Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? – Introduction

I know it has been a few days since my last post and I apologize to all my regular viewers, things have been a bit hectic. Hopefully you’ll forgive me. I thought in the spirit of Easter this would be a good time to address the issue of the resurrection; that is whether or not Jesus really rose from the dead. Perhaps no other issue in Christianity is as important as this one. 1 Corinthians 15 states that the truth of Christianity rests on whether or not Jesus raised from the dead.

So what’s the deal? After all, people just don’t raise from the dead, that’s what makes them, well, dead. So did Jesus raise from the dead? Better yet, can we even know? I usually hear many questions like this every Easter so I’d like to take some time over my next few posts and take a look at some pivotal issues of the resurrection.

As with the series on Mormonism, there is no possible way to examine every single piece of evidence for and against the resurrection. However, I will do my best to provide a thorough yet concise (is this even possible?) examination of the evidence.

The first thing we need to do is determine what the resurrection is and is not. First off, the resurrection is not the same thing as immorality of the soul. In other words, the teaching of resurrection of the dead does not mean your soul goes to heaven when you die according to ancient Jewish teachings. Resurrection is also not the same thing as reincarnation. In most eastern philosophies, reincarnation is often thought of as the evil one faces in this life is thought to be punishment for the wrongdoings in previous lives (i.e. Hinduism). However the Bible teaches that man lives once and then stands in God’s judgment. (A good answer to someone who asks why you don’t believe in reincarnation is because you believe in the resurrection). Resurrection is not resuscitation. Resuscitation is the belief that the person is brought back from the dead to their human state and will someday die again. An example of this would be Lazarus in John 11. Rather resurrection is the raising of the dead into this world. Death is a pre-requisite for this.

Okay, so we know what the resurrection isn’t, so what is it? In a biblical view of immortality, God will, at the end of history, raise up people and reconstitute them as persons. We have a preview of this in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now this has lots of theological implications and I am not a theologian so I am going to leave it at that. My purpose in writing this was just to make sure we are all on the same page when you see the term “resurrection.”

If you are a skeptic of the historicity of the resurrection I’d like to ask you for a favor. I’d like to ask you to keep two questions in mind as we go through this series. First, I’d like you to ask “What are the facts?” Second, I’d like you to ask “What is the most reasonable explanation of these facts?”

I sincerely believe that anyone who fairly and objectively looks at the evidence that is about to be set forth, can only come to one conclusion; that Jesus Christ conquered death through His resurrection and therefore showed Himself to be who he really is, God incarnate.

Has God Brought You To A Breaking Point?

Sometimes in our life, both before and after we become followers of Jesus, God will bring us to a breaking point. A breaking point is a period in our life when we are hurting the most and nothing we can humanly do can make it better. Only reliance upon God can provide the strength to get us through. The following is an excerpt from my journal as a prison chaplain about one man’s breaking point:

“…We received a phone call from a guard stating that an inmate had just found out his mother died and was very distraught and he wanted us to come talk with him (It is the responsibility of the Chaplain department to do death notifications). When we got there I realized the guards show absolutely no sensitivity to these prisoners. As we walked up, a guard got on the PA which addresses the entire floor and stated “Will the guy whose mom just died please step forward to meet with the Chaplains.” I felt bad for the prisoner. As I turned to look I saw a man with a shaved head and covered in tattoos walk up to us and identify himself as “Chucky.” We began to talk to him and he told us his mom was in critical condition, could die at any second, and he just wanted to talk with her as he hadn’t seen her in 17 years. He said he was supposed to have been on a bus to see his mom in Pennsylvania on Monday but he got arrested for doing heroin on Sunday night, the night before he left [I met with him on Wednesday]. At that point I watched one of the most hardened looking of all men, break down in tears. We talked to him for a while and he told us that when he was in jail a year ago, he used to attend Dave’s Bible studies (Dave did remember him being there), and that while it is easy to follow that life while in jail, it is very difficult while out on the streets. I really felt God was bringing him to a breaking point. I mean, if the guy would have just said no for 12 more hours, he could have been there with his mother already. We gave him the gospel message as well as a Bible with some scripture to read, and told him we’d see if we could arrange a phone call (prison guidelines are very strict and limited in such circumstances). A half hour after we talked with Chucky we found out that his mom was still alive and at home. She does have cancer but is being treated as an outpatient. I felt really good being able to deliver this news to Chucky and pray that he uses that experience of possible loss to get his life together…In addition to the things I already talked about, I learned a lot of other things today as well. I saw how hopeless these men really are. I felt as though I was in a building designed by God for people he is breaking down and trying to get the attention of. I can’t explain how sad it is to look in the eyes of some of these men, knowing Jesus is the answer for all of their problems, and they are too stubborn to accept it. It really is heart breaking. “

As you can see, through his mother’s illness, God was definitely trying to get Chucky’s attention. Can you think of a time in your life when God brought you to a breaking point? If so, can you look back and see where your walk with God was prior to and now after that event? My guess is your walk with Christ jumped up to the next level after that event. If you are not a follower of Christ is it possible that you are going through a breaking point in your life right now? If so, is it possible that God is trying to get your attention?

How To Create A God

I read the following quote from Stand To Reason's monthly newsletter called Solid Ground. In it the author, Greg Koukl, poses an interesting question:

If men were to invent a god, what would he be like? If we fashioned a god of our choosing, would we create a god like the one in the Bible?

A god formed by human hands would mirror human sensibilities and human proclivities. He would think and act, more or less, like we do. As our invention, his morality would reflect our desires. When we erred, he'd cluck his disapproval and dismiss our frailties with an affectionate kids-will-be-kids shrug. After all, nobody's perfect. And this is the kind of god many people believe in. Not Christianity though.

The curious thing about the God of the Bible is how unlike us He is. His wisdom confuses us; His purity frightens us. He makes moral demands we can't live up to, then threatens retribution if we don't obey. Instead of being at our beck and call, He defies manipulation. In His economy, the weak and humble prevail and the last become first.

Is the Christian God the kind of god men would create if left to our own devices? Or have we seen the true God and trembled, closed our eyes, hid our faces, and turned our backs with distracting talk about motives and psychological states?

I think this is a great point. If we were to invent a God we would make him just like us. Or at the very least, we would make him in a way that we understand or desire him to be. His rules would be fitting to our wants (i.e. drugs are fine, marriage is not necessary for sex). However, this isn't who God is. As Greg alluded to, I think the very fact that the God of the Bible is so unlike humans, that it should be counted as a powerful evidence of His existence

Is There One God Or Does Everyone Have Their Own God?

This question was sent to me to me not to long ago Answering this questions depends on how one looks at the question. There are many people that believe in their own God. Some people call this god “money,” others call their god “pleasure.” A god can be anything that you feel is the most important thing in your life. (Which is why the first of the ten commandments prohibits this type of behavior). Unfortunately, none of these gods last past death. As far as gods up in Heaven go, there is only one God. We can know this because God has told us in many different places in the Bible. For example, Isaiah 44:6 says "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me." God has shown us that there aren’t many gods like the Hindus or ancient Greeks believed but just the one true God.

Can You Give Your Soul to the Devil?

I have thought about this question quite a bit over the past few years, especially since I began prison ministry. I must have been asked this question a hundred times and each time it produces an interesting discussion. I think that in order to prevent confusion we must clarify what we are asking.

The people who regularly ask me this question are not referring to a life of rejection of God and Jesus Christ and therefore, by default, choosing an eternity in hell. (This is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 16:26). Rather they are talking about whether or not they can physically (or rather, metaphysically for you philosophy giants out there) transfer ownership of their soul to the devil. Imagine if you are buying a used car. That car isn’t yours until the owner hands you the pink slip. Essentially they are asking if they can transfer the pink slip of their soul to the devil.

Often times when prisoners ask me this question it is because they have made some sort of pact with the devil (more often than not while under the influence of drugs). Now that they have sobered up and thought a lot about their decision, they regret it.

Few things give me more joy than to be able to see the look on their faces when I tell them they can’t give their soul to the devil because their soul doesn’t belong to them in the first place, it belongs to God. Therefore they can’t give away something that they don’t have ownership or possession of. It is one of Satan’s great pleasures to lie to us and convince us that we can give our soul to him and then he sits back and watches the depression, sorrow and helplessness it brings. The look of relief on a prisoner’s face who hears this good news is indescribable.

Now don’t get me wrong, as I already stated, a person can willfully choose to reject God and therefore is securing an eternity away from God, however, a person cannot transfer ownership, or the title deed, for the rest of their natural life, to his soul. In other words, if you are still alive, and I presume you are since you are reading this, you aren't "too far gone" or "it's already too late." Taking it further, one could ask: If one could give away his soul to the devil, than how could he come to the place where he is sorry for his sins? In other words, if his soul is gone, he has no ability to realize he is a sinner and needs Jesus in his life for forgiveness. Those qualities and abilities are found in the soul and out of Satan’s hatred for Christ it doesn’t seem likely he would want you focusing on his enemy, Jesus Christ.

God created our souls and they belong to him. We simply choose where they go after death based on our acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ. Below is an excerpt from a journal I kept about my experiences in prison ministry. As you read it, try to imagine yourself in Samuel’s shoes, sitting behind bars with nothing to do all day but think about your life, what you’ve done where you've been and where your're going.

