Comments on: Today’s Reading List – May 23, 2007 http://www.article6blog.com/2007/05/23/todays-reading-list-may-23-2007/ "Religion, Politics, the Presidency: Commentary by a Mormon, an Evangelical, and an Orthodox Christian" Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:35:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: LowellB http://www.article6blog.com/2007/05/23/todays-reading-list-may-23-2007/comment-page-1/#comment-4674 LowellB Sat, 26 May 2007 20:45:49 +0000 http://www.article6blog.com/2007/05/23/todays-reading-list-may-23-2007/#comment-4674 Jim: Thanks for the comment. John and I are resolute that we will not debate theology or doctrine here, although in extraordinary cases we have made an effort to clarify doctrinal beliefs. Our publication of Bob Jones III's comment was meant only to report that comment, not to endorse it. As to whether or not Romney is a Christian, that is a matter of labels and we do not believe it's relevant to whether or not to support Romney's candidacy. Having said that, and speaking for myself, I think it's terribly important to be very careful when claiming Mormons are not Christian, for the reasons we posted long ago <a href="http://www.article6blog.com/2006/06/28/a-note-on-terminology-mormon-and-christian/" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="http://www.article6blog.com/2006/11/17/some-more-vocabulary/" rel="nofollow">here</a>. I made some personal comments <a href="http://hedgehogcentral.blogspot.com/2007/05/article-vi-exchange-with-kevin.html" rel="nofollow">here </a>. The plain fact is, Jim, when you say Mitt Romney is not a Christian, you mean he is not an <em>orthodox</em> or <em>creedal</em> Christian, unless I am mistaken. Many readers (including most LDS folks) think you mean he <em>does not believe in Jesus Christ</em>. To Mormons, that is not a fair or accurate description, and most of us find it hurtful, outrageous, and flat-out wrong. But I will stop here. This discussion really belongs in church or in a seminary. Jim: Thanks for the comment. John and I are resolute that we will not debate theology or doctrine here, although in extraordinary cases we have made an effort to clarify doctrinal beliefs. Our publication of Bob Jones III’s comment was meant only to report that comment, not to endorse it. As to whether or not Romney is a Christian, that is a matter of labels and we do not believe it’s relevant to whether or not to support Romney’s candidacy.

Having said that, and speaking for myself, I think it’s terribly important to be very careful when claiming Mormons are not Christian, for the reasons we posted long ago here and here. I made some personal comments here . The plain fact is, Jim, when you say Mitt Romney is not a Christian, you mean he is not an orthodox or creedal Christian, unless I am mistaken. Many readers (including most LDS folks) think you mean he does not believe in Jesus Christ. To Mormons, that is not a fair or accurate description, and most of us find it hurtful, outrageous, and flat-out wrong. But I will stop here. This discussion really belongs in church or in a seminary.

]]> By: Jim Sweeney http://www.article6blog.com/2007/05/23/todays-reading-list-may-23-2007/comment-page-1/#comment-4672 Jim Sweeney Sat, 26 May 2007 05:27:28 +0000 http://www.article6blog.com/2007/05/23/todays-reading-list-may-23-2007/#comment-4672 This may fall into the vaguely-defined category of religious comments that you've been censoring, but I'm so mystified by the Bob Jones quote that I simply had to respond. The rallying cry of most pro-Romney sites has been "relax, Mormonism is just another type of Christianity", and here John goes spilling the beans and publishing a quote that basically says "Mitt's not a Christian and as long as he doesn't pretend to be, he's OK with me". Clearly the answer to the question of whether or not Romney is a Christian will have enormous political implications for evangelicals everywhere, and frankly I'd be stunned if you were willing to entertain it. This may fall into the vaguely-defined category of religious comments that you’ve been censoring, but I’m so mystified by the Bob Jones quote that I simply had to respond. The rallying cry of most pro-Romney sites has been “relax, Mormonism is just another type of Christianity”, and here John goes spilling the beans and publishing a quote that basically says “Mitt’s not a Christian and as long as he doesn’t pretend to be, he’s OK with me”. Clearly the answer to the question of whether or not Romney is a Christian will have enormous political implications for evangelicals everywhere, and frankly I’d be stunned if you were willing to entertain it.

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