Richard J. Mouw
Now that Rick Santorum has suspended his presidential bid, the question that has swirled around the all-but-certain Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign for over two years — will evangelical voters support a Mormon candidate? — is sure to be asked more loudly and forcefully.
In his forthcoming book Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals, Richard J. Mouw — president of Fuller Seminary and a pioneering voice in Mormon-evangelical dialogue — has quite a bit to say about whether (and how, and to what extent) evangelicals and Mormons can transcend doctrinal differences to discover common ground. What follows here is an excerpt from the first chapter.
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After giving out dozens of sound bites about Mormonism during the buildup to the 2012 presidential election, I decided it was time to write a book on the subject. Mitt Romney has been much in the news, and journalists have been eager to find someone who was willing to offer some thoughts about how evangelicals might end up voting if their only choice was between President Obama and a Mormon.
At least one prominent fundamentalist preacher had announced during the primary season that because Mormonism is a cult, no Mormon should ever be allowed to occupy the Oval Office. In my interviews with journalists, I offered an alternative evangelical perspective. A dozen years of sustained dialogues with Mormon scholars and church leaders have convinced me that the “cult” label does not apply accurately to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not that I’m ready to give them a free pass as simply another Christian denomination. I have too many serious theological disagreements with Mormonism to offer that verdict. But Mormons don’t deserve to be dismissed by Christians as a cult. Scientology, in my view, is a cult. The Jehovah’s Witnesses belong to a cult. Hare Krishna is a cult. But present-day Mormonism should not be lumped together with those groups.
My Mormon friends admire Billy Graham. They read C. S. Lewis for spiritual inspiration. They write insightful commentaries on the Epistle to the Romans. Of course, all of that is mixed in with many things that I find worrisome. But we have been able to talk about the worrisome things. And I thank God for that.
But back to the sound bites. Anyone who has been interviewed frequently by journalists can testify to the fact that after an hour of detailed conversation the only thing that actually shows up in the published article from all that you said is — at best — a few sentences. Not that I resent that. I find the journalists whose primary assignment is religious topics to be highly informed and intelligent people. They regularly express their disappointment that the word limits they must honor keep them from covering their subject matter in the way they would like. When I see what they’ve done with the opinions I’ve offered at some length, I seldom feel that I’ve been misrepresented.
But I do often worry about having my thoughts being under-represented. And that has certainly been the case with regard to my sound bites about Mormonism.
Talking with Mormons
(Click to order.)
I’m not conscious of having approached the writing of this short book in a defensive mood. It’s simply that as a teacher I haven’t felt that I’ve been given the opportunity to engage in adequate teaching on the subject. So this book is my effort to take a little more space than I’ve been given elsewhere, to elaborate on a few sentences here and there that have been given public exposure.
On the other hand, I’ve already noted that this is a short book. I do think that some longer books are necessary on the subject from an evangelical perspective. I don’t know whether I’ll ever write one of those longer books. If I were to do it, though, I would want to dig more deeply into Mormon theology than I do in these pages. And I would want also to dig more deeply into my own theology as a part of that longer discussion. In doing so, I would give more detailed evidence to what I can only testify to briefly here, namely that I approach my engagement with Mormonism as a Calvinist. I believe in a sovereign God. I am convinced of the utter depravity of our fallen condition. I look to Jesus Christ alone for my salvation — because he did for sinners like me what we could never do for ourselves, paying the debt for our guilt and shame on the Cross of Calvary.
I haven’t succeeded in convincing my Mormon friends that they ought wholeheartedly to embrace those Calvinist convictions. But they’ve been willing to hear me out. And sometimes — not always, but sometimes — they even sound as though they’re moving in the direction of some of the key convictions that are for me rooted in my Calvinism. In turn, I’ve been willing to hear them out as they’ve responded to my questions and probings. Furthermore, we keep getting back together for more discussions of these matters — topics that we agree are of eternal importance. In all of that, it has never felt to me as though I was talking to members of a “cult.” Which is why I sense the obligation to explain in a little detail here why I see these conversations as important ones.
Click here to preorder Richard Mouw’s Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals.