After walking the upper row we walked down the stairs where one of the inmates chained to the TV tables was calling for us. I didn’t realize it at the time, but in hindsight I really feel that this was a “divine appointment” from God. We walked up to him and he identified himself as “Samuel.” Samuel seemed very coherent and I wondered why he was on floor 7 (the mental ward) but I decided not to ask. Samuel wanted to know whether or not it was too late for him to go to heaven because one night while doing drugs he’d given away 90% of his soul to Satan in exchange for protection of his daughter. Samuel fully understood who Christ was and why he died for him and told us that he’d accepted him into his life multiple times. We talked with Samuel for a while and I explained to him that his soul wasn’t his to give away; he could only choose to accept or deny Christ, but that was it. Samuel seemed to understand this and it seemed that a huge load had been lifted off of his shoulders. We prayed with Samuel and told him we would meet with him next week. I really felt encouraged that God is doing a work in Samuel’s life and this was the highlight of my day.

Now since Samuel had accepted Christ into his life previously we could go into a discussion about eternal security, but that isn't my point. My point is that Samuel was at a place where he knew what he did was wrong and that he wanted Christ's forgiveness. If you have given away your soul, you can't come to that place.

One final point to note is that God loves us. He sent his son to die for us. He knows we are sinners and that we do stupid stuff all the time. The character of God is that he will give us every opportunity to come to him but he will never force it. He won't withhold his love for us based on a "technicality" that we gave our soul to the devil. God is not a petty legalist rather he is a God that loves us. John 3:16 states "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Did you notice it didn't mention anything about "except for those who have given away their souls?" Isn't it wonderful that we have a God of love.

Conclusion to the Series on Mormonism

Well friends we finally made it. After a little over a month of studying the claims of Mormonism we have finally come to the end of our series. I want to conclude this series by taking a brief look at where we’ve been.

First we looked at what Mormons believe and how they view the beginning of their religion. We studied the history of Joseph Smith’s visitation by the Angel Moroni as a 17 year old in the woods of New York and how he was given the history of the America’s by God as a means of restoring the “true church.” Looking towards their beliefs we learned they believe we all pre-existed as spirit children and were sent to this earth to work out our salvation so that when we die we can go to one of three levels of heaven.

We then began to examine the claims of Joseph Smith. We saw how both the Bible and the book of Mormon require all prophecies of a prophet to come true in order to know that person is a true prophet of God. We then looked at a few of the 60+ prophecies of Joseph Smith that didn’t come true. In other words, Joseph Smith couldn’t live up to the requirements of either the Bible or the book of Mormon.

Next we looked at the Book of Mormon. We studied it using some basic techniques of textual criticism. We learned that not long after Joseph Smith received his golden tablets, many of the original eyewitnesses denied the event ever took place. We saw that although the book of Mormon claims to record the history of the Americas, not one piece of archaeological evidence can be presented to support it. In fact, the Smithsonian has even published a document stating so. We finished up our study of the book of Mormon by looking at some of the changes made to it, as well as some of the plagiarizing that took place.

We then looked at the doctrine of salvation according to Mormonism. We learned that Mormons believe in a general salvation and an individual salvation. Individual salvation is dependent upon your good works and the doctrine of salvation by grace, as Christians believe, will, according to Joseph Fielding Smith, lead one into damnation.

We closed out our series by comparing Christianity and Mormonism side by side in areas of essential doctrine. We saw that at no time do Mormons and Christians believe the same thing in the areas of God, Jesus, the Bible, and Salvation. All of which are doctrines at the foundation of one’s faith.

When I set out on this series, I realized I would probably step on many people’s toes, especially those who are members of the Mormon Church. That was never my intention. My intention was to force Mormons to take a good, objective look at the teachings of their faith. I quoted from different Mormon texts as well as great Mormon leaders and provided references for anyone to investigate it for themselves.

I know there are literally thousands of resources on Mormonism available. Some are good others not so good. If you would like to learn more about Mormonism I would encourage you to look into the following resources:

Click Here to go to Christian Apologetics Research Ministry. This website will provide a good starting ground for learning more about Mormonism.

Click Here to go to Ex-Mormon.org. This site is run by many ex-Mormons and provides a tremendous amount of information.

Click Here to visit perhaps the best resource available to those investigating Mormonism. This is the online version of a book written by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, two former Mormons. It is easy to use and very informative.

For those of you who prefer to read books, there are two books I really recommend. For those who want an easy book to understand I recommend Clicking Here to purchase a great book by Ron Rhodes.

For those who like a little more meat in their reading. Click Here to order a fantastic new book that is making waves in the Academic Community.

Again, thank you for your time in staying with me through this series. This series was done at the request of someone who sent me an email asking me my thoughts about Mormonism. If you have other topics, series or not, you’d like to see addressed here, you can send me an email requesting so. My email address can be found by clicking on “View My Complete Profile” located on the column on the left side.

Are Mormons Christians?

I know you may be starting to feel a bit tired of all these posts about Mormonism so don’t worry the light is at the end of the tunnel. In this, my second to last post on the topic of Mormonism, I wanted to focus on a comparison between Mormon doctrines and Christian Doctrines. Often times I’ve talked with Mormon’s who try to convince me that they are Christians just like me. They’ll tell me they believe in God, they believe in Jesus, the plan of salvation, and they believe in the Bible too. In the past when they would say this, I’d be stuck not knowing what to do. Then I learned an important lesson I’d like to pass on to you. Whenever they say they believe in the same thing you do, the most important thing you can do is stop and define your terms. In other words, you could say "We both believe in God, but who do you believe God is?" What is the authority of the Bible? What is your understanding of who Jesus is? Another way would be to explain your beliefs. For example, you could say “Well I believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all three persons of the same God. Do you believe that?” This is critical to avoid any misunderstandings about exactly what you are talking about. After all, both Muslims and Christians believe in Jesus; however Christians believe Jesus to be fully God and fully man while Muslims just believe he was a good prophet. Does that make Muslims Christian? Of course not. So in this post I wanted to briefly look at some of the differences between Mormonism and Christianity in some very fundamental areas and let you decide for yourself if Mormon’s are Christian.

God

Christians believe:
1. God is a spirit without flesh and bones (John 4:24, Psalm 139:7-10)
2. God is not a man (Numbers 23:19, Romans 1:22-23)
3. There is only one God (Isaiah 44:6,8, 45:5, John 10:30)
4. God has always been God (Psalm 90:2)

Mormons believe:
1. God the Father has a body of flesh and bones, (Doctrine and Covenants, 130:22).
2. God exists in the form of a man (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, pg. 3.)
3. There are many gods (Mormon Doctrine, pg. 163., pg 576-577)
4. God was once a man (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 345)


Jesus

Christians believe:
1. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18, 23-24)
2. Jesus was the creator of all things and therefore was not the brother of the devil (Colossians 1:16-17)
3. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity (John 10:30)

Mormons Believe:
1. God had sexual relations with Mary to make the body of Jesus (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 4, p. 218, 1857; vol. 8, p. 115.)
2. Jesus was a created being and therefore Jesus is the brother of the devil. (Mormon Doctrine by Bruce McConkie pg. 192, 589. Gospel Through the Ages by Milton Hunter, P. 15)
3. Jesus is one of three gods (Mormon Doctrine by Bruce McConkie pg. 319)


The Bible

Christians believe:
1. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God. It is authoritative over all (2 Timothy 3:16)
2. The word of God will live forever (Matthew 24:35, Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:25)

Mormons believe:
1. The Bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. (8th Article of Faith of the Mormon Church)
2. The gospel was lost from earth (Doctrines of Salvation Vol. 3, pg. 265-326, Mormon Doctrine by Bruce McConkie pg. 44)


Salvation

Christians believe:
1. Those who don’t believe in Jesus are condemned to hell (John 3:16-18, Matthew 10:28, Revelation 20:15)
2. The blood of Jesus can cleanse us from all sin (Romans 5:8-9, 1 John 1:7)

Mormons believe:
1. Some degree of salvation will come to everyone. In other words, the atonement [the atonement is a fancy word used to describe Jesus’ act of putting humans in correct standing before God] was universal for all. (Articles of Faith by James Talmage, pg. 85, 91-92)
2. Some sins cannot be paid for by Christ’s blood (Mormon Doctrine by Bruce McConkie pg. 93, Doctrines of Salvation by Joseph F. Smith Vol. 1, pg. 135)

I could show many more but space doesn’t allow but I think you get the point. Although the same terminology is used, Mormons and Christians mean very different things when talking about issues central to their faith. Christians who are reading this, I want to encourage you in that anytime you are sharing your faith with someone and they say “Oh, I believe in God too” or “Oh, I believe in Jesus”, please don’t stop there and assume they believe in the same God or the same Jesus you do. Ask questions. Ask about who this God is? What did Jesus do? How come Jesus was qualified to pay the price on the cross? If you are like me, you’ll quickly be surprised at how often we assume the people we are talking to hold to the same beliefs we do, when in reality nothing could be further from the truth.

Do Mormons Believe in Salvation by Faith or by Works? Part 2

Before reading this post, I'd highly recommend re-reading the previous one. It will help with the flow of this post and I think it will make more sense if you read them together. Okay well we've got a lot to cover today so let's get right into it. For those who have talked with Mormon missionaries in the past (You’ve probably seen them around in your neighborhood. They are typically young men that wear white shirts with ties, dark pants, and ride on bicycles) know that talking about salvation can be confusing. Even I’ve had conversations where I walked away scratching my head because what they said sounded similar to what I believe. However, after doing some more studying into Mormon doctrine, I realized why this was confusing. When Mormons speak of salvation, there are actually two different salvations being discussed. The first is called “General Salvation.” They will commonly refer to this as “Salvation by Grace” (not to be confused with the Christian definition of Salvation by Grace). This General Salvation only refers to a person’s immortality and resurrection from the dead. It does NOT refer to where they are going when they die or to what degree. Basically it allows for the POSSIBILITY for one to have a spirit body and to have spirit children but doesn’t guarantee anything.

