With Mitt Romney running for president the LDS church is in the news again as it was with the issues with the Fundamentalist (FLDS) a few years ago I feel it's a good time to open this up
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While that is true, many Christian Churches do not believe that the LDS Church is Christian, despite the formal name being The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. While it has many points of doctrine that are shared with other Christian faiths, most either don't know or recognize this. Yes, the majority of people in the US probably don't know much about Buddhism or Taoism, but that is more straight ignorance than blatant misinformation. They don't know anything compared to the rumor, misinformation, and speculation that surrounds the LDS Church.
You might have missed some of the hubbub in the news during the primary, but some clergy in other churches insist that the LDS Church is a cult and fundamentally non-Christian. The largest difference between the LDS Church and other Christian faiths is the belief in continued revelation. We believe that with Joseph Smith a new dispensation was begun as it was with Abraham, Moses, and Christ himself, all times when the gospel was reestablished after it had gone through a period of corruption (there are more, but this is just for illustration purposes), though this last time the truth would remain until the end of the world. Another difference is the view of the Godhead or the Trinity. The Trinity is the typical Christian view that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are one and the same. A single ephemeral being that is made up of three personages. This explanation of divinity originated, or was at least declared orthodox with the Nicene Creed in the 4th century. This contrasts with the view that God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate personages united in a single purpose. God and Christ being physical beings and the Holy Ghost being a spiritual one.
A lot of them also take issue with the Book of Mormon. And really that makes sense as if you believe the Book of Mormon to be true, then you have to believe that the one who brought it forth was divinely inspired as well.
There are countless points of doctrine that get confused, muddied, or entirely misunderstood. It would take volumes to cover them all.
I can't say I agree, as I think that Islam or atheism is probably the most extreme in misunderstood religions in America, but thanks for sharing your perspective! I have probably missed out on a lot of ugliness about politics from the media thanks to being out of the country.
Yeah, you're definitely not missing out on anything positive going on politically right now!
You're welcome, thanks for asking!
I did note in my initial post "other than Islam." It's pretty nuts and sad the anger that is thrown at Islam because of a few nut jobs that supposedly believe they are defending their religion. People claim Islam is not a religion just as they claim the LDS are not Christian or are a cult. Reading the Qur'an I have not yet seen anything that would condone the actions of the radical "fundamentalists" that have so poorly represented their religion. There have been terrible stinks about muslims trying to build mosques in various parts of the US, especially that one near Ground Zero in New York.
It's actually really interesting to me the parallels found between the LDS Church and Islam. The Qur'an is similar in structure to the Doctrine and Covenants, for example both are a series of revelations over time and they are not organized in chronological order, but in an order, it is claimed, defined by God. There are other parallels, which I find Interesting as I continue my study.
I may step myself on here, but while I do recognize atheism as a belief I'm not sure if it is considered a religion as most are recognized, but perhaps that shows my own misinformation. When I think of a religion I think of it as having a set system of belief, theology, structure and so forth. That said atheism is a misunderstood belief, many people seem to think that godless corresponds with being a-moral, which it does not.
No worries. To be honest, whether or not atheism is a religion is something strongly debated even by some atheists, haha.
I consider it to be a religion because it fits the definition of being a major set of beliefs about the origins and purpose of the universe/life, which is one of the basic essentials of what a religion is. I also think that claiming it isn't a religion provides grounds for discriminating against atheists or trying to put atheists on a "lesser" level than non-atheists, (because their beliefs aren't a "real" religion so they shouldn't be protected or respected, etc.) so I personally prefer to group it in with every other belief system as a religion. I think it's the most inclusive thing to do and the best way to strive for equality in how I'd treat anybody of any belief set, and it seems awkward to me to say that only atheists have no religion, when they have a set of major beliefs about life that are as strong as anyone else's!
I think "no religion" and "atheism" as two very different things. Someone who tells me they have no religion is telling me that they don't like any specific religion's set of beliefs and don't feel like they fit in with any of them, or that they haven't thought about religious/spiritual issues and it isn't a priority for them. Someone who tells me they're an atheist is telling me that they subscribe to a certain set of beliefs and that they have a definite view on major spiritual issues. Definitely not the same thing! For that reason as well, I don't like equating atheism with no religion.
You might have missed some of the hubbub in the news during the primary, but some clergy in other churches insist that the LDS Church is a cult and fundamentally non-Christian. The largest difference between the LDS Church and other Christian faiths is the belief in continued revelation. We believe that with Joseph Smith a new dispensation was begun as it was with Abraham, Moses, and Christ himself, all times when the gospel was reestablished after it had gone through a period of corruption (there are more, but this is just for illustration purposes), though this last time the truth would remain until the end of the world. Another difference is the view of the Godhead or the Trinity. The Trinity is the typical Christian view that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are one and the same. A single ephemeral being that is made up of three personages. This explanation of divinity originated, or was at least declared orthodox with the Nicene Creed in the 4th century. This contrasts with the view that God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate personages united in a single purpose. God and Christ being physical beings and the Holy Ghost being a spiritual one.
A lot of them also take issue with the Book of Mormon. And really that makes sense as if you believe the Book of Mormon to be true, then you have to believe that the one who brought it forth was divinely inspired as well.
There are countless points of doctrine that get confused, muddied, or entirely misunderstood. It would take volumes to cover them all.
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You're welcome, thanks for asking!
I did note in my initial post "other than Islam." It's pretty nuts and sad the anger that is thrown at Islam because of a few nut jobs that supposedly believe they are defending their religion. People claim Islam is not a religion just as they claim the LDS are not Christian or are a cult. Reading the Qur'an I have not yet seen anything that would condone the actions of the radical "fundamentalists" that have so poorly represented their religion. There have been terrible stinks about muslims trying to build mosques in various parts of the US, especially that one near Ground Zero in New York.
It's actually really interesting to me the parallels found between the LDS Church and Islam. The Qur'an is similar in structure to the Doctrine and Covenants, for example both are a series of revelations over time and they are not organized in chronological order, but in an order, it is claimed, defined by God. There are other parallels, which I find Interesting as I continue my study.
I may step myself on here, but while I do recognize atheism as a belief I'm not sure if it is considered a religion as most are recognized, but perhaps that shows my own misinformation. When I think of a religion I think of it as having a set system of belief, theology, structure and so forth. That said atheism is a misunderstood belief, many people seem to think that godless corresponds with being a-moral, which it does not.
Reply
I consider it to be a religion because it fits the definition of being a major set of beliefs about the origins and purpose of the universe/life, which is one of the basic essentials of what a religion is. I also think that claiming it isn't a religion provides grounds for discriminating against atheists or trying to put atheists on a "lesser" level than non-atheists, (because their beliefs aren't a "real" religion so they shouldn't be protected or respected, etc.) so I personally prefer to group it in with every other belief system as a religion. I think it's the most inclusive thing to do and the best way to strive for equality in how I'd treat anybody of any belief set, and it seems awkward to me to say that only atheists have no religion, when they have a set of major beliefs about life that are as strong as anyone else's!
I think "no religion" and "atheism" as two very different things. Someone who tells me they have no religion is telling me that they don't like any specific religion's set of beliefs and don't feel like they fit in with any of them, or that they haven't thought about religious/spiritual issues and it isn't a priority for them. Someone who tells me they're an atheist is telling me that they subscribe to a certain set of beliefs and that they have a definite view on major spiritual issues. Definitely not the same thing! For that reason as well, I don't like equating atheism with no religion.
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