Pastor says Romney is not a Christian

Maybe there is some serious need for that wall of separation between Church and State as noted in Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists Association in 1802. Wars have been fought over differences in beliefs regarding politics, sex and religion, and for that very reason I rarely blog about matters of religion and sex. Today I am making an exception.

Pastor says Romney is not a Christian

WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry got an enthusiastic response Friday to a speech at the Values Voter Summit from the conservative base voters he lays claim to, but he was overshadowed by the Dallas preacher who introduced him and who later told reporters that Perry’s rival Mitt Romney belongs to a cult and is not a Christian.

The Rev. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Dallas, endorsed Perry at the event and introduced him as “a proven leader, a true conservative, and a committed follower of Christ.”

The fiery preacher, whose church has more than 10,000 members, praised Perry as having a “strong commitment to biblical values” including the “sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage.”

“Do we want a candidate who is skilled in rhetoric or one who is skilled in leadership?” Jeffress said. “Do we want a candidate who is a conservative out of convenience or one who is a conservative out of deep conviction? Do we want a candidate who is a good, moral person — or one who is a born-again follower of the lord Jesus Christ?”

Full Story Here:
Pastor says Romney is not a Christian

The very 1st thing that must be noted is this; the statement about Romney, and what Rev. Robert Jeffress called a *cult* was NOT a statement made by Rick Perry and it was not made BEFORE Perry spoke.

The crowd gave him a standing ovation, and when Perry took the stage, he said of Jeffress, “He knocked it out of the park, as we like to say.”

Rev. Jeffress goes on to say:

After Perry’s speech, Jeffress met with reporters in the hallway and contrasted Perry’s religion with Romney’s.

“Rick Perry’s a Christian. He’s an evangelical Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ,” Jeffress said. “Mitt Romney’s a good moral person, but he’s not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity.”

The pastor said Romney “is not somebody I would vote for, nor would I encourage evangelical Christians to vote for” in the GOP primary.”

“Mitt Romney may make a great president, he may be a good person, but if you vote for him, don’t be under the illusion that you’re voting for a Christian.”

I am NOT a Biblical scholar, I have serious issues with *organized* religion, and I hate to go off on a tangent about religion, anyones religion, but I have to agree with Jeffress on this one, at least to a certain degree. I don’t know that Mormonism is a *cult*, but I do not view it is a Christian religion either.

Asked whether he would vote for Romney in a general election against President Barack Obama, he responded, “I’d hold my nose and vote for Mitt Romney because I believe a non-Christian who embraces Christian principles is more palatable than a Christian … who governs by unbiblical principles.”

Again I have to agree with Jeffress, not so much on the ‘non-Christian who embraces Christian principles’ thing but there is no way in HELL I would vote for Obama. I do NOT believe Obama to be a Christian in ANY way. I am firmly convinced that Obama is a Muslim and that in his heart and mind does indeed subscribe to the beliefs of Islam.

Perry’s campaign said he does not agree.

Asked by reporters Friday night in Tiffin, Iowa, whether Mormonism is a cult, Perry replied, “No.”

Spokesman Mark Miner said that “the governor does not believe Mormonism is a cult.”

“He doesn’t agree with everything that people he meets say,” Miner said. “The governor is a man of faith, there’s no secret about that. The governor meets with people of all faiths.”

I understand why Perry would distance himself from the *cult* remark, those are some strong words, and some will find them offensive. Rev. Jeffress is in the business of *souls* and Perry needs VOTES. You can’t chance alienating any religion, sect or cult if you want or expect to garner votes. I don’t know how many Mormons are registered voters but I am certain that Perry doesn’t want to offend them.

Some of the ideas that Mormonism is a *cult* may come from this explanation.

Mormonism and Christianity

Mormonism and Christianity have a complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express the doctrines of Mormonism using standard biblical terminology, and have similar views about the nature of Jesus’ atonement, bodily resurrection, and Second Coming as traditional Christianity. Nevertheless, Mormons agree with some non-Mormons that their view of God is significantly different from the trinitarian view of the Nicene Creed of the 4th century.

Though Mormons consider the Bible as scripture (insofar as it is “translated correctly”), they have also adopted additional scriptures. Mormons not only practice baptism and celebrate the Eucharist but also participate in religious rituals unknown to traditional Christianity. Although the various branches of Christianity have diverse views about the nature of salvation, the Mormon view is particularly idiosyncratic. SOURCE

Below are some *facts* about Mormonism taken from the ‘net, the full text and citation of these *facts* can be found HERE.

Restoration

Mormonism classifies itself within Christianity, but as a distinct restored dispensation. According to Mormons, a Great Apostasy began in Christianity not long after the ascension of Jesus Christ, marked with the corruption of Christian doctrine by Greek and other philosophies, and followers dividing into different ideological groups. Additionally, Mormons claim the martyrdom of the Apostles lead to a loss of Priesthood authority to administer the church and its ordinances.

Cosmology

For many Mormons, Joseph Smith’s cosmology is the most attractive part of the restoration. Mormon cosmology presents a unique view of God and the universe, and places a high importance on human agency. In Mormonism, life on earth is just a short part of an eternal existence. Mormons believe that in the beginning, all people existed as spirits or “intelligences,” independent of God. In this state, God came among the intelligences and offered a plan whereby they could progress and “have a privilege to advance like himself.” The spirits were free to accept or reject this plan, and a third of them, lead by Lucifer (slated to become Satan) rejected it. The rest accepted the plan, coming to earth and receiving bodies with an understanding that they would experience sin and suffering.

Scripture

Mormons believe in the Old and New Testaments and the LDS Church uses the King James Bible as its official scriptural text of the Bible. While Mormons believe in the general accuracy of the modern day text of the Bible, they also believe that it is incomplete and contains errors. In Mormon theology, many of these lost truths are restored in the Book of Mormon, which Mormons hold to be divine scripture and equal in authority to the Bible.

Revelation

In Mormonism, continuous revelation is the principle that God or his divine agents still continue to communicate to mankind. This communication can be manifest in many ways: influences of the Holy Ghost, vision, visitation of divine beings, and others. Joseph Smith used the example of the Lord’s revelations to Moses in Deuteronomy to explain the importance and necessity of continuous revelation.

Relation to Christianity

According to Bruce McConkie, a general authority of the LDS Church, “Mormonism is indistinguishable from Christianity.” In many ways, however, the religion differs from orthodoxy as held by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christianity. To those for whom Christianity is defined by that orthodoxy, Mormonism’s differences place it outside the umbrella of Christianity altogether.

Liberal reformist theology

Though subject to possible church discipline, some LDS Church members are working towards a liberal reform of the church. Others have left the LDS Church but consider themselves to be cultural Mormons. Others have formed new religions. One of the first of these, the Godbeites, broke from the LDS Church in the late 19th century on the basis of both political and religious liberalism. More recently, the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ broke from the LDS Church as an LGBT-friendly denomination.

I would hate to see this race become a battle of who can scream OH JESUS the loudest.