The second type of salvation is called “Individual Salvation.” Now individual salvation is an important one and as stated in Mormon doctrine, this type of salvation is “salvation by works.” (Articles of Faith by James Talmage, pages 92, 144. 2 Nephi 25:23, Alma 7:16, Doctrines & Covenants 132:12). So what exactly are these works that one must do? One Mormon I spoke with gave me a list. He said the following were necessary for salvation to the “highest level”:

Baptism in a Mormon church
Regular attendance at Mormon Church
Consistent good works
Attaining worthiness
Engaging in temple work (rituals)

Now you can probably immediately see some of the problems I have with this list. The first is what about circumstances out of your control? For example, what if you are unable to regularly attend church due to illness? For example, let’s say you are bed ridden. Or what if you live in a very rural area and there is no church for hundreds of miles; then what? How much exactly is "consistent attendance" Every week? 50 out of 52 weeks a year? What is the standard? My second problem is that these requirements are entirely subjective. What is the standard for “Attaining worthiness?” By who’s definition? The Church? The Apostle’s? God’s? Jesus? My own? What objective standards do I use? What about “Consistent good works?” Is that consistently throughout the hour? The day? A lifetime? How many are enough? When do you know? What is the scale of good deeds to bad deeds? How many times must you help an old lady across the street to “work off” murdering someone?

In addition to these criterion I have found that one must accept Mormon leadership for salvation. For example, In Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 1, page 186 it states “There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God.” (Also see Brigham Young’s Journal of Discourses Volume 9 page 312). Well if you read my previous post on Joseph Smith’s lack of fulfillment of the criteria of a prophet of God, you’ll see we have a very serious problem here. If I can show that Joseph Smith can’t live up to his OR God’s standards as a prophet and therefore choose not to recognize him as such, how can I have salvation?

Okay so now we have a basic understanding of what Mormon’s believe the goal and method of salvation to be. So now let’s compare this with what the Bible has to say. Anyone who has read through the Bible can tell you that it essentially has one underlying theme running consistently through it. That theme is the nature of man, the problem of sin and Jesus Christ as payment for that sin and therefore those who believe in Him and his work on the cross can spend eternity in Heaven with God. The Bible makes it very, very clear in many verses that belief in Christ Jesus is the ONLY way to get to Heaven and that no amount of works can do that for us. While Ephesians 2:8-9 are the most commonly cited, there are several more. Here are just a few of the verses that show this critical truth: (Pay special attention to the parts I marked in bold)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9


“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” – Titus 3:5-7

“And may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” – Philippians 3:9-11

“Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.” – Galatians 2:16

I could go on and on but I think you get the point. The Bible specifically states that you can’t do good works to get to heaven. (At this point some Mormons would argue that James 2:20 says the opposite, however, when read in its proper context, one can see that this verse is stating that if you truly have a relationship with Christ; your works will show it. It is not saying that you have to have works to be justified). So what does the Bible say the way to salvation is? Check out the following

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me”. – John 14:6

"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” – John 17:3

“And after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." – Acts16:30-31

Although these are only three of the many others, did you notice something similar about them? That’s right, they all talk about Jesus Christ as the way to salvation and not works. This is the core belief of Christianity. That faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. So what do Mormons think about this “Salvation only by faith in Christ” doctrine? Well, Joseph Fielding Smith, the tenth President of the Mormon Church, said “Mankind is damned by the faith alone doctrine” (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 2 pg. 139). Apostle Bruce McConkie said “Many Protestants erroneously conclude that men are saved by grace alone without doing the works of righteousness” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. 2, pg. 229).

I hope over the past two posts you’ve been able to see that Christians and Mormons do not share the same beliefs regarding salvation. Mormons believe in three levels of heaven with the goal being to reach the highest level. They believe Jesus Christ was no different than you or me except he didn’t have a physical human father like we do. Christ had to work out his own salvation and it had no bearing on my salvation or yours. They use the term “Saved by Grace” to refer to the fact that they believe in immortality and bodily resurrection. A more important component called “Individual Salvation” is by works only. This flies directly in the face of Christian beliefs. Christians believe that there is one heaven and one hell. They believe that Jesus was God incarnate, that is he was 100% God and 100% man, who came to the earth, lived a perfect life without sin, and was therefore uniquely qualified to pay the price for sin on behalf of mankind. Christians believe that putting one’s faith in Jesus as God and for payment for our sins is sufficient to have eternal life. (See 1 John 5:11-12). When faced with the Christian view of salvation, Mormon leadership has effectively branded it as heresy.

To my Mormon friends visiting this site, I urge you to consider what has been written. I hope you see that both of these views cannot be right. One must be wrong. I urge you to look at the evidence as presented throughout this series. I have not merely stated my own theories but have quoted extensively from Mormon sources. It is my prayer that you will see that out of His love for us, Jesus Christ has already paid the price for your sins. There is no amount of works that are good enough to buy your way into heaven and rightfully so because that would cheapen the honor of being there. Rather He has already purchased heaven’s entrance ticket for you, and is holding it out for you to accept. Won’t you put your faith in the Jesus of the Bible today?

Do Mormons Believe in Salvation by Faith or by Works? Part 1

I’d like to start out by thanking you for sticking with me thus far throughout the series. I know any type of series’ can sometimes be a bit tedious but based on some of the feedback I’ve received I believe a lot of people are coming to a better understanding of what Mormonism teaches. I’d also like to give a special word of thanks to those of you who are members of the Church of Latter Day Saints who have stuck with me thus far. I know it is never a pleasant thing to see the beliefs you hold so dearly being placed under critical scrutiny. However, because the stakes are so high (eternity) and the need for truth is so great, I really feel it is important to place these beliefs under the microscope and see them objectively and clearly. So again I thank you for your open-mindedness to what I have to say, as well as your emails challenging me on certain topics.

Okay, so let’s take a quick look at where we’ve been. So far we’ve covered (albeit briefly): How Mormonism started, What basic beliefs Mormon’s hold, That their main prophet had numerous false prophecies and couldn’t live up to God's or his own standards, that their holy text contains numerous changes and has zero archeological evidence to support it. Now I’m going to change our course and take a look at doctrine. I want to focus on one doctrine in particular; the doctrine of salvation. That is, how does one get to heaven? Again, this topic is so vast that numerous volumes could be written about it so we are going to look at only the tip of the ice berg.

Before we can get into salvation issues, it is important that we take a quick look at the Mormon worldview. This will help make sense of why they see things as they do. If you remember from my earlier post, Mormons believe that humans pre-existed in spirit form. We were then sent down to earth and filled up human bodies so that we could work out our salvation to obtain our “Godhood” in the highest level of the Celestial Heaven. [SIDE NOTE: Mormon’s believe that there are three levels of heaven. The first level is the “telestial” level. This is where the wicked evil people go. The second level is called the “terrestrial” level. This is where luke-warm Mormons go, good non-Mormons (whatever that is) go, and where those who accept Mormonism after they die go. (That’s right, if you got it wrong while here on earth, you get a second chance to do things right when you die). The highest level of heaven is called the “Celestial.” The Celestial is made up of 3 degrees. The highest of these degrees is where you get to be your own God and therefore is the one we are all shooting for. Okay, now back to main point...] The God that we worship was once a man on another planet and he achieved this “Godhood” and now rules our planet with his spirit wife and spirit children. Two of those spirit children were Jesus and Satan. Mormons believe that:

A plan of salvation was needed for the people of earth so Jesus offered a plan to the father and Satan offered a plan to the father but Jesus' plan was accepted. In effect the Devil wanted to be the Savior of all Mankind and to "deny men their agency and to dethrone god." – Mormon Doctrine, Page 193; and Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, Page 8.

This “plan” that Jesus presented is what we currently use to obtain salvation in this world. Now this has very important implications that will help you understand their view of salvation. You must realize that to a Mormon, Jesus was a spirit child just like you and I were. Therefore his nature is not unique. Now his incarnation, or how he came to earth (the fact that God and Mary had sex) is unique, but his nature isn’t. Every “exalted person” will reach the same status that Jesus is at now. In fact, Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt, in explaining Jesus’ humanity, went so far as to say “Jesus was a polygamist being married to several woman including Mary and Martha.” (Orson Pratt, The Seer, Nov 1853, Vol. 1, Number 11, p 172.). So you can see, Jesus doesn’t hold any special position to a Mormon in so far as his deity by nature is concerned. To them, he is just a good example to follow. In fact Mormon Doctrine specifically states:

"Christ is a saved being who came to earth to work out his own salvation. Jesus' sacrifice was not able to cleanse us from all our sins." – Journal of Discourses, Vol. 3, Page 247, 1856.

Notice the two words I put in bold; “his own.” That is, Christ didn’t come to earth to secure your salvation or my salvation (a truth which is fundamental to Christianity) rather he came to earth to work out his own salvation. Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie states “Christ’s death did not secure salvation, it only made it possible.” (Bruce McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Vol. 3, pg. 238)

So hopefully now you have a bit better understanding of where a Mormon is coming from. I am going to stop here because the second half of this post is a bit longer and more detailed so I'm going to split it into two parts. After I post the second half I'd encourage you to re-read this post first so the information will be fresh in your mind before you take on the rest of it. I should have the second half posted within a few days....

