DiscussMormonism.com

This guy makes an interesting point. Why are Mormons so desperate to be accepted as Christians?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/opini ... stian.html

I’m with Harry Emerson Fosdick, the liberal Protestant minister and former pastor of Riverside Church in Manhattan, who wrote that he would be “ashamed to live in this generation and not be a heretic.” Being a Christian so often involves such boorish and meanspirited behavior that I marvel that any of my Mormon colleagues are so eager to join the fold.

Maybe they are trying to claim themselves as Christians inspite of their fundamental differences in order to gain credibility when trying to convert Christains.
But wouldn't that make them wolves in sheeps clothing?

DarkHelmet wrote:This guy makes an interesting point. Why are Mormons so desperate to be accepted as Christians?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/opini ... stian.html

I’m with Harry Emerson Fosdick, the liberal Protestant minister and former pastor of Riverside Church in Manhattan, who wrote that he would be “ashamed to live in this generation and not be a heretic.” Being a Christian so often involves such boorish and meanspirited behavior that I marvel that any of my Mormon colleagues are so eager to join the fold.

That's an excellent piece. I agree with him completely.

"Being a Christian so often involves such boorish and mean spirited behavior..."

that explains it for paharon, selek, jeffk, Juliann Reynolds, William Schryver, DCP, Scott Gordon...

I found that piece fascinating, and refreshing. I appreciate that he is bold enough to own his Mormonism.

DarkHelmet wrote:This guy makes an interesting point. Why are Mormons so desperate to be accepted as Christians?

I have no problem with the assertion that Mormons are to Christians what Christians are to Jews, which the author David Mason seemed to argue. I think the problem is that Biblical Christians seem to think that their faith is a legitimate successor to Judaism, whereas they proclaim that my faith is not a legitimate successor to Christianity.

Also, the thing I keep coming back to is the dictionary definition. I look Christian up at "www.dictionary.com" and I get, "1. of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings: a Christian faith; 2. of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ: Spain is a Christian country; 3. of or pertaining to Christians: many Christian deaths in the Crusades; 4. exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike: She displayed true Christian charity; 5. decent; respectable: They gave him a good Christian burial.

So my question is, why should I believe Biblical Christians have more of a right to define the term Christian than the dictionary does?

KevinSim wrote:

DarkHelmet wrote:This guy makes an interesting point. Why are Mormons so desperate to be accepted as Christians?

I have no problem with the assertion that Mormons are to Christians what Christians are to Jews, which the author David Mason seemed to argue. I think the problem is that Biblical Christians seem to think that their faith is a legitimate successor to Judaism, whereas they proclaim that my faith is not a legitimate successor to Christianity.

as far as I know, Jews don't view Christians as a "legitimate" successor to their faith at all-- why would we expect Christianity to acknowledge Mormonism that way? Mason was making the point that Mormonism doesn't need that acknowledgment at all, that Mormons need to stop looking to "broader Christianity" for some kind of approval as if they needed it somehow-- in the way that Christians eventually came to see themselves as their own thing instead of waiting and battling for some kind of validation from Judaism. What Christians acknowledge or don't acknowledge about Mormons shouldn't figure in.

3sheets2thewind wrote:"Being a Christian so often involves such boorish and mean spirited behavior..."

that explains it for paharon, selek, jeffk, Juliann Reynolds, William Schryver, DCP, Scott Gordon...

I left Mormonism so long ago, and eventually left every aspect of traditional Christianity, but hung onto the idea that I was a Christian because that was my ancestry and heritage and society. I hung onto that idea for a long time until it became obvious that the word had lost every good meaning and now connotes a narrow and judgmental religion that simply doesn't fit with my current views. So if anyone asks, no, I'm not a Christian. It's easier to say that than argue the meaning of the word.

in my opinion, Mormons are perfectly qualified to call themselves Christians if they wish. They believe in Jesus, and it shouldn't matter if their Jesus doesn't match up perfectly to anyone else's. It does make them hypocritical, though, because they would deny the use of the word Mormon from non-CoJCoLDS Mormons for their own selfish reasons.

Why are Mormons so desperate to be accepted as Christians?

I don't' see desperation, just common sense and practicality.