“You’re not a Christian! You don’t believe in Jesus!”
This was said to me by a relative of mine at the climax of a heated discussion. It made me sad and confused. Up until this point, we were having a fairly calm conversation.
I wondered: What went wrong? Why is my relative accusing me of being non-Christian all of the sudden? What caused them to be so triggered?
I’ll give more context soon. But first, a short history lesson.
Why do “Mormons” want to be considered “Christians”?
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have always considered themselves Christian.
“We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ… that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:26
Jesus Christ is everything to members of the church. He is God. He is the creator. He is the savior of the world.
Members of the church want to be associated with Jesus in their worship, their everyday life, and their core identity. They want to eat at the “Christian kids’ table”.
Despite this emphasis on Jesus, however, many Christians (Protestants, Catholics, etc) don’t consider LDS members to be “Christian” due to differences in theology, tradition, and scripture. This is especially true early-on in the church’s history when Latter-day Saints were engaged in then-controversial practices like women giving healing blessings, Black men being ordained to the priesthood, and polygamy.
Over time (like the last 200 years), the church has changed its policies and practices to more closely align with the greater Christian community.
“Welcome to Christendom!” say some Christians to some Mormons
Nowadays, with the church being more in-line with the greater Christian community, many Christians consider LDS members to be Christians too. Yippee! Welcome to the club!
However, lots of Christians still think of LDS members as being something other than Christian.
So, what’s the determining factor?
You could chalk it up to two things: Theology and political alignment.
In today’s polarized culture, the lines of religion and politics are getting more and more blurred. If someone doesn’t align with your political views, then you are more likely to label them as a different religious group than yourself.
Conservative Evangelicals, for example, are more likely to call conservative Mormons “Christian,” just as progressive Episcopalians might with progressive Mormons.
Back to my story…
“You’re not a Christian! You don’t believe in Jesus!” my close relative tells me.
This was shocking to me for a few reasons:
- This is coming from someone I deeply love and respect.
- We are both Mormon.
- We both consider ourselves to be Christian.
I was used to being referred to as something other than Christian by my Christian neighbors in Texas, but I wasn’t prepared to hear it from my Mormon kin. It’s one thing for a Mormon to accuse another Mormon of being not Mormon, but it’s entirely different for a Mormon to accuse another Mormon of being not Christian. It kinda feels like friendly fire!
So, what was the trigger? What caused my relative to feel the need to slap the non-Christian label on me?
Damnation. We didn’t agree about the theological topic of damnation. 🔥💀🔥
It sounds ridiculous saying it like that, but here’s a little more context to the story:
Previous to our discussion about religion (earlier that same week), we had engaged in a different heated argument over politics. My relative was on one side and I on the other. Both accusing the other of being ill-informed, a conspiracy theorist, a brain washed cult member, etc. Not the most rapport-building conversation 😅.
The combination of different political opinions coupled with different theological beliefs was too much for my relative to take. In their view, I am too different and don’t belong in their same group –even though we’re literally part of the same family 🥺.
You’re not a Christian unless…
Christians often accuse each other of being inauthentic believers, not true Christians, or even heretics if their theology or politics don’t match up. This is nothing new and has led to denominations splitting and personal relationships being strained in every Christian generation.
Finish this sentence theologically:
“You’re not a Christian unless you ______”.
- Believe in the Trinity
- Accept the Nicene Creed
- Have been “born again”
- Believe in Jesus, never doubting
- Make and keep covenants with God
- Take communion at least once a week
- Don’t believe in evolution
- Believe in a literal Heaven and Hell
Now, finish the same sentence politically:
“You’re not a Christian unless you ______”.
- Support Israel (right)
- Support rights for LGBTQ people (left)
- Are pro-life and anti-abortion (right)
- Want more gun safety/control (left)
- Want small government and few regulations (right)
- Want to treat undocumented immigrants as citizens (left)
- Are proud to be an American (right)
- Support universal healthcare (left)
Most Christians choose a few of the above statements to define their own Christian identity –and that’s fine. But why do we do this to each other? Why do we revoke a label from someone just because they don’t match our own definition?
Well, by drawing sharp distinctions between who is “in” and who is “out,” many people feel that they can affirm their own faith identity. Sociologists call this behavior boundary maintenance, and it works pretty good as long as you aren’t the one being kicked out of the group.
There are thousands of Christian denominations in the world, all with different views about theology and politics. And there are millions of people in these churches who each have different beliefs and doubts. Can’t we all just get along? Why are we so quick to judge and label each other?
If you have a different set of theological beliefs and political opinions than I do, and you call yourself a Christian, then I will believe you. A determination to follow Jesus Christ and his teachings is all you need to be a Christian in my opinion.
Remember the words of Jesus:
“By this shall all [people] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
John 13:35
Maybe we should focus less on drawing lines around who’s “in” or “out” and more on embodying the love Christ taught us to share. There’s room for everyone! 🙂
Kev's Blog 