support like-minded candidates.
“I believe Christians first of all ought to prefer Christians over non-Christians,” he told an audience at the Religion Newswriters Association conference in 2008 in Washington.
And in his view, Mormons qualify as the latter.
“The Old Testament is filled with examples of how God blessed the nation when godly kings ruled and how he judged the nation when ungodly kings ruled,” he said then.
Jeffress alluded to passages such as this one from Proverbs: “When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.”
Needless to say, his comments have caused plenty of groaning nationwide from people who say Jeffress was insensitive, bigoted and needlessly divisive.
And his comments spurred a look at his past remarks on other religious groups. He has called Hinduism and Islam cults and said Catholicism derived from a “cult-like pagan religion” of Babylon, reflecting the “genius of Satan.”
“Where did they find this guy?” asked Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. “When theological differences are demonized by the faithful of any religion — never mind by a clergyman — it makes a mockery of their own religion.”
(Jeffress’s historic Baptist megachurch was built up by the late W.A. Criswell, a vigorous opponent of electing John F. Kennedy in 1960 because he was Roman Catholic.)
Perry has distanced himself from the “cult” remarks, but not Jeffress’ support, and he has joined other Republican presidential candidates in striving to emphasize their Christian credentials.
Earlier this campaign season, Perry declared that “as a Christian” he has “a clear directive to support Israel,” and rival Michele Bachmann put the U.S.-Israel alliance in terms of a common mission “to be a light for the nations.”
All this recalls the assertion by Kevin Phillips, author of the 2006 book “American Theocracy,” that the GOP has become the “first American religious party.”
Jeffress’ comments raised two questions here: Are Mormons non-Christian, and/or do they make up a cult?
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emphatically say no to both.
“We are Christians in a very real sense,” said a statement by the late Gordon B. Hinckley, prior president of the church, in a prominent spot on the church website.
“We, of course, accept Jesus Christ as our Leader, our King, our Savior — the dominant figure in the history of the world, the only perfect Man who ever walked the earth, the living Son of the living God,” he said.
But several historic churches have disputed the orthodoxy of the Latter-day Saints church. They cite, among other things, its embrace of another biblical testament (The Book of Mormon), its different views on the Trinity and its beliefs in a heavenly mother and in humans’ pre-existence as spirits.
Statements by the Roman Catholic Church and the United Methodist Church, for example, do not recognize the validity of LDS baptism for those seeking to convert to their churches.
A poll by LifeWay Research, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, found that three-quarters of Protestant pastors surveyed did not consider Mormonism to be Christianity.
“That does not mean (most Protestant pastors) do not respect Mormons as persons, share their values on family, and have much in common,” blogged LifeWay researcher Ed Stetzer. “Yet, they simply view Mormonism as a distinct religion outside of basic teachings of Christianity.”
But what about “cult”?
Most people use that term in a sociological sense — a coercive religious group that controls members’ minds and lifestyles and might force them to spend long hours selling flowers in airports. By that measure, a group could be considered theologically orthodox but spiritually abusive.
For Jeffress, the “cult” term seems to be a synonym for theologically false, and he applies it readily to every religion but his own.
Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, took issue with the cult term used by Jeffress, whom he has called a friend. Jeffress had planned to nominate him as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2008 before Mohler dropped out of the running, citing health concerns.
Mohler said Mormonism is not “historic biblical Christianity” but in public dialogue the term cult implies a “secretive” organization with “nefarious” intentions.
“It is not heard ... as a theological judgment, it’s heard as a form of name-calling,” Mohler said. “... If we’re speaking in public, there are probably some other ways we need to speak.”
Richard Mouw, president of the evangelical Fuller Theological Seminary in California, who has long been involved in dialogue with Mormons, disputes the cult label. He isn’t ready to call Mormonism Christianity, but he doesn’t see the “us-versus-them” mentality that characterizes cults.
Cult adherents “are taught to think that they are the only ones who benefit from divine approval,” Mouw wrote on a CNN blog. “They don’t like to engage in serious, respectful give-and-take dialogue with people with whom they disagree.”
Nor, he added, do they “promote the kind of scholarship that works alongside others in pursuing the truth.”
Neither Jehovah’s Witnesses nor the Christian Science movement, he said, has founded a university.
By comparison, the Mormons’ Brigham Young University “is a world-class educational institution, with professors who’ve earned doctorates from some of the best universities in the world,” he wrote. “Several of the top leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have PhDs from Ivy League schools.”
Romney, he said, deserves scrutiny for his policy views.
“But he does not deserve to be labeled a cultist,” Mouw wrote.
Written by Peter Smith
Why is Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress so insistent that Mormonism is a “cult religion”?
Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, has made headlines over the past week for endorsing Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican presidential race and calling the Mormon religion of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a “cult.”
