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Vic Lundquist
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October 30th, 2007 | | Posted in Analysis, Commentary, and Editorials, Barack Obama, Bigotry, Character, Christians, Evangelicals, Evangelicals for Mitt, Faith, Family Values, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, New To Romney, Op/Ed, Religion, The Mormon Issue, Values
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Governor Romney, running for the office of President, is sometimes asked about his religious beliefs. With such inquiries, he usually refers them to church officers. This post refers directly to one authority of the church, Elder Jeffrey Holland, as he discusses why members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Christian. Click here to read it ——> The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent
Much has been written and discussed in the mainstream media concerning Governor Romney’s faith. In the first half of this year it seemed as though Governor Romney was challenged every day about what he believed; whether he believed in Christ; whether he could believe this or that. At times when pressed to reveal his beliefs about Jesus Christ he has said in effect, “Jesus Christ is my personal Savior.” He has been criticized by some saying he has somehow hijacked Evangelicals’ language to pander to them. Frankly, such criticism offends the intellect and has become tiresome. By way of full disclosure, I too am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a convert to the church, I have heard the phrase, “Jesus Christ is my personal Savior”, many times in my life by many average members of the church.
I am constantly amazed how Romney’s religion is even an issue in this day and age in America (see Democrat Congressman Martin Frost’s [Jewish by faith] similar comments here on religious discrimination and religious tolerance in Dallas as he refers to Romney) when religious freedom is a hallmark of this nation. It quite reminds me of a recent trip my wife and I made to Salem, MA where we learned how the Puritans came to America for religious freedom but would not tolerate the practice of other religions in and around Salem. In fact, they executed other Christians if they did not convert to their brand of religion or leave the Salem area.
Understandably, Governor Romney, as John F. Kennedy did, speaks of issues and policies on the campaign trail. However, when some challenge him to discuss his faith or his beliefs, he will usually say something to the effect, “I am running for President, not pastor-in-chief; if you would like to know the doctrines of my church, ask the church authorities…” When some have suggested he renounce his faith or aspects of it, he has vehemently defended his beliefs and his faith.
Elder Jeffrey Holland is an apostle in the church and as such is respected by church members as uniquely qualified to speak authoritatively on the subject of Jesus Christ, His ministry, mission, divinity, and the doctrines surrounding His life; doctrines that members have understood their entire lives. His talk was directed to those who wish to understand why members of the church consider themselves Christian when some outside the church do not. His entire talk is an outstanding treatise covering the doctrine of Jesus Christ as Savior. Here are but a few excerpts (for footnotes, click the link above):
. . . various crosscurrents of our times have brought increasing public attention to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord told the ancients this latter-day work would be “a marvellous work and a wonder,” and it is. But even as we invite one and all to examine closely the marvel of it, there is one thing we would not like anyone to wonder about—that is whether or not we are “Christians.”
Our first and foremost article of faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission. We believe Them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption. I think it is accurate to say we believe They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance, a Trinitarian notion never set forth in the scriptures because it is not true.
Indeed no less a source than the stalwart Harper’s Bible Dictionary records that “the formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the [New Testament].”
So any criticism that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not hold the contemporary Christian view of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost is not a comment about our commitment to Christ but rather a recognition (accurate, I might add) that our view of the Godhead breaks with post–New Testament Christian history and returns to the doctrine taught by Jesus Himself. Now, a word about that post–New Testament history might be helpful.
It is not our purpose to demean any person’s belief nor the doctrine of any religion. We extend to all the same respect for their doctrine that we are asking for ours (That, too, is an article of our faith.) But if one says we are not Christians because we do not hold a fourth- or fifth-century view of the Godhead, then what of those first Christian Saints, many of whom were eyewitnesses of the living Christ, who did not hold such a view either?
We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings, noting such unequivocal illustrations as the Savior’s great Intercessory Prayer just mentioned, His baptism at the hands of John, the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the martyrdom of Stephen—to name just four.
With these New Testament sources and more ringing in our ears, it may be redundant to ask what Jesus meant when He said, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.” On another occasion He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Of His antagonists He said, “[They have] . . . seen and hated both me and my Father.” And there is, of course, that always deferential subordination to His Father that had Jesus say, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” “My father is greater than I.”
