A Matter of Faith: Is Mormonism Christian - Term Paper Example

A Matter of Faith: Is Mormonism Christian? We live in a truly diversified world when it comes to the subject of religion. There are a multitude of religions from all over the world that people place their faith in, many diametrically differ from many others. While other religions share a great many things in common, but vary on smaller issues. People have been arguing for millennia over what religion is the most right, which is the most accurate, or most true? Wars have been fought in the name of religions. Of all the differing religions, Christianity seems to have the largest number of differing denominations; Catholics, Baptists, Protestants, Methodists, and Episcopalians are just a few. Then there is Mormonism, probably the youngest Christian inspired faiths and often criticized for its practices. There has been a standing argument, for some time, whether Mormonism is, in fact, a member of the Christian faith or is it its own religion that borrowed Christian doctrines? Many Christians believe that Mormons are not Christian at all, while Mormons defend their faith as absolutely a part of Christianity. That said, the argument is a good one from both sides of the issue. However, answering the question of whether Mormonism is Christian is, like any religious issue, a matter of interpretation. To better understand where the divisions that have caused the great debate between the faiths is to, first, review the basis of Mormon beliefs and origins. A young Joseph Smith was seeking help through prayer in deciding what church he should place his faith. Instead, he was visited by God himself and his son, in the flesh. It was through these exchanges that he was given the knowledge to begin a new faith, a new Christian church that he would lead.("The church of," 2011) The Book of Mormon would become known as “another testament of Jesus Christ” and is joined by two other important documents, The Pearl of Great Price and the Articles of Faith. With these the basic theology of the Mormon faith is outlined. The new ideology mixed the popular spiritual concepts of the time, Protestant, Gnostic, Transcendental, and Masonic elements with the mystical golden tablets, a mysterious language, and new understanding of Christianity. It offered things that some believers could not previously find answers for, new revelations, denial of original sin, and the potential for man to obtain perfection, become more God-like.(Neuhaus, 2000) Those who embraced Mormonism began to live their lives according to these requirements of what it means to be a good Christian. Many traditional Christians claim that just because one quotes the same scriptures and relies on the same biblically significant figures does not automatically deign them as Christians. They feel the Mormon interpretations of what is standard, absolute, and non-debatable elements of all Christian denominations makes them anything but Christians. It is true, that there are some very distinct points in the foundations of the Christian tenants and Mormon doctrines that do not agree on some very vital elements. The first point of contention is on the issue of salvation. In traditional Christian philosophy salvation is a gift granted by Gods grace and cannot be earned, while in Mormonism there is a varying degree of sin and requisite penalty. Mormons believe that, essentially, Gods grace will save you from the “fall,” but individual sins committed in life require individual salvation.(Slick, 2012) The bible does state clearly that, “Salvation is not by works.”(Romans 4:5) However, the Mormon Articles of Faith express the opposite to be true. It speaks of having balanced penalties dependent on what the type of sin committed was. Now this single disagreement between the two faiths is hardly proof that Mormons are not Christians, but the variation is enough to precedent continuing debate. The next very important difference between Christianity and Mormonism is based on the number of documents and doctrines, other than the Bible, that Mormons celebrate. The Pearl of Great Price, the Book of Mormon, and the Articles of Faith are accepted and revered as companions to the Bible. This raises extreme opposition among traditional Christian circles, because the Bible is, in the belief system, the single representation of divine literary work in all of Christianity. It is very hard for Christians to absorb the idea that any other book or collection of writings could supersede, override, or improve upon something that is already ideal. The Mormons defend these works claiming they are still very much in accordance with Christian doctrine. The works of their faith are the very thing that separates their congregations from other denominations is no different than the small variations that separate a Catholic mass from a Methodist sermon. But opponents do not support that parallel, they explain the statements made in the Articles of Faith itself denounces the validity of the Bible and that establishes that Mormonism cannot be considered Christian. The 9th Article of Faith states that,”…we believe in the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly…” ("The church of," 2011) To question the Bible is a rather un-Christian-like approach to the subject. To many traditional Christians this brings into question the perfection and certainty of God and therefore blatantly separates Mormonism from the nature of the Christian faith. The next topic of contention speaks to the essence of how the two faiths have some divergent theories that are hard to reconcile. Christianity, overall, has a generally accepted interpretation of God, of Jesus, and the Holy Ghost and there significant representation as the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Jesus the son of God, and living embodiment of God, God himself, and the Holy Ghost, the energy or power of God. All are facets of God, all are one in the same. ("Christianity.com," 2012) Now the Mormon interpretation, as experienced by founder Joseph Smith, is quite different. He describes a visit from a flesh and blood God and his Son, as well as the Holy Ghost. All three are distinct individuals, interacting together, but not one single being. This contradicts Christian traditional beliefs where God is something more than human, not someone who is or once was a man. It deprives God and Jesus of their divinity and dismisses the Holy Trinity. The individuality of the spiritual figures infers a multi-god, a polytheistic or henotheistic, type of worship.