Click to read earlier EerdWord posts and excerpts penned by Richard Mouw — on Carl Henry, Abraham Kuyper, and cultural discipleship — or to read his opinion articles on Mormon-evangelical differences published by CNN and the Los Angeles Times.
3 comments
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July 9, 2012 at 4:11 PM
Linda Austen
I meant, win them to Christianity.
July 9, 2012 at 4:10 PM
Linda Austen
And I will add this. Evangelizing Mormons, the way they are strategically targeting areas across our globe and attempting to win them to Mormonism, is an admirable goal. My statement was not in any way an attempt to disparage Mormons. Many nonChristians are good people. The Mormons have commonalities with the Reformed tradition such as being family-minded, being comfortable with strong male leadership, valuing intellectual study, and (often) holding to a high code of moral ethics. I have deliberately not mentioned the history of the Mormon church, which is problematic, including murder and bigamy. Even if these characteristics were not true — negative or positive — these do not sway the essentials of our faith. The Apostle Paul was resolved to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified. He said that no one added anything to his message — that it was based on his first-hand witness of Christ.
Mouw mentions the presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney first. Is this an attempt to be relevant (to find a timely peg), or does it denote that he went about reaching his conclusions in a backward fashion? The issue is not whether Mormon people cannot be winsome, attractive, earnest, likeminded on certain issues — it is whether they know Christ and him crucified. In our rush to accept we need not give away the store, the basis of our well-reasoned faith. We can love, comfort, accept and forgive — the people. We are not required, and in fact are expressly forbidden from accepting false doctrine and heresy, which also existed in New Testament days. Heresy does not stand up and shout: “I am heresy!” It is — CLOSE. It is possible many Mormons do not know the full extent of what they believe — or that it takes a long time before they know it.
We need to be careful — not of being overwhelmed, but of losing our edge as salt and light. If our purpose is political, that is of even greater concern. The word, “Calvinism,” is nowhere in the Bible. However, the Bible speaks repeatedly of repenting from sin, making Jesus Lord, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. This is how we know we are God’s children — not simply that we “believe,” as the demons also do, but that we are INDWELT.
It is my concern that Mormons I have known, while lovely people and most sincere, were perhaps influenced by our spiritual world — yes, demons — in terms of their thinking. I Timothy 4:1 declares: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons…” I grew up overseas where there were idols and demons. Without this kind of presence and influence, the Mormon faith, and many others, would be most unconvincing. I am concerned about orthodoxy. Armenians stereotype Calvinists as being more concerned about “election” than about “salvation.” I feel this is an untrue charge, having ministered alongside wonderfullly evangelical Calvinists. But let us not be confused. People must make a decision for Christ on this earth, in this life. In heaven we will see how our faith was given to us by God. To declare that someone can be a Christian without deciding for that narrow way — nothing outside — is to be confusing. It would be sad to befriend Mormons (who are themselves quite uninhibited about sharing faith) only tor retreat into the land of nebulous diplomacy. That would not be living as salt and light.
July 9, 2012 at 3:18 PM
Linda Austen
Mouw’s viewpoint is troublesome. He seems to confuse Calvinism with Christianity. I John 5:11 and John 3:36 are very clear: “He who has the Son of God has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life.” Having the Son means recognizing that Jesus was, is and forever will be the person described in Colossians 1:15-17: Before all things, the image of the invisible God, the one in whom all things consist and hold together. There is no room for Joseph Smith nor an additional Bible. Modern-day Mormons do believe in the Book of Mormon: Revelation makes it clear that adding to the Bible (or Revelation) is utterly unacceptable. The Holy Spirit is real — He is a part of God — who was there in the beginning (Genesis), will be there in the end (Revelation), and who will in the last days pour out His Spirit on all flesh. I believe he is the manifestation of Christ for our day. Calvinism, however, speaks only to the ways in which God called us. This idea that God might somehow relate to someone in a way other than Jesus Christ, or that Jesus might be part of a larger picture where he shares top billing with someone else, isn’t true. Jesus said: “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” There is no waffling, indecision or rationalization in that. It’s clear.