Pregunta: ¿Las creencias o prácticas mormones las excluyen de ser consideradas cristianas?

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Pregunta: ¿Las creencias o prácticas mormones las excluyen de ser consideradas cristianas?

  NEEDS TRANSLATION  

Latter-day Saints are not excluded from being considered Christans by belief or practice

When critics make the claim that LDS are not Christian, they typically will present a laundry list of doctrines and practices that they believe put LDS outside the category of "Christian." At its base, this claim is an excellent example of the No true Scotsman fallacy.

There are two problems with such lists. The first, and most important, is that the original and enduring meaning of "Christian" has been a person or group whose beliefs or practices are founded on the life and/or teachings of Christ. That is, all groups whose religion is founded on Jesus of Nazareth have been classified as Christian since the term was first coined in the first century, regardless of specific beliefs and practices. "Christian" has always included such wildly diverse groups as the Ebionites, the Marcionites, and the Christian Gnostics of ancient times, along with Unitarians and Coptic Christians in modern times. Critics may believe that LDS are "false Christians" or "heretical Christians" or "hell-bound Christians," seeing that such terms are subjective and without standard definitions, but neither belief nor practice can exclude any group from the family of Christian religions and denominations if that group claims to be founded on the life or teachings of the first-century Jesus of Nazareth.

The list of objectionable beliefs and practices used to exclude LDS from the Christian family are lists of beliefs and practices that are found in other groups that are clearly classified as Christian

The second problem with the critics' list is that their list of objectionable beliefs and practices used to exclude LDS from the Christian family are lists of beliefs and practices that are found in other groups that are clearly classified as Christian. The claimed bases for the charge that the LDS are not Christians include:

• LDS do not accept creedal Trinitarianism as set out by the Nicene creed. This means that they conceive of Jesus and Satan as being spiritual ' siblings' in terms of their ultimate origin, if not their nature or religious status.
• Because of different understandings about God, some Christian critics accuse the LDS of worshipping a different Jesus
• LDS have doctrines which differ from many forms of "traditional" Christianity:
  • premortal existence
  • vicarious work for the dead
  • eternal marriage and families
  • three degrees of glory
  • Deification of man {theosis}
• LDS use additional scripture with the Bible
• LDS do not accept creatio ex nihilo
• LDS do not accept the traditional view of original sin
• LDS heed the teachings of Joseph Smith and other modern prophets
• LDS reject such doctrines as predestination to salvation or damnation

All of these doctrinal differences have been held not just by the LDS, but by other Christians as well

However, all of these doctrinal differences have been held not just by the LDS, but by other Christians as well, including the early Christians of the first and second centuries. These Christians:

• were not Trinitarians, since the creeds were not yet formulated
• did not teach creatio ex nihilo
• did not consider "the Bible" to be the sole authoritative scripture, since it was not compiled until centuries later
• considered some writings to be authoritative which many modern Christians now reject
• taught theosis, or human deification through Christ
• followed living prophets (the apostles)

One might debate whether these Christians were correct or complete in their beliefs, but can the critics seriously exclude them from the family of Christians?

Critics of Mormonism essentially create a definition of "Christian" that includes their brand of Christianity, and excludes others with whom they disagree

The critics essentially create a definition of "Christian" that includes their brand of Christianity, and excludes others with whom they disagree. The merriam-webster dictionary defines the word Christian to mean "one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ". The Oxford Dictionaries Online defines the word Christian as "a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Jesus Christ and his teachings". Critics have the right to disagree, but their claim that Mormons are not Christian is just their opinion or their religious belief.