Is the Book of Mormon the Inspired Word of God? Part 3

In my first post regarding the Book of Mormon I looked at problems with the nature of the book. In the second post I looked at problems with the consistency of the text and some of the changes that have been made. In this post I want to look at what I feel are some ethical problems with the book.

The first problem I have is that the Book of Mormon has some parts that have clearly been plagiarized from the King James Version of the Bible. There are extensive quotes, including whole chapters from the book of Isaiah that are taken directly from the King James Version of the Bible. In fact, some Scholars believe there are approximately 27,000 words in the Book of Mormon that have been directly copied from the King James Bible. Plagiarism is nothing knew, just ask any college student. However here is my problem. If the Book of Mormon was written sometime between 600 BC and 421 AD as it claims, how can it have direct quotes from the King James Version of the Bible which was written over 1000 years later, on a different continent, from a different language? Golly that sure is one heck of a coincidence isn’t it? I can’t say for sure, but I would be willing to bet that any professor who had a student turn in a work with 27,000 words copied from another publication and yet still claimed them to be his own would probably get kicked out of school (or in this case start his own religion).

The second problem I have with the Book of Mormon is its obvious errors. Mormonism claims to accept the Bible as the word of God (as long as it is translated correctly [whatever that means]). The Bible clearly states in Matthew 2:1 and Micah 5:2 that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. However, the Book of Mormon states in Alma 7:10 that Jesus was born in Jerusalem. Bethlehem and Jerusalem were two distinct cities over 6 miles apart. Both cannot be correct. It may seem like a minor point to you but for me to accept a book as the word of God, simple mistakes just should not be there. Furthermore, in the book of Jacob 7:27 it states, ”and to the reader I bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu." Now, correct me if I’m wrong but the French language wasn’t really a language until about 800 AD. So what is a French word doing in a document supposedly written by a Hebrew in America around 600 BC? It just doesn’t fit.

The final problem that I have with the Book of Mormon is its completeness. If you remember the Book of Mormon is supposed to be the “most complete book on earth.” Now if it is so complete why doesn’t it address issues that are central to Mormon doctrine? I have compiled a list of 12 issues that are at the core of the Mormon belief system. Not one of these is explicitly or thoroughly addressed in the Book of Mormon. Those doctrines are: Church organization, Plurality of Gods, Plurality of wives, Word of Wisdom, God is an exalted man, Celestial marriage, Men may become Gods, Three degrees of glory (heaven), Baptism for the dead, Eternal progression, The Aaronic Priesthood, and The Melchizedek Priesthood. It seems that such a complete book that was designed by God as his correction for the lost church should address such issues.

As I finish my third and final post on the issue of the Book of Mormon I hope you have been learning some important truths about this book. To quickly recap we learned that the there were only a few witnesses to the existence of the original tablets, many of whom later changed their mind about whether or not they saw them. We learned that there is no historical archeological evidence for claims made by the Book of Mormon and leading scientific institutions clearly say so. We took a look at a few of the thousands of examples of the Book of Mormon being changed over the passage of time. We then saw that the Book of Mormon has been plagiarized, contains obvious errors, and doesn’t address many of the essential doctrines of Mormonism. All of this from a book that Joseph Smith claimed was the “most correct of any book on earth.”

I’d like to end this analysis on the Book of Mormon with some words the Apostle Paul left for the Galatians. In verse 8 he writes:

"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!”

Is the Book of Mormon the Inspired Word of God? Part 2

In my last post I looked at some of the errors with the nature of the Book of Mormon. In this post I want to look at some of the changes to the book. Several sources I researched all stated that there were almost 4,000 independent changes between the original 1830 and the current 1981 versions of the Book of Mormon. 4,000 changes!!! I find it ironic that the Book of Mormon set out to fix the corruption that took place over the previous 2,000 years and yet within its first 150 years has been corrupted in over 4,000 places. Now I’ll grant that some of these are minor spelling corrections but many more are not. In the interest of space I cannot list all of the changes. Therefore I will only list a couple of my favorites. Now I realize that it is very easy for me to make these claims unchallenged. Therefore, as always, in the interest of fairness, I encourage you to verify these claims yourself. I also realize that most of you don’t have access to either an 1830 or a 1981 version of the Book of Mormon. So, again in the interest of fairness, I will provide one. Click Here for a photocopied version of the 1830 Book of Mormon. (The photocopy helps ensure accuracy as opposed to someone simply typing it). Click Here for the 1981 version of the Book of Mormon.

First, on the title page of each book Joseph Smith is recognized as the playing a key role. However the 1830 version states “…by Joseph Smith Jr. Author and Proprietor” as compared to the 1981 version which states “translated by Joseph Smith Jr.” -- So which is it; did Joseph Smith write the book or did he simply translate it? It may appear like a minor issue of semantics but in reality it has major implications for the rest of the book.

Secondly, the 1830 version of the Book of Mosiah, p.200; states: "...on learning from the mouth of Ammon that king Benjamin had a gift from God..." However the 1981 version states in Mosiah 21:28: "...on learning from the mouth of Ammon that king Mosiah had a gift from God..." – So which was it? Was it King Benjamin or King Mosiah?

Thirdly, the 1830 version of the Book of Alma p.315; reads "But behold, as the seed swelleth and sprouteth and beginneth to grow, and then ye must needs say, That seed is good; for behold, it swelleth and sprouteth and beginneth to grow." However, in the 1981 version, the leaders of the Church have taken the liberty to rewrite it to say the following “But behold, as the seed swelleth and sprouteth and beginneth to grow, and then ye must needs say, That seed is good; for behold, it swelleth and sprouteth and beginneth to grow. And now behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say that I know that this is a good seed; for behold, it sprouteth and beginneth to grow." – They not only doubled the length of the verse but entirely changed its meaning.

Finally, in regards to skin color the 1830 version of the Book of 2 Nephi 30:6 uses the word “white.” This is important to know if one has ever desired to study how the Mormon Church has historically viewed blacks. (Click Here for more information). However the 1981 version uses the word “pure” instead of white. This is very convenient considering that it wasn’t until June of 1978, only 3 years earlier, that blacks were allowed by the church to hold a position of priesthood.

I could go on and on with countless other examples of changes in the Book of Mormon. (Well okay, technically not countless as there are only about 4,000 of them). Please notice that I did not show simple grammatical changes but changes that significantly alter the meaning of the text. I find it very interesting that when the 1830 version was translated from the tablets, it was done with seer stones, one character at a time. Seems reasonable that one character at a time should produce a pretty accurate translation shouldn’t it? If it wasn’t translator error than why would a sovereign God have dictated a text with so many errors? Why couldn’t he get it right the first time? These are questions that Mormons must be held accountable to answer. I don’t know about you, but personally I do not feel comfortable trusting my eternity to a book written by a god who can’t seem to make up his mind and therefore needs regular “updates” to his holy text. If you would like more information or would like to see lists with more changes you can Click Here, Click Here, Click Here, or Click Here.

Is the Book of Mormon the Inspired Word of God? Part 1

As you’ve come to know by now, I am a firm believer in going straight to a religion’s holy text as the best way to determine whether or not a religion is true. This series on Mormonism is no different. In fact, there is so much to say on this topic that I’ve divided it up into 3 posts. The first post will cover the history and nature of the Book of Mormon. The second post will look at some of the changes made to the Book of Mormon over the past 150 years. The third post will look at some of the ethical problems I have with the Book of Mormon. As always, I will do my best, when possible, to provide as much citation for you as possible.

According to Mormonism, the true church was lost from the earth and God saw a need for its restoration. (Ironically enough, the Bible claims the exact opposite in Matthew 16:18, Click Here). God recorded an account of His dealings with the original inhabitants of the American continent between the years 2247 BC and 421 AD. Mormons claim this account was originally engraved on gold plates by ancient prophets, written in “reformed Egyptian,” deposited in a stone box and buried in New York. Joseph Smith was led to these plates and translated them through a “seer stone.” Smith was so confident of his find that he said “the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth” (History of the Church Vol. 4 page 461).

The first issue I want to look at is whether or not these gold plates actually existed. The only persons who claimed to have actually seen the gold plates were eleven close friends of Joseph Smith (many of them were related to each other). Their testimonies are printed in the front of every copy of the Book of Mormon. However, curiously enough, no neutral third party was ever allowed to examine them. On top of that most of these witnesses later abandoned Smith and left his movement. In response to their abandoning him, Smith called them “liars.” Now I don’t know about you, but I personally find these circumstances rather suspicious and would be curious to see how the case for divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon would stand up under modern day courtroom cross-examination of these witnesses. For more information about these gold plates and the witnesses that later changed their minds about actually seeing them you can Click Here or for a list of resources Click Here.

Perhaps even more interesting than the lack of evidence for the gold tablets is the lack of any archeological evidence supporting the claims of the Book of Mormon. Interestingly enough, the detailed history and civilization described in the Book of Mormon does not correspond to anything found by archaeologists anywhere in the Americas. The Book of Mormon describes a civilization lasting for a thousand years, covering both North and South America, which was familiar with horses, elephants, cattle, sheep, wheat, barley, steel, wheeled vehicles, shipbuilding, sails, coins, and other elements of the Old World culture. However, no trace of any of these supposedly very common things has ever been found in the Americas from that period and many of the features of the civilizations which really did exist at that time in the Americas are never mentioned in the book. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Book of Mormon presents the picture of a relatively homogeneous people, with a single language and communication between distant parts of the Americas. However scientists tell us that the history of the Americas actually shows the opposite: widely disparate racial types (almost entirely East Asian - definitely not Semitic [which the Book of Mormon states], as proven by recent DNA studies), and many unrelated native languages, none of which are even remotely related to Hebrew or Egyptian.

