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SALT
LAKE BIBLE COLLEGE
COMPARATIVE
THEOLOGY
Click pictures to see full-sized.
Christianity
Catholicism
Shamanism
Buddhism
Hinduism
Satanism
New Age
Taoism
Shinto
Islam
Bahai
Judaism
a workbook by Dr. T.E. VanBuskirk
A Comparison of the Doctrine of “God” from the Teachings
of False Religions and false Sects of Christianity with
that of the true Bible Doctrine of God
The King James Version of the English
Bible will be considered the final authority
and the only acceptable standard by
which all comparisons are weighed.
COMPARATIVE THEOLOGY
© 2004-2008 by Dr. T.E. VanBuskirk
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced for any reason
without written permission from the author.
Limited permission to copy is granted only for use in an Independent
Baptist Church or a Bible College operated as a ministry of an
Independent Baptist Church and on the condition that $2.00
is sent to the author for each copy produced. Copies produced
under this limited permission may not be sold for more than the
price of reproduction nor may they be sold or given away for use
outside of the ministries of the copying Church or Bible College.
The $2.00 per copy fee may be waived for financial hardship reasons.
Online students of Salt Lake Bible College may download
and print this textbook for their personal use.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION ONE
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 1
Biblical Monotheism (JEHOVAH worship)
RELIGIONS CENTERED AROUND THE DEAD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 6
Comparison with Biblical teachings
Comparison with Biblical teachings
HINDUISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 13
Mother-goddess influences in Hinduism
Comparison with Biblical teachings
Comparison with biblical teachings
HINDUISM IN AMERICA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 29
TIBETAN BUDDHISM AND THE DALAI LAMA
Comparison with scriptural teachings
SECTION FIVE
ISLAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 35
MORMONISM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 41
Founder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 41
Teachings of the LDS Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 42
Bible Teachings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 43
CATHOLICISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 47
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 66
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 68
PRELUDE
Welcome to the Comparative Theology class.
In this class we will examine some of the mainline Religions and “Christian” cults. You will study some of their major doctrinal beliefs and then compare them with the Bible.
The textbook is divided into seven sections. Not more than one section may be completed each week. Some sections will take two weeks to complete. At the end of each section you will stop and return to the class page and take the Section Test that corresponds with the section you just finished studying. All tests are “open book,” which means you may use your textbook while taking the tests.
This graphic means that the answer to a test question is found here in the text.
After completing a test:
If you failed the test then you must restudy that entire section and then retake the test. Repeat this process until you finally pass the test.
If you missed any of the questions on any test, then you must review the section corresponding to that test and look up the correct answers to any questions answered incorrectly.
Once you have found all of the correct answers, then you may continue on to the next section of the textbook.
FINAL TEST
Once you have completed all sections of the textbook and passed all of the corresponding tests, and found the correct answers to any questions missed on any test, then you may Retrieve the Password and, upon receiving the Password, take the Final Test for the course.
-
Once you have passed the final test, do not take it again.
-
If you fail the final test then you need to restudy both the textbook and all of the section tests
and then retake the final test. Repeat this process until you pass the Final Test.
- If you miss any questions on the Final Test, then you need to review the textbook and all of the section tests and find the correct answers to the questions you missed. Your section tests will have all of the correct answers on it for comparison purposes.
And now, on with the class.
Dr. T.E. VanBuskirk
INTRODUCTION
The idea of a god is something that has been handed down through the ages; and it is an integral part of the history of all races that have ever dwelt upon the face of the earth. The traces of the earliest worship of some type of deity are found in the artifacts rescued by archaeologist. Some dating from the dawn of recorded (secular) history are available for viewing in museums. These show that deification and deity are rooted deep in the history of humanity. Although all civilizations have practiced their own brand, or brands, of religion, that does not mean that all individuals have practiced religion or even believed or admitted the existence of a supreme being. Some simply did not believe in the gods of their day and society and were condemned as atheists.
Socrates 470 B.C.
Accused of heresy & corrupt-
ing the youth of his time, he
was sentenced to hang. To
cheat the hangman he
committed suicide by
drinking poison.
Socrates, a prime
example of this, was condemned to death in Athens in
the fifth century B.C. for teaching atheism to
the young men of
his day. In actuality, what he really taught against was the
immorality of the gods of Greece as taught in the myths of
his time. He himself believed in the immortality of the soul
and what he called a divine genius that he believed guided
him, and yet he was branded an atheist.
Although atheism did exist in all ages, the rampant atheism of the modern world is totally foreign to history when one considers societal history; however, it did exist in individuals and in certain groups within various societies and peoples of history but it always had narrow limits and was not representative of society at large.
