Mormons Are Christians Too.

Disclaimer: I am simply arguing the Con here because I love the idea of a good debate, and this is definately one of them. Please do not think of me as biased or short-sighted simply because of my stance. I would also like to thank the Pro for giving me the chance to debate this topic. Greetings, I am new to the site so this will be my first actual debate here. I'll try my best to model it after a typical Lincoln-Douglass debate, althuogh normally the Pro goes first and the Con counters it, seeing as the pro is the one normally trying to prove a point. My argument is a simple one: Mormonism is not an actual sect in the Christian faith. Hopefully, my points will be able to convince the voters that the con has the better arguments. Contention 1: The history described by the Book of Mormon cannot be tied to actual history. My first contention has to do with the teachings of Mormonism itself. Mormon beliefs not only cannot be tied to history, but at times completely contradict history itself, and here's why: The first thing I would like to address is the the lack of animals, tech, and metals found in the Americas based against those in the book of Mormon. These include, but are not limited to, cattle, horses, donkeys, oxen, sheep, swine, goats, elephants, and wheat. Also, the general belief is that the tribes from Jerusalem came across the ocean in a boat and landed in the Americas, where they became the original Native Americans. however, there has been no linguistic links to the tribes of Jerusalem and the Native American languages, and DNA evidence cannot confirm that the two groups were even similar, let alone the same kind of people. Therefor, I am not only questioning whether Mormanism is a Christian sect, but whether or not it can be proven to be at least possible. Contention 2: Christian and Mormon beliefs differ greatly. As we all know, the Bible is the main book for Christian beliefs. No matter what the difference in the seperate Protestant sects, they can all refer to the Bible for information and sermons. However, not only do the Mormons have 3-4 seperate holy books (including the Book of Mormon), they also have information in those books that contradict the Bible, but they also claim that the majority of the Bible is false. My main argument in this fact is Jesus Christ himself. The main Mormon claim to Christianity is that they follow Christ and believe in at least part of the Bible. Although this is true, the Mormon version of Jesus Christ is not at all similar to the Christion version of Christ. Rather than believing that Jesus Christ is the physical embodiment of God himself (the ONE God, mind you), Mormons believe that Jesus is just one of the many gods out there, which means that they believe that there is more than one god. They also believe that Satan is Christ's brother rather than a fallen angel, and they don't even think that there is fire in Hell. Contention 3: Some Mormon beliefs go against the ten commandments. I'm sure we're all familiar with the Ten commandments, even those non-Christian viewers, due to it's influence in Western society. The Ten commandments are the ten basic rules that all Christians must follow, and here are a few that are broken in the Mormon faith. Commandments: 1. "You shall have no other gods before me." I already discussed how Mormans worship multiple gods, and so the very first commandment is broken. 3. "You shall not take the name of the lord thy God in vain, for the lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." Vain is defined as "In an irreverent or disrespectful manner", and because the Mormons believe that the lord is not the one true God, not only do they not believe in Christianity as that is the one chief belief among them, they are disrespecting his name, and so are breaking the third commandment. 7. "You shall not commit adultery" Adultery is defined as "Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse." (www.thefreedictionary.com) Emphasis on "lawful". According to US law and the laws of many other nations, you can only take one wife as your own. As such, the polygamy commited by some Mormon sects directly defies the seventh commandment. And so, how can the Mormans consider themselves Christian when their own religion directly contradicts some of the rules that all Christians must live by if the worship our god? Conclusion: Because of these vast differences in the Christian and Mormon religions, Mormons cannot be regarded as Christians. In fact, due to their historical inaccuracies, some might say that they are about as believable as the scientologists, and that Mormanism isn't an actual religion at all. However, that is a completely different debate entirely, and because of the differences listed in this round, and the evidence brought to light, I hope that the viewers will vote Con on this issue. Sources: http://www.thefreedictionary.com... http://www.thefreedictionary.com... http://en.wikipedia.org... http://www.catholicapologetics.info... http://www.bible-knowledge.com...