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 The Rev. Robert Jeffress, who supports Texas Gov. Rick Perry, stirred a hornet's nest by saying he believes Mormonism is a cult.
October 11th, 2011
12:08 PM ET
Your take: Is Mormonism a cult?(CNN) - We ran a column Monday from Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, an evangelical school in Pasadena, California, called "My Take: This evangelical says Mormonism isn’t a cult." Mouw followed up on comments that the Rev. Robert Jeffress made at the Values Voter Summit, where he introduced and endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry. After Perry spoke, Jeffress told reporters in the hallway and in subsequent interviews that he thought Mormonism is a cult and that evangelicals should not vote for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney because of his faith and a host of other reasons. Mouw countered he did not think the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormonism, was a cult. He also said he was not ready to say it fit in with orthodox Christianity but noted there was dialogue between evangelicals and Mormons on a broad range of issues. The piece drew out the passions of readers on all sides of the issue and racked up 11,000 Facebook likes and 2,500 comments. Here's a nonscientific collection of your thoughts on the matter:
October 11th, 2011
08:47 AM ET
Q and A: Coptic ChristiansBy Dave Gilbert, CNN London (CNN) - Violence has returned to the streets of Cairo - this time in fresh confrontations between army forces and pro-Coptic Christian protesters. Accounts of the casualties vary but an Egyptian health ministry spokesman told CNN that 25 people had been killed and more than 272 injured during the weekend protests that were sparked by the burning of a Coptic Christian church in southern Egypt. There has been long-standing tension between Egypt's Coptic Christians and Muslims but CNN's Ben Wedeman says that since this year's revolution that removed the former President Hosni Mubarak there have been more of these clashes. Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has tried to deal with the tension by organizing a committee made up of representatives from Coptic Christians, Muslims, the military and government but Wedeman reports that some members have now suspended cooperation or quit over the government's handling of the situation. State TV reported that Ahmed al-Tayyeb, a prominent Egyptian Muslim leader and grand imam of Al-Azhar, has also been reaching out to Coptic church leaders in hopes of containing the crisis. CNN examines the background to the renewed violence. FULL STORY
October 11th, 2011
07:26 AM ET
Einstein letter on Nazi persecution of Jews for saleBy Richard Allen Greene, CNN (CNN) - A letter from Albert Einstein warning of the persecution of Jews in Germany on the eve of World War II is up for auction in California, with the sale ending Tuesday evening Pacific time. The physicist writes of the importance of "rescuing our persecuted fellow-Jews from their calamitous peril and leading them toward a better future" in the June 10, 1939 letter. Einstein praises New York businessman Hyman Zinn for his "splendid work" on behalf of refugees. "We have no other means of self-defense than our solidarity and our knowledge that the cause for which we are suffering is a momentous and sacred cause," Einstein writes to Zinn, of the Manhattan Button Company.  The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, (left) meets with women in Zimbabwe.
October 11th, 2011
07:05 AM ET
My Take: Archbishop goes where Western leaders won’t
By Nick Spencer, Special to CNN (CNN)–Striding across the world stage and challenging dictatorial regimes, he cuts an unlikely figure. But Monday the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, met with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. The agenda was not published, but it seems clear that the discussion was likely heated. In Zimbabwe, nothing is sacred in the power contest - state, economy, land nor church. |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's Note: Nick Spencer is research director at 