Publius+Forum

-By Rev Michael Bresciani

Dr. Robert Jeffress said Mormonism has “never been considered a part of mainstream Christianity.” He indicated that he thought Mormonism is a cult at the Values Voter Summit on Friday October 7, 2011. His statement has ignited a firestorm of controversy and questions. From the forthright Fox News to the feckless far left media, questions like “did he go too far” are circulating around the media like a deadly tornado. What is it all about?

It would be easy to simplify it all by saying that for years most of mainstream Protestantism has held Mormonism as a cult, so Jeffress was not wrong. But here we will ask the question of just why Mormonism is viewed this way.

Volumes have been written that deal with the theological problems with Mormonism, which is why I will not presume to settle it here in one article. What is needed is some clarity and some history so it can be understood just how mainstream Christianity came to these conclusions.

Journalists generally don’t make great theologians and that can be seen in their repeated misuse of terms they obviously do not understand. The terms used most often are, heresy and cult.

While it is possible for some sects to be such aberrations of standard Christianity that they are labeled as cults it is not the best or normal usage for this term. A cult is adherence to a person or teaching that usually has no connection to Christianity or the Bible at all. Manson, Aum Shinrikyo, Scientology, Jonestown, are good examples of cults that never had Christian foundations or if they did they were completely discarded for something else.

The second most often misused word is heresy. Here is a word with a clearer definition but a broader application, the misuse of this word is rampant, even among the best Christian minds of the day.
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Media’s Confusion about Mormonism – Journalists’ Poor Theologians?”