If Jews pretended to be Christians, yes.
This is getting complicated, CaspersGh0sts.
Posted on 07/08/2011 11:59:15 AM PDT by delacoert
(WNS)--Mitt Romney and every American is free to believe whatever he wants, and religious belief – whether benign or bizarre -- should not prevent anyone from running for public office.
But that doesn’t mean voters shouldn’t take a candidate’s religious views into account. Indeed, a person’s religious beliefs tell us a great deal about both a candidate’s character and the core principles that inform his governing philosophy. When we evaluate candidates for public office, religion matters – and should.
As for Romney, I start with the understanding that Mormonism is not orthodox, biblical Christianity. If this understanding is true, then the promotion of Mormonism would be to promote a false religion. So the real question is whether supporting a Mormon for president would promote Mormonism. My answer to that is “yes.” It is inconceivable to me that electing a Mormon to the world’s most powerful political office would not dramatically raise the profile and positive perception of Mormonism. That is why I cannot in good conscience vote for Romney, despite agreeing with him on a good many social and fiscal issues.
Some argue that we elect a president, not a preacher, but this argument fails to account the presidency as “bully pulpit.” He is a preacher, apologist-in-chief for the American Vision. In this vital role, worldview matters. We have a right to expect the president to project a vision consistent with the beliefs, values, and ideals we’ve long held as a country.
I sometimes hear the related argument that we don’t ask an airplane pilot his religion, only that he can fly the plane. However, we do ask airplane pilots their religion -- at least indirectly. A theologian friend is fond of saying, “There are no postmodern airplane pilots.” He means that pilots do not merely push levers and twist knobs. They have a core set of beliefs and values about how the universe operates. They believe in the physical laws of the universe. Their behavior in the cockpit directly connects to their beliefs about the world.
Romney’s strategy has been to talk about “values” and dodge questions about religion, as if they were somehow unrelated. He hopes that as America accepted John Kennedy’s Catholicism, so too will America accept his Mormonism. But Kennedy gave a famous speech to the Houston Baptists about religion that explained his views and calmed concerns. Romney’s problem is that if he really believes what the Mormon Church believes, he dares not make that speech. The American people will say, “Really? Are you kidding me?” Or, if he says he doesn’t believe what the Mormon Church teaches, fellow Mormons will feel betrayed and even those who have trouble with the Mormon Church will nonetheless wonder about a man who can’t stand up for his own.
Yogi Berra famously said that “predictions are dangerous, especially predictions about the future.” That said, my prediction is that for Romney these problems are insurmountable and will ultimately bring down his bid for the presidency.
I think Romney as nominee guarantees a Tea Party challenger and a Baraq win with a Clintonian plurality.
I expect Dems to cross over heavily for Mitty in open primary states to achieve this.
Romney will not be the next President...There are too many of us who will not vote for him...The same was true with McCain...Republicans should learn from McCain...
How any Republican could support Romney in the primaries is a mindboggler since it should be clear he will not win the election...
The wise thing to do is to look and see who the conservatives lean toward in the primaries and support that person...
"That is why I cannot in good conscience vote for Romney"
Perfectly valid reason to not vote for Willardo.
It has nothing to do with bigotry and everything
to do with individual conscience.To argue otherwise is...
Mittgotry!
Yeah. It’s absurd. (post 5)
I expect Dems to cross over heavily for Mitty in open primary states to achieve this.
Sadly, I have to agree with both your points. Although, perhaps we are ready for a real third party. It appears as though the RINOs are forcing us in that direction.
" ...... no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
If someone were proposing a Federal law to disqualify Mormons or anyone else from office on the basis of their religion, this passage would be relevant. It restricts the government, not individual voters. An individual voter is perfectly free to reject or select a candidate on the basis of religion, skin color, how they part their hair, the size of their ears [cough] ...
That doesn't mean that it's a smart thing to do, only that the law (quite rightly) has nothing to say about it.
Huh?
Biblical Jesus is Eternal, lds jesus is created.
Biblical Jesus is sufficient for Salvation, lds jesus needs help IE after all we can do
I would say those are differently differences, and there is no way mormonISM teachings can justify these differences without Joseph Smith's rewriting of the Bible..
