“Concerning The Inbox letter about ‘America in need of a revival,’ America has had far too many Christian revivals. That’s our problem. They didn’t work in the 1800-1830s. They didn’t work in the 2000s. Our country was founded on the wisdom and political systems of ancient polytheistic peoples. Maybe we should go back to the old gods.”
“Our sheriff hasn’t used ‘latino discrimination,’ he has used ‘citizen discrimination!’ Stay on it Joe, we need you.”
“I pledge allegiance to the Mexican flag of the United states of Mexico. And to the illegals for which they stand, one nation under the cartels with drop houses and drugs for all!”
“If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck and quacks like a duck: This is not racially profiling, it is good police work. Ninety-five-percent of illegals in this country are of Latino descent; what do you expect law enforcement to look for, redheaded illegal Irish?”
“Although the federal government is charging Sheriff Joe with being biased against illegals, they have admitted the problem is huge. ICE is stationing 50 agents in Joe’s jails to do the checks for illegal immigrants! Fifty! That is an admission by the feds that the problem in Arizona is terribly out of control and our border is non-existent.”
“Newt Gringrich wants Mitt Romney to stop running negative ads against him, even though they are true.”
“Talk about a lousy job. Pity the poor Romney campaign staffers who have to explain what their boss ‘really meant to say,’ week in, week out, debate after debate, campaign stop after campaign stop. They must feel like the cleaning guys that are all lined up with broom and shovel after a big parade who have to sweep up after the elephants and the horse riders. At least the parade sweepers only have to do it once a year whereas the Romney people have to ‘sweep up’ every other day or so.”
“Senators McCain and Kyl and Representative Flake: Do not let me catch you failing to support legislation by Senator Bernie Sanders to overturn the impacts of Citizens United. I cannot name a worse example of legislating from the bench. There is nothing about a corporation which qualifies it to make campaign contributions. Rather it should pay dividens to its shareholders and suggest that they make those contributions. Senator McCain: McCain-Feingold was the best thing you’ve ever done. Don’t give up that ship!”
“Obama has been talking and talking about helping the ‘middle class’. He sure didn’t help us last year. During 2008 and 2009 tax years we were able to add the amount of our Real estate Tax on our residence up to $1,000 to our standard deduction by using Schedule ‘L’. That was removed from the 2010 tax procedure on Nov. 6, 2010 and Schedule ‘L’ has been completely eliminated for the 2011 tax year. Taxpayers that were able to use an estimated tax deduction in lieu of the standard deduction, were able to deduct ‘all’ of their Real Estate Tax in this situation during the above mentioned years. Did your tax preparer inform you of this?”
“The Mormon venter Friday who mocked David Henry’s previous article about Mormons not being Christians stated that since Mormons celebrated Christmas, they must be Christians. To summarize the differences that venter leaves out — but is central to this point — is that the Bible teaches Jesus is the second person of the Godhead who became flesh by coming to earth to make available the plan of salvation. And He is creator of everything in the heaven and earth. In contrast, the Jesus of the Latter Day Saints is an exalted man from another planet somewhere out in space and is the spirit brother of Lucifer. Those two are not the same and both cannot be correct. The Jesus of Mormonism is not the Jesus of the Bible, and thus Mormonism cannot be Christian. They will not tell you that difference at first but instead look you in the eye and assure you that they are Christians too, like that venter is doing. That lie, you can become a god like they say Jesus did, is the same sin Adam and Eve fell for in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:5). It is usually given to a convert much later when it is not so hard to swallow and it is much more difficult for you to back out. There are many, many ex-Mormons around who know this.”
Dale Whiting posted at 7:56 am on Sun, Dec 25, 2011.
P.S. Looks like no one disagrees with venter #8. I am ventor #8.
Take a moment to sign on to Berney Sanders' web site to sign his petition for a Constitutional Amendment to overrule Citizens United. No way corporations are corpral with First Amendment Rights.
Brother Romney, only shareholders have First Amendment Rights. Change your position. The board of directions may direct shareholders to contribute to the issues and causes each deems best paying out as dividents the contributions Citizens United would permit be paid out to those special interests.
And let us have no more of these unconstitutional "secret combinations" that even the Book of Mormon condemns! Power corrupts and absolute power funded by huge moneyed special interests corrupts abolutely. Does anyone really doubt that we have the best politicians that money can buy?
You of all of these candidates ought to have known this principle! It's taught in our Church!
Dale Whiting posted at 7:46 am on Sun, Dec 25, 2011.
And so, in conclusion, I and [apparently] John Pack Lambert and Dan Knudsen, too [all first time ventors - welcome to the site brothers] are Mormons and Christians, too. This Christmas morning we join with other Christians to commemorate His birth [not His actual birthday, but one established by the professional theologians who in the dark ages [dark for their loss of understanding of His true nature] picked this date to redirect the ancient customes of northern heathens who would not give up their tree worship. Nevertheless, we wish you a momorable and Holy Christmas [meaning the mass devoted to Christ and His birth] and would love to see you in one of our congregations doing so, today.
John Pack Lambert posted at 11:25 pm on Sat, Dec 24, 2011.
