Is Mormonism the "Pluto" of the Religious World?

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for the first time provided the definition of a planet.

A planet must:

1. orbit the Sun
2. have enough mass to be rounded by its own gravity
3. cleared the neighborhood of its orbit

Thanks to this definition, (to the outrage of elementary school children everywhere) Pluto was no longer considered a planet.

I take this example and apply it to Christianity.   Unlike astronomy, there is no body of clergy internationally recognized for giving out designations and classifications for new religions and their features.  But people within each of the churches have for a long time tried to define what it is to be a Christian, and whether members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (usually called "Mormons") should belong to that group.

Latter-day Saints believe that a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ.  Others, especially in the clergy of other faiths, believe that being a Christian is more than a simple belief in Christ, but a specific set of beliefs in Christ.  Usually prominent in such a list is the belief in the Trinity, which rules Latter-day Saints out because of our belief that Jesus Christ is a separate person than Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

So who is right?  Maybe we should first ask, why do we care?  This is the way I see it.  Mormonism is a proselyting church and it is a lot easier for people to listen to you when you share common beliefs.  When people don't think you also believe in Jesus Christ, they are less likely to listen.  This is the same reason those of other faiths want to define us as non-Christian.  There's probably other reasons, too, but I'll talk about them in a later post.

Anyway, back to planets.  The layman's definition of a planet has been for a long time, "A round thing that goes around the sun."  (And extended to things going around other stars that aren't other stars.)  But when we started finding a bunch of other round things (as well as another belt of debris) beyond Neptune, people asked, "do we really want all these planets?"  If a church claimed they were Christian, but they also preached that it was okay to rob and injure one another, wouldn't we also agree that perhaps the definition needed to be extended to include more than mere belief in Christ?

The analogy puts it into perspective for me, because I trust the IAU when it classifies Pluto as one of 5 dwarf planets.  But it's not a perfect analogy.  For one, although the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started small, and even today only 1.7% of the US population is a Latter-day Saint, that is enough to put us as the fifth largest religion in the United States.  Smaller than the 4 gas giants, perhaps the church is more like Earth than Pluto.

Then, of course, we come back to the main difference:  no recognized body to hand out definitions.  Even still, the IAU isn't universally recognized.  People will still recognize Pluto as a planet, and at the same time give blank stares when you ask about Eris.  Personally, even though I don't think Pluto is a planet, I do give it respect for being probably the most awesome ice ball out there.  Gotta respect something with at least 5 moons.

But if there was a group tasked with making a definition for Christianity, what would it be?  It would have to be simple, one the layman could understand, and eventually accept.  It would have to be one a majority of representatives of every religion, Christian and non-Christian could agree on.  It would also have to challenge the layman to look beyond mere belief.

Being Mormon, I'm going to be biased and pick something a Mormon would fall under.  But I don't think a definition of Christianity should be a list of doctrinal beliefs about Christ, but instead a list of behaviors that a Christian would follow.  What do you suggest?  It may lead to wanting more definitions, but I propose:

A Christian must:

1. Have faith in Jesus Christ
2. Become better by sacrificing sin through repentance
3. Clean up their neighborhood