"For missionary and public relations purposes, the LDS may present Mormonism as an 'add-on,' a kind of Christianity-plus, but that is not the official narrative and doctrine."
--Father Richard John Neuhaus
Father Neuhaus: Romney's Mormon Religion Holds The Catholic (Universal) Church a "Fraud"
Conservative theologian, the late Father Richard John Neuhaus stated :
Traditional Christian doctrine and beliefs as lined out in the Nicene Creed is a " Christianity that LDS teaching rejects and condemns as an abomination and fraud."
Article: Richard John Neuhaus, Is Mormonism Christian? A Respected Advocate for Interreligious Cooperation Responds,
The following points concerning Mormonism are those outlined by Father Richard John Neuhaus:
- Mormonism teaches that there is a plurality of gods.What about the source of moral and religious authority in the Mormon Religion? How is it derived?
- Mormons dislike the term "polytheism," preferring "henotheism," meaning that there is a head God who is worshiped as supreme.
- If Christian doctrine is summarized in, for instance, the Apostles' Creed as understood by historic Christianity, official LDS teaching adds to the creed, deviates from it, or starkly opposes it almost article by article.
- LDS TEACHING THAT BELIEVERS ARE ON THE WAY TO BECOMING GODS has, of course, interesting connections with early church fathers and their teaching on "theosis" or "deification (see footnote)," a teaching traditionally accented more in the Christianity of the East than of the West, but theologically affirmed by both. (emphasis added)
- Some Mormon thinkers have picked up on those connections and have even recruited, not very convincingly, C. S. Lewis in support of LDS doctrine. (Lewis simply offers rhetorical riffs on classical Christian teaching and in no way suggests an ontological equivalence between Creator and creature.)
- ...(O)ne must ask (Mormons) what it means to be Christian if one rejects the two thousand year history of what in fact is Christianity.
- Christianity is inescapably doctrinal but it is more than doctrines. Were it only a set of doctrines, Christianity would have become another school of philosophy, much like other philosophical schools of the Greco-Roman world.
- Christianity is the past and present reality of the society composed of the Christian people. As is said in the Nicene Creed, "We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church." That reality encompasses doctrine, ministry, liturgy, and a rule of life.
- Christians disagree about precisely where that Church is to be located historically and at present, but almost all agree that it is to be identified with the Great Tradition defined by the apostolic era through at least the first four ecumenical councils, and continuing in diverse forms to the present day. That is the Christianity that LDS teaching rejects and condemns as an abomination and fraud.
Father Neuhaus:
Today's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is, allegedly, in direct succession to Smith, and the First Presidency claims powers that would have made St. Peter, never mind most of his successors, blush.Father Neuhaus: The sanitized story of Mormonism promoted by the LDS tries to hide so much that cannot be hidden.
The top leadership is composed, with few exceptions, of men experienced in business and with no formal training in theology or related disciplines.
The President (who is also a prophet, seer, and revelator) is the oldest apostle, which means he is sometimes very old indeed and far beyond his prime.
Decisions are made in the tightest secrecy, inevitably giving rise to suspicions and conspiracy theories among outsiders and a substantial number of members.
Revenues from tithes, investments, and Mormon enterprises have built what the Ostlings (Mormon America: The Power and the Promise, Richard N. Ostling) say "might be the most efficient churchly money machine on earth." They back up with carefully detailed research their "conservative" estimate that LDS assets are in the range of $25-30 billion.
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For those who are most intensely interested in nominating and campaigning for a Republican who is a "Christian" to oppose President Obama (whom many delusional GOP No Nothings believe Obama is a secret Muslim) and wanting intensely to defeat Obama, do so by turning to a Mormon bishop, Mitt Romney there is a serious problem with the facts.
Equating Mitts' cultish religion as equal to their historic Christian faith; holding and espousing Romney's beliefs and authority as valid is a denial of their own faith. Christian faith may not be the right's best choice, if the a Mormon is accepted and endorsed by those proclaiming that they are champions of historic Christianity-they will have sold out their treasured faith and the moral high ground they have held for decades in political discourse.
