Is Mormonism Closer to Islam than to Orthodox Christianity?

[Guest]

On an earlier thread a few weeks ago, mentioned a post I had written on another board that listed some of the the similarities between Islam and Mormonism. The following is adapted from that post.
_____________________

Is Mormonism Closer to Islam than to Christianity?

Church leaders and most Mormons insist that the Mormon Church is Christian by definition because the Church teaches the divinity of Jesus Christ. Many orthodox Christians disagree that Mormons are “true” Christians because of a number of beliefs regarding God wherein Mormonism differs from orthodox Christianity.

The list below (based to large extent on my own study and experience) is longer that any analogous list I could make for similarities between Mormonism and orthodox Christianity.

I claim that Mormonism is closer to Islam than to Christianity. After all Joseph Smith said that he would be the second Muhammad. ( Joseph Smith or the sword.)

Similarities Between Mormonism and Islam:

• Both claim to be the restoration of the “true gospel” that had been lost,

• Both restorations involved visions,

• Both restorations were assisted by an angel,

• New Holy Scriptures were revealed to man from a book that exists in heaven (or on Kolob as the case may be),

• Both new scriptures claimed to be the perfect word of God,

• Multiple, inconsistent creation stories in the new revealed scripture,

• Practice of polygamy sanctioned at some point in both religions,

• Strict patriarchal authority in both religious and family life,

• Both religions are structured as effective theocracies,

• Both religions teach that Earth is to be cleansed by fire in the last days,

• Both religions have sanctions against use of alcohol and tobacco,

• Both have ritualized fasting required by all adherents,

• Women relegated to secondary roles and subjected to the husband (or in Islam to any other male relative).

• Women encouraged to dress modestly, with sanctions against those who fail to do so.

• Both the Book of Mormon and the Koran contain stories and/or extended near-verbatim passages from the Bible.

• Both religions accept the Bible as scripture, but believe it to be corrupted in some ways and hold their revealed scriptures to be “more correct”.

• In both Islam and Mormonism, apostasy condemns one to hell, and in Islam apostasy can require blood atonement (that is, the death of the apostate).

• Principle of blood atonement in Mormonism has analogs in Islam including death to apostates and the tradition of "honor killings". That is, there are certain sins that can only be atoned for by the shedding of blood. (Honor killings in Islam are usually visited upon young females.)

• Both of the revealed "perfect books" (Koran and Book of Mormon) were later revised to make them "more correct". Mohammad removed the "Satanic Verses" from the Koran, and more than a thousand changes have been made to the Book of Mormon since the original edition was printed.

• Both religions initially contained elements of polytheism, which were later removed (“Satanic Verses” from the Koran) or de-emphasized or denied such as man-to-God and Adam-God principles in Mormonism.

• Both religions have multiple heavens. There are 7 in Islam and 3 (plus additional degrees), in Mormonism, where men can be accorded multiple wives (and / or concubines in Islam).

• Both religions were divided into two or more sects by disagreements over whether the right to lead the religion (succession) should be inherited, or when new leaders tried to reform or update the basic tenets of the religion.

• Belief in the existence of "immortalized" or "translated" beings (The Three Nephites in Mormonism and the Immortal Imam in Islam), who still walk the earth waiting to be of assistance to the faithful in some future time of crisis.

• Both borrowed from paganism/polytheism. Muhammad incorporated that polytheistic moon god called "Allah" and "Allah's three daughters" into Islam. Basically Muhammad chose Allah from within 350 known gods that were worshipped in Arabia and proclaimed the moon god to be the greatest and only God. Joseph Smith borrowed from the Masons and other magic system

• Both claimed to be uneducated / illiterate and used this fact as proof (evidence) their book was inspired.

• Both claimed the Bible, though originally inspired, was lost, altered, corrupted and unreliable.

• As a matter of record, Joseph Smith and Muhammad both had multiple wives and mistresses / concubines.

Joseph Smith claimed, “I will be the second Mohammad." (As far as I know however, Mohammed never claimed to be the First Joseph Smith.) Both, however, claimed to be the final prophet of God.
___________________

Can anyone come up with as many similarities between Mormonism and Orthodox Christianity?