To whom was Jesus pleading so fervently all those years, including in such anguished cries as “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” and “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”? To acknowledge the scriptural evidence that otherwise perfectly united members of the Godhead are nevertheless separate and distinct beings is not to be guilty of polytheism; it is, rather, part of the great revelation Jesus came to deliver concerning the nature of divine beings. Perhaps the Apostle Paul said it best: “Christ Jesus . . . being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”
A related reason The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is excluded from the Christian category by some is because we believe, as did the ancient prophets and apostles, in an embodied—but certainly glorified—God. To those who criticize this scripturally based belief, I ask at least rhetorically: If the idea of an embodied God is repugnant, why are the central doctrines and singularly most distinguishing characteristics of all Christianity the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the physical Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be separated from His spirit in time or eternity? Any who dismiss the concept of an embodied God dismiss both the mortal and the resurrected Christ. No one claiming to be a true Christian will want to do that.
Those who state that Mitt Romney is not Christian or who attempt to tell others what he believes or does not believe about Christ, really serve one purpose: To divide peoples of very similar values and principles. We have so much more in common! In their zeal to tell others that Mitt Romney should not be President because of his faith, they reveal far more about themselves than they hope to illustrate about Mitt Romney’s faith. Incidentally, any person who thinks that Mitt Romney would take orders from the leaders of his church, is completely misinformed. There have been dozens of members of the church serving in Congress and in former administrations who served with strong, diverse political views (consider Harry Reid as one example opposite Romney).
Since the days of Christ’s mortal ministry, true Christians have been all about unity and unifying others in their communities. The Pharisees, during Christ’s mortal ministry, did everything they could to divide and dissuade and undermine Christ and his followers. Do we not have “Christian Pharisees” among us in America today? My entire life, I have been a scholar of many different Christian faiths and denominations. From the Catholic Church to Protestants to Evangelicals – Christians all, whose doctrines are diverse. Though I may not accept every doctrine of these various Christian faiths (as they may not of Romney’s), never would I attempt to deny a person’s assertion he is Christian. Yet, there are many Christians today who will do just about anything to deny to the world that Mitt Romney believes in Jesus Christ and Him as his personal Savior.
What is the purpose of this post? It is to provide a very clear understanding to the honest seeker who really desires to know what Mitt Romney believes about Jesus Christ. Having written this, please do not get me wrong. Every person’s relationship with Jesus Christ is an intensely personal and sacred one. My comments here, and those of Elder Holland, serve only as an introduction to any understanding Mitt Romney has, or that of any member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So the purpose of this post is to provide some insight into the doctrine that allows Mitt Romney or any member of the church to refer to herself as “Christian.”
When Governor Romney deflects questions of his faith to authorities of the church, he does so in part (I think) to avoid all the distractions that discussing religion would invite. He is intensely focused on getting his message of leadership out to the electorate. He knows that officers of the church are more inclined to discuss all things doctrinal. That said, the purpose of this post has nothing to do with proselytizing, or as some would say, evangelizing. Not at all.
My hope only is that this post will help voters (who care) understand better why Mitt Romney’s assertions about his faith have nothing to do at all with pandering. And to be completely frank, it is offensive to me that those who call themselves “Christian” so readily judge people like Senator Clinton or Senator Obama as not being Christian. Both Senators Obama and Clinton have said they are Christian or believers of Christ. I believe them. We cannot know their hearts, but I believe Jesus Christ would have us accept their assertions. Christ Himself gave us a simple method to know His disciples when he said of them, “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt 7:16, 20).
The purpose of this post is to illuminate and engender respect of all religions, faiths, beliefs, etc. as they pertain to what any candidate believes. It is to unify behind a common foundation of values rooted in Judeo-Christian principles. Principles followed for centuries and upon which America was founded.
“EACH ACCORDING TO THE DICTATES OF HIS OWN CONSCIENCE“, by Norman Rockwell —– In a recent trip to Vermont, I rediscovered this marvelous piece of art in a Norman Rockwell museum near where he once lived. What religions are represented here?
~ Vic
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PS: This just in —-> Evangelicals Weigh In (Dividing or Unifying?)
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