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Okay, fine, let's agree not to call it a cult. But The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) sure is a bizarre melange of beliefs. FOX News recently gave them a chance to 'splain some things.
posted by Patrick at 12:04 PM
A red state Canadian-born fellow living in blue state California. Married to an Inca princess who bore us a growing passel 'o bebitas. Work at Catholic Answers as host of the NUMBER-ONE RATED CATHOLIC BROADCAST IN AMERICA (shameless plug) heard Monday to Friday 6-9PM EST at www.catholic.com, on Channel 160 on Sirius/XM Satellite, or check your local listings. Belong by adoption to a certain Someone who created all things visible and invisible.
11 Comments:
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7:04 AM
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7:09 AM
You might like this satirical article, they're getting smarter.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39261
7:11 AM
Oh yes, I love the Onion mostly.
8:38 AM
I read the Fox article. So Mormons believe Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God?
And the Baptists believe Jesus and Heavenly Father are the same person?
Mormons believe Heavenly Father created Jesus and Satan.
Baptists believe Jesus created Satan.
Which is weirder?
3:08 PM
Anonymous,
The only reason that you could state that Baptists believe that Jesus created Satan would be because of their belief in the trinity, that God and Jesus are one and the same.
Mormons, on the other hand, believe that God and Jesus are separate, though Jesus and Satan were created by God. Brothers, if you will, in the sense that all of humanity are brothers.
Correct?
That's like asking if a three headed rabbit is weirder than a donkey that gives birth to an elephant. They're both weird.
6:01 AM
No one, except for those holding the docetist heresy, believes that the Father and Jesus are "one and the same." The distinction that is needed for the authentic Christian revelation of God's triune nature is this: God is three divine Persons sharing one divine nature; the Father is God (creator); the Son is God (redeemer) and the Holy Spirit is God (sanctifier). None of the divine Persons is any of the other yet each "exists" so to speak, in an eternal communion of self-donation. God the Son, born of the Virgin Mary, has two natures, human (from his mommmy) and divine (from his heavenly Abba). Nature answers the question, "What is it?" Person answers the question, "Who is it?"
It's also grossly misleading to say that Baptists believe Jesus created Satan. Catholics, the Orthodox, and evangelical Protestants (including conservative Baptists) all believe that a) God created the angels who were preternaturally good but a minority of them fell into self-love and refused to adore the uncreated God and so became evil spirits led by the Rebel in Chief, Satan, aka Lucifer; and b) that the everything was made through the Word (Jesus even before his earthly birth from Mary), including the angels who fell.
It's a stretch to conclude that "Jesus created Satan," as if that was somehow God's original intent for the leader of the fallen angels.
5:19 PM
"God is three divine Persons sharing one divine nature"...well, yes, that is the official Catholic position. Hence my rabbit analogy. Three distinct bunny brains, one bunny heart.
I was merely trying to point out to "anonymous" that either way the cookie crumbles, they are both weird (in answer to his question).
3:40 PM
Mike, I have to assume you're not joking with your bunny brain-heart objection.
A little knowledge of theology is a dangerous thing.
You're free to believe or disbelieve anything you want, but glib undergradisms are beneath you.
5:50 PM
My bunny analogy is merely a variation of the famed clover analogy employed by St. Patrick. Nothing glib about it. It wasn't even an objection.
I think I have a decent understanding of Catholicism, having been brought up in it, even having taken private catechism classes because of the "soft" theology provided by the established system. By no means, however, have I studied it to the extent you have, I'm sure. Perhaps you object to the clover as well.
Anywhoo, I'll drop it at that and eagerly await your next post on the main site.
6:17 AM
Now that you mention it, the clover analogy is, with all due respect to the great Saint, lousy. It may have helped illiterate Irish plowmen "see" the three-in-oneness, but it falls down as a viable comparison.
You did equate the Trinity with a) Jesus creating Satan (which I said not even Baptists believe) and b) Satan and Jesus being brothers. The latter you said were as "weird" as holding that God is three persons sharing one nature.
I think you can see how a reasonable person would conclude that your crack was some kind of objection.
And now I'm reeeeeally not working on my book diligently enough.
10:45 AM
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