[_Uncle Dale]

On an earlier thread a few weeks ago, mentioned a post I had written on another board that listed some of the the similarities between Islam and Mormonism. The following is adapted from that post.
_____________________

Is Mormonism Closer to Islam than to Christianity?

Church leaders and most Mormons insist that the Mormon Church is Christian by definition because the Church teaches the divinity of Jesus Christ. Many orthodox Christians disagree that Mormons are “true” Christians because of a number of beliefs regarding God wherein Mormonism differs from orthodox Christianity.

The list below (based mostly on my own study and experience) is longer that any analogous list I could make for similarities between Mormonism and orthodox Christianity, I claim that Mormonism is closer to Islam than to Christianity.

Similarities Between Mormonism and Islam:

• Both claim to be the restoration of the “true gospel” that had been lost,

• Both restorations involved visions,

• Both restorations were assisted by an angel,

• New Holy Scriptures were revealed to man from a book that exists in heaven (or on Kolob as the case may be),

• Both new scriptures claimed to be the perfect word of God,

• Multiple, inconsistent creation stories in the new revealed scripture,

• Practice of polygamy sanctioned at some point in both religions,

• Strict patriarchal authority in both religious and family life,

• Both religions are structured as effective theocracies,

• Both religions teach that Earth is to be cleansed by fire in the last days,

• Both religions have sanctions against use of alcohol and tobacco,

• Both have ritualized fasting required by all adherents,

• Women relegated to secondary roles and subjected to the husband (or in Islam to any other male relative).

• Women encouraged to dress modestly, with sanctions against those who fail to do so.

• Both the Book of Mormon and the Koran contain stories and/or extended near-verbatim passages from the Bible.

• Both religions accept the Bible as scripture, but believe it to be corrupted in some ways and hold their revealed scriptures to be “more correct”.

• In both Islam and Mormonism, apostasy condemns one to hell, and in Islam apostasy can require blood atonement (that is, the death of the apostate).

• Principle of blood atonement in Mormonism has analogs in Islam including death to apostates and the tradition of "honor killings". That is, there are certain sins that can only be atoned for by the shedding of blood. (Honor killings in Islam are usually visited upon young females.)

• Both of the revealed "perfect books" (Koran and Book of Mormon) were later revised to make them "more correct". Mohammad removed the "Satanic Verses" from the Koran, and more than a thousand changes have been made to the Book of Mormon since the original edition was printed.

• Both religions initially contained elements of polytheism, which were later removed (“Satanic Verses” from the Koran) or de-emphasized or denied such as man-to-God and Adam-God principles in Mormonism.

• Both religions have multiple heavens. There are 7 in Islam and 3 (plus additional degrees), in Mormonism, where men can be accorded multiple wives (and / or concubines in Islam).

• Both religions were divided into two or more sects by disagreements over whether the right to lead the religion (succession) should be inherited, or when new leaders tried to reform or update the basic tenets of the religion.

• Belief in the existence of "immortalized" or "translated" beings (The Three Nephites in Mormonism and the Immortal Imam in Islam), who still walk the earth waiting to be of assistance to the faithful in some future time of crisis.

• Both borrowed from paganism/polytheism. Muhammad incorporated that polytheistic moon god called "Allah" and "Allah's three daughters" into Islam. Basically Muhammad chose Allah from within 350 known gods that were worshipped in Arabia and proclaimed the moon god to be the greatest and only God. Joseph Smith borrowed from the Masons and other magic system

• Both claimed to be uneducated / illiterate and used this fact as proof (evidence) their book was inspired.

• Both claimed the Bible, though originally inspired, was lost, altered, corrupted and unreliable.

• As a matter of record, Joseph Smith and Muhammad both had multiple wives and mistresses / concubines.

Joseph Smith claimed, “I will be the second Mohammad." (As far as I know however, Mohammed never claimed to be the First Joseph Smith.) Both, however, claimed to be the final prophet of God.
___________________

Can anyone come up with as many similarities between Mormonism and Orthodox Christianity?

