Dave's Mormon Inquiry: Christian Fraternity Draws the Line

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Christian Fraternity Draws the Line

As reported by the University of New Mexico student newspaper: the local chapter of Kappa Upsilon Chi will admit Baptists, Catholics, and Methodists, but not Mormons. The Wikipedia entry for KUC gives a clue to what's going on: "Kappa Upsilon Chi was founded in 1993 at Texas Tech University and has expanded across the southern United States of America." So it's a fraternity for ... a certain sort of Christian.

Sep 10, 2008 in Christian News | Permalink

Comments

It's time we Mormons throw in the towel on this one. We are not going to be accepted into the Christian club. Neither are the Jehovah's Witnesses, but I don't see them frothing at the mouth over it.

Bottom line is that we Mormons have a club of sorts too, it's called the temple. We take it so far as to prevent people from seeing their children get married if they are not card-toting members of our club.

We both have clubs and at rock bottom we both condemn the other club to hell (at least doctrinally, the person in the pew might have a different opinion). Let's all grow up and move on.

Posted by: David Clark | Sep 10, 2008 at 12:01 PM

we both condemn the other club to hell

Yeah, but the Mormon hell is a pretty sweet gig.

Posted by: Peter LLC | Sep 10, 2008 at 12:34 PM

Yes, I'm not really pushing for the fraternity to be forced to admit Mormons -- the right of free association includes the right to not associate, and should not be dismissed lightly. On the other hand, given that groups make choices as to who they admit, they live with the consequences, both good and ill.

Posted by: Dave | Sep 10, 2008 at 12:54 PM

Kudos to John Bundy for having the courage to reaching beyond the boundaries of his own community. Too bad, the Greeks did not reciprocate his tolerance but they are hurting themselves more than him.

I joined a dueling fraternity that is based on the tolerance principle. One of the best decisions of my life . . .

Posted by: Hellmut | Sep 10, 2008 at 08:34 PM

correction: to reach
Sorry for the poor grammar.

Posted by: Hellmut | Sep 10, 2008 at 08:36 PM

I sort of agree with Dave Clark. We do consider ourselves peculiar people - we shouldn't be too offended if others do, too.

And you could argue about Biblical theology till the cows come home and wouldn't get anywhere. Been there, done that.

We can perhaps join more open-minded people in community service.

Posted by: Velska | Sep 11, 2008 at 02:30 AM

Fraternal organizations are all about being exclusive. I would be proud to stay out of this one.

Posted by: Jim Cobabe | Sep 11, 2008 at 08:13 PM

The comments to this entry are closed.

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Contemporary Mormonism: Latter-day Saints in Modern America
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Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith
Nibley's daughter takes swipes at BYU, Utah, Mormons, and her family, while creating pages of dialogue out of thin air and a caricature of LDS history. No footnotes, no index, no credibility.
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On the Road With Joseph Smith: An Author's Diary
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A Mormon in the White House?
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LDS CEOs on how to succeed in business without selling your soul.
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Kathleen Flake: The Politics of American Religious Identity: The Seating of Senator Reed Smoot, Mormon Apostle
How a generation of Mormons learned the art of politics and became full-fledged Americans again.
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Between the Testaments: From Malachi to Matthew
Fill in that puzzling 500-year gap between the Old and New Testaments.
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Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years among the Mormons
A collection of essays by Jan Shipps giving her reflections on 40 years as a sympathetic scholar of Mormonism.
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Prince & Wright: David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism
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Hardy: Solemn Covenant
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"God Has Made Us a Kingdom"
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Proving Contraries
A collection honoring Eugene England.
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Davies: The Mormon Culture of Salvation
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Bushman: JS: Rough Stone Rolling
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Adventures of a Church Historian
An insider's view of Church history.
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Bradley: Pedestals And Podiums
LDS women and the ERA.
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The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship
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OSC: The Folk of the Fringe
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Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1845
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Alexander: Mormonism in Transition
The emergence of the modern Church from 1890 to 1930.
The Prophet Puzzle
A collection of 15 interpretive essays on Joseph Smith.
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Brigham Young: American Moses
Best bio of Brigham Young.
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God and Country: Politics in Utah
"Outsiders" share their views.
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Barlow: Mormons and the Bible
A quiet classic.
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Remini: Joseph Smith
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Arrington: The Mormon Experience
Best 1-vol. history of the LDS Church.
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Givens: By the Hand of Mormon
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An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
A candid if uneven retelling of Mormon history; not for the LDS history newbie.
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Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith
Best bio of Mormonism's First Lady.
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Marvin Hill: Quest for Refuge
• Online book! • The Mormon flight from American pluralism and the failed quest for a Mormon Kingdom.
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Garry Wills: Head and Heart: American Christianities
Puritans, Deists, and Evangelicals battle for American hearts and minds. My Post
Christianity: A Very Short Introduction
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The Language God Talks: On Science and Religion
Author Herman Wouk contrasts the scientific and literary modes of apprehending God. • My Post
C David Grant: Thinking Through Our Faith: Theology for 21st Century Christians
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American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
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God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World -- and Why Their Differences Matter
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Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate
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God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution
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Stephen Prothero: Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't
Noted scholar of religion laments the religious ignorance of Americans (first half of book) and provides a 90-page "dictionary of religious literacy" to help solve the problem.
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Martin Marty: The Christian World: A Global History
An insighful continent-by-continent history by a superb scholar of Christianity.
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Bart D. Ehrman: God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer
Ehrman examines five biblical explanations for suffering and evil: divine punishment, human action, redemptive suffering, inscrutable mystery, and apocalyptic dualism.
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F. E. Peters: The Voice, the Word, the Books: The Sacred Scripture of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims
Great scholarly overview of scripture as a general category. Jacket blurb: "Brings the latest Biblical and Quranic scholarship to a general audience."