Thanks for your reply.
You probably know the possible LDS repies to ‘ye shall be as gods.’ And the possible answers of orthodox Christians on ‘partaking of the divine nature,’ theosis, etc, etc.
I’ve debated with LDS on this forum, and found a range theology. I didn’t encounter any with god complexes - well, nothing to compare with Obama anyway. :)
I think it unfair to attribute all things said and done by LDS to any individual LDS, just as it would be unfair to attribute all things said and done by Christians to any individual Christian.
As far as a ministry of service, I think LDS are as capable of this as Christian - theology aside.
I believe LDS are obviously heretical to orthodox Christianity. However, I believe there are quite a few Christians who are as well. I would not rule either group out for political office based on these beliefs along. Nor would I rule out a Jew or Buddhist or Unitarian or, heaven forbid, a Dispensationalist or Calvinst. :)
Your views differ, this is obviously a very big deal to you. It’s just not to me.
thanks for your reply.
Well...a HUGE difference 'tween "theosis" and Lds theology is that "theosis" -- as you can see by the New American Standard version of 2 Pet. 1:4 (The NAS tends to be more literal than other versions)...is future:
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you MAY BECOME partakers of the divine nature...
Whatever that all entails, it's future. That can't be said re: what Lds "prohets" like Kimball have said -- that Lds men are "gods in embryo" already.
I didn’t encounter any with god complexes - well, nothing to compare with Obama anyway. :)
(Only 15-20% of Lds have temple recommends -- and half of them are women...so the "I am a 'god-in-embryo' crowd doesn't even take root except about 10% of Lds -- males w/temple recommends)
I think it unfair to attribute all things said and done by LDS to any individual LDS, just as it would be unfair to attribute all things said and done by Christians to any individual Christian.
HUGE difference 'tween opinions of leaders vs. "thus saith the Lord" revelations. In this way, Christians are beholden to the Bible; Lds are beholden to three other books + their "living 'prophet'" & "apostles." Mormon authority & Mormon authoritarianism is pretty strong; in Christianity, "all authority" has been given to Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19; Heb. 1:1-2) & with most segments of Christianity, you don't find comparable levels of authoritarianism.
I’ve debated with LDS on this forum, and found a range theology...I believe LDS are obviously heretical to orthodox Christianity. However, I believe there are quite a few Christians who are as well. I would not rule either group out for political office based on these beliefs along. Nor would I rule out a Jew or Buddhist or Unitarian or, heaven forbid, a Dispensationalist or Calvinst. :)
If you were to look again @ my post to you, the heart of it wasn't just analytical or theoretical "study of God" (theology)...But an actual RELATIONSHIP WITH the TRUE GOD...Here, allow me to cite that portion again:
Me, last post: The Biblical record shows that true successful leadership in public office is done by those who fear the TRUE Lord -- not by some low-level Mormon god who is part of a great number of Mormon gods...one who worships a false god & has no true relationship w/the living God is stifling access to God's resources; & a nation may suffer for that.
I would say the odds are "quite good" that a dispensationalist and Calvinist would know the "true God" -- and that a Jew may know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
That stands in stark contrast to a Mormon, Buddhist, or Unitarian who -- while they may know of some things about the True God -- don't know Him, aren't in a living relationship with Him, and winds up even beseeching foreign gods for "resources" in crisis situations.
To Jesus, knowing the True God was no small deal: 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3) and:
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
Bottom-line:
The world can offer what the world can do;
humanist potential gods can do what humanists can do.
Yet even a weak man who knows THE True God, and calls upon Him? That's where a country can receive what THE God can do via that kind of leadership.