I'm sure there are more similarities -- the notion that there must be seven
dispensations, and that the one featuring Jesus was only the sixth of these
divine epochs is one interesting similarity.

But the core tenet of Islam is the Oneness of Allah -- and Mormonism
goes entirely in the opposite direction from that profession. For that
reason (if for none else) Mormonism and Islam are irreconcilable.

UD

[_Everybody Wang Chung]

Very interesting list. I would like to see what an "expert" like DCP would have to say about this.

[_DrW]

On an earlier thread a few weeks ago, mentioned a post I had written on another board that listed some of the the similarities between Islam and Mormonism. The following is adapted from that post.
_____________________

Is Mormonism Closer to Islam than to Christianity?

Church leaders and most Mormons insist that the Mormon Church is Christian by definition because the Church teaches the divinity of Jesus Christ. Many orthodox Christians disagree that Mormons are “true” Christians because of a number of beliefs regarding God wherein Mormonism differs from orthodox Christianity.

The list below (based mostly on my own study and experience) is longer that any analogous list I could make for similarities between Mormonism and orthodox Christianity, I claim that Mormonism is closer to Islam than to Christianity.

Similarities Between Mormonism and Islam:

• Both claim to be the restoration of the “true gospel” that had been lost,

• Both restorations involved visions,

• Both restorations were assisted by an angel,

• New Holy Scriptures were revealed to man from a book that exists in heaven (or on Kolob as the case may be),

• Both new scriptures claimed to be the perfect word of God,

• Multiple, inconsistent creation stories in the new revealed scripture,

• Practice of polygamy sanctioned at some point in both religions,

• Strict patriarchal authority in both religious and family life,

• Both religions are structured as effective theocracies,

• Both religions teach that Earth is to be cleansed by fire in the last days,

• Both religions have sanctions against use of alcohol and tobacco,

• Both have ritualized fasting required by all adherents,

• Women relegated to secondary roles and subjected to the husband (or in Islam to any other male relative).

• Women encouraged to dress modestly, with sanctions against those who fail to do so.

• Both the Book of Mormon and the Koran contain stories and/or extended near-verbatim passages from the Bible.

• Both religions accept the Bible as scripture, but believe it to be corrupted in some ways and hold their revealed scriptures to be “more correct”.

• In both Islam and Mormonism, apostasy condemns one to hell, and in Islam apostasy can require blood atonement (that is, the death of the apostate).

• Principle of blood atonement in Mormonism has analogs in Islam including death to apostates and the tradition of "honor killings". That is, there are certain sins that can only be atoned for by the shedding of blood. (Honor killings in Islam are usually visited upon young females.)

• Both of the revealed "perfect books" (Koran and Book of Mormon) were later revised to make them "more correct". Mohammad removed the "Satanic Verses" from the Koran, and more than a thousand changes have been made to the Book of Mormon since the original edition was printed.

• Both religions initially contained elements of polytheism, which were later removed (“Satanic Verses” from the Koran) or de-emphasized or denied such as man-to-God and Adam-God principles in Mormonism.

• Both religions have multiple heavens. There are 7 in Islam and 3 (plus additional degrees), in Mormonism, where men can be accorded multiple wives (and / or concubines in Islam).

• Both religions were divided into two or more sects by disagreements over whether the right to lead the religion (succession) should be inherited, or when new leaders tried to reform or update the basic tenets of the religion.

• Belief in the existence of "immortalized" or "translated" beings (The Three Nephites in Mormonism and the Immortal Imam in Islam), who still walk the earth waiting to be of assistance to the faithful in some future time of crisis.

• Both borrowed from paganism/polytheism. Muhammad incorporated that polytheistic moon god called "Allah" and "Allah's three daughters" into Islam. Basically Muhammad chose Allah from within 350 known gods that were worshipped in Arabia and proclaimed the moon god to be the greatest and only God. Joseph Smith borrowed from the Masons and other magic system

• Both claimed to be uneducated / illiterate and used this fact as proof (evidence) their book was inspired.

• Both claimed the Bible, though originally inspired, was lost, altered, corrupted and unreliable.