Friends, this isn’t looking good for a God who is supposedly trying to restore his lost church. However the ever zealous leaders of the Mormon Church have also noticed this problem. Instead of recognizing the obvious lack of divinity for their book they have spent millions of dollars on archeological excavations with the hope that science will back up their claims. Well those digs have been conducted time and time again and the news is not what they were hoping for. The Bureau of American Ethnology, National Geographical Society and the Smithsonian Institute have all issued statements very clearly stating their views on the Book of Mormon. All three unequivocally believe the Book of Mormon has absolutely no basis as scientific fact. The Smithsonian Institute even went so far as to say

“…Smithsonian archaeologists see no direct connection between the archaeology of the New World and the subject matter of the book.”

Now remember, the Smithsonian is only interested in scientific fact. They have no bias one way or the other, religious document or not. If you would like to read the entire statement by the world- renowned Smithsonian Institution regarding the Book of Mormon, Click Here.

I could go on and on about the archeological problems of the Book of Mormon but space won’t allow for it. If you would like some more information or to do your own research about the archeological problems with the Book of Mormon, you can Click Here. If you would like to read a fascinating article regarding the problems with the metals mentioned in the Book of Mormon you can Click Here.

So let me give a quick recap of what we have seen so far. We have a book that was supposedly inspired by God, seen by only a handful of people and several of which later recanted and said they made the story up. On top of that, three of the world’s leading archeological organizations have stated that there is absolutely no scientific correlation between the Book of Mormon and any archeological evidence whatsoever? And we haven’t even gotten into what the text says yet!

Was Joseph Smith a False Prophet?

One of the unique characteristics that Christianity has to verify its truthfulness and legitimacy is prophecy. Prophecy is commonly defined as something along the lines of “The foretelling of the future through a direct revelation from God” and the one who does this foretelling is referred to as a Prophet. But how does one test the legitimacy of a messenger of God? Was Nostradamus a prophet? What about the fortune teller that lives down the street? How does one know? Well since it is very easy for someone to say “…thus says the Lord” and claim it is a word of prophecy, the Bible has in place some very strict criteria for determining a true prophet of God from a phony. Perhaps the clearest verses regarding the testing of a prophet can be found in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 which reads:

'But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. You may say in your heart, 'How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”

Did you see that part about “that prophet shall die”? Remember this was a culture that didn’t have 16 years of appeals in the court system. God instituted this harsh punishment in order to make people think twice before speaking on behalf of God. If the person didn’t have a 100% success rate, that person was killed immediately. The Mormon text “Doctrines and Covenants” also has a statement on prophecy. D&C 1:37 states “Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.” Notice that phrase “all be fulfilled.” That will be important in a minute.

Joseph Smith claimed to be a prophet of God and he made many prophecies as such. The problem is that most of them didn’t come true and due to specific dates or people involved, many of them will never be able to come true. Now remember, according to God (who is the one giving the prophecy to the prophet) all it takes is for 1 prophecy not to come true and that person is branded as a false prophet. I have found a list which compiles well over 50 prophecies made by Smith (with citation) that never came true. (For the complete list Click Here). I’ve listed four of my favorites below:

Dec 16, 1833. Doctrines & Covenants 101:17-20 Zion (Missouri) shall not be moved out of its place; the Saints will receive their inheritance there, and there is no other place than Missouri appointed by God for the gathering of the Saints.

FULFILLMENT: History shows us that not only were the Mormons removed from Missouri but today we can see them as having established their headquarters in Salt Lake City Utah. Why are they in Utah today if God appointed the state of Missouri for them?

Feb 14, 1835. History of the Church 2:182. Joseph Smith preached that the coming of the Lord would be in 56 years (i.e., about 1891). This prophecy also occurs in his diary for April 6, 1843 and HC 5:336. See also D&C 130:14-17. Joseph Smith prophesies that "there of those of the rising generation who shall not taste death till Christ comes." He prophesies "in the name of the Lord God - let it be written: that the Son of Man will not come in the heavens till I am 85 years old, 48 years hence or about 1890." (The official historians have deleted the last phrase, beginning with "48 years" from the church history, but it is contained in the original diary.) The version in D&C 130 is phrased negatively, i.e., Christ will not come before 1890. It is also made conditional on Joseph Smith living to the age of 85. Joseph Smith says (v 16) that it might merely mean that if he lives to 85 he will go where Christ is, and therefore see his face. But that interpretation would not make sense if the revelation is in response to Joseph Smith's inquiry about the time of the second coming (v 14).

FULFILLMENT: The second coming did not occur about 1891, and the Church does not claim that it did. Nor has it occurred since. Joseph Smith did not live to be 85 years old. God must have known that he would not. Why would God make a revelation conditional upon an event which he knew would never happen?

April 23, 1834. Doctrines & Covenants 104: 78-83. God's promise to deliver the Saints from their debts. "It is my will that you shall pay all your debts." The Lord will soften the hearts of their creditors.

FULFILLMENT: Joseph Smith and other prominent Mormons had to flee Kirtland (Missouri) to avoid their creditors, leaving debts of thousands of dollars unpaid. Smith ultimately filed bankruptcy.

Feb 6, 1844. Joseph Smith prophesies that within five years the Mormons would be able to live without cooking their food. (Joseph Smith manuscript diary, omitted from the History of the Church. Cited in D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy, Salt Lake City, 1994, p. 642).

FULFILLMENT: The Mormons are still cooking their food.

Now we only looked at four of them, but I think you get the idea. According to the standard set forth in the Bible and in Doctrines and Covenants Joseph Smith does not meet the standards of a prophet of God.

Another issue that questions Smith’s credentials as a prophet of God is the famous Book of Abraham translation. It’s a long story but basically Smith translated some Egyptian hieroglyphic scrolls in 1835 (remember at this time scientists hadn’t yet cracked the code of hieroglyphics). He stated that these scrolls were the Book of Abraham and the Book of Joseph which later became Mormon Scripture and part of the Pearl of Great Price. The scrolls were then lost and found again in 1967. By this time Egyptologists could translate hieroglyphics. What they found was astonishing. These scrolls were “common Egyptian funeral scrolls, entirely pagan in nature, having nothing to do with Abraham, and from a period 2000 years later than Abraham. The "Grammar" has been said by Egyptologists to prove that Smith had no notion of the Egyptian language. It is pure fantasy: he made it up” (If you’d like more information Click Here). So as we have seen so far. Joseph Smith does not meet God’s or his own standards for a prophet and he lied about his abilities from God.

I could go on and on about other aspects of Joseph Smith’s character (i.e. he had been tried and convicted of fortune telling) but in the interest of time and space I cannot. I feel that I have presented a reasonable case (considering the limited space with which to work) against Joseph Smith. However, in the interest of fairness I shall let him speak for himself. In closing, I will leave you with a quote from Joseph Smith himself:

I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I, The followers of Jesus ran away from Him, but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me ye.

--History of the Church Vol. 6, pp.408-9

What Do Mormons Believe?

Again, as previously stated there is no way I can go into complete detail as to every single belief that Mormons hold. So before we go into specific doctrines (things like Heaven/Hell, Is God one person or three, Who was Jesus etc.) I want to present a quick overview of the Mormon’s worldview. Imagine a house being built. The last posting gave us the history of Joseph Smith which would be the equivalent of the concrete foundation. The worldview of a Mormon, this post, would be the framework of the house. Once these two areas are established, we can go into specific doctrines or “rooms within the house.” I feel that CARM’s Website presents a good brief, basic, and chronological summary of the worldview Mormons hold to. I have presented it here in its entirety (with accompanying footnotes). Please bear with me as I know these posts can be a bit tedious but they are essential to understanding the future posts in this series

Mormonism teaches that God used to be a man on another world and that he became a god by following the laws and ordinances of his god on his home world. He brought his wife to this world, a woman he had married on the other world. She is, essentially a goddess.

In his present god-state, he rules our world. He has a body of flesh and bones. Since god and his wife are both exalted persons, they each possess physical bodies. In their exalted states as deities, they produce spirit children that grow and mature in the spiritual realm. The first spirit born was Jesus. Afterwards Lucifer was born along with the rest of us. So, Mormonism teaches that we all pre-existed in the spirit realm having been produced from the union of god and his goddess wife. Therefore, we all existed in spirit form before coming down and entering the bodies of human babies that are being born on earth. During this ‘compression' into the infant state, the memories of their pre-existence is 'veiled.'

God the father, who is called Elohim, was concerned for the future salvation of the people on earth. In the heavenly realm, the Father had a plan for the salvation of the world. Jesus endorsed the Father's plan. Lucifer did not. Lucifer became jealous and rebelled. In his rebellion he convinced a large portion of the spirits existing in heaven to side with him and oppose god. God being more powerful then they, cursed these rebellious spirits to become demons. They can never be born in human bodies.

The remaining spirits sided with God. Since they chose the better way, when it comes time for them to live on earth, they have the privilege of being born in races and locations that are relative to their condition and choice made in the spirit realm.(1)

In the Mormon plan of salvation there needed to be a savior: Jesus. But Jesus was a spirit in heaven. For him to be born on earth, Brigham Young the second prophet of the Mormon Church said that instead of letting any other man do it, God the Father did it with Mary. He said that the birth of our savior was as natural as the birth of our parents. Essentially, what this means is that Brigham Young taught that god the father came down and had relations with Mary, his spirit daughter, to produce the body of Jesus. Though many Mormons will not entertain such incestuous thoughts about God and Mary, this is what Brigham Young taught and as far as we know, this has not been denied by the Mormon Church.