However, IF CHRISTIAN VALUES ARE NOT TO SUPERIOR MORMON BELIEFS, supporting Romney may be the right choice of all the candidates. Power-Trumps-Principle is an old path to follow.
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If politics are more important than defending Christian Doctrine, and the real goal of the "Christian Right is simply defeating a Democrat president-seeking a second term, then politics is a higher value than championing the Catholic (church universal) faith and preserving its practices and doctrines.
None of this theological and fact-based examination presented by Father Neuhaus takes away from the Mormon practitioners their claim and right to assert their high life-preserving and family promoting life-style. In many ways the Mormon way of living puts to shame the average person professing in the Christian faith- one who does not practice the values in Christianity and keep its moral teachings.
Father Neuhaus:
- Mormonism gives a whole new meaning to being "pro-family." In Mormon belief, families are, quite literally, forever.The critical decision remains: To vote for Romney, a Mormon, or not.
- widely and justly admired is the LDS welfare system, whereby the community takes care of its own when they get into economic or other difficulty. At present, in a time of economic prosperity, only about 5 percent require help from the welfare system
- a strong emphasis on chastity sharply reduces sexually transmitted diseases, while a tightly knit and supportive community makes homicide and suicide rare. Put it all together, and one concludes that Mormonism is good for your physical health. Whether it is good for your spiritual health is a disputed question. (It should also be noted that medical data on the strongly committed in other religious communities are comparable to the Mormon findings.)
- There is no denying that the prohibition of alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine has a payoff. Mormons live; on average, eight to eleven years longer than other Americans, and death rates from cancer and cardiovascular diseases are about half those of the general population.
- There is also the Church Educational System, which involves hundreds of thousands in continuing education programs here and around the world. Nor can the most severe critics deny the energy, enthusiasm, and organization of the LDS in its missionary zeal, and in its dramatic presentation of its colorful history, whether through the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or annual pageants reenacting the key episodes of its sacred stories.
- In a world that seems to be largely adrift, it is no little thing to be part of an organized crusade in which you and those who are closest to you view your life as crucial to the unfolding of the cosmic drama.
None-the-less, Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Strict Catholic Christians, by endorsing Romney, put to shame their vociferous and "strong conviction" claims to superior beliefs and "higher morals," purer faith, and "stricter values" (than those of secular citizens or liberals) which they have been lobbying must be placed into law, for decades.
This charade of "values voting," if it endorses Romney, is but a weak imitation of former times when men's Christian principles/birthright were held inviolate and not thrown-over/traded for a cold "bowl of porridge" ladled out as a drive for power, profit and defeat of a political foe.
Father Richard John Neuhaus wrote a number of books, including The Naked Public Square. He was Editor-in-Chief of First Things - a Institute on Religion and Public Life magazine. These excerpts on Mormonism appeared in First Things, March 2000.
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Disclaimer: This posting is presented to draw a comparison between the starkly differing views of the Mormons and Neuhaus' cadre of hard-driving activism that has been so much in involved with and in support of the kind of Moral Majority-style ideology which has been polarizing American Politics.
Obviously, the Mormon religion has full rights to its place in America under the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing the freedom of religion.
"There shall be no religious test for public office"In the present circumstances surrounding the candidacy of Mitt Romney, and formerly of Gov. Huntsman, it behooves the public to delve into the issues and moral dilemma that an Evangelical, Pentecostal, or conservative/strict Catholic faces when choosing a "strong Christian convictions" person who meets their heretofore rigid standards [e.g. G.W. Bush-"born-again"] and a Mormon-whom Father Richard John Neuhaus characterized as an aggressive foe of Christianity-in his view.
-- The United States Constitution in Article VI.
Footnote:
"In Christian theology, divinization, deification, making divine or theosis is the transforming effect of divine grace. This concept of salvation is historical and fundamental for Christian understanding that is prominent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and also in the Catholic Church, and is a doctrine of growing importance in certain Protestant denominations, being revived in Anglicanism in the mid-19th century."-- Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article "deification".
Original.
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