(Porter & McDermott, 2008) This philosophically rebukes the “single” God, monotheistic, necessity of Christian based faiths. This issue of God is, easily, the most distinct and arguable topic that creates disagreement in determining if Mormonism is, in fact, Christian. There cannot be one all powerful God and a three individual Gods working in tandem at the same time, God cannot be all powerful and a normal human of flesh and blood at the same time; if the two faiths cannot both be true simultaneously then they are not the same faith. (Slick,2012) Some traditional Christians strongly believe that the members of the Mormon faith are very much aware that they are not really a part of the Christian faith and despite their public persistence that they are Christians, these proclamations are in total contradiction of their own doctrines. Many of these Mormon opponents believe that they hold firmly to the mantle of being a Christian “add-on” or as “Christianity-plus” organization because it benefits their ability to gain converts. They hide behind the umbrella of being Christian so that people are more willing to come and consider their faith. (Neuhaus, 2000) This makes them potentially parasitical in their actions, luring in unaware Christians into something that is falsely representing itself. It is very easy to look at these very literary and interpretational differences and say well, perhaps, Mormonism has developed into a faith that is no longer directly Christian. However, when you look at the similarities in the faiths it is hard to deny the presence of Christianity, deeply rooted, within the religion. The devout belief in God and Jesus Christ as a savior, requisite of baptism, and necessity of prayer, these are all aesthetically very Christian. Staunch Christian opponents will maintain that if the core values are not the same then the religions are just too divergent to be shared. Now, also, to be clear, the fact that Mormonism may not be a Christian denomination does not degrade or condemn the faith. It is very likely that Mormonism may become regarded in the similar way as that of Islam. Islam is a derivative of Judaism and Christianity in that that is where it finds its origins. However, not unlike Joseph, Muhammad claimed that he brought new “revelations” and provided the Qur’an, which is considered by Muslims to be a corrected version of existing Jewish and Christian scriptures. Muslims share spiritual elements with, but are not member of, Christianity.(Neuhaus, 2000) Religious debates of this nature are difficult to variable, weighing the ideals, philosophies, and necessities of any faith, it is difficult to apply logistics to these sorts of issues. After all, for example, an Atheist would look at this debate and, likely, regard it as a discussion about nonsense based on greater nonsense that does not exist. It is all a matter of perception. “We live by faith, not by sight.”(2 Corinthians 5:7) These words should remind us that those who are faithful are faithful not in the proof of truth, but in what they believe to be truth. Mormons believe that they are Christians and are living by the Christian ideals they believe to be true. Traditional Christians believe they are doing the exact same thing, as they see it. Ultimately, based on the literature and the evidence that exists it may be realistic to say that the Mormon religion may have developed into something that has left behind traditional Christian beliefs. After all, again, it is really perception that determines the definition of Christianity. As religions change, and they, in fact, do, so too will the definitions that have existed will, also, change. Having a different interpretation of anything can be less appealing and threatening to traditionalists; so there will always be debates well into the future. In the end, in this modern age, it would be better time spent seeking out the deepest roots at the core of all the faiths and embrace those things that are shared universally. Religion developed to help create order and structure, comfort and hope, no true faith was ever intended to cause more struggles and greater conflicts, and yet the conflict will continue. Eventually, traditional Christianity may deny the Mormon faith a denominational acknowledgment, but they cannot deny that Mormonism is a child, a descendant, of Christianity. References Christianity.com about us. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.christianity.com/AboutUs/ The church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. (2011). Retrieved from http://mormon.org/ The book of mormon: Another testament of jesus christ. 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng The holy bible. The HolyBible.com. Retrieved from http://www.holybible.com/resources/KJV_DFND/ Neuhaus, R. J. (2000). Is mormonism christian? a respected advocate for interreligious cooperation responds. Retrieved from http://www.irr.org/mit/neuhaus.html Porter, B. D., & McDermott, G. R. (2008). Is mormonism christian?. First Things, 186, 35-41. Slick, M. (2012). The comparison between christian doctrine and mormon doctrine. Retrieved from http://carm.org/comparison-between-christian-doctrine-and-mormon-doctrine Read More