Anonymous wrote:I’m an Interfaith Minister. Reality check- The only person who gets to decide whether or not they want to identify as a Christian, a follower of Christ - is that individual person. Not the religion. Not the church. Not a religious leader. It’s a personal relationship. If someone calls themselves a Christian, I believe them.

That said, I know an awful lot of evangelical “Christians” who are nothing like the Christ they claim to follow. The LDS people I know are certainly more Christ-like than any southern baptist I’ve ever met. Including clergy.

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Anonymous wrote:Remember that most mainline Protestant Churches invite Catholics to take communion—so clearly they consider Catholics as fellow Christians.

The other religion-bashing threads are pretty quiet so you thought you’d try to resurrect (pun intended) this thread bashing everybody’s favorite target, Mormons?

Anonymous wrote:Remember that most mainline Protestant Churches invite Catholics to take communion—so clearly they consider Catholics as fellow Christians.

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Anonymous wrote:The correct name of the religion is: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

so that sounds pretty Christian to me.

Jim Jones and all the other cults sounded like great Christian places as well. Just because an institution claims the name "Christian" or "Christ" does not mean that its members are Christians. A sucker is born each day. Cults are manipulative and have a way of luring people in. Somehow Church of Satanic Demons will drive people away. So, cults have to utilize a catchy marketing name to attract misguided people into their camp.

Mormonism is a cult. It was founded by a delusional white supremacist. Their teachings do not align with the historical roots of Christianity or Jesus Christ for that matter. Mormonism was created for the preservation of whiteness. They do not follow the teachings of Christ, but the teachings of Joseph Smith. Also, this cult was created in the United States. Last time I checked the historical and geographical origins of Christianity are not in the United States.

Their teachings contradict the fundamental elements which align with Christians and Christianity. Mormonism is cult. Heck, now they send their young adult children all over the world on missions to convince the folks in impoverished communities to join them. Whenever I witness this I step in and rescue these people. The Mormons incessant need to manipulate and prey on people solidifies them as a cult. This is a growing problem that needs to be dealt with. Mormons are vultures who prey on the weak.

I am an advocate for those who leave cults. I have counseled many people over the years who had left the cult of Mormonism.

Mormons are not Christians!

Mormon church is not protestant, catholic or orthodox
Mormons do not recognize believers in any of those denominations as fellow believers

therefore they are not

Let's get real - Catholics don't recognize other religions as equal to them. Or JWs, or Adventists, or pretty much any religion.

However, I'm concerned if Mormons don't believe that the only way to heaven is through faith in Jesus. I'm not feeling the reliance on a husband bit. That's anti-biblical

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Anonymous wrote:If your definition of Christian is some who believes in a follows Christ, then yes. It’s even in their name - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

As a former Mormon, l can tell in you practise there is equal emphasis and time spent on the Bible and Book of Mormon in Sunday school etc

The name was created for marketing/PR purposes, to normalize the religion.

Definition of a Christian is a member of the mainstream Christian churches, one who is able to recognize a member from another denomination as also a Christian.
Such a person can visit and attend service in any church and be seen as a fellow believer.
Mormons do not see a Lutheran or an episcopalian as a fellow believer, but as a mission field that needs to be converted.

Once you add the belief that only members of your church are people who will be saved
then you are too exclusionary

This definition is new to me. I grew up in Texas and met many, many evangelicals who did not see Catholics as Christians. I remember in 1999 when a lot of them were told by their church that Y2K was the end times, girls I played basketball with "laying hands" on me and weeping and praying that I would accept Jesus and be saved by the blood of the lamb so I wouldn't have to burn in hell forever, as I was clearly destined to do. So I guess Assemblies of God, Church of Christ, and Pentecostal aren't Christian either? Or is it that Catholic isn't Christian?

I'm not convinced this question means anything in the first instance. If you say a Mormon is not Christian, and they say they are, you don't "win." And we know that they say they are Christian, so what's the point of trying to prove they aren't?

You hang around with weird people
Pentecostals do recognize people in other denominations as Christians.

I agree that evangelicals are weird, but they are still Christian, even though they don't recognize Catholics as such. Same as Mormons. You evidently don't recognize Mormons as Christians so wouldn't you be excluded from the definition of Christianity using your own convoluted terms?

