|
|
| (265 intermediate revisions by 16 users not shown) |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| {{draft}} | | {{Main Page}} |
| ==Criticism== | | <onlyinclude> |
| Critics claim that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not "Christian." | | {{H1 |
| | |L=Jesus_Christ/Accusations that Mormons aren't Christians |
| | |H=Are Latter-day Saints Christians? |
| | |S=Are Latter-day Saints Christians? Do they worship Jesus Christ? Critics use unnecessarily narrow definitions to deny that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worship and revere Jesus. |
| | |L1=Evangelical arguments regarding Mormonism and Christianity |
| | |L2=Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ |
| | |L3=Mormonism and the symbol of the cross |
| | }} |
| | {{:Jesus Christ/Accusations that Mormons aren't Christians/Evangelical arguments}} |
| | {{:Jesus Christ/Worship}} |
| | ==[[Latter-day Saints and the symbol of the cross]]== |
| | </onlyinclude> |
| | <!-- PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE --> |
|
| |
|
| A related claim is that the Church has only recently begun to portray itself as "Christian" in order to gain adherents.
| | [[de:Jesus Christus/Sind Heilige der Letzten Tage Christen?]] |
| | | [[es:Jesucristo/Los mormones son Cristianos]] |
| ===Source(s) of the Criticism===
| | [[pt:Jesus Cristo/Acusações de que os mórmons não são cristãos]] |
| * There is no rightful claim by historic Mormon doctrine to the name Christian, because they deny almost every one of the major fundamental doctrines of Christendom." - Norman Giesler, founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary, cited in Elise Soukup, "The Mormon Odyssey," ''Newsweek'', (17 October 2005)[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9630255/site/newsweek/page/3/ *].
| |
| | |
| ==Response==
| |
| | |
| ===LDS aren't Christians?===
| |
| At its base, this claim is an excellent example of the [[Logical_fallacies#No_true_Scotsman | No true Scotsman]] fallacy.
| |
| | |
| The claimed bases for the charge that the LDS are not Christians include:
| |
| * LDS do not accept creedal [[Godhead_and_the_Trinity | Trinitarianism]] as set out by the [[Nicene Creed]]. This means that they conceive of Jesus and Satan as being spiritual '[[Jesus_Christ_is_the_brother_of_Satan | siblings]]' in terms of their origin.
| |
| * Because of different understandings about God, some Christian critics accuse the LDS of worshipping [[Worship_different_Jesus | a different Jesus]]
| |
| * LDS have doctrines which differ from traditional Christianity
| |
| ** premortal existence
| |
| ** vicarious work for the dead
| |
| ** eternal marriage and families
| |
| ** three degrees of glory
| |
| * LDS use [[Open_canon_vs._closed_canon | additional scripture]] with the [[Biblical_completeness | Bible]]
| |
| * LDS do not accept ''[[Creatio_ex_nihilo | creatio ex nihilo]]''
| |
| * LDS heed the teachings of [[Joseph_Smith%27s_status_in_LDS_belief | Joseph Smith]] and other [[modern prophets]]
| |
| * LDS reject such doctrines as [[predestination]] to salvation or damnation
| |
| | |
| ===Saints claims to be Christian only recently?===
| |
| | |
| This claim is absurd. The critics depend on their audience not knowing much about LDS history for this claim. Enemies and members of the Church have long known that Church members consider themselves "Christian" (italics added in all cases):
| |
| | |
| ;1839: This sect took its rise, A. D. 1830, in the county of Ontario, and State of New York. In April of that year, the society was ''organized as a Christian Church''.{{ref|bishop1}}
| |
| ;1853: Now, we ARE believers in the Bible, and in consequence of our unshaken faith in its precepts, doctrine, and prophecy, may be, attributed "the strangeness of our course," and the unwarrantable conduct of many towards this people. Come, my brother Presbyterian; come, my brother professors of every persuasion of long standing and popular distinction in the world, who are dubbed with the word "ORTHODOX;" come, ''we are all good Christians''; I find no fault with you—why should you find fault with me?{{ref|by1}}
| |
| ;1863:Should you ask ''why we differ from other Christians''. Are all this people, in the Scriptural sense, Christians? They should be. Do they all serve God with an undivided heart? They should. Many of them do, seeking daily to do his will.{{ref|by2}}
