> What follows is a snark, not directed at you, Kestrel.

thanks for the warning -- I missed it the first time I read it though, and
only as I started to reply did I catch it. :) So that changes everything!
(just kidding... I wasn't affronted to begin with :)

> > From what I remember, the main complaints orthodox Christian
> groups have with
> > Mormons are that they believe the Book of
> > Mormon is "another testament of Jesus Christ" and that when it
> contradicts
> > the Bible -- the Book of Mormon is correct
> > and not the Bible.
>
> Funny, since the Bible contradicts the Bible... oy.

Oh yeah, big time.

> > Other problems were with multiple levels of Heaven, the
> > baptism of the dead (the attainment of
> > Salvation *without* personal acceptance of Christ), the attainment of
> > divinity by humanity -- all those who have been
> > baptised and died are gods, the belief that The Father, The Son
> and the Holy
> > Spirit are distinct individuals -- all gods
> > in and of themself not the usual 3-in-1 belief of orthodox
> Christianity,
>
> See, now, I've heard of other Protestant groups (7th Day
> Adventists, frex) who
> also hold that the Trinity is 3 separate individuals... and the
> other points of
> oddness look, to me, like differences in doctrine (big ones, in
> some cases,
> from mainline Protestant, but then again, Catholics have a lot of
> divergence,
> too) but nothing that eliminates Christianity from Mormonism.

The Trinity issues could be worked around I think, but there are certain
aspects of Mormon belief which directly fly in the face of
"Christianity" in
virtually all it's forms. I myself don't go as far as to call Mormonism a
cult -- I see it as a different religion, and those who follow it are just
as ok to me as those who follow just about anything else. Coming from both
the Protestant (Baptist) and Catholic traditions (I was baptised in the
Cathlic church as an adult) I see the differences in doctrine between
Catholicism and Protestanism, but I can also recognize both as indisputably
"Christian" -- I do not see that in Mormonism. The doctrinal
differences are
just too great, and not minor issues like baptising infants, or creeds,
priests, etc etc. The most fundamental issues of the nature of God, of Man,
the interaction with Christ, etc etc are just too far apart for me to
consider Mormonism a *Christian* religion.

> > Mormonism is not Christianity.
> > The kindest interpretation I've seen of it
> > is "quasi-Christian." -- which also encompasses Christian
> Science, Jehova's
> > Witness, Scientology (all of which are also
> > viewed as cults by the Orthodox... tho I am somewhat less
> familiar with those
> > cases)
> >
>
> Orthodox *what*?  Protestants?  I recall more than one Protestant
> insisting
> Catholics aren't Christian either, because of some doctrine they
> didn't approve
> of.  i guess I have to question the whole notion of one splinter group of
> Christianity claiming orthodoxy and authority to pronounce who
> else is, and
> isn't, a Christian.  IIRC, Jesus kinda frowned on that sort of
> thing.  Said it
> was between the person and God...

Oh sure -- the squabling of the kids is the biggest stumbling block a lot of
ppl have in forming any sort of belief system. "They can't ALL be right!"
(I'm not sure that's true) and once you say that, then you've got to go on
to "You're wrong, I'm right" and that puts even more ppl off. I recognize I
myself draw a line. I'm human, forgive me :) But my line drawing is more the
type of recognizing Mormons as Believers but not neccessarily as Christians.
I figure when the End comes (if such a thing happens) we might all be
surprised that the Cabbage Brothers had it right all along, and the
disbelieving 99.998% of us will go straight to the stew pot while they live
on in vegetarian heaven or something. But I prefer to "err" on the side of
inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness... I don't *know* what's
unalterably, carved in stone for eternity, one and only RIGHT so ....
Welcome to the body of Believers.. maybe we'll figure it out together for
having wider scope. Who knows? (Nobody)

> darkelf, who dislikes holier-than-thous of all stripes...

I hear ya...

--- Rachel's Little NET2FIDO Gate v 0.9.9.8 Alpha