Nevertheless, Jesus was born, got married, and had children.(2) He died on the cross and paid for sins -- but not on the cross only. According to Mormonism, the atonement of Christ was not only on the cross. It began in the Garden of Gethsemane before he went to the cross.

In Mormonism, men and women have the potential of becoming gods. President Lorenzo Snow said, "As god once was, man is. As God is, man may become." In order to reach this exalted state of godhood, a person must first become a good Mormon, pay a full ten percent tithe to the Mormon Church, follow various laws and ordinances of the church, and be found worthy. At this point, they receive a temple recommend whereupon, the Mormon is allowed to enter their sacred temples in order to go through a set of secret rituals: baptism for the dead, celestial marriage, and various oaths of secrecy and commitment. Additionally, four secret handshakes are taught so the believing Mormon, upon entering the third level of Mormon heaven, can shake hands with god in a certain pattern. This celestial ritual is for the purpose of permitting entrance into the highest level of heaven.(3) For those who achieve this highest of heavens, exaltation to godhood awaits them. Then, he or she, will be permitted to have his or her own planet and be the god of his own world and the Mormon system will be expanded to other planets.

______________________
1. Page 616 of Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie
2. Jedediah M. Grant, second Counselor to Brigham Young said so in Journal of Discourses, vol.1, pp. 345-346. Apostle Orson Hyde stated it in, vol. 2: 210, 328; vol. 4:259-260; vol. 13:309; Millennial Star, Vol. 15, p. 825; The Seer, page 172, 158, -- Note: These references are not official Mormon scripture and there is disagreement in acceptance of this teaching among Mormons.
3. What's Going on in There? An Exposing of the Secret Mormon Temple Rituals, by Bob Witte & Gordon H. Fraser. Gordon Fraser, Publisher.

Introduction to the Series on Mormonism

I have been asked by a regular visitor to this site to do a series on the subject of Mormonism. I must admit that while I have extensively studied Mormonism (I’ve even been to the Temple Square in Salt Lake City) I am afraid that more harm than good may come from it. Mormonism has many different components to it and trying to cover them in just a few posts may cause more questions than answers. It would be similar to trying to explain the entire history of Europe in just a few hundred words. So with that in mind let me say right now that I cannot cover every single detail. Instead I will try to focus on some of the main issues such as “Is Mormonism Christianity?”, “Is Salvation by Faith or by Works?” and “Is the Book of Mormon Reliable?”

Mormonism is among the fastest growing religions in the worlds and boasts a membership of between 10 and 20 million people depending on who you ask. The Mormon Church is also among the wealthiest of the world’s religions. In order to get the most out of this series I feel it is important for you to have a basic understanding of the beginnings of Mormonism. I have read many different summaries of the beginnings but the one I feel is not only thorough but concise is found on CARM’s website. I have decided to print it in its entirety here because I feel it is that important for you to have a firm grasp of how Mormonism started:

Mormonism began with Joseph Smith Jr. who was born on Dec. 23, 1805, in Vermont. He was the fourth child of Lucy and Joseph Smith. Joseph senior was known as a money digger and sought after buried treasure, particularly that of Captain Kidd. His mother was highly superstitious.

Joseph Smith Jr. stated that he was disturbed by all the different denominations of Christianity and wondered which was true. In 1820, when he was 14, he went into the woods to pray concerning this and allegedly God the Father and Jesus appeared to him and told him not to join any of the denominational churches.

Three years later, on Sept. 21, 1823, when he was 17 years old, an angel called Moroni, who was supposed to be the son of Mormon, the leader of the people called the Nephites who had lived in the Americas, appeared to him and told him that he had been chosen to translate the book of Mormon which was compiled by Moroni's father around the 4th century. The book was written on golden plates hidden near where Joseph was then living in Palmyra, New York. Joseph Smith said that on Sept. 22, 1827 he received the plates and the angel Moroni instructed him to begin the translation process. The translation was finally published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. Joseph claimed that during this translation process, John the Baptist appeared to him and ordained him to accomplish the divine work of restoring the true church by preaching the true gospel which, allegedly, had been lost from the earth.

The Book of Mormon is supposed to be the account of people who came from the Middle-East to the Americas. It covers the period of about 600 B.C. to 400 A.D. It tells of the Jaredites, people from the Tower of Babel who came to Central America but perished because of their own immorality. It also describes some Jews who fled persecution in Jerusalem and came to America led by a man called Nephi. The Jews divided into two groups known as the Nephites and Lamanites who fought each other. The Nephites were defeated in 428 A.D. The Lamanites continued and are known as the American Indians. The Book of Mormon is the account of the Nephite eader, Mormon, concerning their culture, civilization, and appearance of Jesus to the Americas.

After the publication of the Book of Mormon, Mormonism began to grow. Because their religion was so deviant from Christianity, i.e., plurality of gods, polygamy (Joseph is said to have had 27 wives), etc., persecution soon forced them to move from New York to Ohio, then to Missouri, and finally to Nauvoo, Illinois. After being accused of breaking some laws in Nauvoo (for destroying a printing press that was publishing harmful information on Mormonism), Joseph and his brother Hyrum ended up in jail. A mob later broke into the jail and killed Joseph and his brother.

After the shooting, the church divided into two groups: One led by his widow which went back to Independence Missouri. They are known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They claim to be the true Church and lay claim to the legal succession of the church presidency which was bestowed upon Joseph's son by Joseph Smith himself. The other group was led by Brigham Young and they went to Utah where, in 1847, they ended up in Salt Lake and founded Salt Lake City. Brigham had 25 wives and accumulated much wealth.

I realize I will probably step on many people’s toes throughout this series, especially those who are members of the Mormon Church. That is not my intention. My intention rather is to force you to take a good, objective look at the teachings of your faith. I will quote from different Mormon texts as well as great Mormon leaders. As always I would never want you to simply take my word for it but I encourage you to investigate it for yourself. As a Mormon you are very familiar with praying and asking God to show you whether or not something is true. I ask you to pray now and ask God to show you whether or not the Mormon religion is true. If it is true than you have nothing to worry about but a reaffirming of your faith. But if it isn’t true, well, eternity is a long time to be wrong.

What is a “Right”?

So I was thinking about a conversation I had with an atheist a little while ago and I wanted to share a small part of it with you. For our purposes here, we will refer to him as “Derek” although that is not his real name. Derek clearly does not believe in God. He adamantly believes that we all came from some giant primordial soup and evolved into what we are today. Can you think of a person that sounds like this? Anyway, we were discussing “rights,” specifically intrinsic human rights; rights that belong to every member of the human race on the sole basis that we are humans. Rights like the right to love someone, the right to be loved by someone, the right not to be killed or harmed by another. Things like that. About halfway through the conversation it dawned on me that because he doesn’t believe in God, rights become meaningless. Allow me to show you how I came to this conclusion.

As an Atheist, Derek views the world differently than I do. I view the world with the belief that humans are made in the image of God and struggling to avoid sin and temptation while growing in their relationship with God. Derek views the world in terms of protons, neutrons, atoms, chain reactions and so forth. In such cases, Derek must answer the question of why are human beings more significant than drops of water? To remain consistent with Derek’s view, the only thing he can answer is “they’re not.” Any answer other then this begins to ascribe value and worth to the human. Any value and worth must ultimately come from God.

I asked Derek a hypothetical question to prove my point. I said “Let’s say that you walk into your backyard and find your child is drowning. Now right next to your drowning child is a small mouse that accidentally fell into the pool while trying to get a drink of water and subsequently the mouse is also drowning. You only have time to save one of them. Which one do you save?” Derek responded with “My child of course.” I then asked him why and he told me “Because it is a human.” Do you see the problem with this? Derek has ascribed human value to the child on the sole basis of it being a human. To be consistent with Derek’s viewpoint he can only answer that neither the child nor the mouse is better than the other. If we are nothing more than protons and neutrons arranged together than you cannot say that the human is better than the mouse because it is not. The only way you can say one is better than the other is if God has ascribed that value. Now Derek could have said “Well as a human I have the ability to …” and he could fill in the blank with a multitude of things. But this is simply avoiding the issue. Simply having an ability doesn’t ascribe worth. If it did, then birds must be superior to humans because they can fly and therefore escape danger. Starfish must be superior to us because they can regenerate lost body parts. Earthworms must be superior to us because they can divide in half. Do you see where I’m going with this? A being that is nothing but protons, neutrons and atoms, such as a human, cannot ascribe value to any other substance that is also made out of protons, neutrons and atoms.

Seeing the problem with his logic, Derek became frustrated and changed the subject and we soon found ourselves discussing gay marriage. Now this post is not going to address the issue of homosexuality (perhaps another time) but remember we are asking ourselves “What is a Right?”

Derek told me that he believes homosexuals have a right to be married. I asked him what a right was. He said it was something all humans had. I then asked him where these rights came from and he didn’t have an answer (remember our pool scenario). I then told him that I defined a right as something imposed on a human being by God. I then tried to show him that if you don’t believe in a God, then rights are meaningless. By their own philosophy, those that hold to atheism cannot say that something is good. They cannot say that something is right or that something is wrong. If the world is nothing more than atoms and electrons then anything goes, anything is fair, whether we like it or not. In fact, if one subscribes to Darwin’s theory of “Survival of the Fittest” things begin to change dramatically. Not only do rights become meaningless, but respecting other peoples becomes contrary to my own good. In other words, if Darwin is right and I am here today as the result of the right combination of random chemical reactions, than your rights infringe my ability to pass on my genes. Your “right to live” is directly contrary to my desire to pass on my own genes because if I let you live then there is more competition for me. To be accurate, by Darwin’s theory, I should kill you to eliminate you as competition. Can you imagine a world like this? Any act of charity, or helping another person is directly contrary to Darwin’s theory. Therefore, as an atheist, any unselfish act that you do, is inconsistent with belief that there is no God for there is simply no reason to do them. If you are an atheist I would like to humbly challenge you to intellectually and honestly assess your worldview. You cannot follow your own pattern of living, following the law, and respecting people’s rights, and consistently deny that God exists.