Mormons believe that Jesus Christ was first born at Bethlehem in Judea. They do not believe he was from another planet. While they do affirm he was the Jehovah of the Old Testament as a Spirit being who did not have a body, I would say in general neither Protestants, Catholics, Jews or Mormons have a strong theological answer to where Jesus generally "lived" at that time.
The statement that Jesus is the second member of the Godhead is the standard method on the part of Mormons of describing his role.
Mormons believe in the Jesus Christ born as a babe in bethlehem, killed on the cross for our sins, and God, even the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, made flesh.
There are theological differences between Mormons and various other Christian groups, but they are not along the lines the author here argues and they generally can not be adequately explained in the space newspapers allow, at least not by people who start with the intention of misrepresenting the beliefs of others.
Dan Knudsen posted at 4:08 pm on Sat, Dec 24, 2011.
“Christian” God vs “Mormon” God
1--Christian God doesn’t want us to become like He is. Mormon God wants us to become like He is. He is all-powerful and can do anything He wants.
2--“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
Christian God says to be perfect like He is, but we can’t be like Him. Mormon God says we can become like Him.
3--...we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:16 - 18)
What are joint-heirs with Christ? How can we share equally with Him if we can’t become like Him? Mormon God makes sense. Which God would I rather worship, the One that promises a Dead-End Street, or the One who promises Endless possibilities for Eternity?
4--Christians say Mormons are non-Christian because Mormons don’t accept the Creeds, accepted by Christians as being equal to the Bible. Mormons are condemned for having scripture in addition to the Bible. What’s the difference between Mormon extra-Biblical scriptures, and extra-Biblical Creeds?
During Old Testament times, everytime a new prophet called people to repentance they hated him and tried to kill him. It’s easier to accept dead prophets than living prophets who keep telling us to repent.
Dale Whiting posted at 2:47 pm on Sat, Dec 24, 2011.
Christ is quoted as saying "My Father and I are one." But in that context he probably was meaning "one in unified purpose." He refers to His Father numerous times, none of which support the idea that they are just different manesfestations of an unknowable, abstract, creative force.
Christ told Mary not to touch him for he had not yet assended to his Father. He said he did nothing that he had not first seen His Father do. He said His Father's house had many mansions and the He was going there to prepare places for His followers, i.e. Christ's followers. He also said "If ye have seen me, ye have seen the Father.""The Father is in me and I am in the Father." But he stopped short of saying "I am the Father." John the Baptist, Christ's cousin, recounted that when he baptized Christ, the Holy Ghost descended from Heaven and lighted on Christ as a dove would have descended and a voice was heard to say "This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Like a proud Father, the Father of us all was highly pleased with His only begotten Son in the flesh. He was not pleased with Himself, but with His Son.
So all you creed Christians out there, you believe what you want to believe. I'll follow what Christ said and not what religious pundits said He said centuries later. We Mormons, i.e. members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, think we have gotten it right! But we understand you, too. We both are Christians. We just have a better, i.e. clearer, understanding of the relationship between God and Man.
truth posted at 10:53 am on Sat, Dec 24, 2011.
THE WAY ALL YOU ARE ACTING EVERYONE MUST BE A CHRISTIAN, CHRISTIANS AND HATE GO TOGETHER
MrNirom posted at 10:50 am on Sat, Dec 24, 2011.
The Bible says this.. the Bible says that. Does the Bible speak of the "Trinity" as described in Nicaean Creed?
It is well known that in the year a.d. 325 the Roman emperor Constantine (not even a Christian) convened the Council of Nicaea to address.. among other things... the growing issue of God’s alleged “trinity in unity.” What emerged from the heated contentions of churchmen, philosophers, and ecclesiastical dignitaries came to be known (after another 125 years and three more major councils) as the Nicene Creed, with later reformulations such as the Athanasian Creed. These various evolutions and iterations of creeds—and others to come over the centuries—declared the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to be abstract, absolute, transcendent, imminent, con-substantial, co-eternal, and unknowable, without body, parts, or passions and dwelling outside space and time. In such creeds all three members are separate persons, but they are a single being, the oft-noted “mystery of the trinity.” They are three distinct persons, yet not three Gods but one. All three persons are incomprehensible, yet it is one God who is incomprehensible.
I would have to agree with the part that the Christian God as defined in their creeds is certainly incomprehensible!!
If Christians can agree on what is God by their creeds and the many meetings and votings it took to describe a God that is NOT in the Bible.. then why should members of The Church of Jesus Christ not be allowed to describe God based on revelations received by a prophet of God?
Who is to say that the current revelation received is wrong? The creed believing Christians?
sdjtaz posted at 8:37 am on Sat, Dec 24, 2011.
Arizona Willie,
I've come to the conclusion that you are either ignorant of the facts or just like to flat out lie to protect Joe Arpaio.
Yes, you will have unsolved cases in the any large area. That was not the problem in these cases. The problem was that the Sheriff's Department FAILED TO EVEN INVESTIGATE THEM (the caps are there because you obviously do not understand this part). Failure to investigate these crimes is inconceivable. Because of the actions, over 400 individuals were subject to rape and other sex crimes against them, including several children who were molested and no one did the due diligence to try to bring the criminals to justice.
