Archive for July, 2009
13 Must-Visit Websites on Debunking Mormonism
Want a quick and easy way to learn about the differences between Mormonism and orthodox Christianity?
Then check out this list of must-visit online resources:
1. CARM rolls out a clean, systematic page for everything Mormon. Everything that makes Mormonism a heresy, that is.
2. Mark J. Cares at CRI shares an alternative approach to reaching Mormons.
3. Book of Abraham Page. Find resources exploring the J. Smith claim that he discovered and translated a lost record by Abraham.
4. Of course, it’s always best to read the book everyone is critiquing. The official online edition of the Book of Mormon.
5. An official– but frisky–Catholic article on the problems with the Book of Mormon.
6. Writers from the Mormonism Research Ministry explore the trouble with Jospeh Smith’s First Vision, namely that their were ten versions.
7. A robust topical index of articles by the Tanners finds just about every hole there is to poke in the Mormon faith. [Warning: Hideous, pre-1992 website.]
8. Bringham Young University writer Alan Goff reviews Joseph Smth: The Making of a Prophet by former Mormon Dan Vogel. [Insightful reply.]
9. Wikipedia entry on Solomon Spalding who wrote the Manuscript Story…which some believe Smith plagiarized to write the Book of Mormon.
10. Recovery from Mormonism–a twisted website exposing the twisted doctrines of Mormonism. [If you can get through the wreckage you'll unearth provocative stories of ex-Mormons.]
11. A robust discussion board devoted to Mormonism.
12. Not strictly a website…Matthew A. Paulson’s book Breaking the Mormon Code at Google books. [Read it free, baby.]
13. And last but not least, the BBC’s report on baptism for the dead.
Did I miss any notable websites devoted to debunking Mormonism? Let me know.
**Part of the Quick Facts on Christian Cults series.**
The Anointed: A Reckless but Beautiful Act of Worship
March 28, 33 AD.
Jesus reclines on a thin mat around a low table in the home of a leper named Simon who lives in Bethany, a small village on the south side of the Mount of Olives.
Jesus reclines with Simon and other guests, including Lazarus.
The Lazarus who not too long ago lay dead three days in a tomb.
The Lazarus who, but for the voice of Jesus, would still be in the tomb.
One Reckless, but Beautiful Act of Worship
Lazarus’ sister Martha is serving food. The men talk. Lazarus’ other sister, Mary, enters. She’s carrying a jar of expensive funeral perfume. Perfume she bought for her own burial.
She breaks the jar and pours it on Jesus’ feet. She then pours it on Jesus’ head. She then lets her hair down in front of men she’s not married to and wipes Jesus’ feet with it.
The fragrance overwhelms the aroma of food. Everyone quiets, except one man.
One Ugly Rebuke
Judas stands and scolds Mary for her reckless act. He says the perfume could’ve been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus defends her, “Leave her alone…why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.”
And then Jesus promises that her one reckless act of worship will be remembered anytime the gospel is preached. Why?
Her dramatic act demonstrated–beyond words–her love, devotion and loyalty to Jesus. A man who not only raised her brother from the dead, but a man who was willing to lose his own life for the sake of others. Like you.
Your Own Risky,
but Calculated Acts of Worship
So, the question is, what are you willing to risk for Jesus that he might describe as beautiful?
1. Give away your life savings?
2. Neglect your own burial?
3. Appear ridiculous in public?
4. Offend your spouse?
5. Tarnish your reputation?
Mary’s act was an act of worship. A symbol of her deep loyalty to Jesus. And a costly way to show gratitude for raising her brother Lazarus from the dead.
But Jesus described it as beautiful.
Something to Keep in Mind
She did what she could. She gave what she had. Not what she didn’t have.
So you don’t have to mourn what you don’t have. Rejoice in what you do have. And give recklessly. Like the widow. The tangible and the intangible.
And when you’ve decided before the Lord what you can give to him as an act of worship, don’t wait. Do it now.
Risk it all so that he may one day say, “What you did was beautiful.” His is the only affirmation you should ever care about.
**Part of The Messiah: Eleven Meditations from the Book of Mark series.**
10 People Who Influenced John Calvin
Why would a young man with a bent for the quiet life of literature open himself up to the turmoil of the 16th Century Reformation?
One word: Submission.
