Tue, Mar 29th - 8:26PM
A Look At The Cults
Many well-meaning ministers express a longing
to return to the 1950s era, some even describing the 1950s as a golden age for
Christianity in America, either forgetting or failing to realize that the
cultural and religious trends of the 1950s (and previous decades) led to the
accelerated and enormous increase in the cults, the occult, and modernism that
characterized the 1960s and continues. Consider just a few examples:
• Neglecting and denying the influence of the
Bible and Christianity in American history in school textbooks and mass media.
• Replacing Bible truths with humanism.
• The teaching that Bible standards only apply to
the religious (church) aspects of life and not the secular realm.
• Acceptance of the theory of evolution in
Christian circles, and endorsement of the theory of evolution by many respected
clergy and mainline churches.
• Replacing Biblical separation (godly
relationships, conduct, and distinctions within society) with isolation and neutrality.
• Using the Bible, Gospel music, and religious
activities to escape reality instead of facing it.
• Putting material prosperity, appearance, and
social status above character in importance.
• Replacing ministry and patriarchy with church
programs.
• Ministerial exemption from the draft encouraged
cowards, unbelievers, heretics, and sexual perverts to pursue positions and
careers in ministry.
The list of cultural and
religious trends of the 1950s and previous decades that increased the appeal of
the cults could continue but these examples should suffice to help you see the
point. Rather than romancing the past or longing for a return to the past, we
should focus on how we can avoid the mistakes of the past.
What leads so many into cults, especially since so many or
most (depending on which study or survey) initiates into cults come from a
religious background in a mainstream church or denomination? Cults use the
heart to trap the mind. Think of this in terms of fishing: Emotion (such as
love-bombing) is the lure, doctrine (false doctrine mingled with truth) is the
hook, and fear (along with guilt) is the barb that helps keep the
"fish" from getting away. Cults replace personal study, discernment,
and growth with a childlike dependence on a religious leader or group. The
cults teach a faith, but not Biblical faith. Biblical faith is based on facts
or knowledge of God's Word, and while feelings may result, feelings are not the
basis of Biblical faith. Remember the pattern: 1.) Fact, 2.) Faith, 3.)
Feelings; in cults and the occult this pattern is usually reversed. Faith, like
love, always has an object, and cults present a wrong object of faith.
The Hebrew word rendered "world" in Ecclesiastes
3:11 means eternity or the ages. In other words, humans are born with a natural
need for spiritual guidance and an effective religion/belief system. Even
though they are wrong, the cults do fill a basic need and provide answers.
Hungry sheep will wander in search for food. Looking at church ads, and
considering what people are being fed in many churches and through Christian
radio, Christian television, and Christian literature, it should surprise us
that the cults do not attract more 'wandering sheep' than they do. (Consider
Acts 20:28) American students who were raised on English often have far more
difficulty with English classes and English grammar than many foreign students
who learned English when they were grown or almost grown. Often the students in
a foreign language class having the most difficulty are the children of
immigrants who speak that language as their native tongue; in many cases the
children of immigrants know just enough of their parents' language to
communicate with family and assume that they are fluent. We have a similar
situation in Christian circles when it comes to doctrines and basic Bible
knowledge. The typical cult recruit or initiate comes from a religious
background but is not well-grounded in faith and knowledge.
I must admit I am not entirely comfortable with the word
"cult" because it has become so common to apply the word to any group
with which one happens to disagree. I do recognize that within some Christian
denominations with which I disagree there are good churches and dedicated
believers, and within evangelical Christian denominations there are religious
counterfeits and churches that are cultic. I am using the word cult here in
reference to groups characterized by mind control techniques and spiritual
abuse.
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Sat, Mar 26th - 12:15AM
A Few Reasons I Cannot Become A Mormon
The Book Of Mormon disputes Mormonism
probably more than the Bible. Consider a few things taught in the Book Of
Mormon:
The Mormon concept of God cannot be
found in the Book Of Mormon, but the Trinitarian concept of God is taught in
the Book Of Mormon. "And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen." (Testimony of Three Witnesses)
"And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none
other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom
of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true
doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one
God, without end. Amen." (2 Nephi 31:21) "Now, this restoration shall
come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both
the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of
their heads be lost; But every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as
it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar
of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one
Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or
whether they be evil." (Alma 11:44) "And after this manner shall ye
baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the
Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me,
and the Father and I are one." (3 Nephi 11:27) "And thus will the
Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the
Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one." (3
Nephi 11:36) "And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world,
whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given
unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless
praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the
Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end."
(Mormon 7:7)
The Book of Mormon says that Jesus is
God. "And because he said unto them that Christ was the God, the Father of
all things, and said that he should take upon him the image of man, and it
should be the image after which man was created in the beginning; or in other
words, he said that man was created after the image of God, and that God should
come down among the children of men, and take upon him flesh and blood, and go
forth upon the face of the earth— " (Mosiah 7:27; also see Alma 11:38-39)
The Book of Mormon says that God is
unchangeable. "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a
changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all
eternity." (Moroni 8:18) "Behold I say unto you, he that denieth
these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the
scriptures; if so, he does not understand them. For do we not read that God is
the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness
neither shadow of changing?" (Mormon 9:9)
The Book of Mormon teaches the virgin
birth of Christ. "And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which
is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen
vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost,
and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God." (Alma 7:10)
"Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign—Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (2
Nephi 17:14)
The Book Of Mormon teaches the bodily
resurrection of Christ and all dead. "And this death of which I have
spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which
spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead,
and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its
captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to
the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of
Israel." (2 Nephi 9:12) "And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go
to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite,
and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the
pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead.
