Are Mormons Christian?

Recently I have been reading a series of blogs that are supposed to be a back and forth discussion between Dr. Albert Mohler (president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) and Orson Scott Card (some science fiction author and a Mormon) debating whether Mormons are Christian. As most of you are aware, Mitt Romney, who appears to be one of the top three leading candidates for president in the Republican Party, is a Mormon, and his openness about his faith has led to quite a bit of debate on the issue of whether Mormons are Christians. The debate can be found here http://blog.beliefnet.com/blogalogue/.

Well, I decided I wanted to weigh in on the issue. I think that the only religious systems that can call themselves Christians are those who believe in the historic Jesus Christ, as portrayed in the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. This means that you have to believe in the deity of Christ, understand redemptive history as revealed throughout Scripture, and believe in substitutionary attonement. From the little that I know about Mormonism, they do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, making Him 100% God but also 100% man (a concept that is difficult for our minds to comprehend, which is where faith comes in). They think of Jesus as Savior, but from what I know (and I might be wrong), they believe Jesus' did not save us by taking on our sins on the cross and dying in our place (accepting the punishment for our sins), and/or He wasn't resurrected (which shows the completeness and sufficiency of the sacrifice, and therefore, is one of those issues that defines Christianity). Also, I believe that to be considered a Christian religion, the religion must believe in the Trinity. Although many claim that the concept of the Trinity is not found in Scripture or laid out for us in the Bible, clearly those persons have not read Ephesians (although Mormonism probably doesn't teach the writings of Paul because they also clearly mark out the deity and humanity of Christ and substitutionary atonement). Ephesians starts out by laying out the role of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in salvation. Throughout, Paul teaches the different roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in dealing with the Church (invisible church, that is) and building of the body of Christ.

It is so important for Christian (and now I am talking true Christian churches, and not Mormons) churches to teach issues of doctrine so that we know what to look for in other churches claiming Christianity, such as the Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. We need to be grounded in our view of Christ, and know why it is important to believe what we believe. I am saddened as I read some of the comments that think just because the Mormon church uses "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" or whatever the name is, is Christian because it contains the words "Jesus Christ." Others think the Mormon church is Christian because they say Jesus is Savior. That is not the test. We need to learn who Christ is through study of God's Word so that we can recognize Him. As part of the Christian church, we need to contend for THE FAITH, which means that our opinions will not always be accepted in our world that touts tolerance. I admire men like Dr. Mohler who are willing to stand up against popular opinion to point out the truth to a world that does not believe in truth.