Discover ten people who influenced and guided the life of one of history’s most important Christian figures.
1. Gerard Cauvin. Calvin’s father wanted his son to join the priesthood, but upon a breakdown with the church he recommended his son study law. Calvin faithfully submitted.
2. Martin Cordier. French schoolmaster who taught Calvin Latin and stoked his love for a literary life.
3. Nicholas Cop. Late 1533, Cop devoted his inaugural address–an address Calvin influenced–as rector of Collège Royal to renewal and reform in the Catholic Church. The Church denounced the address as heretical. Cop and Calvin fled Paris.
4. William Farel. Fellow French Reformer living in Geneva, Switzerland, who persuaded Calvin to stay and assist in reforming the church there, circa 1536. Calvin faithfully submitted.
5. Martin Bucer. German Reformer who invited Calvin to lead a French refugee camp in Strasburg, Germany. Many reforms Calvin implemented in Geneva–like the liturgy and church organisation–were originally developed in Strasburg.
6. Calvin’s Friends. Caught up in his studies, Calvin forgot to marry, so close friends recommended Idelette de Bure as a suitable wife. Calvin was 30.
7. Idelette de Bure. Anabaptist widow with children married Calvin in August 1540. They were married for 8 years before she died. About Idelette Calvin said, “I have been bereaved of the best companion of my life, of one who, had it been so ordered, would not only have been the willing sharer of my indigence, but even of my death.”
8. Martin Luther. Calvin wrote a catechism during his first stay in Geneva which was largely based on Martin Luther’s Large Catechism.
9. Micahel Servetus. Spanish theologian who pulled out the worst in Calvin. When Servetus visited Geneva, Calvin had him arrested as a heretic. Servetus was eventually burned alive.
10. Lorem Ipsum. My name for the person or people who convinced Calvin to become a Reformer. To date, Calvin’s conversion to Reformation theology is a mystery.
Naturally, such a short post can’t do justice for a giant like Calvin. But hopefully this will provoke your appetite to learn more about this great Reformer who turned 500 this year.
Now, who did I miss? Anybody you can think of who influenced Calvin that I didn’t mention? Share your thoughts.
Abandonment of Christianity: 2 Things That Occur
**Part of the 10 Hard Truths about Being Born Again series**
A funny thing seems to happen on the way to becoming an atheist…
At least that’s the perennial refrain I hear from those who’ve made the transition from Christian to atheist.
[Of course it's debatable whether they were even Christians to begin with.]
But there’s just one problem…
Two things essentially rise from an abandonment of Christianity. Your sense of morality. And your bitterness towards God.
Naturally, when you lower the barrier for goodness, you’ll appear more moral. You really don’t have to exert yourself…just lower the bar, and BAM…
You’re a pretty decent guy. [Or gal.]
Yet, when anyone brings up God as the true standard for goodness, you stiff-arm what you imagine to be excessive demands.
Who knew you could be so bitter? And why? This hatred comes from a mind that’s conscious of it’s guilt.
If your own personal moral standard is in danger, the best thing to do is fight back. Tooth and claw. Guard your right to think, say or do what you want.
Of course, the ultimate insult to an atheist is that unbelief should be punished with eternal death. Calvin said:
All think it harsh that they who do not believe in Christ should be devoted to destruction. That no man may ascribe his condemnation to Christ, he shows that every man ought to impute the blame to himself. The reason is, that unbelief is a testimony of a bad conscience; and hence it is evident that it is their own wickedness which hinders unbelievers from approaching to Christ.
And this is precisely why new birth is essential: Not only are you dead…but you also live in the dark. And hate the light. The light that exposes your sin.
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:19-21
Jesus’ purpose was never to condemn the world. We do that ourselves when we reject Christ. Jesus’ purpose was to save the world.
He came to bring the gift of new birth. He came to invite you to join God’s family–to go from being a child of wrath to a child of God–initiated by repentance.
In the end, new birth brings about a conviction of moral poverty. It opens our eyes to see we are miserable and destitute of all power of doing good. And it brings about a rushing to the grace of God.
So, since we live in and love the dark, let’s learn that we can’t judge our works by any other standard than the light of the gospel. There’s just no other way.
The Unsurpassable Attribute: A Quick Guide to God’s Mercy
**Part of The Nature of God series.**
There is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy.
Grace comes nearest it.
