Are Mormons Christians?

[WinePusher]

I have some christian family members who say that Mormons are not really christians. Most mainstream christian theologians, (William Lane Craig,
Dinesh D' Souza, Scott Hahn, Billy Graham) also say that Mormons are not really Christians.

I am not educated on Mormon theology, and it only leads to misinformation when you judge something that your not educated on, so I have no position on the issue.

Are Mormons Christians? I would invite any Mormons on this site to defend or explain their beliefs.

[Crazy Ivan]

However, they have some theology that is distinctly non-Christian.

But to say that you must have already defined what a "Christian" is, and there would be no issue.

How far can you deviate from a central concept , and still remain part of the original tree??

Perhaps as far as the etymology of the word allows?

I personally think they are a religion that is 'of christian heritage', but deviated far enough they are something other than "Christian". They are still an 'abrahamic' heritage religion, but diverse enough that they could be considered a new 'species'.

Maybe "Christian" is the "genus".

[fredonly]

The question is not whether Mormons are True Christian. All Christian groups necessarily believe that other Christian groups are less true than themselves (otherwise they would jump ship, would you stay in a less true group).

Are Mormons Christians? They claim to be. They claim to follow the teachings and example of Jesus.

Galatians 1:8
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

Mormons' gospel is contrary to the teachings of Christ and his apostles. Therefore, how could they call themselves Christians?

What teachings of the apostles do the Mormons contradict?

Interestingly, many Christian denominations contradict the teachings of Jesus:

Matthew 5:17-20:
17Don't suppose that I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. 18Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you that not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen. 19If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. 20You must obey God's commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don't, I promise you that you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

And yet some denominations insist a person is saved through faith alone (Sola Fide). Do you also insist THEY are not true Christians? Their teaching is clearly contradictory to the teaching of Jesus,

[rsvp]

Interestingly, many Christian denominations contradict the teachings of Jesus:

Matthew 5:17-20:
17Don't suppose that I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. 18Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you that not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen. 19If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. 20You must obey God's commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don't, I promise you that you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

And yet some denominations insist a person is saved through faith alone (Sola Fide). Do you also insist THEY are not true Christians? Their teaching is clearly contradictory to the teaching of Jesus,

Yes ,I insist they are not Christians.

[rsvp]

What teachings of the apostles do the Mormons contradict?

Please check out the web site I posted. If you want to debate one of the teachings just pick one from there.

[fredonly]

The question is not whether Mormons are True Christian. All Christian groups necessarily believe that other Christian groups are less true than themselves (otherwise they would jump ship, would you stay in a less true group).

Are Mormons Christians? They claim to be. They claim to follow the teachings and example of Jesus.

However, they have some theology that is distinctly non-Christian. How far can you deviate from a central concept , and still remain part of the original tree?? I personally think they are a religion that is 'of christian heritage', but deviated far enough they are something other than "Christian". They are still an 'abrahamic' heritage religion, but diverse enough that they could be considered a new 'species'.

How do you decide when a variant theology is "non-Christian?" Speaking of heritage, consider variants from the 2nd century: Were Marcionites "Christian?" Were the various groups, which are generally called "Gnostic Christians" -- Christian? What about the 3rd century variant doctrine of Arianism - were the adherents not Chrisitan?

Is the doctrine of transsubstantiation a Christian doctrine? Are Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians the only true Christians because they believe this, or would you specifically exclude them for believing this "heresy?"

How close to orthodoxy must one be for you to allow a group to be considered Christian? Objectively speaking, who is in a position to decide this? As I pointed out earlier, there could be a temptation for each sect to define Christian very narrowly - exclusive to their particular faith. If you'd allow for a bit of variation, where do you stop - and why?

[Jester]

Moderator Comment

Check out the web site.

This would be considered a one-liner post.
It is against the rules to tell someone to read a site as a sole response to a challenge. Please be careful about that in the future.

[fredonly]

I looked at the link RSVP provided, and it certainly does list a number of inconsistencies between the book of Mormon and the Bible. So what? There are inconsistencies among the 4 Gospels in the canonical New Testament!

Setting that aside, keep in mind that the first NT writings to be regarded as scripture were the Epistles of Paul. So in the early years of the Church, there were "Christians" who lacked written Gospels and the non-Pauline epistles! Do you exclude them from being labelled Christian?

Later, there were Christians who accepted other books as being scripture, such as the Gospel of Peter and the Shepherd of Hermas. They contain statements that contradict the Bible that you accept, so does that mean you would refuse to call them Christian?

My definition of Christian is simple: anyone who calls himself a Christian. Please provide your definition, one that will make it easy to discern whether or not the label applies to a given group.

[Crazy Ivan]

My definition of Christian is simple: anyone who calls himself a Christian. Please provide your definition, one that will make it easy to discern whether or not the label applies to a given group.

Personally, I stick to the etymology of the word, and define the word as broadly as possible. "Calling himself one" is not reflected by the etymology. "Follower of an anointed" seems to be as broad as possible. Doesn't even have to be Jesus...

[fredonly]

My definition of Christian is simple: anyone who calls himself a Christian. Please provide your definition, one that will make it easy to discern whether or not the label applies to a given group.

Personally, I stick to the etymology of the word, and define the word as broadly as possible. "Calling himself one" is not reflected by the etymology. "Follower of an anointed" seems to be as broad as possible. Doesn't even have to be Jesus...

I you every write or speak of Christians, you will always need to preface your remarks by defining the term - or you will be misunderstood.

I'm curious: are you a Republican? If so, you might think all Democrats are Christian.

[Kuan]

I'm Mormon and I consider myself Christian, I believe in Jesus, I pray to him, and worship him and the father, doesn't that constitute a Christian?[/strike]