DiscussMormonism.com

Roger wrote:Because they have so radically altered the attributes of the orthodox God and Jesus Christ that they are no longer the original. We can debate which version of God is the right version, the Orthodox 1.0 or the LDS 1.8 but they are radically different. Even Hinckley recognized that.

All the best.

Well, I see your point but I still feel that if a person believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ then you could logically lump them with Christians.

Maybe if I could understand what the 3 biggest factors making a person Christian are. What are those?

1. He is the son of god
2. savior of humanity (from sin)
3. ....

There might be some huge differences in how Mormons and others believe in #1 and #2 but if those are the two most important ideas, and they have them, why not put them in the same category?

But I see your point. If Mormons have altered the ideas behind the nature of god so much that it is radically different than all other Christian sects then I could see how you think they don't belong.

The problem is, Mormons believe they have the correct core beliefs and all other Christians have the "radically changed" version. We are going to end up in a contradiction match rather than an argument here because how can you say one is right and the other wrong?

Maybe you could define a Christian as the person that is most like the rest of those with the label Christian.... I don't know.

MCB wrote:

MCB wrote:The LDS who place Joseph Smith slightly below JC are the silliest.

I had to go back and review to see if I made a mistake. Confirmed:

You are constructing a strawman. I never said Mormons place Joseph Smith above JC.

If I did, it was unintentional. Here's the post that has me confused - viewtopic.php?p=363931#p363931

Maybe you could define a Christian as the person that is most like the rest of those with the label Christian.... I don't know.

Turn Christianity into a statistical construct? Like people with high IQ's are people who do well on IQ tests? That would work well as a compromise, Fringe Christians or marginal Christians, or some such word.

Tribe:

AAH. Ok. Misunderstanding straightened out, then. Too tired of looking for appropriate smilie. Shake hands?

MCB wrote:Tribe:

AAH. Ok. Misunderstanding straightened out, then. Too tired of looking for appropriate smilie. Shake hands?

Sure.

ttribe,

For argument sakes, lets use a LDS chapel to represent Mormon theology.

Sure, there is a Jesus Christ in the center of the LDS chapel, and one can see that and see this version of Christ in the center of the LDS chapel.

However, you must get past the doorman of this LDS chapel.

That doorman is Joseph Smith Jr.

My point is this, you CANNOT be a Christian in the Mormon church without believing that Smith was a divine prophet of God.

Look at the supposed foundation of the LDS church... the Book of Mormon. Who wrote it? Smith.

in my opinion, Mormonism is nothing but multi-level-marketing Christianity.

Polygamy-Porter wrote:ttribe,

For argument sakes, lets use a LDS chapel to represent Mormon theology.

Sure, there is a Jesus Christ in the center of the LDS chapel, and one can see that and see this version of Christ in the center of the LDS chapel.

However, you must get past the doorman of this LDS chapel.

That doorman is Joseph Smith Jr.

My point is this, you CANNOT be a Christian in the Mormon church without believing that Smith was a divine prophet of God.

Sure you can. Whether you can remain a member on the rolls maybe something different, but you can be a Christian all you want.

Polygamy-Porter wrote:Look at the supposed foundation of the LDS church... the Book of Mormon. Who wrote it? Smith.

in my opinion, Mormonism is nothing but multi-level-marketing Christianity.

I'm fully aware of your opinion, thanks.

They believe in a Mormon Man god who is married to multiple Mormon Women gods who committed fornication/adultery with an underaged Jewish girl which resulted in her becoming pregnant and giving birth to a Bastard Mormon Jesus who is not without spot or blemish as required in scriptures.

Zeez:

There might be some huge differences in how Mormons and others believe in #1 and #2 but if those are the two most important ideas, and they have them, why not put them in the same category?

Well if it's a game of classifying which religion is Mormonism closest to, then, sure, Christianity wins. The problem is Mormonism is either the correct version of Christianity (and all others are incomplete at best) or it's a heresy. So it depends on which perspective you're coming from. Modalism (for example) is about the same thing... it's either the correct version of Christianity or it's heresy. Not so with most other mainline denominations. They have divergent interpretations but none of the variants go so far as being heretical.

But I see your point. If Mormons have altered the ideas behind the nature of god so much that it is radically different than all other Christian sects then I could see how you think they don't belong.

Its even more than just "they don't belong" it's that they've corrupted the real thing and teach a false gospel.

The problem is, Mormons believe they have the correct core beliefs and all other Christians have the "radically changed" version. We are going to end up in a contradiction match rather than an argument here because how can you say one is right and the other wrong?

Exactly. In my opinion it all hinges on the credibility of Joseph Smith. Need I say more?

Maybe you could define a Christian as the person that is most like the rest of those with the label Christian.... I don't know.

Well that's pretty much what orthodoxy is. We simply believe that Orthodox Christianity won the battle (against all other heretical ideas) because it is true... not the other way around. Of course people like Bart Ehrman disagree with that.

All the best.

The biggest thing that separates LDS theology and Christian theology is that LDS theology teaches that man can be equal in nature and power with God. And, that God was once a man. if there was nothing else, this is more than enough to separate the two theology's forever.

MG

ttribe wrote:Sure you can. Whether you can remain a member on the rolls maybe something different, but you can be a Christian all you want.

That seems to diminish the importance of belief in Christ does it not?