Mercy implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity, compassion or clemency. And it’s only exercised toward offenders.
Mercy induces an injured person to forgive. Forbear punishment. Inflict less than justice warrants.
Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of God. That’s why A. W. Tozer said:
“We who earned banishment shall enjoy communion. We who deserve the pains of hell shall know the bliss of heaven.”
God’s mercy is eternal, unfailing, unconditional. And it flows from his unchanging goodness, so doesn’t need to be provoked like wrath, but comes naturally.
It’s exercised on all who want it. And like other moral attributes is rooted in God’s unchanging nature, justice and perfection.
What Is God’s Mercy?
The biblical meaning of mercy is exceedingly rich and complex.
The Hebrew word kapporeth means a lid, used of the cover of the sacred Ark, which is the mercy seat–where the blood of atonement was offered to God. The connotation for kapporeth is one of ransom and propitiation.
The Greek word for mercy–eleemon–means to show mercy, pity or compassion to the wretched. Specifically, eleemon depicts a merciful, sympathetic attitude.
In God, mercy shows up as an infinite and inexhaustible energy that disposes God to be actively compassionate. He has always dealt in mercy with mankind and will always deal in justice when the mercy is despised.
Key Themes of God’s Mercy
God’s mercy is rooted in his goodness and love. Prominent in this concept are some key themes:
- God’s Mercy Is Great Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. Genesis 19:19
- God’s Mercy Is Everlasting Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9
- God’s Mercy Is Unfailing In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. Exodus 15:13
- God’s Mercy Is Longsuffering The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. Numbers 14:18
- God’s Mercy Is Received by the Repentant In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now. Numbers 14:19
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament proclaim the mercy of God, but the OT has more to say about it than the NT.
Old Testament Stance on God’s Mercy
Jeremiah pictures God as a loving father who looks down from heaven with a yearning heart of compassion upon his rebellious and wayward people.
Hosea regards Israel as an unfaithful and adulterous wife whom God loves as a faithful husband in spite of her apostate and sinful condition.
And Isaiah saw God as a mother who has compassion on the son of her womb.
At the heart of the concept of mercy is the love of God. In the Old Testament, it was his chosen people Israel whom he elected to be his own and to whom he showed mercy. And despite their constant disobedience, God continually sought out his wayward people, to draw them back to him.
New Testament Stance on God’s Mercy
In the New Testament there is a fuller development of God’s mercy. In fact, the word used for Jesus’ mercy expresses his pity and compassion by means of a very intense verb that means “to be moved in one’s bowel’s.”
Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36
But the most obvious and important use of the word mercy in the New Testament is that of God’s provision of salvation for mankind in Jesus Christ.
It is because he is so rich in mercy that he saved those who are spiritually dead and doomed in their sins. It is out of God’s mercy that one is forgiven and granted eternal life.
The Old Testament concept of propitiation shows up in the New Testament, too. Mercy was released by Christ’s atoning death for all humankind.
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 2:2
Since mercy flows from God’s goodness, and since God is infinite, it follows that God is infinitely and unchangeably merciful.
Your Response to God’s Mercy
Your response to God’s mercy falls into two categories–repentant or unrepentant.
Somewhere Tertullian suggested God was both master and father, so that “the divine law joins duties in respect of both these attributes: Thou shalt love God and Thou shalt fear God. It proposed one for the obedient man, the other for the transgressor.”
Your label determines how God shows his mercy–or if he does at all.
Don’t think you can rely on God’s love or sacrifice to allow you to persist in your unrepentance. God’s unlimited mercy only shows God desires to save all. God cannot do what is impossible. And it’s impossible to force a free choice.
God will not withhold his mercy from anyone who wants it. But neither will he cram His love down the throats of those who do not want it.
What is the appropriate response to God’s mercy? Prayer.
Prayer is not a condition for God’s giving mercy. Rather prayer is a condition for our receiving the mercy He desires to freely give us. It’s a position of submission. It’s a means by which God takes advantage of our willingness to receive His mercy.
He looks for our obedience.
Personally, I have no idea why I deserve God’s mercy. Sometimes I fall off the rails and hate my life.
But what’s important to me is to yield to His excellent and glorious will. To implore His mercy and loving-kindness. And to forsake all fruitless labors, strife and envy.
It’s the least I can do to show thanks for a gift I never deserved.
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