Posted on 09/27/2011 7:51:26 AM PDT by Vigilanteman
The Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Mormons and a few other faiths have three things in common – they believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God and that He died and was resurrected for our sins. So what's the problem? The political pundits continue to try and make Mitt Romney's religious beliefs a big issue as he runs for the Republican presidential nomination. Different denominations of Christianity are just that – different denominations – which means different worship practices of the same fundamental Christian beliefs. Some people have commented that they cannot support Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon. When they are pressed to explain why that is objectionable, they stutter. Still others are skeptical of Mitt Romney based solely on hearsay or lack of knowledge about Mormons. Even more puzzling to me is the recent trashing of the Mormon faith by Bob Jones III, of the university that bears his name, while endorsing Mitt for president (USA Today article by DeWayne Wickham, October 23, 2007). Some of us call that a backhanded endorsement. I am a practicing Bible-reading-and-believing Baptist Christian, and I respect any Christian denomination that shares the same basic beliefs. I cannot respect a religion that trashes other Christian denominations, or one that seeks to destroy other faiths. Muslim extremists want to kill anyone who does not agree with them. I have a problem with that. This is not an endorsement of Mitt Romney, nor is this intended to defend or explain the Mormon religion. It is a reminder that Christianity has several denominations with different practices. Misperceptions or lack of clarity about someone's religious beliefs can only distort one's reasoning in deciding who to vote for. Media and political prognosticators are constantly trying to put labels and sound-bites on candidates for their reporting convenience, and sometimes, to help create a negative perception of a candidate. Romney is a Mormon, but a "flip-flopper" on social issues. Guiliani is a liberal with a conservative record as mayor of New York City. Huckabee is a conservative Baptist preacher, but he does not have enough money raised to be considered a tier one candidate. Fred Thompson might be a true conservative but his "sizzle" is a let down. And John McCain is strong on national security and "gray" on everything else. Maybe I am asleep when the media reports on the Democratic presidential candidates, because I do not hear them proclaiming Hillary's religious affiliation or her socialist tendencies, Barack Obama's Muslim educational past or John Edwards's distinctly socialist tendencies. History has shown that a media sound-bite is not a predictor of how a president will sign legislation when it reaches his desk. President John F. Kennedy reduced taxes for the first time in decades, and he was a Catholic Democrat. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and he was a Texas southerner. And Ronald Reagan was a fiscal conservative after being governor of California, one of the most liberal states in the country. Go figure! This country needs a president who has a sensible, common sense solution or idea for the tier one issues that we face. National security in our fight against Islamic fascism, sustaining the positive growth of our economy, market-based incentives to make our health care system more affordable and accessible, restructuring a dysfunctional social security system, replacing an outdated and unfair federal tax code, and harnessing the unbridled growth of government and entitlement spending. Religious affiliation is a good indicator of integrity and character, but it is not the only predictor of presidential performance. And since the First Amendment to the Constitution protects us from a president imposing his religious preference on the rest of us, I would rather have a president with some religion than one whose religion is suspect. "In God We Trust" was no accident by our Founding Fathers.
I believe it is, and it will just get worse if Mitt gets the nod.
It will die down if he doesn’t. My two cents...
It is apparent that Herman knows little or nothing about Mormonism and the History of the Mormon religion. [Until fairly recently in LDS History, the Mormons did not want to be called Christians, since they have as one of their fundamental beliefs that all, and I do mean they claim ALL of Christianity was in total apostasy until the peepstone exual predator of married women, Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, 'restored salvation through the Mormon jesus.]
I can understand the Herman Cain confusion (and presumably that of the poster of this thread), since the LDS inc machine has a vigorous misdirection/misinformation campaign going to thoroughly confuse the general public on the fundamentals and facts about the cult. But Herman makes a typical CEO mistake in declaring equivalence on short knowledge, presumably for the sake of 'can't we all just get along'.
