Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Are Mormons Christian?

According to the Osmond family they are. At least that's what I heard them say on the Larry King Show on CNN the other night. I hate to be too hard on them, as they mourn the death of their father. But they are deceived by confessing that they are Christians. Mormonism has nothing in common with orthodox Christianity. Click here to see a chart of comparisons on the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (CARM) website.

Also, read this article from GetReligion.org. To me, the whole DNA thing should put things to rest. And Pastor Juan Palm has a good question to ask Mormon missionaries: "Why are there no maps in the Book of Mormon?" Compare this with every edition of the Bible, which as you know, has plenty of maps ... pointing to the historical nature of the Bible in distinction to the LDS scriptures.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the track. Now I can get just as many comments on my entries as you get. {smirk}

CR Petersen said...

Are Mormons Christian?
Neither DNA nor maps make a Christian; however, both of those have honest answers. If you would like to read my take on the question or ask a question about DNA or maps, then please visit: http://whatswrongwithmormons.blogspot.com/

Kurt Onken said...

Mr. Petersen...

Thanks for looking at my blog. I agree that neither DNA nor maps make someone a Christian. My point was to stress the non-historical nature of the Book of Mormon.

Of all days, this Eve of the Nativity of Christ, it's important to note that Christians at this time of year celebrate the Incarnation and Birth of Christ ... not merely the Son of the Heavenly Father, but also the eternally existent Second Person of the Holy Trinity, co-equal in deity and majesty with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is something which the LDS church does not teach, hence, is not a Christian church.

CR Petersen said...

That is an interesting response but you may be intersted in just a little, and I mean only a little history on the belief of the nature of the Trinity which can be found in part at: http://www.geocities.com/rameumptom/bom/carter.html I would welcome your comment to my posting on if Mormons are Christian. If you would like an answer to DNA and maps, please post your question and I will attempt to provide an answer.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
CR Petersen said...

Many early Christian writer’s disagreed in the nature of God. Hellenistic views crept into the early writings of some.
You are right that the Bible provides a map on what constitutes a Disciple or a Christian. It is in fact very clear. Christ is very clear on the matter and it has nothing to do with what one believes about the nature of God. I do believe that it is important to understand the nature of God. You can share scriptures from the Bible and I can share scriptures from the Bible and neither of us will convince the other. However; that is not what Christ or the scriptures tell us about recognizing a Disciple or Christian.
As for the Book of Mormon. There is no place in the Book of Mormon that says that there was a large battle in upstate New York. The Book of Mormon does not even indicate that there was one there. It is extremely clear that it’s geography in the Americas covers a very small space of land and only a small portion of the people on the American Continent, just as the Bible does not cover all of Asia, Africa and/or Europe. The Book of Mormon though does not only deal with the Americas but starts in Jerusalem and covers geography not covered in the Bible and of which there was nothing known among westerners in the early 1800's. The geography from that area alone is so amazing that there is no way that anyone from the United States or Europe could have possibly known. In addition there are so many incredible archaeological and linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon to make anything but it’s truth implausible. Yes, there are still a few areas that have not been verified, but over the last 100+ years, they are fewer and fewer. To use the fact and it is a fact that there are no authoritarian maps (though many scholars have developed incredibly plausible maps that fit geographically and historically) for the Book of Mormon, but this does not replace the importance of faith or prayer for there were no maps for early Bibles and yet, they still contained the word of God. The only thing that really matters is our own personal testimony through prayer and study. The scriptures are clear that we can take things to God and that He will answer our prayers. From this I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. You do not, and volumes of linguistic and archeological evidences are not likely to change that; however, that is not what this discussion is all about. The question is if Mormons are Christian. Christ is very clear on how to recognize His Disciples and has clearly mapped how. I won’t rewrite that here but included it in my blog comments already referenced. My hope is that I fit the map that Christ established.