Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, James Monroe, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, Millard Filmore were all avowedly non-Theists who did not believe in Jesus as divine. They were (at least mostly) Christocentric Deists, but that is very different from being Christian. Christocentric means they followed Jesus as a moral teacher, a good man and teacher.
Mormons are very different, they have an elaborate mythology which has little or nothing to do with Christianity, including have several different gods. Jesus is one of their gods, but not the same as the creator god. They do not believe in the God of the Abrahamic religions, Jews, Christians, Muslims and Baha'is. So they are farther from Christian than Muslims are.
If Mitt wins the election, will he be the first non-Christian President of the United States?
Jasmine
2012/07/21 20:40:25
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Pastor Cooper P. Abrams, III, Castle Country Baptist
Church, Price, Utah:
"... only until recently have Mormons wanted
to be called Christians, preferring not to be included
with Christian denominations, which Joseph Smith said
were, "all wrong ... all their creeds were an
admonition in his sight, and that those professors
(Christians) were all corrupt" (Pearl of Great
Price, Joseph Smith, 2:18-19).
Mormons have preferred to be called
"saints"; however, in the recent years the LDS
church has spent millions in an intense "PR"
campaign aimed at moving the church into the mainstream
of Christianity. The political and economic benefits of
Mormons being included in the mainstream of Christianity
are obvious. Further, for Mormons to be accepted as
traditional Christians would greatly aid in proselytizing
the members of Christian denominations into the LDS
church. This is why the LDS church is trying so hard to
present itself as Christian and is trying to overcome the
stigma of being a cult."
With that said (and of course you are perfectly free to disagree with the above), have there been other Presidents who were non-Christian?
Mormons aren't some scary cult, I realize that evangelical christians think they are, but I don't agree with most of what they have to say anyway.
To be honest I'm far less concerned with where he attends church that his ability to save our failing economy.
My hope is that Mormon candidates will be accepted openly and examined closely. They should not be rejected solely because of their religious affiliation. Acceptance was what Senator John F. Kennedy called for in 1960, when he spoke from the pulpit of Salt Lake City’s Mormon Tabernacle, just two weeks after his famous address in Houston about his Catholicism. “What has been true of the Mormons has been true of countless other religious faiths — Jews, Quakers, Catholics, Baptists, Unitarians, Christian Scientists, Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and many, many others,” Kennedy said. “All encountered resistance and oppression. All stuck by both their rights and their country.”
The deciding criterion of whether a person is a Christian or not is if they accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior or not. Harry Truman, Dubya Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are the only believing Christian presidents I am aware of, but there probably were several more.
Mormons are very different, they have an elaborate mythology which has little or nothing to do with Christianity, including have several different gods. Jesus is one of their gods, but not the same as the creator god. They do not believe in the God of the Abrahamic religions, Jews, Christians, Muslims and Baha'is. So they are farther from Christian than Muslims are.
Americans used to make a big deal about electing Catholics because they thought the Pope would control the country.
Religion is no factor.
I consider it almost like race- The content of a person's character is far more important than the color of his skin.
Not everyone who claims to be of a particular faith leads his life by the essential doctrines of that faith. I trust people who wrap themselves in their faith even less.
Christianity isn't a guarantee for morality and I've met plenty bastards who hide behind a cross. Christianity isn't the only religion nor is it near being the oldest. I have plenty of Muslim, Buddhist and friends of other religions and philosophies who are moral people, raise moral children and lead moral lives.
It shouldn't matter.
As far as the first non-Christian President - that would be Thomas Jefferson. He was a Deist.