The Mormons Again

My Imaginary Friend (who refuses to post comments) says that my post on that PBS documentary on Mormonism makes it sound as if I've gone all relativist on him. "Not at all, IF," I reply. "I believe that the Orthodox Christian Faith is objectively true. But most people in this world have no experience of Orthodox Christianity or Orthodox Christians. How, then, can we say they've rejected that Faith? How can we say that God refuses to shed even a sliver of his grace on them? Calm down, IF, and live your faith, rather than getting all worked up about which label to attach to Mormons. Focus on what you are, sinner-boy."

I read a forgettable article over at beliefNet about whether Mormons are a cult or Christian or what-not. The replies saddened me. They were either of the venomous kind, or the sappy, sentimentalist, as-long-as-we-mean-well-aren't-we-all-Christians variety. It's abundantly clear that without grounding in a tradition that consists of something more than just protesting your Daddy's Christianity, those who claim to be Christians are lost when it comes to matters of doctrine. Those who say that doctrine isn't relevant really mean that it isn't fun.

Then I found this post from somebody who knows what's what and expressed it quite concisely. Nicely said, Grace.

BTW, I'd have no problem voting for a Mormon for President if I could find one that I could trust to be consistently Pro-Life (among other things).

PBS Documentary on the Mormons

My ol' Ball of Twine ("Ball and Chain" if 'twere an unhappy marriage) had us watching this documentary over the last couple of nights. And it got me thinking. Now, I'm not doubting my own beliefs or even wanting to call Mormons "Christians" (they have rejected too much of classical Christian teaching for that). But I found it interesting to recall that all the Mormons I've known were really nice people and good neighbors. Then I recalled my Wife's Muslim friends who are more christian than a lot of Christians I know (if you catch my drift). And I started wondering, how much of this goodness and kindness are natural results of following their religion? And how many of these desirable characteristics are the result of the graciousness of God - his willingness to meet us no matter how faulty our matrix of how to understand our experience of Him? How could somebody study the difference between the two factors?

Your input is welcome.