Mormon doctrine is quite different from historic Christian orthodoxy on the Incarnation, the origins of Jesus’ divinity, his relationship to the Father, the Trinity, monotheism, human nature, and the creation of this cosmos.
These differences must not be ignored or minimized. The Mormon views of Jesus and God are different from those of the classic Christianity. Therefore it can be said with accuracy that the Mormon Jesus and the Mormon godhead are not the ones which the mainstream Christian churches have been pointing to for 2000 years.
But if we should not ignore the differences, we must also not ignore the overlap between Mormon views and mainstream Christian views. For one thing, Mormons insist they believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
When I look at what both men promote, what they have done, and at their political history and upbringing, I have to side with Romney. When I look at Obama, I see a man who idolizes a communist poet, has economic theories straight from Karl Marx, who promotes gay “marriage”, wants to expand on demand abortion (murder) purely for birth control, who stomps on religious freedom, divides the country by classes promoting division and angst, and who seems to have a big problem determining what is truth and what is political fabrication and who seems to be one of the most narcissistic people I have ever seen. Why would I want him as the leader of this country? On the other hand we see a successful businessman, devoted husband and father, proven leader in business and government, a dedicated Church member who gives much more of himself both personally and financially than most, why would I not vote for him just because of a denominational difference? He seems to live what are closer to Christian morals than Obama and his former pastor who yells “god damn America” because of race. I have to vote the morals and the plan for the country. That leaves me one choice, Romney.
At this point in my life, I find I have more in common with Mormons than with “mainline Christians.”
I dunno, drummie. I look at your response, and my first reaction is, “what is it about Obama that makes people come up with these preposterous claims about him?” He isn’t some wild-mouthed aging radical professor from Harvard or one of the seven sisters; he’s a Chicago Democratic machine politician with a typical mix of conservative and liberal views as such. Genuine leftist reactions to him run the range from barely tolerant to loathing.
I’m not that enamored of either candidate, but I think we’ve practically paralyzed the process of political discourse with this program of continual overstatement. The world did not end because Obama was elected the first time, and it’s not likely to end if Romney succeeds him.
#3–I could go on and on that I think this guy is the worst thing that has ever happened to this country, but here’s just one set of comments by the founder of Home Depot that covers some of the points:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TKCwSVH7Bw
Jim, that’s exactly the kind of exaggeration I mean. It’s a lead-pipe cinch that the introduction of chattel slavery to the colonies was a lot worse than anything that Obama ever did, and as far as anything that Obama has actually done, FDR got there first and set the precedent, or for that matter, his cousin Teddy.
And Bernie Marcus: I can’t see the YouTube video at the moment, but if quotations of it I’ve seen are even remotely accurate, history is completely against him.
C. Wingate–You must be sitting somewhere very different than where I’m sitting. Enjoy it while you can.
My chief beef with Mormonism is that it ultimately posits that the faithful will themselves be made gods, in equality with YWH, and will govern their own worlds. This is the very essence of Satan’s rebellion, desiring equality with God. It is hard to avoid the logical conclusion that LDS theology is thus essentially satanic. The LDS themselves are the nicest, most genuine, most decent people you will ever meet. I do not believe that they are of evil intent. And what they have built in Utah, in particular, really should be the envy of the world. But their theology is and ought to be anathema, and placed nowhere near the category of Christian just because they are nice and love Jesus.
That being said, Mormonism is the least of the reasons that I will never vote for Romney.
C. Wingate, Thank you for your posts. I’m with you — I don’t understand the rhetoric, either, unless it’s a symptom of something else and I really hope it’s not. Of course, I don’t understand how Romney and his supporters can rail about “Obamacare” and call Obama a socialist when Romney instituted universal health coverage in Massachusetts.
I also find this new embrace/tolerance of Mormonism among the ranks rather interesting as it was long considered an odd religion outside the margins of mainstream Christianity. Just as Obama’s church was on the fringes.
Obama hasn’t been an extremist. Fine to disagree with him, and I do on many issues, but to paint him as a liberal extremist isn’t legit. I’m undecided on who will get my vote. I was planning to vote for Gary Johnson but he hasn’t put forth a serious nationwide campaign. I’m not happy with Obama but Romney has changed his views and opinions so many times that I’m not sure what the guy really stands for. I don’t trust that. Frankly, I don’t trust either of them and we’ve been given a poor choice. Still, truth is important and false characterizations are a sin, IMO.
Pres. Obama has been an extremist in at least one area–and that’s abortion. As an Illinois senator, he vote four times against the Infant Born Alive Act, legislation even NARAL supported. He was one of only two or three legislators who consistently voted against it, and his reasoning still gives me the shivers–it basically came down to, a woman comes in to get an abortion and to get rid of her baby, and since that is what she expects and wants, that’s what she gets. She expects an abortion and there is no compelling moral reason not to give her one, even if the doctor messes up and the baby ends up being born and could live if given medical care.
I am not usually a one-issue voter, but in 2008 when I learned about this and read the Illinois senate transcripts, I could not get my mind around the fact that on this issue, Obama employs an amoral sense of reasoning. And what he employs in one area, he may employ in others.