| |
| ;1864:The Latter-day Saints ''differ from their Christian brethren''.{{ref|by3}}
| |
| ;1866:Now, ''we as Christians'' desire to be saved in the kingdom of God.{{ref|by4}}
| |
| ;1870:Have you embraced truth, Latter-day Saints? Have you anything different from ''other Christians''?{{ref|by5}}
| |
| ;1872:''We, as Christians'', believe in God, in Christ and in his atonement, in repentance and obedience, and in receiving the Spirit.{{ref|by6}}
| |
| ;1876:These are only a few reflections, when we take into consideration ''our Christian religion''.{{ref|by7}}
| |
| :Brother Cannon speaks of Christians. ''We are Christians'' professedly, according to our religion.{{ref|by8}}
| |
| ;1881: ''We are a Christian community''; we believe in God and in Jesus Christ...{{ref|lyman1}}
| |
| ;1907: If it be true Christianity to accept Jesus Christ in person and his mission as divine; to revere him as the Son of God, the crucified and risen Lord, through whom alone mankind can attain salvation; to accept his teachings as a guide, to adopt as a standard and observe as a law the ethical code he promulgated; to comply with the requirements prescribed by him as essential to membership in his Church, namely, faith, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost,—if this be Christianity, ''then are we Christians'', and *the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian church.{{ref|1stpres1}}
| |
| ==Conclusion==
| |
| | |
| A summary of the argument against the criticism.
| |
| ==Endnotes==
| |
| #{{note|bishop1}}Francis G. Bishop, ''Brief History of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints'' (Blum and Son, Salem, Massachusetts 1839): 2.
| |
| #{{note|by1}}{{JoD1|author=Brigham Young|title=Discourse|date=24 July 1853|start=237|end=237}}
| |
| #{{note|by2}}{{JoD10|author=Brigham Young|title=Discourse|date=8 July 1863|start=230|end=231}}
| |
| #{{note|by3}}{{JoD10|author=Brigham Young|title=Discourse|date=31 July 1863|start=318|end=319}}
| |
| #{{note|by4}}{{JoD11|author=Brigham Young|title=Discourse|date=19 August 1866|start=268|end=268}}
| |
| #{{note|by5}}{{JoD13|author=Brigham Young|title=Discourse|date=20 February 1870|start=237|end=238}}
| |
| #{{note|by6}}{{JoD15|author=Brigham Young|title=Discourse|date=26 May 1872|start=42|end=42}}
| |
| #{{note|by7}}{{JoD18|author=Brigham Young|title=Discourse|date=15 August 1876|start=217|end=217}}
| |
| #{{note|by8}}{{JoD18|author=Brigham Young|title=Discourse|date=17 September 1876|start=231|end=231}}
| |
| #{{note|lyman1}}Francis M. Lyman, General Conference, 5 April 5 1881, in ''Millennial Star'' 43:19 (9 May 1881): 292.
| |
| #{{note|1stpres1}}{{IE|author=First Presidency|vol=10|date=May 1907|start=481|end=495}}
| |
| #
| |
| #
| |
| | |
| ==Further reading==
| |
| | |
| ===FAIR wiki articles===
| |
| *Logical fallacies
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Ad_hominem | Ad hominem]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Appeal_to_authority | Appeal to authority]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Appeal_to_belief | Appeal to belief]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Appeal_to_the_majority | Appeal to the majority]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Appeal_to_tradition | Appeal to tradition]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Argument_from_repetition | Argument from repetition]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Argumentum_ad_numerum | Argument ad numerum]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Bandwagon_fallacy | Bandwagon fallacy]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Begging_the_question | Begging the question]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#False_analogy | False analogy]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#False_premise | False premise]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Ideology_over_reality | Ideology over reality]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#No_true_Scotsman | No true Scotsman]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Poisoning_the_well | Poisoning the well]]
| |
| ** [[Logical_fallacies#Straw_man | Straw man]]
| |
| | |
| ===FAIR web site===
| |
| *FAIR Topical Guide:
| |
| | |
| ===External links===
| |
| *Links to external web pages
| |
| | |
| ===Printed material===
| |
| *Printed resources whose text is not available online
| |
