Posted by:
Summer
(
)
Date: December 09, 2010 07:33PM
...between mainstream Christianity and Mormonism.
In my opinion, the first (and perhaps most fundamental difference,) is that mainstream Christians place the emphasis on being as opposed to doing. According to the New Testament, Jesus told the criminal who was on the cross next to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise." No mention of baptism, worthiness, works, tithing, or a temple recommend. As long as the man believed, ***he was worthy to be with Jesus in heaven***.
In a recent post, a ward clerk told how people would walk away from the yearly tithing settlement teary-eyed because they could not meet their tithing obligation to the Mormon church. Mainstream Christians would never, ever use an individual's ability to pay as a measure of that person's worthiness. Such an idea would be anathema to them. In fact, traditional Christianity emphasizes special consideration for the poor. Mother Teresa of Calcutta devoted her life in service to the poor. I don't think for one second that she ever considered herself to be one bit more worthy than the people that she served. Yet this woman, in all likelihood, will one day be declared a saint, worthy of imitation and vereration, in the Catholic church.
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Let's take a parable that Jesus told, and pretend that he is teaching at General Conference. ;-) In order to understand the changes that I've made, you need to know (as a university professor once taught me,) that the Samaritans were considered to be the lowest of the low in Jesus's time. I believe that this is how Jesus would tell the story to the Mormons:
On one occasion a General Authority stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life? What is written in the Law?” [Jesus]replied, “How do you read it?” The General Authority answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But the General Authority wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Salt Lake City to Provo, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priesthood holder happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Stake President, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But an Apostate, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on soapy water and antiseptic. Then he put the man in his own car, brought him to a hotel, and took care of him. The next day he took out a great sum of money, and gave it to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The General Authority replied, “The Apostate who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
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The second major difference is that mainstream Christians are a lot less likely to take things that their leaders say at full face value. There is a much greater tendency to think for oneself. The entire Protestant movement is based on the ability of people to say, sorry but we disagree. And even the Catholics have their independent thinkers, such as the intellectual tradition of the Jesuits, the Liberation Theology proponents, etc.