Perhaps you would clarify why you posted this 'olde but goodie' statement from Herman, since you claim to be a big fan of Herman and have in the past on Mormonism discussion threads eshewed questions whether you are a stealth supporter of Mormonism?
I see, and apologize. I had not read his (or her) posts further down, before seeing his suqsequent posts and your reply to him (or her). I apologize if I was offensive, and thank you for the warning.
Congratulations. Your post qualifies as the most unfounded and idiotic statement of the week. I don't think you had to exercise much brain matter to achieve it either.
BTTT
You are are partially right. many of us know much of the Mormon “Christ” but we don’t care to know him.
We prefer the real deal...
Apostasy indeed...
Mormons are not technically Christian as they do not have a correct understanding of or belief in the three persons of the Trinity - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Their theology does teach that the god of this world is a man (Adam). This man was a polygamist. Humans have entered a pact with the god of this world and if they faithfully follow Mormon doctrine they will be given a planet of their own after death.
There is much more heresy involved in Mormonism, but this will suffuce for now. Even a cursory glance at the life of Joeseph Smith and his tablets should be enough of a red flag for serious theologians to immediately question the foundations of this cult.
Having said that, Mitt Romney’s Mormonism actually should not be a defining reason not to vote for him. After all, one does not have to be Christian to be president. (Although as a Christian, I certainly think it is a good idea.)
However, he is an ambiguous RINO and this country alsolutely must not have a RINO in the White House during these difficult times.
I'm not LDS and I believe that.
The MSM loves to show Presidents having fun swimming. Does anyone really want to see RINO Romney swimming with his swimming trunks over his Magic Mormon Underwear?
And If someone asks him a religious question about the biblical Noah do you really want him to tell the mormon tale of how Noah built the ark in Missouri and floated it down the Mississippi and ended up in Turkey? Or maybe about the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve lived and died in the ancient USA?
Then if Romneny was Baptist he is still way too LIBERAL for me even without his mormon beliefs.
You are right, but how many people realize this? The Mormon church has a spike instead of a cross. They do not believe in Jesus the way Christians do. If so, it’s because the elders have brainwashed the young to think so.
Still, has a group of people they are Christian like. Romney has been groomed for this job since he was old enough to crawl.
Like the message of the shirt ... Herman has character, forged from a life of work and personal effort at growing to ‘a man in full’. Barry bassturd is just a commie character.
***Then if Romneny was Baptist he is still way too LIBERAL for me even without his mormon beliefs.***
Fat Fingers! I should have spelled it Rom-ninney!
Like many, Cain is not aware of the facts:
"...all the priests who adhere to the sectarian religions of the day with all their followers, without one exception, receive their portion with the devil and his angels."
- Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. , The Elders Journal, v. 1, no. 4, p. 60
"With a regard to true theology, a more ignorant people never lived than the present so-called Christian world."
- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 199
"The Christian world, so-called, are heathens as to the knowledge of the salvation of God"
- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 171
"Christians—those poor, miserable priests brother Brigham was speaking about—some of them are the biggest whoremasters there are on the earth, and at the same time preaching righteousness to the children of men. The poor devils, they could not get up here and preach an oral discourse, to save themselves from hell; they are preaching their fathers' sermons —preaching sermons that were written a hundred years before they were born. ...You may get a Methodist priest to pour water on you, or sprinkle it on you, and baptize you face foremost, or lay you down the other way, and whatever mode you please, and you will be damned with your priest.
- Apostle Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, v. 5, p. 89
“Believers in the doctrines of modern Christendom will reap damnation to their souls.”
- Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, see pp. 45-46
“... all the millions of apostate Christendom have abased themselves before the mythical throne of a mythical Christ.... in large part the worship of apostate Christendom is performed in ignorance, as much so as was the worship of the Athenians who bowed the Unknown Gods.”
- Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 269, 374-375
"This is not just another Church. This is not just one of a family of Christian churches. This is the Church and kingdom of God, the only true Church upon the face of the earth..."
