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As the National Association of Evangelicals' Richard Cizik told The Washington Monthly, "Most evangelicals still regard Mormonism as a cult." Even more see Mormons as non-Christians—or worse—while seeing liberal Protestants as "bad Christians"—though both groups equally deny classical Christian doctrine on revelation, the full divinity of Christ, the nature of man, and other key points.

With their strong family values, constant Jesus talk, and passion for evangelism, Mormons seem almost like evangelicals' cultural twins. In some ways, they represent our ideal.

Maybe that's one reason why so many evangelicals are more comfortable with liberal Protestantism than with Mormonism. We like our differences stark, with red-and-blue color coding. We'd rather see The Da Vinci Code than States of Grace.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released this week examined whether Americans would be more likely to vote for a candidate who is Catholic, Jewish, evangelical, Mormon, or Muslim.

This column appeared in the magazine's July 2006 print issue as the twelfth entry of "Weblog in Print," CT's effort to duplicate on paper our popular online Weblog feature. Earlier entries include:

Peace, Peace | From the front page to the obits, one day's news about Christian peacemaking. (Apr. 18, 2006)

The Art of Abortion Politics | A unanimous Supreme Court decision opens the door to real change. (Feb. 20, 2006)

Time to Get Judicially Serious | Evangelicals and the possible Supreme Court Catholic majority. (Dec. 28, 2005)

The Katrina Quandary | America questions the role of Christian charity. (Oct. 20, 2005)

Abolishing Abstinence | Telling underage kids not to have sex is surprisingly controversial (Aug. 24, 2005)

Dirty Qur'ans, Dusty Bibles | If Leviticus or Jude suddenly disappeared from Scripture, would we notice? (June 20, 2005)

Who's Driving This Thing? | Everyone is asking who leads the evangelical movement. (Feb. 21, 2005)

Bad Believers, Non-Believers | Do religious labels really mean anything? (Oct. 19, 2004)

Pro-Abortion Madness | The abortion lobby has abandoned its rationales amid pro-life gains. (Aug. 17, 2004)

Grave Images | The photos from Abu Ghraib have reopened debate on the power of pictures.

Misfires in the Tolerance Wars | Separating church and state now means separating belief and action (Feb. 24, 2004)

Previous Christianity Today coverage of Mormon-evangelical relations includes:

Evangelist in Brigham Young's Court | Ravi Zacharias preaches to Mormons about the uniqueness of Christ. (Dec. 7, 2004)

Weblog: Ravi Zacharias, Rich Mouw Speak in Mormon Tabernacle | Indian-born apologist notes differences with LDS, Fuller head offers apology (Nov. 16, 2004)

Weblog: Ravi Zacharias to Speak at Mormon Tabernacle | Mormons open top pulpit to evangelical apologist (Sept. 17, 2004)

Winning Them Softly | Evangelicals try to reach Mormons with respect—and hard science. (Jan. 16, 2004)

Temple Square Face-off | Baptist evangelist irks LDS, but court is on his side. (Dec. 9, 2002)

Weblog: Must Christianity Include Mormonism? | Dartmouth Christian group "intolerant" for barring Mormon student leaders (July 18, 2001)

Mormon Makeover | An effective evangelical witness hinges on understanding the new face of Latter-day Saints. Reviewed by Richard J. Mouw (Mar 6, 2000)

A Peacemaker in Provo | How one Pentecostal pastor taught his Congregation to love Mormons (Feb. 9, 2000)

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July 2006, Vol. 50, No. 7