That’s what Richard J. Mouw says. At this point, I’ll take it.

I’ve seen plenty of articles that point out the technical meaning of the word cult, and how Mormonism fits into that little box because it is outside of the prescribed norm, but I find the discussion frustrating because it’s not what people mean when they use the phrase. They don’t mean “Not Catholic”, they are saying:

weird
strange
different

Aren’t we all?

Here is a thought experiment for you. I want you to think of every single person you have known or associated with in your lifetime. Got it? Every one of them. Now tell me who is the most normal. Did they grow up in a house with a backyard and a dog, parents who stayed married, one sibling, state college, and now work selling insurance while running races and volunteering on the weekends? That could be one definition of normal.

Now go knock on your neighbor’s door, and ask them to describe the most normal person they have ever known. Hop three states over, try that again.

Now move to the neighboring country (let’s say, Mexico for us Americans) and give it another try. What if you did that same thing in Africa, Australia, Russia, and Egypt. Would you ever get the same answer for the perfect definition of a normal person?

No way, because normal doesn’t exist. Average sort of does, but even that is regional and entirely based on cultures, and only represents what the majority are like.

We can work on the Christian thing later, but for now, let’s admit that neither I, nor you, are normal. And our religion has nothing to do with it.

Also: