[ErikJohnson]

Hey Faded—

If you must restate my positions to get your points across, at least make an effort to do it fairly. Half the time it bears no resemblance to anything I wrote, and I end up agreeing with you! Normally I just let it go. But today I’m calling you out.

A couple of examples so you’ll understand what I’m talking about:

Faded: “So to call the LDS faith similar to Catholic is really quite a stretch in my opinion, but you are welcome to think what you will.”

Me: I totally agree with you. But what I wrote was this: “The LDS position [vis-à-vis the doctrines that distinguish Protestantism from Catholicism] was almost always better aligned with the Roman Catholic position that the Reformers were repudiating.” And I stand by that statement. I think we began to substantiate it when we unpacked the first of these (Sola Scriptura) earlier on the thread. Is anyone going to argue the LDS view is really closer to the Protestant? If someone has such an argument—I’d love to hear it and discuss. And if anyone cares to do so—we can go through the other four Solas.

I have never said the LDS faith is similar to Catholicism. Protestantism and Catholicism are infinitely closer to one another than either is to Mormonism. They debate many things, but at the end of the day—Catholics and Protestants recognize the same God. All doctrines are not of equal weight, in my opinion. Who God is—is paramount.

Faded: “When tossing out the "you're too Catholic" a word of caution seems appropriate.”

Me: No doubt it would be! But I’ve never suggested Mormons (or anyone else for that matter) are “too Catholic.” I have nothing but respect for believing Catholics who know their faith. And while I think they’ve added elements to Christian faith and practice that aren’t helpful or necessary, they nonetheless worship the same God I do. And that’s what matters most. I might seek a conversation with a Catholic who believes his Bible and loves Jesus—but I wouldn’t seek his conversion, the way I would with someone who believes in a different God (or “Gods”).

Regarding your following post, it’s the doctrines I’m asking you to discuss, not the “achievements” or the “results.” The founding of Salt Lake City might have been a wonderful achievement by Brigham Young and his followers—but that achievement wouldn’t be germane to the question of whether Young’s doctrines were inspired of God, would it? See the disconnect? This thread is about doctrines of the Protestant Reformation, and whether they were inspired of God. So please get on topic and tell us whether you think any or all of the Five Solas were inspired. Start with the first one, if you wish. If you don’t have an opinion on whether the specific Protestant doctrines were inspired or you think it’s a dumb question—feel free to say so. I promise I won’t be offended.

--Erik