You are taking that reference of Article VI, paragraph 3, out of context of the evolution of the discussion. Here was my original statement:
==============
The way I interpret Matthew 22:21 is ....
When you are electing a Pastor or a Pope, pay attention to his religious beliefs.
When you are electing a secular leader of a Secular State, pay attention to his secular political positions.
16 posted on Friday, July 08, 2011 1:03:12 PM by Polybius
================
Another poster pointed out that the Founders never intended a purely "secular" state.
I admited that "secular" was a poor choice of words and then substituted the word "nondenominattional" which was EXACTLY what the Framers of the Constitution intended ..... as demonstrated by Article VI, paragraph 3.
Thus, the quoting of Article VI, paragraph 3.
A voter, of course, can vote however he d@mn well pleases, for any reason he pleases, including, "I'm not voting for any F#^&*# (insert religious, racial or ethnic slur here)"
From a purely tactical perpective, such language, when uttered publicly, hurts your own candidate as most of 21st Century America rejects the notion that a person's religious denomination should be held against him. (Unless, of course, his religious denomination advocates blowing up infidels.)
If Jews pretended to be Christians, yes.
Brilliant answer!
If Jews pretended to be Christians, yes.
This is getting complicated, CaspersGh0sts.
Statistically this perception is not supported.
There is nothing bizarre in the LDS faith. Indeed it can all be found in the Bible.
______________________________________________
No dear it cannot
dead dunking, polygamy, atonement in the Garden of Eden, Eve a heroine, pre-mortal existance, God was once a man, God had a father and mother, the church got lost and needing “restoring” and so on
None of that is in the Bible
Joey Smith and his cohorts just made it all up...
10s of thousands of young Mormon missionaries go out every year into the US and the rest of the world to share what the church believes
___________________________________________________
Actually they dont... they leave a lot out... mostly stuff they are never told..
and they also tell Christians that their belief in the LORD Jesus Christ and Christianity and the Bible are wrong..
I know ...Ive heard them...they use to harass me once or twice a month...
If you don't vote for Romney, Rick Perry will win the GOP nomination and Rick Perry will crush Obama.
Our energies should be directed at crushing Obama and not picking fights with conservative voters with a different religious denomination.
Posted on Friday, July 01, 2011 10:13:29 AM by Jim Robinson
“We now have conservatives Bachmann and Cain officially in the race fending off RINO Romney; and Palin and Perry could possibly jump in. My hopes are with Palin, but if she decides not to run I could be happy with Bachmann or Cain. Also, if Palin does not run but Perry does, he'd probably suck all the air out of the race. Either way, Palin, Bachmann, Cain or even Perry would all be excellent alternatives to Obama the commie. Anyone but RINO Romney the big government chief architect of CommieCare! …… Posted on Friday, July 01, 2011 10:13:29 AM by Jim Robinson”
Most Mormons, thataway. Towards the Right
Barack Hussein Obama, thataway. Towards the Left. 
And you've only scratched the surface.
Yes I did only scratch the surface...
and I meant the Garden of Gethsemanee not Eden...
The mormon jesus was a persecuted “victim” who sweated in the Garden of Gethsemanee for the “atonement” of the Mormons (whatever that gets them)...
But the LORD Jesus Christ of the Christian Bible voluntry hung ON THE CROSS and shed His soul saving Blood ON THE CROSS and died ON THE CROSS to save all the world...
Once and for all time...
He paid in full for our PARDON from the death penalty for our sins...
He completed what He left heaven and came here to do...a finished work...
The LORD Jesus cried IT IS FINISHED as He hung ON THE CROSS...
and it was so..
Forevermore men and women now had the right and freedom to claim salvation through the Blood that was shed ON THE CROSS...*
We dont have to work for salvation
We dont have to beg for salvation
We dont have to pay for salvation ...
Freely given...paid for already in full...a finished work...
What a marvelous, gracious Savior the LORD Jesus is...
* In mormonism, women cannot be saved...they have to be married and wait until their husbands decide whether or not he wants to take his wife into the mormon afterlife with him...
In other words the husband is the “savior” and “judge” of the wife...
The LORD Jesus Christ is not a bigot...
His Blood was shed for everybody...
Bingo...
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