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90 pages

English

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David L. Rowe asserts that many Mormons view Christian witnessing as Bible bashing. What Christians need to understand, he suggests, is that Latter-day Saints are an entirely separate ethnic group with their own history, values, and customs. Evangelizing Mormons can be so much more effective if Christians first know, understand, and respect Mormon heritage.With helpful illustrations and discussions of Mormon values and theology, Rowe calls Christians away from confrontational evangelism and instead suggests active listening and respect as a way to bridge Christian beliefs and Mormon culture. A glossary in the back of the book and discussion questions at the end of each chapter will help readers apply these concepts in their own witnessing experiences. In the end, Christians will be more approachable representatives of Christ.

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Comparative religion

Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 août 2005
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441201461
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0461€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Mormonism is an experiential religion. People who want to argue with Mormons about the teachings and the texts of their religion may seriously miss the opportunity to communicate. David Rowe helps readers understand how Mormonism functions as a culture, a way of life, and even as a catalyst for burning-in-the-bosom moments of personal transcendence. Following Rowe s insights can help readers create points of deep personal contact with Mormons-and the potential for transformation.
David Neff, editor and vice president, Christianity Today
For the past thirteen years, I have developed wonderful friendships with a small group of religion professors at Brigham Young University, all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in good standing. Through extensive conversations I have learned firsthand what they actually believe and teach, what directions the church is heading in the twenty-first century, and how evangelical Christians are generally perceived in LDS circles. When people have asked me for the best resource available for how best to interact with LDS friends today with respect to religious topics, I have told them, The Bridges video series, produced by Salt Lake Seminary. Now similar material is even more accessible in this book. A must read for all who care about this topic.
Craig L. Blomberg, distinguished professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary
Dave Rowe not only loves Mormons, he understands that an essential requirement of love is truth telling. He writes candidly about the appeal and burdens of Mormonism, the differences between it and historic Christianity, and our often counterproductive attempts to share our faith with Latter-day Saints. This book should be required reading for all who know Mormons or will soon know Mormons-which is to say, almost everyone. It is written with clarity, practicality, and most of all charity.
Donald McCullough, president, Salt Lake Theological Seminary
This is a highly commendable example of the apostle Paul s directive to Timothy, his fellow missionary. In his enlightening discussion of how to witness effectively to Mormons, Dr. Rowe exhibits not only keen logic and detailed knowledge but an irenic spirit and gracious attitude. Here we have missionary apologetics at its best.
Vernon Grounds, chancellor, Denver Seminary
Something is wrong with witness when one consistently wins arguments but never souls. The habits of the Mormon heart are not reshaped by confrontation with the gospel but by confession of the gospel. David Rowe teaches us lessons in faithful confession to Mormon culture. Live these lessons, and the lives of those around you will turn Godward.
Terry C. Muck, professor of mission and world religion, Asbury Theological Seminary
For over a century and a half, evangelicals have written books condemning Mormon belief and practice. Not surprisingly, these books engendered a style of evangelism focused on winning arguments, not people. Dave Rowe has written a new kind of book-one that endeavors to make the Good News actually sound like good news to Mormons. His three decades of ministry in Utah has given him insights into Mormon culture and the Mormon mind-set that are a tremendous help to those who want to reach their Mormon friends.
Ken Mulholland, founder and former president, Salt Lake Theological Seminary
What a fresh, creative approach to sharing the gospel with those of the Latter-day Saints faith! In his delightful narrative style, David encourages the reader to accompany him in his own journey in coming to understand how to relate to Mormons. He demonstrates a key understanding of Mormonism: it is not just another religion, another cult, but a culture. He does this without any compromise to the teachings of historic Christianity but displays a genuine love and respect for Mormons. From my own experience of pastoring a church in Utah for twenty years, I can t emphasize strongly enough that this is such an important concept to grasp if one is to be effective in relating to them. The questions at the end of each chapter are a great help toward applying these principles to our own situation.