Jeffress been making such statements since at least 2008 — long before his views went viral in recent days.
He doesn’t just believe evangelical Christian voters should support like-minded candidates.
“I believe Christians first of all ought to prefer Christians over non-Christians,” he told an audience at the Religion Newswriters Association conference in 2008 in Washington.
And in his view, Mormons qualify as the latter.
“The Old Testament is filled with examples of how God blessed the nation when godly kings ruled and how he judged the nation when ungodly kings ruled,” he said then.
Jeffress alluded to passages such as this one from Proverbs: “When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.”
Needless to say, his comments have caused plenty of groaning nationwide from people who say Jeffress was insensitive, bigoted and needlessly divisive.
And his comments spurred a look at his past remarks on other religious groups. He has called Hinduism and Islam cults and said Catholicism derived from a “cult-like pagan religion” of Babylon, reflecting the “genius of Satan.”
“Where did they find this guy?” asked Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. “When theological differences are demonized by the faithful of any religion — never mind by a clergyman — it makes a mockery of their own religion.”
(Jeffress’s historic Baptist megachurch was built up by the late W.A. Criswell, a vigorous opponent of electing John F. Kennedy in 1960 because he was Roman Catholic.)
Perry has distanced himself from the “cult” remarks, but not Jeffress’ support, and he has joined other Republican presidential candidates in striving to emphasize their Christian credentials.
Earlier this campaign season, Perry declared that “as a Christian” he has “a clear directive to support Israel,” and rival Michele Bachmann put the U.S.-Israel alliance in terms of a common mission “to be a light for the nations.”
All this recalls the assertion by Kevin Phillips, author of the 2006 book “American Theocracy,” that the GOP has become the “first American religious party.”
Jeffress’ comments raised two questions here: Are Mormons non-Christian, and/or do they make up a cult?
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emphatically say no to both.
“We are Christians in a very real sense,” said a statement by the late Gordon B. Hinckley, prior president of the church, in a prominent spot on the church website.
“We, of course, accept Jesus Christ as our Leader, our King, our Savior — the dominant figure in the history of the world, the only perfect Man who ever walked the earth, the living Son of the living God,” he said.
But several historic churches have disputed the orthodoxy of the Latter-day Saints church. They cite, among other things, its embrace of another biblical testament (The Book of Mormon), its different views on the Trinity and its beliefs in a heavenly mother and in humans’ pre-existence as spirits.
Statements by the Roman Catholic Church and the United Methodist Church, for example, do not recognize the validity of LDS baptism for those seeking to convert to their churches.
A poll by LifeWay Research, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, found that three-quarters of Protestant pastors surveyed did not consider Mormonism to be Christianity.
“That does not mean (most Protestant pastors) do not respect Mormons as persons, share their values on family, and have much in common,” blogged LifeWay researcher Ed Stetzer. “Yet, they simply view Mormonism as a distinct religion outside of basic teachings of Christianity.”
But what about “cult”?
Most people use that term in a sociological sense — a coercive religious group that controls members’ minds and lifestyles and might force them to spend long hours selling flowers in airports. By that measure, a group could be considered theologically orthodox but spiritually abusive.
For Jeffress, the “cult” term seems to be a synonym for theologically false, and he applies it readily to every religion but his own.
Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, took issue with the cult term used by Jeffress, whom he has called a friend. Jeffress had planned to nominate him as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2008 before Mohler dropped out of the running, citing health concerns.
Mohler said Mormonism is not “historic biblical Christianity” but in public dialogue the term cult implies a “secretive” organization with “nefarious” intentions.
“It is not heard ... as a theological judgment, it’s heard as a form of name-calling,” Mohler said. “... If we’re speaking in public, there are probably some other ways we need to speak.”
Richard Mouw, president of the evangelical Fuller Theological Seminary in California, who has long been involved in dialogue with Mormons, disputes the cult label. He isn’t ready to call Mormonism Christianity, but he doesn’t see the “us-versus-them” mentality that characterizes cults.
Cult adherents “are taught to think that they are the only ones who benefit from divine approval,” Mouw wrote on a CNN blog. “They don’t like to engage in serious, respectful give-and-take dialogue with people with whom they disagree.”
Nor, he added, do they “promote the kind of scholarship that works alongside others in pursuing the truth.”
Neither Jehovah’s Witnesses nor the Christian Science movement, he said, has founded a university.
By comparison, the Mormons’ Brigham Young University “is a world-class educational institution, with professors who’ve earned doctorates from some of the best universities in the world,” he wrote. “Several of the top leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have PhDs from Ivy League schools.”
Romney, he said, deserves scrutiny for his policy views.
“But he does not deserve to be labeled a cultist,” Mouw wrote.
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 12:12 PM
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