Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site reed.UUCP
Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaero!pesnta!hplabs!tektronix!reed!schmidt
From: schmidt@reed.UUCP (Alan Schmidt)
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.religion
Subject: Re: Mormons not Christians!?
Message-ID: <877@reed.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 30-Jan-85 18:07:55 EST
Article-I.D.: reed.877
Posted: Wed Jan 30 18:07:55 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 1-Feb-85 21:29:11 EST
References: <367@hercules.UUCP> <1784@uvacs.UUCP> <662@uwmacc.UUCP> <837@reed.UUCP> <783@druxo.UUCP> <315@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP> <214@cadreWed, 30-Jan-85 18:07:55 EST
Reply-To: schmidt@reed.UUCP (PUT YOUR BELIEFS HERE)
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Lines: 37
Summary: 

|| The literature you find in "Christian" bookstores is about as "rigorous"
|| and objective as the news over radio Moscow.  
...
|| As a matter of fact, the University of Chicago press publishes an
|| excellent non-biased book called "The Mormons" by Thomas F. O'Dea,
|| who is a catholic priest.  He certainly does not suggest that the
|| Mormons are non-Christians.  
...
|| In actuality, the only people who don't consider Mormons
|| to be Christian are the usual set of "born-again" loonies.

The Mormons do not believe in the divinity of Christ.  They may call
themselves Christians, and that's just fine.  The encyclopedia can call
them Christians.  This is also fine.  Religions have usually been worlds
unto themselves as far as definitions are concerned, and I feel I should
give you mine:  Christians believe Christ was God.  

Yes, this is the Humpty-Dumpty syndrome.  It is also the formal policy
of the Catholic church (the greater portion of which do not fall into
the category of "'born-again' loonies"), the Lutherans, Methodists, and
Presbyterians.

I'll concede that there are a lot of "loonies" out there, some of which
don't consider anyone who doesn't belong to their denomination
non-Christian.  It all depends on where you place your definitive
authority on religious matters.  If my "last word" comes from one
source, and yours comes from another, we can talk until we're blue in
the face, and not get anywhere.  This is one reason I don't subscribe to
net.religion.

Take it for what it's worth.  At the very least, we can agree to
disagree.

Alan
..tektronix!reed!schmidt

PS  Everyone's entitled to their own, albeit WRONG opinion.