Amen." (Moroni 10:24) "The spirit and the body shall be reunited
again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper
frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before
God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our
guilt. Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond
and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even
there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost;but every thing shall
be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be
brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father,
and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their
works, whether they be good or whether they be evil." (Alma 11:43-44)
"But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this
much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the
body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is
appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and
body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their
works."(Alma 40:21) "The soul shall be restored to the body, and the
body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body;
yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be
restored to their proper and perfect frame." (Alma 40:23)
The Book of Mormon teaches the
necessity of the New Birth. "And the Lord said unto me: 'Marvel not that
all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people,
must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen
state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons
and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this,
they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.' " (Mosiah 27:25-26)
"And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called,
yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in
the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea,
I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation;
yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again." (Alma
5:49)
The Book of Mormon teaches that
salvation is only through Jesus Christ. "But wo, wo unto him who knoweth
that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be
through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ." (Mosiah 3:12)
"And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor
any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men,
only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent." (Mosiah
3:17)
The Book of Mormon contradicts baptism
for the dead by teaching that no salvation is possible for those who die in
their sins. "But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to
tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in
their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the
world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the
commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part
in the first resurrection." (Mosiah 15:26) "And wo unto them who
shall do these things away and die, for they die in their sins, and they cannot
be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of
Christ; and I lie not." (Moroni 10:26)
To be a Mormon I would have to accept
the Book Of Mormon as the inspired word of God, but if I accepted the Book Of
Mormon as the truth I would have to reject Mormon teachings as false doctrines.
Jesus Christ said "I am the way." (John 14:6) The priesthood is not
the way, Joseph Smith is not the way, and Mormonism is not the way. Only Jesus
is the way.
For more
information:
4Witness www.4witness.org
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Tue, Mar 15th - 11:29AM
A Balanced Look At Experts
All too often today there is a
tendency to place the opinions of experts (e.g., scientists, psychologists, historians,
theologians, etc.) in the status of inerrancy. Experts are often idolized as it
is easy to forget that they are still mere humans. This is dangerous because
experts often assume an intellectual arrogance and claim an inerrancy or
accuracy which they do not have. Experts possess intellectual power to deceive
and manipulate and are often revered as intellectual gods. Experts (especially
scientists) often put forth their opinions with the zeal of false prophets, and
ordinary people are often deceived by dogmatizing experts like the dedicated
worshipers of a pagan god. (Jeremiah 5:30-31) Experts in subjects with an
extremely high rate of mistakes (e.g., psychology) often try to appear more
accurate by associating themselves with a subject that has a very low rate of
mistakes (e.g., mathematics), such as when they point out the use of a computer
to reach their conclusions. (A computer does not increase accuracy. A computer
is merely a large calculator that files information electronically and enables
the user to reach his equally dubious conclusions much faster.) Because experts
are usually correct on their facts, often too much trust is put in their
opinions. At any time and on any subject there are disagreements among experts
in the same fields, and they cannot all be right. Experts often come to wrong
conclusions due to unknown factors. Experts are fallible humans, and are just
as vulnerable to emotional pressure and the influence of preconceived ideas as
anyone else. Experts are just as capable of dishonesty and distorting facts to
support their pet theories as other humans, and many experts have been caught
deliberately deceiving the public. When presented with the facts ordinary
people can often come to better conclusions than experts, which is one reason
that a trial verdict is decided by a jury of ordinary citizens and not a panel
of legal experts. Since I do not read ancient Hebrew or ancient Greek I read
and study a translation of the Holy Bible which was translated into my language
by scholars of Hebrew and Greek, and in my study of the Bible I sometimes read
the writings of experts in history, science, archaeology, anthropology,
linguistics, and other fields where my knowledge is limited to aid my
understanding of the Bible. At times when I have been sick or injured I have
trusted a physician, a medical expert; it doesn’t make sense to expect an
automobile mechanic to perform surgery. But while we need experts and we must
rely on experts at times, we must remember that they are still human.
Much damage has been a result of too
much trust in experts, especially experts in psychology and evolution. Of
course psychologists are not always wrong, but many teachings are counter to
Scripture and many Christians are deceived. The Genesis account of creation is
supported by genuine science but many are deceived because they think the
experts are agreed on evolution. Personal study and research in these and other
subjects is needful.
Beware
Of Philosophy - by Mike Ford
www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/526
Psychology:
The Trojan Horse - by Gil Rugh www.biblebb.com/files/PSYCHOLOGY.HTM
The
Spoiling Of Christianity By Psychology, by David L. Brown logosresourcepages.org/Counseling/spoiling.htm
Creation
Today www.creationtoday.org
Creation
Ministries International www.creation.com
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Name: Arnold Saxton
