A Rabbi, a Priest and a Mormon walk into a bar…
Tuesday, November 30th, 2004Yeah, that pretty much describes my Thanksgiving… except I’m not a priest, my jewish relative isn’t a rabbi and we didn’t go to a bar - instead we watched The Incredibles.
I’m going to write a new children’s Christmas book and call it - The Multi-Cultural Christmas… everybody dies in the end. Maybe it would make a better suspense thriller.
My wife’s family is like a religious cornucopia at Thanksgiving and Christmas… Mormonism, Judaism, Christianity and Materialism all represented. And of course, we all love each other… but it’s the most awkward situation in the world. I’m usually pretty open about my faith, but I found it terrifying to even begin a discussion about faith for fear that I would slam a wedge between myself and everyone else that I couldn’t remove. And the one chance I did have, was swept away before I could even begin. I suppose God just didn’t open the door.
I was talking with my wife’s uncle - a mormon - and we got off on the topic of religion and Chrisitianity. Most mormons call themselves Christian though it’s really difficult to justify what they believe with the Biblical view of Christianity. So we were talking about the 40 Days of Purpose book by Rick Warren and he started talking about a Christian minister on television who was good about staying away from preaching about “hard gospel” and stayed on topics of family and relationships. I pointed out that I was rather disposed to the “hard gospel” and we wound up on the topic of “continuing scripture/prophecy”. One of his main reasons - according to what he shared with me - for staying with the Mormon church is their understanding of continuing scripture/prophecy.
This is going to offend, and I’m sorry - but I must say what I believe. The Bible gives us no indication of the idea of “continued scripture/prophecy”. And such a concept leads to more harm than good. For if we continually change our scripture… on what can we really base our faith? Either Scripture is correct or it is not. If it must be corrected or changed… it apparently wasn’t good enough to begin with.
I would have to take issue with some traditional Roman Catholic views on the subject as well. But scripture certainly says nothing about continued prophecy being revealed 1700 hundred years later in a completely different and unrelated country (the United States) to a charlatan (my bias is revealed!) by a dead guy from a (historically speaking) non-existant Indian tribe. I won’t even go into the scandalous teaching of the primary prophets of Mormonism and the “carpet sweeping” done by the Mormon church in order to hide and/or cleanse those teachings from public awareness.
But could I mention any of this? Not without causing a family meltdown and being banished as an intolerant and spiteful monster. Not that anything I would have said would have been historically untrue… I just couldn’t say it because it would upset the spirit of things. So, I ask myself the question… what would have been the proper response? And honestly, I just don’t know. How does one stand in the balance between love, honesty and eternal destiny? Let me know if you find out.
Anyway, for those of you who have your own Multi-Cultural Christmas coming… I wish you God’s wisdom in knowing when and what to speak. Hopefully it won’t turn into simply a Politically Correct Christmas - but I sincerely hope it will be something shy of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
