Mormonism is not a Christian religion

DefinitionsI know people don't like arguments over definitions, but I think that's what this debate boils down to.One who hails Jesus as the MessiahWords are defined by their use, so my strategy was to look at how "Christian" was used in the New Testament. The first use was when outsider referred to people who hailed Jesus as the Messiah. Pro misrepresents me here. He took me to say a Christian is anyone (human or not) who acknowledges that Jesus is the Messiah. But that is not it. By "people," I mean humans. It was humans in Antioch who were called Christians, not demons. Demons are not counter-examples to my definition. Also, I said a Christian is somebody who hails Jesus as the messiah, not just somebody who acknowledges that he is the messiah. To hail is to cheer, salute, enthusiastically acclaim, etc.[1] That's something different than mere acknowledgement, so again, the demons do not serve as counter-examples.One who subscribes to the gospel about JesusI argued for a further definition of "Christian," by saying a Christian is somebody who subscribed to the core proclaimation the apostles were making about Jesus, preserved in an oral tradition recorded by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3ff. Pro didn't dispute that. By that definition, Mormons are definitely Chrisitans.A disciple of of Christ; one who follows his teachingsThis is my opponent's definition of a Christian, but this definition is too narrow. Think of all the differences Christians have amongst themselves about what Jesus taught. Did Jesus teach Calvinism in John 6, as James White and many others think?[2] Or did he teach transubstantiation in John 6, as many Catholics think? Did Jesus teach pacifism in Matthew 5, or not? If being a Christian means that you follow all of Christ's teachings, then the only true Christians are the ones who fully and accurately understand everything Jesus said in the gospels. But I submit that there are few (if any) of us who do. We all have subtle differences among ourselves in the interpretation of this or that parable or saying. By Pro's definition, very few of us are Christians if any at all.Perhaps my opponent could amend his definition to say "one who follows some of Christ's teachings." But in that case, Mormons are Christians. He'd have to admit they follow some of Jesus' teachings. Probably even most.Pro says the issue is whether the Mormon Church is a Christian church, and not whether individuals are Christians. But I don't think that distinction changes any of our arguments. Baptists (in all their flavours), Methodists, Prebyterians, Assemblies of God, Churches of God, etc., all have differences in doctrine, yet they are all Christian churches. Pro said the only way to see whether they are Christian is "to see whether it fits with Christian doctrine." By Pro's definition of what it means to be Christian, most of these denominations are not Christian. At most, only one of them can be. I doubt that's what he really believes.Mormon Scriptures are not the word of GodPro claims that I misunderstood his first contention. He said it wasn't about their written scriptures, but about whether they took the word of man over the word of God. Howver, what he actually said in his opening was, "As always, I begin by examining the foundation of Mormon doctrine: their Scriptures." Apparently, by "the word of man," he was refferring to Mormon scriptures, so I don't really get his "correction." It seems to me that my point remains. If Catholics think the Aprocrypha is the word of God, but it's really the word of man, then by Pro's reasoning, Catholics aren't really Christian.But why think this excludes somebody from being Christian anyway? Even if we admit that there are cases when Mormons (or anybody else) takes the word of a man over the word of God, Pro needs to give us an argument for why that excludes them from being a Christian. After all, Christians aren't perfect. Many Christians are theologically ignorant, and they often follow unBiblical traditions out of their own ignorance. Must we be expert theologians before we can be Christians? Surely not!Mormons believe in false godsPro thinks Mormons worship a false god because they do not understand him in a trinitarian sense. But by that standard, all the Jews who lived before Christianity also worshipped a false god because they did not understand him in a trinitarian sense. That is absurd.One can identify God (or anybody) ostenibly. The true God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.; the one who raised Jesus from the dead; the true God is the one who gave the Law to Moses; etc. Mormons worship this God; therefore, they worship the true God. They just happen to have different beliefs about that God.I doubt most Christians in the early church had a full understanding of the Trinity either. They understood that the Father was God, and that the Son was also God in some sense, but I doubt most of them had any idea of there being one being who was simultaneously three distinct persons. They didn't have these details worked out that early on. So by Pro's reasoning, most of the early Christians weren't Christians at all. The average Christian today can't define the Trinity either.Pro quoted Donald Cannon as saying that to gain salvation, one must have a correct understanding of God. But as the Associate Dean of Religious Education at BYU, Cannon is not an official spokesperson of the LDS Church. He is stating his own opinion, and many Mormons would probably disagree with him. None of the Mormons I know would say I'm not a Christian just because they think my view of God is wrong.Mormons deny their depravityPro says you can't acknowledge your need for a savior without apreciating the depth of your sin. Well, Mormons acknowledge both their sin and their need for a savior, so no problem there.Mormons hold to a false gospelIn response to my rebuttal, Pro continues to ignore the subtle differences in the way Mormons speak of salvation. Again, I say, it is the substance of what they believe one must look at, and not so much the words they use to explain it. Mormons believe that when Jesus died on the cross, he secured our resurrections to eternal life. It has nothing to do with any effort on our part. Resurrection is a free gift given to all of us because of the atonement of Christ.Now, granted, Mormons have a different opinion than most of us of what "eternal life" entails. But then again, most of us mainstream Christians also differ amongst ourselves in what "eternal life" consists of. If you ask most Christians in churches, they think you go to heaven when you die, and that's it. They don't even have a robust understanding of physical resurrection. And nobody really knows what it's going to be like in the after life or even after the resurrection. We know we'll worship God, and we'll be happy, but that's about it.When Mormons speak of works as contributing to their salvation, they are not talking about salvation from the death that results from sin. Rather, they are talking about the rewards of exaltation they receive after the resurrection. They believe even their works in this mortal life contribute to the rewards they will receive in heaven. But so do most Protestants, as I said already said, citing 1 Corinthians 3:14.Pro claims there is no knowledge of God in the Terrestrial and Telestial kingdoms. I don't know where he gets that. If he'll provide a source, maybe I can respond.ConclusionIt still doesn't seem to me that Pro has made any good arguments to support his contention that the LDS Church is not a Christian church or that Mormons are not Christians. Every attempt he makes to exclude Mormons ends up excluding many people he probably would have no problem calling Christians. Nobody's doctrine is perfect. Arminians and Calvinists differ in their view of God's character.[1] http://dictionary.reference.com...[2] See chapter 7 in The Potter's Freedom, by James White.