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Are mormons not christians?

by disputin 12y ago

danieltillett 12y ago
They are Christians in the same sense as Moslems are.
- tinco 12y ago
  No. Muslims believe only parts of the Christian bible are divine. Mormons believe all parts of both the old and the new testament are divine, and addition believe in a third book (that I've only read the intro to) which has additional tales of Jesus Christ and companions. They are as Christian as catholics are, perhaps even more so as in my opinion they follow his ideology a whole lot better.
- wwweston 12y ago
  Unless Muslims believe in Jesus as deity (and salvation through Christ's atonement) as Mormons do, that seems an unlikely statement. Mormons do get drawn outside of Christianity by some christians for a variety of reasons (non-trinitarian, open canon, cosmological background quasi-polytheism), and some people have suggested classifying the faith as another Abrahamic one as a means of sidestepping that discussion, which may be where one could get the idea that the comparison to Muslims is a good one. But if Mormons are outside mainstream Christianity, it's only marginally so.
  - danieltillett 12y ago
    The point I was making is that both Islam and Mormonism are based on Christianity and so share many common beliefs, but they both extend on this base. Personally I find Mormonism a fascinating religion, but I do think it has moved past being just another branch of Christianity.
jqm 12y ago
Mormons claim Christianity and espouse some Christian principals (i.e. blood atonement for sins of the world), although many of their beliefs (i.e. God is an evolved man and through adherence to Mormon doctrine men can become Gods after death) put them well outside the realm of what is considered mainstream Christianity. I'm not sure these additional beliefs necessarily disqualify them as "Christian" though as they do appear to have retained most of the fundamental basics..... I suppose it depends on ones definition of Christian. No doubt plenty of "Christian" denominations consider that others aren't. "In truth, there was only one Christian, and he died on the Cross" -Nietzsche
- joshdance 12y ago
  I agree with you. Many groups would claim another group isn't Christian, especially as the definition of "Christian" has shifted and changed throughout the years. A good article outlining some main points is here - https://www.lds.org/topics/christians?lang=eng https://www.lds.org/topics/christians?lang=eng. (for the record I am a Mormon, and a Christian. :)
- coldtea 12y ago
  >i.e. blood atonement for sins of the world That was never a christian belief to begin with. The atonement was (supposedly) because of God's own incarnation as Christ, our of love, not because of some blood offering to God (i.e. the crucifixion, which was not even meant as such, anyway).
  - jqm 12y ago
    I realize modern religion has tried to blunt the concept (it's all about love etc)... but blood atonement figures very prominently in the doctrine presented in the bible... Romans3:25, Hebrews9:22, Rev1:5 for instance. There are plenty more. Very prominent concept. Which is why up until recently there was plenty of talk about being "washed in the blood" in Christian churches. (I believe the manifest brutal cruelty and outright ridiculousness of the concept was one of the primary things leading to my rejection of Christianity at a very early age.... no offense to anyone's particular faith... just my point of view)
    - sp332 12y ago
      I think the brutality must have been intentional. To the Romans, a "good death" was quick and painless. For example, if you were a citizen of Rome, then even if you were sentenced to death, you were guaranteed a beheading instead of something slower. To the Greeks, keeping the body intact was very important. That's why they gave Socrates hemlock to drink; even though it must have been agonizing, it was respectful because it maintained the integrity of his body. Jesus' death mixed the worst kind of death to both Greeks and Romans, and also fit in the curse that the Jews had against anyone who died hanging on a tree. This offensiveness is called out explicitly in 1 Corinthians 1 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1&version=HCSB https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1...

Are mormons not christians?

danieltillett 12y ago

They are Christians in the same sense as Moslems are.

tinco 12y ago
No. Muslims believe only parts of the Christian bible are divine. Mormons believe all parts of both the old and the new testament are divine, and addition believe in a third book (that I've only read the intro to) which has additional tales of Jesus Christ and companions. They are as Christian as catholics are, perhaps even more so as in my opinion they follow his ideology a whole lot better.
wwweston 12y ago
Unless Muslims believe in Jesus as deity (and salvation through Christ's atonement) as Mormons do, that seems an unlikely statement. Mormons do get drawn outside of Christianity by some christians for a variety of reasons (non-trinitarian, open canon, cosmological background quasi-polytheism), and some people have suggested classifying the faith as another Abrahamic one as a means of sidestepping that discussion, which may be where one could get the idea that the comparison to Muslims is a good one. But if Mormons are outside mainstream Christianity, it's only marginally so.
- danieltillett 12y ago
  The point I was making is that both Islam and Mormonism are based on Christianity and so share many common beliefs, but they both extend on this base. Personally I find Mormonism a fascinating religion, but I do think it has moved past being just another branch of Christianity.

jqm 12y ago

Mormons claim Christianity and espouse some Christian principals (i.e. blood atonement for sins of the world), although many of their beliefs (i.e. God is an evolved man and through adherence to Mormon doctrine men can become Gods after death) put them well outside the realm of what is considered mainstream Christianity. I'm not sure these additional beliefs necessarily disqualify them as "Christian" though as they do appear to have retained most of the fundamental basics..... I suppose it depends on ones definition of Christian. No doubt plenty of "Christian" denominations consider that others aren't. "In truth, there was only one Christian, and he died on the Cross" -Nietzsche

joshdance 12y ago
I agree with you. Many groups would claim another group isn't Christian, especially as the definition of "Christian" has shifted and changed throughout the years. A good article outlining some main points is here - https://www.lds.org/topics/christians?lang=eng https://www.lds.org/topics/christians?lang=eng. (for the record I am a Mormon, and a Christian. :)
coldtea 12y ago
>i.e. blood atonement for sins of the world That was never a christian belief to begin with. The atonement was (supposedly) because of God's own incarnation as Christ, our of love, not because of some blood offering to God (i.e. the crucifixion, which was not even meant as such, anyway).
- jqm 12y ago
  I realize modern religion has tried to blunt the concept (it's all about love etc)... but blood atonement figures very prominently in the doctrine presented in the bible... Romans3:25, Hebrews9:22, Rev1:5 for instance. There are plenty more. Very prominent concept. Which is why up until recently there was plenty of talk about being "washed in the blood" in Christian churches. (I believe the manifest brutal cruelty and outright ridiculousness of the concept was one of the primary things leading to my rejection of Christianity at a very early age.... no offense to anyone's particular faith... just my point of view)
  - sp332 12y ago
    I think the brutality must have been intentional. To the Romans, a "good death" was quick and painless. For example, if you were a citizen of Rome, then even if you were sentenced to death, you were guaranteed a beheading instead of something slower. To the Greeks, keeping the body intact was very important. That's why they gave Socrates hemlock to drink; even though it must have been agonizing, it was respectful because it maintained the integrity of his body. Jesus' death mixed the worst kind of death to both Greeks and Romans, and also fit in the curse that the Jews had against anyone who died hanging on a tree. This offensiveness is called out explicitly in 1 Corinthians 1 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1&version=HCSB https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1...