Many psychologists today deny that there is a religious instinct; but, history proves otherwise to those who will simply study it. The modern denial is based upon the false premise of evolution. Since, they claim, we are evolved from the animals, with whom we do share many similar instincts, and animals exhibit no religious instinct, then no such instinct can exist in humans. The falsity of that logic is easily seen if one simply believes in the biblical account of the creation of man as being a separate creation from the animals and the plain Bible statement of that fact in Corinthians. (I Cor 15:39) Operating from that premise, the lack of a religious instinct in animals actually reinforces the biblical teaching that man and animals are different, as God said they were in the first place. In short: operating from a false premise, the lack of a religious instinct in animals indicates that no such instinct can exist in man; while operating from the correct (biblical) premise, then man is known to have a religious instinct and expects none to show up in animals, which is born out by the facts. What you perceive the facts to indicate depends totally on your original starting place. This is born out in all areas of human existence: scientific, philosophical, and religious. If you expect science, philosophy, or religion, to prove and/or explain the existence of God, then you are proceeding from the wrong starting place. However, if you start from a different basis, that God exists, then you can easily interpret science, philosophy, and religion, and prove the validity and truthfulness of their findings, theories, premises, traditions and teachings, and their usefulness for or against society and the individual.
Today we are taught that science can explain everything, given enough time. However, the explanations given by the new “god,” Science, leave us without hope and offer no comfort. In addition, they are totally worthless in fulfilling our need for explanations of some basic questions asked by all people from ancient times down to the present. Questions such as:
Where did I come from?
Where am I going.
How should I live while I am here?
Is life just a cosmic joke, without purpose and having no lasting meaning of any kind? Is the true purpose of life simply to live, reproduce, die, and go into the ground to decompose into the basic elements to be used by other accidental life forms so that the cycle can repeat itself all over again? Is the real dominant life form on this planet our genes; and are we just biological machines that those genes have guided into our present form through the process of evolution for the single purpose of propagating themselves? Many evolutionary scientists believe exactly that; and, therefore, that our only purpose and our only reason for being what we have evolved into is to ensure the passing on of those genes from generation to generation by propagating them and protecting them from predators and what is to those genes a hostile environment. Many today look to that hopeless, debilitating, caricature of a “god,” Science, for the answers in life and to life. The answers are not there and never will be there.
Since one cannot look to the physical for such answers, then that leaves only one other direction to turn to, the spiritual. This has proven to be, throughout recorded history, the direction followed by most of mankind in quest of the answers to the questions of life. Man, however, is a physical being; and, since his disobedience in the garden of Eden, has had his spiritual sense stunted. In fact, since the fall and God’s pronouncement of judgment, that spiritual sense is dead and man, in his fallen state, has become predominantly a physical being. The sense of a spiritual side still exists in man but it is not predominant in his life. His soul still carries an inborn need for fellowship with God, but his dead spiritual state prevents that from happening. We can liken this miserable state of man with that of someone who has had a leg violently severed from his body. He remembers the leg, and in fact will have sensations of pain, itching, burning, and other feelings as if the leg still is attached to his body. Although these sensations are not real, they are mere phantoms that have no basis in objective reality, they seem all too real to them. Fallen man is like that. He has spiritual sensations but they are not real, they are an attempt to continue with that which was severed as if it still really existed. In order for man to really be able to once again experience true spiritual feeling, and have communion with God, he needs a spiritual transplant. That is why the Bible says that at salvation we receive of the Spirit of God. (Ro 8:1-16) That is the transplant that we need to once again make of us spiritual beings as Adam and Eve were before The Fall.
Because fallen man is a soul that can no longer, because of a dead spirit, relate in an upward direction to God, then he is stuck relating in an outward direction through the flesh. Yet he has a yearning, and phantom feelings, for that which was lost- his communion with God. This stunted and spiritually deformed being with only one way to express himself, through the physical, now tries to restore that which was lost in the only way he can, by physical means. Thus begins the history of Religion, man’s quest for God through physical forms, traditions, sacrifices, etc. One of the earliest and most fantastic Bible mentions of such a physical effort to reach God is the story of the Tower of Babel.
GENESIS chapter 11:1-4
And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven;
The development of Religion.
From the fall onward, man began to practice this thing called religion. As he drifted farther
and farther away from God, he began to devise stranger and more distorted perceptions of who
or what God was; striving in the physical to reach an understanding of the spiritual, which he
no longer can clearly perceive but which he can vaguely sense as phantom shadows. From these
fantastical imaginations were born the many varied false religions of the world. And even
though God has revealed himself to man in His Holy Word, a lack of true understanding has
prevailed in much of so-called Christianity, and historical Judaism from which it sprang,
because of man’s rejection of God’s Salvation and the attendant receiving of the Holy Spirit
which enables man to understand God’s Word.
