Mormonism is a Denomination within Christianity

Thanks for the reply! I do apologize, but I didn't have enough "character" to support my criterion ("A Christian is a believer and follower of Jesus of Nazareth") on my initial reply so here I go: As I stated earlier, the proper criterion of this debate should be the definition of "Christian" Now, I said that my definition of being a Christian is just believing and following in Jesus of Nazareth. I believe this is appropriate because it is compatible to 1st Century Christian thought. I think it is rather logical to try to base most of our beliefs on the originality of a proclamation. Just like textual critics aim to get the oldest texts of the New and Old Testament, We should refine our theology and inquiry on the most original ideologies. Notice in the Canonical Gospels, when Jesus gets his followers (his disciples) he doesn't emplace a set doctrine or creed on them. He doesn't tell them they have to worship in some liturgical way. He doesn't tell them they have to believe is a specific substance of God. (Although it is implied, it is not an explicit doctrine that Jesus states, something that Modern Churches have strayed from) He doesn't tell them they have to have an Institutionalized Church (many of the 1st century Christians went to each others houses. It wasn't until Christianity gained political momentum in Rome, when they finally started building Church Buildings)What Jesus tells his followers to do is simple: "And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' They immediately left their nets and followed Him" Matthew 4:18-20 All Jesus said was "Follow Me..." He didn't tell them - "Follow Me and believe that God is composed of The Father, Me, and the Holy Spirit. And we three are One. We're all God but also distinct persons. You also have to make Church buildings and have Creeds like the Eucharist and you also have to sing songs at Church. Oh, and don't forget that I want a sort of emblem- You know, like a Cross. Cause, I'm going to get crucified. Ooops... I wasn't supposed to tell you. You'll know about it later" "...and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel" Mark 1:15 "'Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth'" Mark 1:38 What is this Gospel? Well, I'm sure Jesus didn't mean the scriptures (for the scriptures weren't even made until later) I'm sure Jesus didn't mean a certain Theology (for he himself was breaking Judaic Ideology, and at the same time proclaiming he wasn't starting a new Religion) I'm sure Jesus didn't even mean that this Gospel was only about the story of his death & resurrection. This Gospel Jesus proclaimed was the Gospel of believing in Him: "Then they said to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him [Jesus] whom He sent." John 6:28 & 29 It seems that Jesus enforced a sort of egalitarian and Transcendentalist (by using modern terms of course) variation of Judaism. Christianity, initially was a DIVERSE and PERSONAL religion: "We know a good deal about Christianity during the second and third centuries the time, say, between the completion of the writing of the New Testament books and the conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine to the religion, which, as we have seen, changed everything. These two centuries were particularly rich in theological diversity among the early Christians. In fact, the theological diversity was so extensive that groups calling themselves Christian adhered to beliefs and practices that most Christians today would insist were not Christian at all." ("Misquoting Jesus" by Bart D. Ehrman) To restate my Criterion: A believer and follower of Jesus of Nazareth. How do I support this? By the oldest ideology attainable- The New Testament Accounts of Jesus. Not modern doctrines or creeds. Not even Theology or Philosophy. What Jesus said makes the Religion. And once we disclude the idea of the Trinity and beliefs in the essence of man from the equation of a "Christian" we notice that Mormons are not so different from other Christian denominations. Their difference is equivalent to the difference between a Pentecostal and a Catholic. Guess what denomination believes in this: "Justification is by faith and obedience to the ordinances of the church, repentance, Baptism by immersion, and laying on of hands for the Spirit gifts (including prophecy, revelation, and speaking in tongues)." (Encyclopedia Britannica 2006)- MORMONISM Now, about the credibility of the Gospels: I should mention that even the Bible says that scripture is left for revaluation: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" 2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV) I do believe scripture is very important. It is authoritative. It is an essential aspect in forming the type of Christian one shall be. But scripture isn't a necessary condition for one to be called a Christian. We already know that, even in our immense knowledge of scripture today, that their are problems with translations. I was so shocked at how many translations there are for the Bible. You would think since God is an absolute. ("I AM WHAT I AM") So would his eternal works. But, last time I saw, their is no "ABSOLUTE" Bible. No absolute translation everyone follows. (The tampering by imperfect man on the perfection) So scripture (The Bible) must not be the necessary condition for following the Absolute. I think the absolute thing that all Christians share is the belief and in following Jesus of Nazareth. I just want you to understand why I disclude scripture in the definition of a "Christian." It's not that I don't find Scripture to be important or authoritative. It's just that when we conceptualize God -> God is perfection. Perfection is beyond the comprehension of the human mind. BUT, ALL humans know it exists- meaning that just the idea of perfection is universal to all people. No person can have a different view of perfection. No person can try to create a new idea of perfection. It is what it is. Just like how Christianity is. Christianity is perfection. It is what it is. So we must dig through all the controversies, disagreements, etc of the theologies, scriptures, creeds, and so forth. So we could find the aspect of Christianity that is absolute. And once that is found- we have found the definition of being a so called "Christian" "If there were no help from Christ, there would be no help from another human beings. He works on us in all sorts of ways: not only through what we think our 'religious life'. He works through Nature, through our own bodies, through books, sometimes through experiences which seem (at the time) anti-Christian. When a young man who has been going to church in a routine way honestly realises that he does not believe in Christianity and stops going-provided he does it for honesty's sake and not just to annoy his parents -- the spirit of Christ is probably nearer to him then than it ever was before." (Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis) The Bible creates the TYPE of Christian, but it doesn't create A Christian. I don't mean to discredit scripture AT ALL. I value scripture like you would not believe. I have three Bible so I can make sure I have a good understanding. I don't say that we should minimize or ridicule the Bible, what I say we need to do is look at it differently. Benedict Spinoza (17th Century Philosopher) in his "Theologico-Political Treatise" argued that we need to look at the Bible how it originally was looked, ripping away theological and doctrinal prejudices that we still are tormented by today.