Mormons are Christians

HistoryTo properly understand what a Christian is we must return to those who termed the word, its acceptance and the early creeds.1. Earliest use of the term ChristianThe first recorded use of the word Christian was in Acts 11:26 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. So we can clearly see that the term Christian has existed since apostolic times. Additionally, the apostles embraced the term as can be seen in other books of the bible:1 Peter 4-15:16:Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 2. What is it to be a ChristianChristianity has two great creeds describing Christian beliefs, both of which were were formulated prior to the Canon of the Bible. The first is the Apostles Creed:[1] I believe in God, the Father almighty,Creator of heaven and earth,and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried;he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead;he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic Church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and life everlasting.Amen. The second creed is the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed was formulated at the council of Nicea (323AD) in response to the Arian Heresy. Arianism "denies that the Son is of oneessence, nature, or substance with God; He is not consubstantial (homoousios) with the Father, and therefore not like Him, or equal in dignity, or co-eternal, or within the real sphere of Deity." [2]As such Christianity expanded on the Apostles Creed to define exactly what it means about God and gives an understanding of the Trinity [3]We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,Maker of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,the only Son of God,eternally begotten of the Father,God from God, Light from Light,true God from true God,begotten, not made, consubstantialof one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvationhe came down from heaven:and by the Holy Spirit was incarnatehe became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose againin accordance with the Scriptures;he ascended into heavenand is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead,and the life of the world to come. Amen.The Canon of the Bible was canonized later in the 4th century. Thus, if you are going to admit that those who Canonized the Bible had maintained apostolic authority and protection against error by the Holy Spirit, you also have to admit that those who previously defined the Nicene Creed still maintained such authority and protection.This puts Mormons in a very difficult position as they deny the Trinity, but acknowledge the validity of the Bible. Thus Mormonism is a variation of Arianism and thus a formal Christian heresy. Muslims also believe in Jesus. Once again just not according to how Christians define him in the Creeds. As such anyone who proclaims a different Jesus than the one defined in the Creeds you are not a Christian, but something else that believes itself to be Christian.RebuttalPro's sole argument in the opening round was that since the Mormons have the name of Jesus Christ in their name, they are Christians.This is an obvious logical fallacy. If I change my name to President Barack Obama, it does not make me President of the United States.Mormonism idea of God is just as different from Christianity as Islam. I can show that Islam has great love for Mary [4] and yet I would not argue that this makes them Catholics. Likewise Mormonism is so divergent from Christianity that it is something else regardless of what it says.ChallengeNow Pro is likely going to argue that Mormonism is the true Christianity and that everyone else has fallen away in the Great Apostasy. As such I request in advance that, if pro pursues this line of argument, Pro provide some details and describe exactly where the Great Apostasy started, where are the historical texts that show the instigator of the calamitous heresies or some text from the remaining true Christians attempting to refute the heresies of the Great Apostasy.ConclusionI have clearly shown that due to the insurmountable differences in the most fundamental and basic beliefs of Mormonism in comparison to Protestantism, Orthodoxy and Catholicism, that the term Christianity cannot be logically applied to Mormonism. Any faith whose beliefs are not in conformance with the two ancient creeds described herein are not Christian as these are the creeds that define the most fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith.I look forward to Pro's next arguments.[1] http://www.scborromeo.org...[2] http://www.newadvent.org...[3] http://www.catholic.org... [4] http://www.faithstreet.com...