Jimmy Carter's Christianity

I always hesitate to make judgments on whether or not someone is genuinely a believer in Jesus Christ--a Christian in the orthodox sense of the word. However, we can learn a lot about what people believe by examining their words carefully. Ex-President Jimmy Carter did an interview with Newsweek recently as publicity for his forthcoming book about his bible studies. Apparently Carter has been a Sunday school teacher for most of his adult life. I won't address the political aspects of this interview, but there was a very troubling, Osteenesque answer at the very end of the piece.

Do you think a Mormon is a Christian?Yes, I do. I have a
cousin who is a Mormon and she married one of the Marriott family. I don’t know anyone who’s more devout in their faith than she and her family. I admire them very much.

No, no, no. I know lots of religious people who are far more devout in their faith than I am and that does not make them a Christian. What makes one a Christian is belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, repentance from sin. One can't believe in Jesus plus x, or Jesus minus x and still fit the bill.

Mormon's do not believe that Jesus is God. They believe he is a brother of Lucifer and they also believe that God the Father was once a man from another planet. They believe the bible has been corrupted and the Book of Mormon fabricated by Joseph Smith provided clarification, correction, and supplemental teachings to the Word of God. Because they use the name Jesus a lot in their promotional materials don't make them Christians. I'm tired of the name Christian being hijacked.

Here is an article written by R. Philip Roberts, Director of the Interfaith Witness Evangelism Section of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, which addresses the issue of the LDS church claiming the name Christian.

Here is another online resource comparing the Christian view of Christ's resurrection to the Mormon view.