Anonymous wrote:I'm agnostic, and I think all religions are cults, but in terms of personal integrity and behavior the Mormons I have known have been some of the nicest, most honest, hardest-working people I've come across. I've worked in organizations where, at the end of the day, people of one religion definitely displayed favoritism towards others of the same religion (I guess because of a shared belief they are "God's chosen"), and that's not been the case with Mormons.

So if they want to call themselves Christians, that's fine by me.

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Anonymous wrote:If your definition of Christian is some who believes in a follows Christ, then yes. It’s even in their name - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

As a former Mormon, l can tell in you practise there is equal emphasis and time spent on the Bible and Book of Mormon in Sunday school etc

The name was created for marketing/PR purposes, to normalize the religion.

Definition of a Christian is a member of the mainstream Christian churches, one who is able to recognize a member from another denomination as also a Christian.
Such a person can visit and attend service in any church and be seen as a fellow believer.
Mormons do not see a Lutheran or an episcopalian as a fellow believer, but as a mission field that needs to be converted.

Once you add the belief that only members of your church are people who will be saved
then you are too exclusionary

This definition is new to me. I grew up in Texas and met many, many evangelicals who did not see Catholics as Christians. I remember in 1999 when a lot of them were told by their church that Y2K was the end times, girls I played basketball with "laying hands" on me and weeping and praying that I would accept Jesus and be saved by the blood of the lamb so I wouldn't have to burn in hell forever, as I was clearly destined to do. So I guess Assemblies of God, Church of Christ, and Pentecostal aren't Christian either? Or is it that Catholic isn't Christian?

I'm not convinced this question means anything in the first instance. If you say a Mormon is not Christian, and they say they are, you don't "win." And we know that they say they are Christian, so what's the point of trying to prove they aren't?

You hang around with weird people
Pentecostals do recognize people in other denominations as Christians.

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Anonymous wrote:No, they are a religion of their own, more like a cult

This would be a matter of opinion/perspective, right? Because that could be said about all religions. Are Mormons not deserving of the same respect as Lutherans or other religions, including non-Abrahamic ones?

so same for scientologists?

Assuming you are the PP, answer the question, because it is in response to your post. Then, if you want to ask me my position, I'll be happy to share it in return.

ok, no I think they Mormons history, how it was founded, makes them seem a bit dubious to me in relation to Lutheranism (presumably founded by Martin Luther).

So it is a matter of personal position then? That each of us can decide which beliefs are worthy of respect, and which are not?

If that's your position, great, we agree completely.

And now to answer your question, as I promised, WRT scientology: I do think the "history, how it was founded, makes them seem a bit dubious to me". And I also think that about Mormons. I also think that about Lutherans, Catholics, Muslims, Pagans, Shinto, Rastafarianism, etc etc. All faiths which have a supernatural foundation, "seem a bit dubious to me".

But if it is demanded that we show respect to certain religious beliefs, shouldn't we show respect them all? Shouldn't we not call any of them "cults"?

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:If your definition of Christian is some who believes in a follows Christ, then yes. It’s even in their name - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

As a former Mormon, l can tell in you practise there is equal emphasis and time spent on the Bible and Book of Mormon in Sunday school etc

The name was created for marketing/PR purposes, to normalize the religion.

Definition of a Christian is a member of the mainstream Christian churches, one who is able to recognize a member from another denomination as also a Christian.
Such a person can visit and attend service in any church and be seen as a fellow believer.
Mormons do not see a Lutheran or an episcopalian as a fellow believer, but as a mission field that needs to be converted.

Once you add the belief that only members of your church are people who will be saved
then you are too exclusionary

This definition is new to me. I grew up in Texas and met many, many evangelicals who did not see Catholics as Christians. I remember in 1999 when a lot of them were told by their church that Y2K was the end times, girls I played basketball with "laying hands" on me and weeping and praying that I would accept Jesus and be saved by the blood of the lamb so I wouldn't have to burn in hell forever, as I was clearly destined to do. So I guess Assemblies of God, Church of Christ, and Pentecostal aren't Christian either? Or is it that Catholic isn't Christian?

I'm not convinced this question means anything in the first instance. If you say a Mormon is not Christian, and they say they are, you don't "win." And we know that they say they are Christian, so what's the point of trying to prove they aren't?