Unsettled Christianity

Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Taken by myself with a Canon 10D and 17-40mm f/4 L lens. This is a 3 segment panorama. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have purposely avoided the Mormonism and Mitt issue – finding any religious test for a candidate for elected office detestable; however, liberals are starting to raise the issue, almost simultaneously. Don’t get me wrong, principled conservatives are doing the same thing, but for different and non-biased reasons.

First is this story:

Now, David Twede is a Mormon himself. He isn’t some Evangelical sowing fear. He is asking what he sees as a legitimate question, a question no different really than those asked of John F. Kennedy, America’s first Catholic president.

Given Romney has served as a clergyman, still holding the office of High Priest in the LDS church to date, he just may find that he answers to a higher power (i.e., the LDS prophet) more than to the US voters.   Romney, as a faithful LDS member, has solemnly covenanted in the Mormon temple that he wholly-devotes himself, his time and his talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed him to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (see the words of the “Law of Consecration” and “Law of Sacrifice” given in the temple).

http://www.politicususa.com/president-mitt-romney-obey-prophet-constitution.html

Not being, nor ever having been, Mormon, I cannot affirm or deny – but I tend to agree – the statements expressed above; however, any believer, by the nature of their status as a believer, must answer to a higher power. Granted, for Protestants, this seems to be the individualistic G/god. Where were stories like this about George W. Bush, a United Methodist, who should in some way hold to the Book of Discipline (something he obviously never cared enough to read with interest)?

I am unamused with stories of conspiracies about believers of any stripe answering to some higher power, earth or heaven based; but, then again, stories emerging about how one handles the role his or her faith has assigned to them is somewhat important. For instance, this one:

Hayes, the divorced, unmarried mother of a 3-year-old daughter, was struggling as a nurse’s aide in a working-class suburb of Boston. She had little in common with the successful Bain executive, but the request wasn’t as odd as it might seem. Hayes was a Mormon. Romney was her bishop. Romney walked into her small apartment, made small talk and then commanded her to give her baby up for adoption after it was born. He was her bishop, and as she knew, Mormonism disapproved of single motherhood. Hayes said no.

Romney responded to the disobedience roughly. You’ll have to check out the story here. Note as well that the story links to several of the Mainstream Mormonism’s teaching on such thing as sexual immorality, something we get a real hint of in Romney’s attitude.

If Liberals are to remain consistent, they should not care about the doctrinal tenants of the person’s faith – or the lack thereof – but should continue to examine the nature of the person’s character. When I do that, that makes me far more worried about Mitt Romney than any of his Mormon doctrines.

Related articles

• Mormon Writer Threatened With Excommunication For Criticizing Romney (alan.com)
• Is Criticizing Mitt Romney an Excommunicable Offense? No. (religiondispatches.org)
• Mormon Harry Reid blasts Mitt Romney’s Mormonism (twitchy.com)
• “Cease and Desist, Brother Twede”: Mormon Blogger Says Church Officials Threatened Excommunication Over Criticism of Romney and the Church (jonathanturley.org)

Post By Joel (9,256 Posts)

Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).

Website: → Unsettled Christianity

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