And your statement that Sheriff Joe didn't tell them not to solve the cases is a joke. Instead, he pulled staff away from the sex crimes unit to send the staff for his sweeps and his failed investigations into alleged government corruption, in which no one was ever tried or conviction. So your "great man" Sheriff Joe is directly responsible. He chose to use limited resources to round up gardeners and to conduct several politically motivated investigations instead of investigating sex crimes. As President Truman said, "The buck stops here", and Arpaio's choices make him directly responsible for the failure in these cases.
Ultimately, I think you need to learn the difference between the words "unsolved" and "uninvestigated" before you post again. Also, please show me any other large metropolitan police force that has failed to investigate over 400 sex crimes in their jurisdiction, then we can talk.
Arizona Willie posted at 8:26 pm on Fri, Dec 23, 2011.
Retiree2000, you could probably find just as many unsolved sex crimes in any large metropolitan area.
Not that it makes it right or good.
But the media writes like the cases are unsolved because Sheriff Joe personally told the detectives not to solve them.
Retiree2000 posted at 5:31 pm on Fri, Dec 23, 2011.
Mormonism is still a cult.
Where is the outrage about the MCSO dropping the ball on 432 sex crimes cases? What if the child victims had been your child or grandchild? That is just plain poor police work. Any appointed chief who allowed that to happen on his/her watch would have been fired immediately. Of course, this is Joe "Never-Met-a-Camera-I-Didn't-Like" Arpaio, who can do no wrong, in the eyes of most anti-illegals. Everyone forgets that most of the victims were Hispanic, but that is no indicator of discrimination on the part of 'Ol Joe, eh?
Dale Whiting posted at 3:09 pm on Fri, Dec 23, 2011.
OK LinMesa,
I'm a Mormon and know that Mormon's are Christians, too. We just don't prescribe the Nicean Creed. Chances are if you adopt the Nicean Creed or any of its variations, you are also a Christian. But when me Mormons identify ourselves as such, we are emphasizing this distinction. Does this help?
truth posted at 2:45 pm on Fri, Dec 23, 2011.
All you Republicans better lay of Romney he will be you only GOP choice.
LinMesa posted at 2:42 pm on Fri, Dec 23, 2011.
Also regarding the 10th vent, in all these Mormom ads their church is running they all say the same thing, "and I'm a mormon". Not one of them says they are a Christian.
Are the ads a political thing hoping to make people more comfortable with the mormons so Mitt Romney can become president? What happened to the Supreme Court law regarding separation of church and state?
Accuracy posted at 1:15 pm on Fri, Dec 23, 2011.
Tenth Venter – who wrote: “Mormonism cannot be Christian.”
Many evangelical Christians have reservations about Mormon’s actual theology and history. And there’s recent criticism of GOP candidate Mitt Romney's Mormon beliefs.
Widely known Joel Osteen, who pastors Lakewood Church in Houston, said he believes Mormon's are Christians, even though other denominations may disagree with some aspects of the faith.
"I hear Mitt Romney -- and I've never met him -- but I hear him say, 'I believe Jesus is the son of God,' 'I believe He's my savior,' and that's one of the core issues," Osteen said.
The Mormon Church claims to be a divine restoration of Christ's true church, and claims its basic beliefs place it outside the standard doctrines of Christianity.
sdjtaz posted at 1:14 pm on Fri, Dec 23, 2011.
For those supporting the "sweeps" by Sheriff Arpaio, I want to pose a couple of thoughts. First, to the individual stating "if it looks like a duck...", you are right. If it looks like the Sheriff and his staff are pulling people over based on the color of their skin, then it is discrimination no matter how you want to look at it. Since most white collar criminals are white, using your philosophy, the Sheriff be doing sweeps at the golf courses and country clubs in Scottsdale. If you are so all fired up by illegal immigration, you should be speaking proudly of the current administration and ICE. Afterall, last year they detained the highest number of illegal aliens in their history (nearly 400,000) and border crossings are at their lowest in years.
Also, anytime the Sheriff's department holds one of their sweeps, there are costs. Not only the costs to do the sweeps, but also the opportunity costs involved for lost opportunities. We know that the Sheriff was pulling individuals away from the sex crimes bureau to do these sweeps. I question which should be a higher priority (actually, I don't question it, I know that investigate sex crimes, including crimes against children should have a significantly higher priority.)
Regarding Romney: it's funny that you would only point out one Republican candidate, since many of them are suffering from this same problem. We have heard people from the Bachmann, Cain, Perry, and Gingrich camps all backtrack.
To the individual complaining about the changes in Real Estate taxes: Guess what, before Obama can do anything, it needs to go through Congress and as we've seen with the withholding tax arguments, the Republicans are willing to hold everything up just to make Obama a one-term President (which seems to be failing). Instead of just blaming the President, you should also look to the whole system.
Finally, regarding who is Christian and what influence they have: I don't really care who is or is not Christian. Each of you can fight that out. Just please don't try to use the government to force me to bend to your belief. This is why we have freedom of religion (and also freedom from religion).