But is it the same God

Via the InstaPundit I found this rant by Bloodthirsty Liberal against Al Sharpton.  It seems Al Sharpton questioned Mitt Romney's belief in God and is now trying to say it never happened.  Sharpton originally said:

“As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don’t worry about that; that’s a temporary situation,” Sharpton said Monday during a debate with Hitchens at the New York Public Library’s Beaux-Arts headquarters.

He now says:

“What I said was that we would defeat him, meaning as a Republican,” Sharpton said. “A Mormon, by definition, believes in God. They don’t believe in God the way I do, but by definition, they believe in God.”

The idea that Sharpton wasn't saying that Romney didn't believe in God is laughable. He clearly did. What I want to address is something else entirely. I have no qualms with Romney, as a Mormon, being elected President. I know of nothing about Mormonism that cause me to believe his religion would be a problem in the presidency. That being said, I would not agree that Mormons believe in God.

Mormons definitely believe in a god. If you ask them will certainly tell you that they worship the God of the Bible.  However, I've studied with Mormons and I've read good sections of the book of Mormon. It's been a good long while so I don't remember the specifics, but I do know that I didn't recognize the god I found there. When I compare what I read there to what I find in the Bible, there just not the same.

I have seen some people argue that "clearly" Christians and Muslims worship the same deity because they're both monotheistic.  However, the god of the Koran, while identified as the same god, does not behave like the God of the Bible and I would not describe them as worshiping the same God that I worship either.

I'm sure that a lot of people would blast me for this and if I was more widely read there would be a good chance of a hate storm.  That would be in error.  This is not a slam against either of these religions.  I simply don't see my God when I look in their scriptures.

Consider an example. I believe in Dad.  I know other people who also believe in Dad.  Yet when I describe my father and they describe theirs, it doesn't sound like the same person. We may call him the same thing, but it's not the same person.

Now obviously this analogy isn't perfect.  This goes one step further. Not only is the god they describe not the same as the God I describe, but I don't believe their god exists.

I'd like to try to flesh this out, but I'm not all here right now.

Comments

[Alma]

I think your analogy falls way short of being applicable because no one from the outset would be claiming that your dad and someone else's dad are the same person (unless that someone else is your sibling.) How about an Al Queda fighter's perception of George W. compared to that of Barbara Bush's perception? Do they believe in different George W's? The point of reference is the individual rather than perceptions about him. If varying perceptions equal different beings, the "Catholic Jesus" who had no brothers or sisters would be a "different Jesus" than the Protestant one who did. There would be no end to the different gods of Christianity.

[Jeffrey]

Analogies are by nature, of course, imperfect. You're right of course, that the mere fact that people have different opionions about someone does not establish that they're not talking about the same person.

But haven't you ever been part of a conversation or witnessed a conversation in which two parties adamantly described a person or event very differently only to later to find out that they weren't really talking about the same person or event at all?

To me, the differences between the god described in the Book of Mormona and the Koran are so radically different than the God of the Bible, that it seems quite obvious that they're actually talking about someone else entirely.

[sarahk]

hey, look! you're blogging! good post.

yeah, i don't have a problem with Romney as president either.

but once Fred jumps into the race, it's a moot point.

[Alma]

No, I haven't been privy to such a discussion--my experience has been that people invariably describe the same event with important differences.

Your comment that the god [sic] described in the Book of Mormon is different than the one described in the Bible leads me to conclude that you don't know how God is described in the Book of Mormon. While I haven't read the entire Koran, I don't recall any descriptions of God there either. Are you certain we're talking about the same books? :)

[HokiePundit]

I can agree with Jeffrey on this one, having also studied with Mormons. The God of Christianity is the Trinity which has always, does now, and will always exist. The God of Mormonism was once a man, has a physical body and a wife, and isn't necessarily the Most High God.

I'm pretty sure we're not talking about the same Being. Not only do we not have the same Father, but we don't have the same Son, either. I have no idea what Mormons believe about the Holy Spirit.