Exploiting the Gospel: the Problem of Identity-Politics

It’s been several months since venturing into the blogging community. Overall it has been a great learning experience and I value the people I’ve met. I’m continually asking myself: what are the barriers and obstacles to dialogue, and to interfaith dialogue in particular? I’ve been encouraged by those of different faiths who have come into conversation with civility and class.

For me, it has been easy to predict and anticipate the reaction from segments of the Evangelical community when a Mormon and Evangelical engage in dialogue. From Robinson and Blomberg to Millet and Johnson and McDermott and others, a backlash from the counter-cult movement is inevitable, and the spill over to less-apologetic Evangelicals, who have been influenced by the counter-cult movement, is predictable and perhaps even ‘normal’ given the long history and dynamics that these groups share.

What has been more difficult to anticipate is the reaction from the Latter-day Saint community as a result of Mormon-Evangelical dialogue.  Due to a long, unfortunate and polemical past, one would think Latter-day Saints would welcome with open arms not only something different from the typical bland anti-Mormon fare, but appreciate the opportunity for mutual understanding that results from the ‘novel’ and ‘innovative’ approach of dialogue.  For the most part, I believe this to be the case.