In summary, perhaps Dostoevsky said it best when he said “If God is dead, then all things are lawful.”

Prayer Changes Things !!!

As you can probably guess, I am officially back. After many, many hours cramped on an airplane I have finally returned home. However, I am a changed person as the Lord continues to work in my life. As many of you know from my previous post, I left on a short-term mission trip to support the persecuted church. I was in an area that was so hostile to Jesus, that mentioning what I did here on this site, could potentially cause some to be imprisoned or executed. So with that in mind I won’t mention the details.

However, I asked for prayer support while I was gone. Friends, I am here to tell you that your prayers were answered. I may never get the opportunity to meet you this side of heaven, and I may not know the specifics or frequency in which you prayed, but I do know that you were praying for me. Never in my life have I felt such strong prayer coverage. While I was gone I saw many miracles happen. Now being more of the intellectual type, I’m not one to usually see a miracle “behind every tree.” However, I saw things over the past few weeks that could only have a supernatural cause; there is simply no human explanation for it. These miracles were a direct result of your prayers. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart as well as on behalf of the persecuted church for your prayers.

While on my trip I worked with people representing 5 different continents. Talk about international coordination. I was able to attend church service at an underground church. I heard firsthand accounts of people being beaten, jailed, and executed for no other reason than their faith in Jesus Christ. Folks, these aren’t stories from hundreds of years ago. Many of the events in these stories have taken place since Christmas (less than a month ago). I learned first hand the reality of spiritual warfare. That is Angels and Demons are engaged in battle right now as you read this. And possibly most importantly, I learned to pray, without ceasing, like you know that it will be answered. God continued to answer prayers one right after another. Friends, if you’ve ever struggled with whether or not your prayers get answered (as I used to really struggle with this) may I offer you a suggestion? Start a prayer journal. A prayer journal can be anything from a piece of paper to a memo pad. Divide it up into three columns. The first column is for the “Date the Prayer was Entered.” The second column is “The Specific Prayer.” The third column is “Date the Prayer was Answered.” Now remember, prayer isn’t some magical wish list that we present to God. The prayers must be prayed in accordance to his will (as he always knows what is better for us than we do) and sometimes he answers them with a firm “No.” Friends, I guarantee you in a very short period of time you will see just how quickly God will answer your prayers. In fact, I believe you will find that he answers all of them (He will always answer with either “yes” “no” or “wait”). I don’t mean to get off on a tangent but prayer is so critical to a Christian’s life. If you are like me and used to think your prayer life is boring, repetitive, or predictable, I challenge you to change how you are praying. Start a prayer journal, mix up your prayers with a time of worship, and pray as if God will answer them because he does.

I wish I could go into more details about my trip but since this site can be viewed anywhere in the world I simply cannot. If you have specific questions please feel free to email me (my email address can be found on the “view my complete profile page”) and I will do my best to answer them.

I look forward to getting back to answering your questions and showing you that there are serious intelligent reasons for being a follower of Jesus Christ, probably within the next day or two. Thank you for sticking with me and this site in my absence and may God bless you.

Important Update

For those of you who regularly read this site I would like to first offer my sincere appreciation. Many of you have sent emails with questions to be answered, thoughts for site improvement, general encouragement and even a few who disagree with me. Without these emails I would have little reason to continue. However, it is time for a little break. Right now as you read this there are over 280 million people in this world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ. Some face discrimination, others are beaten, tortured, imprisoned or even being killed for their faith. Think about that for a moment; 280 million people, that is about the population of the entire United States. For those of you reading this who are Christians, these people are no different than you or me in the sense that they love Jesus with all their heart, mind and soul. The only difference is that we were blessed to live in an environment of freedom and they weren’t. For the past several years I have felt the Lord calling me to a short-term mission trip to support the persecuted church. I will be gone on this trip through the end of the second week of January and therefore will not be able to make additional postings. Due to the sensitive nature of the trip as well as the severe repercussions that could come as a result, I cannot tell you where I am going or what I’ll be doing. Some have asked me about the potential dangers of this trip. Believe me I have prayed about it long and hard. One of the main verses I keep coming back to is Hebrews 13:3 which says “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” I’ve come to the conclusion that if the Apostle Paul, unarguably the greatest missionary of all time, had given up when he was repeatedly beaten, imprisoned, or stoned and left for dead, than odds are that you and I probably wouldn’t have a relationship with Christ today. I feel as though I NEED to go.

With that being said, I’d like to ask a favor. First, to those of you who are followers of Jesus Christ. One of the greatest blessings Christians have is the ability to pray for one another. I humbly ask for your prayers over the next few weeks. I ask for your prayers for health, wisdom, safety and protection while I am gone. I also ask that you pray for the members of the persecuted church. Pray that the Lord would encourage them and give them strength.

For those of you that are not followers of Jesus Christ I’d ask that you pause for a moment to reflect on your current situation. Many of you live in the United States where we have so many freedoms that many of us cannot imagine what it would be like not to have them. Why do you think that you were able to live under this freedom and are not one of the hundreds of thousands of starving children in Africa? Is it luck? Is it chance? Or could it be that you were given an incredible blessing by a Sovereign God who desires to have a personal relationship with you? I would argue it is the latter of the two. Acts 17:26 reads “From one man he made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the EXACT places where they should live.”

Again I’d like to thank you for reading my site. Please remember to come back in early to mid January when I will begin posting again. I have several topics already in mind ranging from the Christian perspective of civil disobedience all the way to a series on Mormonism.

If you’d like to learn more information about the persecuted church or what their specific prayer requests are, I would recommend these two organizations. For information from Open Doors CLICK HERE. For information from Voice of the Martyrs CLICK HERE (you don’t have to sign up to use the site but registration is free).

What About the Gospel of Thomas?

Ever since 1999 when the movie Stigmata came out, there has been much controversy over a book known as The Gospel of Thomas. In the movie the Catholic church was portrayed as trying to hide this book by labeling it a heresy because if people found out about its existence chaos would break out. In turn, many people I’ve met have automatically assumed this book is legitimate and accept it as such. So what’s the deal? Does the Gospel of Thomas belong in Bible? If no, than why not? Let’s take a look.

I find it ironic that most, if not all of the people I talk to that defend this book have never read it for themselves. I firmly believe that anyone who actually takes the time to read it will most assuredly come to the conclusion that it has absolutely no business being placed in the Bible. In the interest of fairness, I have provided a link for you to check it out for yourself. To read the actual Gospel of Thomas Click Here. The Gospel is only 114 verses long and can be read in about 10 minutes. I’ll go ahead and wait here until you’re done.

While some are reading the text for themselves, I’ll go ahead and give some background information for those who elected not to. The Gospel of Thomas doesn’t read like a real Biblical Gospel. That is, instead of reading in story-like fashion, it is a collection of Jesus’ alleged sayings. They are then presented independently much like the book of Proverbs. The book is very confusing. It has an eastern philosophical sound to it along with heavy Gnostic concepts. If you don’t know what a Gnostic concept is I’d encourage you to stop here and read my last post (What is Gnosticism? posted on December 16, 2004)

The Gospel of Thomas was found in 1945 at a dig known as Nag Hammadi. The text was found in a collection with other known Gnostic documents. The author of the book is unknown and no Scholar I know of thinks Thomas the disciple actually wrote it. It is important to note that because the book doesn’t list any historical events (such as in a narrative) we cannot independently verify its validity. That is, we cannot prove that the sayings are legitimately from Jesus.

Although we only have fragments of the Gospel of Thomas dating to 200 AD, most Scholars think the book was written between 100 and 150 AD. Seems like quite the coincidence that this time frame occurred during the high point of Gnosticism. The document found at Nag Hammadi is the ONLY complete document we have of the book and it was written in Coptic. This is significant for two reasons. First, the original was most likely written in Greek and secondly, the Nag Hammadi document dates to about 350 AD. So, quickly recapping, we have only one complete document, written 200 hundred years after the original was written, in a language other than the original language, and we have no way to independently verify the historical accuracy of Jesus’ sayings. So far this isn’t looking good for those who advocate the legitimacy of the book but let’s continue on to look at what the text actually says.

True to Gnostic belief in “special knowledge”, the Gospel of Thomas takes several stories found in the Bible and twists them to either add or change components within. For example, in Matthew 22:21 Jesus says “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” However, according to the Gospel of Thomas in verse 100 it reads “They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "The Roman emperor's people demand taxes from us." He said to them, "Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, give God what belongs to God, and give me what is mine.” See how the author of the book completely misses the point Jesus is trying to make, and adds “special knowledge” to extend Jesus’ statement.

The author of the Gospel of Thomas apparently has quite a bit of this special knowledge. In 1st Corinthians 2:9 the Apostle Paul writes “but just as it is written, "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him." Now compare this with the Gospel of Thomas verse 17 “Jesus said, "I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart." These two passages seem much too similar to be a mere coincidence. So who actually said it? The Apostle Paul, from which we have much evidence, or Jesus as quoted from the Gospel of Thomas from which we have virtually no evidence?

