Specifically, whether or not Mormons should be called Christians. Evangelical Christians or, more appropriately, Creedal Christians believe that Mormons cannot be Christians because Christianity is defined by the Creeds. Mormons do not accept the creeds, therefore Mormons are not Christians.
But there is very Great Flaw in this argument aside from the fact that if Christianity were limited only to those who accepted the creeds, then all who lived as Christians in the first and second centuries AD would be excluded from the definition and, therefore, from Christianity.
The Great Flaw is in the substance of salvation. By whom are we saved? If we believe we are saved by Jesus Christ, whether by grace alone or in combination with our good works, are we not relying upon the merits of Christ’s life, death and resurrection for salvation, and therefore deserve the name Christian? I say there can be no other conclusion.
Yet, Evangelical Christians will deny to Mormons this boon until the sun ceases to shine. And why? Because of the differences in the theological definition of the substance of Jesus Christ; because we do not believe in the Trinity, a creedal requirement.
And this is unfortunate because if they truly understood who the real antichrists are, they would likely change their minds about Mormons. Perhaps you’re thinking, “What has the antichrist go to do with this topic?” I reply, “It has everything to do with this topic.”
Both Evangelicals and Mormons believe in the antichrist mentioned in the New Testament. The difference is in to whom the title should be ascribed. Some Evangelicals will go so far as to say that it is the Mormons who hold this title. Nonsense.
To be antichrist is to deny that Jesus is the Christ, or in other words, to deny that Christ is the Son of God, and that it is in his power to save mankind from Sin and Death. No man can claim that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and be antichrist. Either Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, or He is not. But taking this latter position is not necessarily antichrist. To be antichrist requires a third mindset.
To be antichrist is to take up the position of the Devil, and deny the power of Christ for salvation. It is the belief that Jesus cannot save. Is there then any salvation in the mind of an antichrist? There is, of a sort, but it lies wholly within the power of the self. To be antichrist is to work in contrast to Jesus’ work, to claim perhaps not salvation from Sin, but in believing that there is no Sin.
You see, those who believe there is no Sin do not believe there is any need for salvation, and thus they cannot be redeemed because they do not come within the power of Christ through humilty and repentance. They believe that whatever a person does is within his or her rights to do. “If it feels good, do it” goes the line. Antichrist is simply defined as Secular Humanism, the belief that man has no need for salvation and no need for Jesus Christ.
Do Mormons believe that there is no need for salvation? There is no reasonable person on the Earth, even among the Church’s bitterest enemies, who can honestly make that claim. Even if we disagree on who Christ is, we both agree that we need Him for salvation. That is why Evangelicals are wrong about Mormons.
