Traveling in Place

What About Mormonism?

For the past couple of months, I’ve been asked two questions with increasing regularity: 1) Is Mormonism a cult?  2) Is Mormonism a form of Christianity?

Of course, there’s no secret about why I’m getting these questions.  There is at least an even chance that a major political party will, for the first time in American history, nominate a Mormon for President.  This would be another one of those “firsts” in the recent American history (following JFK as the first Catholic President, Sandra Day O’Connor as the first female Supreme Court Justice, Barack Obama as the first black President, etc.) that cause some to applaud the still unfolding American dream, and others to bite their lips in anxiety.

I can answer the first question very simply.  No, Mormonism is not a cult.  It is too big and diverse to be a cult.  It’s been around nearly 200 years and has matured into a religious denomination of over 14 million people worldwide.  Mormons do not all believe exactly the same thing.  There are liberal Mormons, conservative Mormons, and fundamentalist Mormons.  If Mormonism were a cult, there would be no spectrum of beliefs.

Jesus vs. Religion?

The video inserted below has been viewed nearly 16 million times on YouTube.  It features Jefferson Bethke, a 22-year-old evangelical Christian, reciting his own rap poem that maintains Jesus came to “abolish religion.”  Bethke reflects the antipathy toward organized religion that is shared by many (most?) young adults in America – including those raised in Christian homes.  

 

It’s easy to criticize Bethke for this video.  He’s an active member of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, one of the nation’s premier megachurches.  He says he “loves the church,” but hates religion.  How is that possible?  Once you’ve organized a group of people who share the same basic belief system, you have religion – even if it’s “non-denominational.”  It’s also fair to ask, “If Jesus came to abolish religion, why was he an observant Jew?”  He attended synagogue services and participated in all the major festivals on the Jewish calendar.  In other words, he was religious. 

But I don’t want to dismiss Bethke’s provocative verse out of hand.  He’s got a point.  In fact, if you substitute the word “law” every time he uses the word

The Return of Winter

Snow is falling heavily today.  This morning, some locations reported two inches per hour.   This wouldn’t normally be news in a Central New York January, but we haven’t seen any significant snowfall this season before today.  Tree limbs are thickly flocked.  Traffic lights are hanging at a 45-degree angle in a stiff wind that sometimes gusts to 40 miles per hour.  Since the snow is falling too quickly for the plows to keep up, the roads are sloshy and slippery, and visibility is down to a few hundred feet.  Snow is forecast to fall steadily for the next 24 hours.

In many other parts of the country, this would be time to close school, shut up shop, and hunker down at home.  We’d be doing the same thing if this were a monstrous nor’easter dumping a couple of feet of snow.  But it’s not that at all.  This storm is just the return of winter to the Snow Belt – finally.  School is open, traffic is flowing (albeit slower than usual), consumers and cashiers are moving with a sense of urgency, but not frantically.  The plow drivers are feeling their oats for the first time in nine months.  We seem to have been rustled out of our post-holiday slumber.  Normal life has returned.

In a post last month, I intimated that many residents here reflexively complain about snow, as if the less snow the better.  The ideal winter, to hear some people talk, would be no winter at all.  Florida, in other words.  Some of us have a different view.  We appreciate having four real seasons.  We believe that heavy snow is preferable to hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes.  We also recognize that a snow-blanketed ground lightens up otherwise dark days.  On sunny days, the snow sparkle under a cobalt winter sky is breathtaking.

Beyond Ideologies

On the eve of the nation’s first primary for the 2012 presidential election, six Republicans are vying for the opportunity to challenge President Barack Obama.  The outcome of the New Hampshire vote tomorrow is hardly in doubt.  Frontrunner Mitt Romney has been consistently outpolling the rest of the field there since the race began last summer.  But a lot of attention will be paid to who comes in second, third, and fourth, because at this point, there are three primary races within the Republican Party. 

First, there is the race for the “conventional” or “establishment” wing of the party.  That contest is between Mitt Romney and John Huntsman, and represents about a third of the national party vote.  Second, there’s the race for the “libertarian” wing of the party.  One could argue that this is not a race at all.  Ron Paul is the only real libertarian running, though in New Hampshire, some of that vote is split with Huntsman.  It accounts for 10-15% of the party nationwide.  Finally, there’s the race for the “social conservative” wing of the party.  This vote has been splintered between four candidates – Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, and Michelle Bachmann (who dropped out after her poor showing in the Iowa caucuses).  The national polls suggest that this is the largest wing of the current Republican Party, accounting for upwards of 40% of the party vote.

The Other Epiphany

This Friday, January 6, is “Epiphany” on the Christian calendar.  Because it does not fall on a Sunday, only the most liturgical traditions will hold worship services, and only the most observant will attend.  The rest of us may or may not have observed Epiphany last Sunday.  Since it was New Year’s Day, and the readings for the second Sunday of Christmas lent themselves well to a reflection on the transition from old to new, I suspect many congregations, like my own, did not.

The first Sunday after Epiphany is the time to remember Jesus’ baptism and renew our baptismal vows.  Since this occasion has become one of the more moving worship services of the year for our congregation, Epiphany, at least this year, gets short shrift.

Or does it?

In Western Christianity, Epiphany is the time to remember the visit of the Persian Magi to see the Christ child.  It is therefore an extension of the Christmas season, inviting further reflection on gift-giving, as well as on the revelation (“epiphany” means “revelation”) of Christ to the Gentiles.  Tradition has bolstered the Magi’s Gentile identity by refashioning them as “three kings” from across the Orient.  But in Eastern Christianity, Epiphany has always been about Jesus’ baptism.  And since Eastern Christianity (which traces back to the church at Antioch) is older than the Western tradition (with roots in Rome), our remembrance of how Jesus was revealed to be “Son of God” at his baptism actually reflects the oldest understanding of Epiphany.