In the following chapters we will compare some of those religious constructs of man with the Bible doctrine of the true God. We will not only examine the false Religions of the world, but we will also examine some of the major cults and false sects of Christianity and compare them with the biblical doctrine of God. Included in this will be some of the mainline denominations of historical Christianity, so-called.
This study is not meant to slam or otherwise be unkind to the practitioners of those other
religions, cults, and false sects. Rather it is put forth in an effort to rectify error and give them,
if they should read this treatise- which I hope they will- a clear cut presentation of the facts so
that they can make a clear choice to follow God’s teachings as presented in His Word, or
continue, as they have been, in following the religious constructs of men.
It is also put forth to arm you against being seduced into heresies, and the “churches” that teach them, so that you will not also follow them and wind up propagating “Religion” rather than propagating God’s Salvation in Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit which is the only way to ever understand and, most important, be reconciled to the true God of the Bible.
Lastly, and of paramount importance, it is put forth in obedience to God’s Word. And in these days of rampant, deepening heresy, ever spreading religiosity, and the mounting attack on God’s Word itself, it is even more imperative that we follow God’s admonition.
Jude :3-5
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
I will therefore put you in remembrance...
Dr. VBK
THE EARLIEST RELIGIONS
Biblical Monotheism (JEHOVAH worship)
Obviously the oldest religion in the world is the one presented in the Bible in the GENESIS
account. From the true biblical (literal) standpoint, that first religion was monotheistic and was
practiced in a personal manner and consisted of interaction with a personal God, Jehovah. (Gen chs. 1-3)
Gen 2:16 And the LORD (Y@HOVAH - JEHOVAH) God commanded the man, saying ...
This verse shows that personal communion existed between God and man (specifically here between God and Adam and Eve) therefore, this first religion was both personal and interactive.
Deut 4:35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD
(Y@HOVAH - JEHOVAH) he [is] God; [there is] none else beside him
This verse shows that this same Jehovah, who was the God of that first religion in GENESIS, is the ONLY God. Therefore, that first religion was monotheistic.
Gen 4:3-4 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought
of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel,
he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
This verse gives the first mention of symbolic offerings, the first mention of public offerings, as well as the first communal practice of religion in recorded history.
Ex 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any
thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:
Lev 26:1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a
standing image, neither shall ye set up [any] image of stone in your
land, to bow down unto it: for I [am] the LORD your God.
These verses make it plain that Biblical monotheism prohibits the making and worshiping of any physical representation of God. This is the reason why Archaeology has found no representations of the God of this earliest religion. Therefore, they erroneously present other religions as predating Biblical Monotheism (JEHOVAH worship).
Since we have already covered the teachings of Biblical Monotheism earlier, then we need not do so again.
STOP
HERE and TAKE TEST!
SECTION ONE TEST
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If you failed the test,
then restudy this section and retake the test.
Once you have passed the test, do not take it
again.
If you missed any questions on the test, then restudy the section and find all of the correct answers to any questions that you missed. A copy of your test was sent to you with the correct answers on it. You may use that for comparison purposes to make sure you have found the correct answers in the textbook.
You may begin Section Two the day after you passed the test for Section One.
SECTION TWO
RELIGIONS CENTERED AROUND THE DEAD
Some of the earliest evidences suggest that certain peculiar practices surrounding the interment of the dead had a religious significance among early man. Although the time-frames quoted in the text books are inflated and, when compared to the rock solid authority of the Bible and scientific facts, are impossible to believe, still the evidences themselves can be used in our study.
Remember, nearly all of the modern texts are written with an acceptance of and in adherence to the disproved evolutionary theory. That particular bias introduces into them a tendency to state as facts certain statements that in reality are only conjecture; and fantastical conjecture at that. Many times those conjectures introduce time-frames that are not born out by the Bible; and most times they are not even born out by the “facts” stated from the viewpoint of the evolutionists themselves. Scientific evidences viewed from a preconceived evolutionary viewpoint are erroneously made to fit the evolutionary world view and spans of thousands of years are stretched to encompass millions and even billions of years. (The Hindu basis for many of the so-called “Scientific” time-frames will be explained under the section on Hinduism.)
Although we will disregard the ludicrous time-frames, the archaeological evidences them-selves will be used. We will simply use and interpret the evidences themselves while remembering the differences between those interpretations and interpolations of data which gives time spans made from an evolutionary bias and those made from a biblical Creationist bias. [Yes we ARE biased. We are biased TOWARD God and AWAY FROM any “science,” (falsely so-called) that is plainly contrary to the Word of God and which irrationally disallows the existence of God!]