Les Magee, former pastor of Washington Heights Church, Salt Lake City
I have been a serious student of the Mormon Church and Mormon culture for forty-five years. I grew up in the state of Utah, and I ministered as a pastor in Utah for thirty-three years. I have read dozens of books over the years about Mormon history; Mormon theology, beliefs, and practices; and how to witness to or share the gospel with Mormon people. This is the best book I have read on understanding Mormon culture and communicating effectively with Mormon people. David Rowe writes out of decades of experience of living in Utah and interacting with Mormon people. This is not a theoretical treatise, but rather a practical and compassionate approach to living constructively as a Protestant Christian in a setting dominated by Mormon culture.
Jeff Silliman, executive presbyter, Presbytery of Riverside, San Bernardino, California
I MORMONS
I MORMONS
A New Way to Share Christ with Latter-day Saints
DAVID L. ROWE, PH.D.
2005 by David L. Rowe
Published by Baker Books a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakerbooks.com
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-for example, electronic, photocopy, recording-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rowe, David L.
I love Mormons : a new way to share Christ with Latter-day Saints / David L. Rowe.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8010-6522-4 (pbk.) 1. Missions to Mormoms. I. Title.
BV2627.R69 2005 266'.0088'2893-dc22 2005005245
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture marked Message is taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Contents
Preface
Introduction
1 Hard-Won Lessons in Evangelistic Football: A Personal Experience
2 At the Heart of The Forgotten Sector : The Cultural Nerve Center
3 Roots and Wings: The Imprint of Mormon Culture
4 Mormon Theology 101: The Template of Official Beliefs
5 101 Laboratory: The So-Whats of Discussing Theology with Mormons
6 Mormons in Transition: The Travels and Travails
7 Love It or Leave It: Two Stories
8 The Heart of the Matter: Learning to Speak Mormonese
9 Speaking Mormonese: Stories and Sensibilities
10 Concluding the Journey: Is Your Church a Safe Harbor?
Appendix 1: The Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: With Annotations by the Author
Appendix 2: Changes in Mormon Doctrine: An Example
Appendix 3: Relating to Mormon Missionaries: A Model Story
Notes
A Selective Glossary of LDS Terms
Resources
Preface
We felt respected, said the Mormon student who lingered at the front of the lecture hall longer than all the other questioners. Five of her Latter-day Saints friends lingered with her, and all of them nodded their agreement. We were at Baylor University, and I had just given a long-planned, carefully crafted lecture titled The Creed and Culture of Mormonism. The administrator who helped plan the event expected it to draw twenty-two people, including you and me, but to everyone s astonishment, the three-hundred-seat hall was packed! The planners and I had prayed hard for precisely the above response from any Mormons who might attend. We were overjoyed.
Such respect for this people called Mormons, born of and carried on the wings of a deep love for them (despite deep disagreements with some of their distinctives), embodies the spirit as well as one of the major objectives of this book. My prayer, my dream, is that you, the reader, would come to understand Latter-day Saints and their culture and wed this understanding to a profound love and respect for them that they will sense as you relate to them. This is how bridges for the biblical gospel will be built into their world, their lives, and even their worldwide church.
This prayer, this dream, is not mine alone. And truth be told, it did not originate with me. I m articulating an innovative approach crafted out of the collective reflection and hard-won experiences of my colleagues and me at Salt Lake Theological Seminary. We have sought to live well and love well for Christ as traditional Christians in the context of a Mormon culture. Our approach was distilled most definitively in 2000 with a series of training videos we developed called Bridges: Helping Mormons Discover God s Grace. This book follows the contours of that series and is designed in part to serve as a companion study to it. I quote freely-and enthusiastically-from the Bridges material.
So my first acknowledgment after the Lord Jesus Christ is to my seminary colleagues, especially founding president Ken Mulholland, who incarnate the concepts expressed here in their very lives and have helped me invaluably in providing resources and editing the manuscript. Thanks go as well to those willing to be interviewed for the book who have traveled roads I have not and so give life to what I write, especially Paul and Jenna Murphy, Dave and Jan Castro, Les Magee, and Scott McKinney. I m also very grateful to Chad Allen, my editor at Baker, for encouraging me to write this book in the first place; he rightly saw the Bridges approach as a much-needed, new, and distinctive message on the subject of how t