Just Who has "Diluted" God's Word?

As I follow the current run for president and consider the political landscape, I continue to be struck by the Mormon issue. It’s not fading away… especially among our evangelical friends. You don’t have to look very far to find a worried evangelical declaring that a vote for a Mormon is a vote for the dark side (or something like that).

Why such a strong objection to a presidential candidate with otherwise capable skills? It still comes back to basic old theology. I suppose they’d say it’s nothing personal, but Mormons are deceived and a Mormon president would deceive the nation. Some are much more kind in their attacks on Mormon’s in politics. For example, one senior pastor named Bob Merrit (who just happens to be Michele Bachmann’s pastor), “delivered a July 2007 sermon titled, ‘Raise Your Religious IQ — Investigating Mormonism’ (available for download via iTunes). He said:

“‘I very respectfully push back and I say (to Mormons) you have taken something extra and added it to (God’s word) to make all of it untrue,’ Merritt said. ‘Think of it this way: what does your car need to run properly? It needs pure, refined petroleum — it needs gasoline. And what happens when you dilute the gasoline with something like water? The car doesn’t run. I think that’s a good analogy for what our Mormon friends have done with God’s word. … The whole thing is diluted, and honestly it just doesn’t work’” (Jamshid Ghazi Askar, “Michele Bachmann’s pastor on Mormonism,” Deseret News, Sept. 6, 2011).

Did I hear that right? He thinks Mormon’s have diluted God’s word? Talk about diluting God’s word, how about a continuous rash of Christian theologians in the 4th and 5th centuries arguing over the very definition of God and finally settling on the most incomprehensible definition of God by majority vote! No one did more to “dilute” the word of God than those man-made council’s. And to think that the entirety of today’s Christendom rests on such a frail foundation.

Fortunately, God has reasserted the truth about Himself--yes, the New Testament truth that was forgotten, ignored and lost for some reason in the 4th and 5th centuries—by appearing to a 14 year-old boy in upstate New York. Nothing “added” as Mr. Merritt suggests, just simply God re-revealed.

Now I’m just a basic guy, but this true God revealed is way more comprehensible and personal than that god defined by argument and majority vote. One thing we can agree on is that God is a loving Father in Heaven and extends His mercies to His children on earth. If a Mormon can believe that, what harm could possible come to the nation under skilled leadership of a Mormon president?

Glenn Beck? Oh What the Heck!

It has been fun to read the varied responses to the recent Glenn Beck “Return to Honor” gathering in Washington D.C. The most fun has been the bantering by evangelicals. Most are not sure what to make of Glenn and especially the Mormon Church. The most interesting question has been: Is this a Beck conversion?

I suppose anything is possible… Beck did “convert” to Mormonism some years ago. But why does it have to be a conversion? Why can’t a Mormon be concerned about America? Why can‘t a Mormon know that the only way to maintain our freedoms and liberties is through being true to God? Why can’t a Mormon desire a return to God? Beck, as a Mormon, has recognized the dangerous times in which we live and is sincerely using whatever God has made available to him to do something about it.

Why are the evangelicals suspicious? One declared that America was founded on Protestant Christianity. He pointed out that only one Catholic signed the Declaration of Independence and that all the rest were from the protestant tradition. I’m sure historians would argue whether you could describe all of the Founders as strict traditional “Protestants,” but can agree that they believed in the “Christian” God. Mormon’s also believe in the “Christian” God… if you agree that Jesus Christ is God!

That brings me to the next suspicion. Evangelicals do not like Mormon theology of the Godhead. Both sides agree that the Godhead is made up of three entities: The Father, Son and Holy Ghost. However, there is substantial disagreement about what the Godhead looks like. Evangelicals believe in the traditional Godhead that grew out of the creeds of Christian fathers: Three entities, one God. Mormons believe in Three entities who are agreed in one, each fulfilling unique missions under the direction of God the Father. Does that mean we can’t stand on the same stage and invite all Americans to return to honor… return to God?

Another evangelical pointed out that Mormon’s believe that Christ’s Atonement did not take place on the cross, but in the garden of Gethsemane. That’s why Mormon’s don’t have crosses on their building or have them dangling around their necks. So, Mormon’s obviously do not believe as Paul: preach Christ and Him crucified. Well, this is unfortunate misinformation. Mormons do preach the crucifixion. Mormons believe that the Atonement began in Gethsemane, where the Savior did pour out great drops of blood as He suffered for the sins of mankind. But all Mormons also know that the Atonement continued through the crucifixion and culminated in the resurrection. You see, Paul also preached that “we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10). Mormons preach that the only way we can overcome this fallen life is through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, but also know that we can ease life’s path by choosing to focus on the Savior’s life and living as He did as best we can.

With all that said, and despite the differences, it has been heartening to see that some evangelicals are setting aside theological differences and giving Beck the benefit of the doubt. Why not? The circumstances we find ourselves in these days cry for a unity of faith in a God… one that can help us return to honor. And on that point, I’m with Beck.