• As a matter of record, Joseph Smith and Muhammad both had multiple wives and mistresses / concubines.

Joseph Smith claimed, “I will be the second Mohammad." (As far as I know however, Mohammed never claimed to be the First Joseph Smith.) Both, however, claimed to be the final prophet of God.
___________________

Can anyone come up with as many similarities between Mormonism and Orthodox Christianity?

I'm sure there are more similarities -- the notion that there must be seven
dispensations, and that the one featuring Jesus was only the sixth of these
divine epochs is one interesting similarity.

But the core tenet of Islam is the Oneness of Allah -- and Mormonism
goes entirely in the opposite direction from that profession. For that
reason (if for none else) Mormonism and Islam are irreconcilable.

UD

You mention an important similarity that I missed. And there are probably a lot more.

Mormonism and Islam can be irreconcilable while still being very similar. The only way they could be reconcilable, I imagine, is if Joseph Smith would have simply been inspired to recognize the truth of Islam. If he would have done so, however, then he could not have been a real prophet, because in Islam, Mohammed is the the last.

Also (and this is a big one) in Islam Joseph Smith would have been limited to four wives.

[_DrW]

Very interesting list. I would like to see what an "expert" like DCP would have to say about this.

Good question. Anyone who knows DCP's online personality could provide a good guess.

1. DCP would probably point out all the differences he could find between Mormonism and Islam and then claim that, in the light of these differences, the similarities are unimportant or uninteresting.

2. If DCP were true to form, he would then point out that, since I do not have a Ph.D. in Arabic or Islamic Studies, I am certainly not qualified to generate such a list.

3. DCP might even claim that, since the post was made on this board by an apostate, it was clearly motivated by bigotry and hate.

Sound about right?

[_Uncle Dale]

...
if Joseph Smith would have simply been inspired to recognize the truth of Islam.
...

The problem with that option is that Islam entails total submission.

Joe Smith was not about to submit to anybody or anything. In a couple
of instances he grudgingly submitted to his legal superior(s) under the
current laws -- but then only due to compelling circumstances.

Had Smith lived another year or so, I'm convinced he would have
himself claimed absolute Divinity and demanded total submission.

Perhaps some very warped quasi-Islamic sect could have been
established on the Smith=God belief: stranger things have happened.

UD

[_madeleine]

Muhammad consummated his marriage to his wife Aisha when she was 9 years old. Muhammad was 53.

[_DrW]

...
if Joseph Smith would have simply been inspired to recognize the truth of Islam.
...

The problem with that option is that Islam entails total submission.

Joe Smith was not about to submit to anybody or anything. In a couple
of instances he grudgingly submitted to his legal superior(s) under the
current laws -- but then only due to compelling circumstances.

Had Smith lived another year or so, I'm convinced he would have
himself claimed absolute Divinity and demanded total submission.

Perhaps some very warped quasi-Islamic sect could have been
established on the Smith=God belief: stranger things have happened.

UD

It may also be of interest that the ritual Islamic call to prayer (the Athan), which emanates from the Mosques five times a day on loudspeakers, includes the following phrases:

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

Now think of the final lines in the typical testimony in F&T meeting:

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior.
I know that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God.

I would say that Joseph Smith did pretty well in establishing himself as second only to Jesus Christ in the minds of the Mormons. In that sense, he is also a lot like Muhammed.

In fact, if I recall, JSJr. once claimed that he was more successful that Jesus Christ himself in terms of holding on to his followers.

[_DrW]

Muhammad consummated his marriage to his wife Aisha when she was 9 years old. Muhammad was 53.

The subject or Muhammad's (more than 4) wives was brought a call-in question on one of the religious programs I mentioned on the other thread. The explanation given by the young cleric was something like:

"Islamic Scholars have determined, by the Islamic principles of "scholarly consensus" and "analogy" , that Allah was willing to make an exception for his prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on this issue.

What do Western scholars have to say, in anything, about this?

[_sock puppet]

Very interesting list. I would like to see what an "expert" like DCP would have to say about this.

I think DrW has finally solved the Rubik's Cube that is DCP.