Mormonism is not a Christian religion

In the final round, Pro admits that being a Christian does not mean that your doctrine is perfect. He says that some doctrines are more important than others. Presumably, you have to believe the important ones to be a Christian, but it's okay to be wrong about the unimportant ones. The important ones are the ones that are "beyond dispute" and "clearly proclaimed in the scriptures."The "beyond dispute" critera cannot be applied without begging the question. If Mormons are Christians, and they dispute some doctrine Pro agrees with, then that doctrine is not "beyond dispute." The only way Pro can say that the doctrine Mormons disagree with is "beyond dispute" is if he first assumes that Mormons are not Christians. So he's got to assume what he's trying to prove before he can apply this criteria.The "clearly proclaimed in the scriptures" criteria is subjective, and therefore unhelpful. Arminians think their theology is clearly taught in the scriptures, and Calvinists think their theology is clearly taught in the scriptures. If Calvinists are right, then Arminians wouldn't be Christians by Pro's standards. And if Arminians are right, then Calvinists wouldn't be Christians by Pro's standards.Since Pro has admitted that one can be a Christian without having all of their theology right, and since he hasn't given us any reliable way of figuring out where to draw the line, he has undermined his whole case.Pro insists that it's not enough to hail Jesus as the messiah, but you must also follow him. However, following him obviously can't mean that you believe everything Jesus taught since Pro has admitted that one can be wrong about doctrine and still be a Christian. Mormons are like other Christians in the fact that they do follow Jesus on most issues, but they are also wrong about some.Pro thinks that the gospel tradition Paul recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:3ff cannot be used as a criteria for being a Christian since even the demons believe it. Yet, he thinks the issue of salvation by grace alone can be used as a critera for being a Christian. But don't the demons believe in salvation by grace alone, too? I suspect demons do know correct theology better than most of us do.I have not argued that believing the gospel tradition recited by Paul is a sufficient criteria for being a Christian. I agree that one must be a follower of Christ and hail him as the messiah. What I have argued, rather, is that it is a minimum necessary criteria for being a Christian. That is, you cannot be a Christian if you deny it. I am acknowledging that there is a minimum set of doctrines one must believe to be a Christian, and that is included in Paul's gospel. That gospel was the central message of what Christianity was all about--that Christ died for sins, and that he was raised from the dead. Mormons are followers of Jesus who hail him as the Christ and fully subscribe to the gospel as Paul defined it in 1 Corinthians 15:3ff. That make them Christians.Pro distputes that Mormons are Christians because of the authority they attribute to their living prophet. But he doesn't explain why this should exclude them from being Christians. Catholics also attribute a great deal of authority to the councils and the teaching magisterium of the church, including the authority to determine what is scripture and what isn't. But that's no reason to think Catholics are not Christians.Pro continues to insist that one must believe in the Trinity to be a Christian. But earlier he said, "Those doctrines that are crucial, we can discern easily from the Scriptures." Most people do not discern the Trinity easily from scripture. By Pro's own criteria, he should not exclude Mormons from being Christian just because they don't subscribe to the doctrine of the Trinity. The Bible dosn't teach the Trinity explicitly. The Trinity is deduced from various passage of scripture when considered together and thought through.Pro thinks Mormons believe in a "finite created being" rather than the "infinite God of scripture." He seems to be applying the indiscernibility of identicals to claim that Mormons don't worship the same God. But this argument is flawed because it's possible for two people to believe different things about God and still be talking about the same God. Calvinists and Arminians have different beliefs about God's sovereignty, but that doesn't mean they believe in two different gods.Besides that, Mormons don't beileve God was created in the sense of having been made to come into existence. In their view, nobody comes into existence. We are all eternal. Before we were human, we existed as spirits, and before we were spirits, we existed as intelligences (D&C 93). So God wasn't created in their view.I argued that Mormons worshipped the same God as every other Christian based on an ostensible definition of God. They worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the same one who gave the law to Moses; the same one who raised Jesus from the dead. Pro ignored that argument.Pro claims Mormons believe in a different Christ. Now, there were many people claiming to be Christ in the first and second century, but there's only one that Mormons take to be the true Christ, and that's Jesus of Nazareth--the same one who was born in Bethlehem to Joseph and Mary, who was baptized by John the Baptist, who walked on water, healed the sick, raised the dead, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, was raised from the dead, and appeared to Cephas, and the rest of the apostles. That is the person they take to be the Christ, and it's the same person every other Christian takes to be the Christ. It's not as if they think Simon bar Kosiba is the Chirst!Pro claims that Mormons subscribe to a false gospel, but as I showed, Paul defined the gospel clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:3ff, and Mormons subscribe to it perfectly. What Pro means is that they don't believe in salvation by grace alone, but that their works contribute to their salvation. By this critera, Pro would have to exclude anybody who thinks baptism is necessary for salvation. Catholics would not be Christians by this critera.Pro is still caught up with the vocabulary of Mormons, and he's not dealing with the substance of what they believe. Yes, it's true they make a distinction between the words, "immortality" and "eternal life." But again, you have to look at the substance of what they believe. Mormons believe that because of the atonement of Christ, everybody will go to heaven. Now, granted, they break heaven up into three distinct kingdoms, but they are all heavenly kingdoms. So yes, they do believe in a resurrection to eternal life (though they call it "immorality") for all people, because of the atonement of Christ, and it is by grace alone since it doesn't depend on any work that we do. It should also be noted that the Bible uses the word "immorality" synonymously with a resurrection to eternal life (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:35-57).Mormons simply use the word "eternal life" differently than other Christians. As Pro's quote showed, it is synonymous with "exaltation," which again is synonymous with what most of us think of as rewards, and which most Christians, including protestants, agree are earned by works, as I showed.Pro's argument is fallacious because he's pouring his meaning into Mormon vocabulary, and arriving at the wrong conclusions about what they believe.But even if he's right, why think it excludes them from being Christian? Calvinists and Arminians disagree on what God's grace accomplishes. Arminians think it's up to us to muster the faith we need to get saved. Calvinsits believe God's grace is sufficient to give us faith. Arminians are synergists, and Calvinists are monergists. Yet they are both Christians.Thank you for coming to tonight's debate, and thank you for reading and considering our arguments.Thank you, Jacob, for the debate, and having such a passion for the gospel. It was clear to me in this debate that the integrity of the gospel is important to you.