- Prophet Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 164-165
Unfortunately for the mormons - open exposure of their doctrines show that the only simularity between them and Christianity that they use the name of Jesus in their name - all else vanishes after that.
I don’t hate Mormons. I’ve just had experience with their MPA, Mormon Protective Association. Fire a Mormon and have your business boycotted. Give a Mormon a bad evaluation and get a call from a higher-ranking Mormon. It’s a business, not a religion.
“No, you were trying to revive the anti-Mormon discussions.”
Holy cow. That’s me all right, just a huge anti-LDS poster on FR.
Freegards
The Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Mormons and a few other faiths have three things in common – they believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God and that He died and was resurrected for our sins. So what's the problem?...
....Some people have commented that they cannot support Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon. When they are pressed to explain why that is objectionable, they stutter. Still others are skeptical of Mitt Romney based solely on hearsay or lack of knowledge about Mormons....
....I am a practicing Bible-reading-and-believing Baptist Christian, and I respect any Christian denomination that shares the same basic beliefs. I cannot respect a religion that trashes other Christian denominations, or one that seeks to destroy other faiths. Muslim extremists want to kill anyone who does not agree with them. I have a problem with that.
This is not an endorsement of Mitt Romney, nor is this intended to defend or explain the Mormon religion. It is a reminder that Christianity has several denominations with different practices. Misperceptions or lack of clarity about someone's religious beliefs can only distort one's reasoning in deciding who to vote for....
Just so there's no distortion, here's an excerpt from a 2004 thread that provides Cain's actual beliefs:
Herman Cain: Brief Biography and Statement of Faith:
....Cain also serves as an associate minister of Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta.That's it. That's Cain's whole statement. And his church, Antioch Baptist Church North, doesn't even have one that long. His statement of faith is overly simplistic, and the one for his church leaves the reader hard-pressed to find out what the church actually believes. I'd say there's plenty of room for distortion, given Cain's lack of substance.Herman Cain Statement of Faith
“The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.”
~Exodus 15:2 (NKJV) "When my father left his family’s small farm at the age of 18 with just the clothes on his back, he had his belief in God, his belief in himself and his belief in the United States of America. With these beliefs he achieved all of his dreams in life.
"Using those same beliefs, I have been able to achieve many blessings in life with the strength, which comes from God. My family and friends, my church, my success and the opportunity to live in the greatest country in the world are all blessings from God.
"There is more to life than getting more. This is why my song unto Him is to use all my talents to serve my fellow man, and make a difference in the future of our Nation.
"In God we trust expressed the faith of our Founding Fathers. In God I trust is my faith."
“I’m not LDS and I believe that.”
Thanks, I was just curious as to what the LDS believe. I know many Christians believe that Jesus had siblings, and that many do not.
Freegards
Cain is misinformed if he believes that Mormonism is just another denomination of Christianity. Mormonism is vastly different from traditional Christianity, so much so, that it is an entirely separate belief system.
The premise for the emergence of Mormonism was that Joseph Smith believed all denominations of Christianity were wrong so a new, restored version needed to be taught. The new version that Joseph Smith taught is nothing like the original version of Christianity.
Mormonism may use some of the same terminology that Christians do, but it’s very misleading for Mormons to pretend their teachings align with traditional Christianity. If they did align, then there wouldn’t have been a reason for Smith to supposedly restore the church in the first place.
Mormons should just be upfront about their beliefs that differ from Christianity instead of pretending to be like all of the others.
Orthodox, Catholic, and three of the protestant founders, Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli all defend Mary’s perpetual virginity. This would constitute a majority of believers, although as you point out numbers don’t equal truth.
Mary the mother of James and Joseph in Mt 27:56 are the sons of Mary of Clopas, who was also at the foot of the cross with the Blessed Mother.
Hebrew and Aramaic did not have separate words for brother and cousin, because families were so closely knit that cousins were the same as brothers.
Besides, it would be ludicrous for someone to be a half-sibling to God and this would never have occurred.
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