What if I told you there is a presidential candidate that:
- supports prayer in school should be allowed
- supports home-educators
- supports family values
- will veto any bill that would redefine marriage between one man and one woman
- has a pro-life perspective and agenda
- has not been divorced
- attends church regularly
You'd probably state that the religious right, evangelicals have found their man.
Even with all those facts, you'd be deriving a conclusion that is far from the truth.
This issue will continue to heat up over the next year as Mitt Romney gains more political clout, marketplace acceptance and his particular "faith based beliefs" become more spotlighted. Mr. Romney seems like a decent and likable fellow; but we should pray for him that he would come to the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible for the salvation of his soul. Politics aside, our primary concern for him should be his eternity--not the election.So what is the issue? It's Mr. Romney's response to Jesus' question offered in Matthew 16:15 "but who do you say that I am?" The answer to that question is essential to understanding one's relationship with God. Either Jesus is who He says He is or He wasn't. This is the Word of God speaking about the Word made flesh (Jesus the Christ) in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His ONLY Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Jesus is God's only Son. This is critical... not just semantics.
Jesus, the ONLY Son of God, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit make up that perfect Trinity that existed before time and made us in Their image.
In any case, as the "spin machine" is at full throttle, so few know almost anything about Mormonism. As a Mormon, sadly, Mr. Romney does not believe the essential truth of the Trinity and Jesus as God's Only Son. Mormonism devalues the role of Jesus by elevating the role of Lucifer making them "spirit brothers". In essence they become equals... but different. Many have compared this to the Chinese philosophy of the Ying and Yang.
From the Mormon perspective...
THE SUBJECT: Are Jesus and Lucifer spirit brothers?
THE MORMON ANSWER: Here are some factual quotes that define Mormon Jesus and Lucifer as spirit brothers:
- Thus it is shown that prior to the placing of man upon the earth, how long before we do not know, Christ and Satan, together with the hosts of the spirit-children of God, existed as intelligent individuals, possessing power and opportunity to hoose the course they would pursue and the leaders whom they would follow and obey (James Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 8)
- The appointment of Jesus to be the Savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning. Haughty, ambitious, and covetous of power and glory, this spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of mankind (Milton R. Hunter, The Gospel Through the Ages, p. 15---this book was "written and published under the direction of the General Priesthood Committee of the Council of the Twelve of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints")
Compare these statements from LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie in his book, Mormon Doctrine:
- The devil...is a spirit son of God who was born in the morning of pre-existence (p. 192)....Christ is the Firstborn, meaning that he was the first Spirit Child born to God the Father in pre-existence (p. 281)....Christ, the Firstborn, was the mightiest of all the spirit children of the Father (p. 590).The June, 1986 edition of the Ensign Magazine, p. 25, the official publication of the LDS Church, had this question, "How can Jesus and Lucifer be spirit brothers when their characters and purposes are so utterly opposed?" The response provided included the following: On first hearing, the doctrine that Lucifer and our Lord, Jesus Christ, are brothers may seem surprising to some---especially to those unacquainted with latter-day revelations. But both the scriptures and the prophets affirm that Jesus Christ and Lucifer are indeed offspring of our Heavenly Father and, therefore, spirit brothers....But as the Firstborn of the Father, Jesus was Lucifer's older brother.
So anyone denying the reality that Jesus and Lucifer are spirit-brothers is, in the words of the LDS Church, ignorant of latter-day revelations. Or, they are spinning things and hoping they are talking to folks who don't know any better and they can get away with it. That's sadly a possibility.
Of course, we should be quite clear in what our objection to this doctrine is, and what it means. Their doctrine does not include the Trinity; instead their doctrine states that Jesus and Lucifer are spirit-brothers because in Mormonism, we are all spirit-brothers and sisters of them both. We are all spirit offspring of an exalted man from another planet, Elohim.
The objection, then, is that this belief denies the unique and eternal deity of Christ, not that the character of Lucifer is somehow the issue at this point.