The following is a compilation of just a few of my favorite quotes from the Gospel of Thomas. I have cited their verse references for you to check it out for yourself. Some of these are amusing and others are just downright confusing. Regardless of which, it is important to remember that Jesus always taught in parables, and never in soundbites.

7 Jesus said, "Lucky is the lion that the human will eat, so that the lion becomes human. And foul is the human that the lion will eat, and the lion still will become human."

14 Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves, and if you pray, you will be condemned, and if you give to charity, you will harm your spirits…

105 Jesus said, "Whoever knows the father and the mother will be called the child of a whore."

112 Jesus said, "Damn the flesh that depends on the soul. Damn the soul that depends on the flesh."

86 Jesus said, "[Foxes have] their dens and birds have their nests, but human beings have no place to lay down and rest."

And my personal favorite…….

114 Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life." Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."

As we have seen the Gospel of Thomas is a very different book from any book found in the Bible. As addressed in previous posts the books of the Bible were very carefully put together after passing stringent criteria. The Gospel of Thomas meets none of those criteria. In an effort to grab power, Gnostics put their own spin on Jesus words and recorded them in this text. As stated before, we have only one complete document dating from 200 years after the original was written and it is in a foreign language. As if that weren’t bad enough, we have no way to verify its claims. In conclusion I hope you can clearly see that one can argue that either the New Testament or the Gospel of Thomas or neither of the two accurately depicts the person of Jesus, but one cannot argue that both the New Testament AND the Gospel of Thomas together accurately portray him

What is Gnosticism?

Gnosticism is a heretical (a teaching contrary to Biblical doctrine) belief system that has been around for quite some time and is still causing problems today. We are surrounded by Gnostic teachings and beliefs on a regular basis (i.e. The Gospel of Thomas) so I think it is important to take a quick look at what Gnosticism is and where you will see it today.

Gnosticism, which comes from the Greek word gnosis, (which means “knowledge,”) became very popular during the second century AD. Gnosticism wasn’t always known by this name. It was originally known as the “Colossian Heresy.” In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians with the sole intent to combat the influence Gnosticism was having on Christians.

At first glance, one could say that Gnosticism appears to be where oriental mysticism meets Greek philosophy. However a more in depth look reveals that instead of being a set of beliefs, Gnosticism tends to be more of a framework for how one view’s the world. Gnosticism in its most basic form attempts to answer two basic questions: “How can evil be explained for God is supreme?” and “What is the relationship between God and matter?” Gnostics believe that they have a special secret knowledge that is hidden from most believers. They believe that the spirit is good, but all flesh, as well as the entire physical world, is evil. They believe that a mutual dualism exists between God and evil. Gnostics are dualists. A dualist is someone who believes that both God and the material world exist, but yet God doesn’t ever intervene or interact with the natural world.

In regards to Jesus Christ, Gnostics deny Christ as both God and Savior. Naturally this indicates that they deny the atonement. They believe Christ only appeared to be a human but yet he wasn’t. This view has some serious ramifications. First and foremost, if they don’t believe in Christ as their savior, how can they get to heaven? Gnostics believe that knowledge of one’s true self and of the character of the universe is the way to salvation. They believe that salvation is achieved when at death the person passes through barriers and is reintegrated with God. Being reintegrated with God tends to have a pantheistic flavor to it. (Pantheism is a belief that God is everything). This utter rejection of Christ will lead to eternal separation from God. (See John 14:6)

Gnosticism is still common today. It is big with new agers as well as those in mind science cults, such as Christian Science. (For example, Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, writes “Jesus is the human man and Christ is the divine idea. Jesus is not the Christ but the highest human corporeal concept.”) Can you see the elements of Gnosticism we discussed above as being present in Mary Baker Eddy’s statement?

Some people have even formed a Gnostic Church. I don’t know much about this church other than on one hand they use church saints, the church calendar, and the Bible, yet on the other hand they use Gnostic Scriptures (i.e. the Gospel of Thomas), Catechisms, and readings. You can check out the Gnostic Church’s website at http://gnosis.org/.

In my next posting, I will be dealing with perhaps the most popular Gnostic doctrine out right now, The Gospel of Thomas.

A Response to Jon Meacham's Newsweek Article (Part 2 of 2)

Okay, let's have a quick recap then get right into it. So far we've determined that Jon Meacham's article lacks any objectivity and makes several assertions without offering any support for them. The next issue I would like to address is Meacham’s selection of expert Scholars. Meacham knew that he would have to use experts to verify his point. However, instead of selecting from a wide range of Scholars, he conveniently stacks the deck with the most liberal Scholars around. Let’s take a closer look at his selections.

Meacham first quotes Robert Miller, a member of the Jesus Seminar and a professor of religion at Juniata College located in whoknowswhere. Meacham states “The Jesus Seminar, a group of Scholars devoted to recovering the Jesus of history, is a battalion in this long-running culture war.” Now if you know anything about the Jesus Seminar, this quote alone would prove how inaccurate the report is. These self-appointed scholars are virtually a laughing stock among Scholars of textual criticism. I’ll save an analysis of them for another time but basically they went through everything Jesus said in the Bible and voted as to whether or not they thought he really did say it by throwing colored beads onto a table. Pretty advanced stuff eh? These guys are an embarrassment to a truly intellectual investigation of historical Christianity.

Meacham then quotes Raymond E. Brown. Now opinions of Brown vary depending on whom you ask. But basically he is a deceased Catholic Priest who caused quite a ruckus when he openly began advocating that “Scripture very well may contain errors in areas not essential to salvation.” Of course there are some logical problems with this which he couldn’t answer such as: “How can it have errors in non-essential areas but not essential ones?” and “How would you be able to tell?” Without meaning to disrespect Brown, it is fair to say that he is looking at the issue through biased lenses.

Meacham then quotes Elaine Pagels. Pagels has written several books promoting texts that have long been deemed heretical by mainstream Christianity (i.e. The Gospel of Thomas). Pagels herself stated “I’m advocating, on some level, the inclusion of [religious texts] that were considered blasphemous. I suggest that there are ways of embracing a far wider spectrum of religious diversity within Christianity and quite beyond Christianity.” Inclusion of texts that are considered blasphemous? Oh here is a Scholar who I'm sure would be able to offer us a neutral opinion. Unbelieveable.

The final Scholar that Meacham quotes is the Reverend H.B. London. London is a Vice President at Focus on the Family. London is the lone conservative among these liberal wolves. Instead of allowing him to provide an opposing view, Meacham decides to twist London’s words around to make conservative Christians look foolish. He quotes London as saying “…our faith is somewhat childlike.” Now I wasn’t there for the interview, but I have a feeling London was alluding to the fact that just as a child genuinely trusts and loves their parents, so too must we trust and love God’s word. However, that is not how the quote comes across in Meacham’s passage. Instead we are made too look like foolish children believing in something as obviously false as Santa Clause.

I hope you can see that of the four Scholars interviewed, two of them are to the very far left of the spectrum, one of them is just to the left of the middle, and the lone right-wing is made to look like a fool. Folks, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, anyone can make the Bible say anything they want if they take it out of context. This is exactly what Meacham has done here; he has intentionally selected Scholars that will agree with his views without adequately representing any opposing viewpoints.

The last part of the article I want to address is an issue that has been circulating for quite some time. Hopefully this is the last time it will need to be addressed. This issue is in regards to Isaiah 7:14. This verse states “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” The issue is whether or not the prophet Isaiah is actually stating that the Messiah will be born of a virgin. As is his style, Meacham decides to quote Ray Brown as truth and offers no opposing viewpoint. Brown is part of a very small group of people that argue the word “virgin” is a mistranslation of the original Hebrew. He believes the word is better translated as “young girl” which would effectively make the prophecy meaningless.

Okay, time for a quick Hebrew lesson. The Hebrew word used for virgin is “almah” The word almah is translated in the Septuagint (the Greek version of what we know as the Old Testament. This document was very popular and well known in Jesus’ day) as “virgin.” Wouldn’t it seem logical that if the word was translated wrong, someone, maybe even Jesus or Mary, would see to it that it was corrected? Also considering how old the document is, isn’t it reasonable to assume they translated it correctly? Secondly, many other places in Scripture that use the word almah clearly imply the woman is a virgin. The word never once refers to a married woman, a child, or a mature woman. It is absolutely reasonable to translate this word as “virgin.” Lastly, if the virgin birth wasn’t true, wouldn’t it seem logical that Jesus’ half brothers, James and Jude, would have either used their position of influence to correct the error, or refuted it in the books of the Bible they wrote? After all, they were with him long before his public ministry began; they would know better than anyone. Yet, oddly enough, they did nothing of the sort. As I’ve previously stated, this controversy has been around for a while but there is absolutely no truth to the claim.

I’d like to thank you for staying with me through this response to Meacham's article. I know it has been lengthy but I hope you learned a thing or two. This article is just one more example of someone who absolutely refuses believe the Bible and will develop any kind of argument to oppose it regardless of its accuracy. Just because we don’t know how something could have happened doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. A miracle, by its definition, is rare and without explanation. Doesn’t it seem logical that not being able to explain the virgin birth is consistent with this? 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” Notice that it doesn’t refer to just the parts we understand. I’ve looked at the evidence from both sides. I believe that if God could create the universe, a virgin birth shouldn’t be too tough. After thoroughly comparing this article to the Biblical account, I think it takes more faith to believe the article than in the real story.

If you’d like more information as to the historical evidence of the Bible, life of Jesus or His resurrection, I suggest you buy “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel. This is an excellent entry level book written in a clear, understandable way.