So I pose this question... do the "ends" justify the "means"? If we gain presidential support for our "ends" (prayer in school, a pro-life agenda, family first values etc.) are the "means" of supporting and aligning ourselves under a man that denies the Trinity thus justified?
It's a question we can ask ourselves in history as well. As can be referenced in the News with Views article here http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin405.htm we've elected a man twice recently that also needs to address his view of Jesus the Christ as The Way, The Truth and The Life... otherwise he's calling Jesus a liar.
Pastor Chuck Baldwin states:
- George W. Bush was twice elected President of the United States with great assistance from evangelical Christians, who, almost universally, believed he was a born-again believer. Many still hold onto that belief. In fact, evangelical Christians compose the bulk of the ever-shrinking base of support Bush has left. This is due almost exclusively to this belief that Bush is a born-again Christian.
As a minister of the Gospel for more than three decades, I have witnessed professing Christians do and say just about anything one would associate with unbelief. In fact, nowadays the line dividing believers and unbelievers seems practically nonexistent.
I've known unbelievers who are far kinder and more compassionate than many professing believers. In fact, professing Christians are sometimes even meaner and more cantankerous than unbelievers. (Don't get me wrong: I've known many unbelievers who were as mean as rattlesnakes, too.)
Another paradox to me is how so many professing believers (including pastors) seem to lack the spiritual discernment to understand even the simplest principles. This is especially true regarding the principles of freedom and national independence. One would assume that knowledge of the Scriptures, along with the aid of the Holy Spirit, would cause believers to be on the front lines in the defense of these principles. However, many times, unbelievers are the ones fighting for liberty, while believers sit piously and passively on the sidelines. What a shame!
However, that believers can continue to propound the "Christianity" of George W. Bush takes the cake. One has to hand it to Karl Rove: he thoroughly and masterfully fooled the Religious Right. And he did it with only a little assistance from Bush.
A few public catch phrases; some prayer breakfasts; a few references to Jesus; some personal meetings; and a few phone calls or personal meetings with big-name evangelicals was all it took to beguile the vast majority of professing believers. Because of this, George W. Bush is now and forever known as "our beloved Christian President."
Then again, how would our Christian brethren react if someone came into their church and said that "all religions pray to the same God"? I dare say such a statement would be met with the most vehement rejection. Yet, that is exactly what President Bush has said repeatedly. The latest example was just last Friday, October 5, 2007.
In an interview with Al Arabiya reporter Elie Nakouzi, Bush said, "I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, pray to the same God." Bush has made this same statement throughout his Presidency. The statement obviously reflects a deep-seated belief.
Of course, George W. Bush is the first President in U.S. history to celebrate Ramadan in the White House. He is also the first President to worship and pray in a Shinto temple.
Last Friday, World Net Daily quoted Bush as saying, "We are having an Iftaar dinner tonight--I say, 'we'-- it's my wife and I." Bush also said, "This is the seventh one in the seven years I've been the president. It gives me a chance to say 'Ramadan Mubarak.'" Bush is also quoted as saying, "I want American citizens to see me hosting an Iftaar dinner."
The Iftaar dinner refers to the evening meal for breaking the daily fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. "Mubarak" means "blessed." So, when Bush says "Ramadan Mubarak" he is saying that Ramadan is blessed (by God), or "blessed Ramadan."
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I would very much like to see President Bush ask one of his Muslim or Shintoist friends to pray in Jesus' name, or ask them to take Christian communion, or publicly worship the Lord Jesus Christ. You know as well as I do that no Muslim would deny Allah by worshipping Jesus Christ. Yet, our supposed "Christian" President has no qualms about denying Christ in order to worship Allah or pray to Shinto gods.
Believers beware... as we traverse through these next several years... if we stay the course, we will see a continued devaluation of Jesus the Christ of the Bible, and an elevation (through "spiritual correctness") of the Evil One as represented by the false religions of this world. Prepare your children to always be ready to give a defense for the gospel. May they know, proclaim and TESTIFY TO TRUTH in ways we have failed and never dreamed possible.