One of the things we will not discard is the “scientific” definition of the goal of religion, except where it is applied to true Judaism and Christianity. In the case of most religions it is true that, “Religion consists of various rituals... through which people try to manipulate supernatural beings and powers to their advantage.” (Cultural Anthropology, 4th Edition, by William A. Haviland)(18)
Worship of the dead
This seems to have been the earliest form of false religion.
One of the most puzzling, and disturbing, occurrences in life is, of course, death. It is not hard to imagine that this abrupt occurrence, that has been a part of every life since Adam and Eve (with the exception of two mentioned in the Old Testament) brought fear to the hearts of those who turned their backs on God in the past. This is easy to understand because we see the same thing even today as the lost go to fantastical length to try and explain or, in some cases, to even deny death. The earliest archaeological artifacts suggest that burial of the dead, because of the fact of the mystery of death (to those who had turned from God,) became central to the earliest false religions. Eventually it became a highly developed cult in some regions.
Click
picture to view full-sized.
Worship
of the dead today
This early form of religion is still with us today in various forms and in various places.
Day of the dead- DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
Probably the most colorful celebration of worship of the dead today is the Hispanic custom of the observance of the festival of the "Day of the Dead."
The picture to the right shows a typical altar. This holiday is celebrated mainly in Mexico and to a lesser extent in other Latin American countries such as Brazil. It is also celebrated in Spain and the Philippines as well as many other countries to a lesser extent. The adherents are mostly Catholic and the holiday is a melding of Hispanic culture and Roman Catholicism. The Catholic Church being the one who moved the holiday away from the traditional date to make it coincide with All Saints day and All souls day, which is the 1st and 2nd of November. Similar holidays are found in some Asian and African countries as well as various other places scattered around the world.
Decapitation and preservation- The oldest artifacts suggesting a religion of the dead have been found in caves near Peking, China, where decapitation and preservation of the heads of some of their dead was practiced. It is not clear if this was done so that the heads could be kept as trophies or, as some archaeologists believe, if it was done so that the brains could be removed and eaten in order to obtain the vitality of the deceased. Similarly treated skulls have also been found in Europe.
Skulls in the Placard cave in Charente, France were made into drinking cups, suggesting their use in various “sacramental” practices. Similar cups were found in the Dordogne near the village of Les Eyzies; as well as in the Castillo cave at Puente Viesgo near Santander, Spain. Near Nördlingen, Bavaria, groups of skulls have been found in three caves. Two of the caves contained 27 skulls each and one contained six. All of the heads had been intentionally severed from their bodies with flint knives after death, dried, and then ceremonially placed with their faces looking to the west. Similar kinds of preservation of skulls for religious purposes still exists today. For example, the Manus of the Bismarck Archipelago keep the skulls of their ancestors in a corner of the house. They try to please them; but, if a Manu falls ill the family threatens to throw “Sir Ghost” out of the house.
Interment of the body- Many burial sites have yielded everything from animal parts, food, knives, axes, weapons, etc., buried with the dead in an obvious attempt to supply the dead one with the necessities for their time in the afterlife. The prevalence of the use of the placing of the bodies in the foetal position for burial has led some to propose that this typified the expectation of rebirth after death. This presupposes a knowledge of embryology which did not exist back then. For whatever reason, the careful interment of the body with the necessities for an afterlife shows that the religious connotations of the burial rites have been obvious for thousands of years.
Ancestor worship- From the early practices of religious interment of the dead, eventually developed the various cults of ancestor worship. In 1871 Edward B. Tylor coined the word animism to describe his theory of the development of religion. The word itself is derived from the Latin word anima, meaning the soul. Tylor, Spencer and others believed that early people had deduced from dreams, visions, delirium and the obvious existence of death, that they were inhabited by a soul. Because people appeared in dreams after their death, it was postulated that those first beginnings of religion centered around the natural belief that the soul must exist after death and that it could occupy various objects. Eventually, according to the theory, those disembodied souls became to be regarded as divine beings and thus began ancestor worship. The problem is that subsequent investigations, i.e., archaeological digs and anthropological studies, did not confirm this theory, as a general theory.
NOTE: In 1899, R. R. Marett suggested a twist on the theory of animism, which he called animatism. In his theory, early man had first conceived of an impersonal force or forces animating the physical world rather than believing in the soul as existing during and after death. This theory, however, has also been discarded.
Still, that Ancestor Worship did exist from earliest times was born out by the evidences. No matter how it came about, by animism, (as a local, isolated phenomenon which, the evidence did allow); or by animatism, or by some other process, the final word was that it DID exist; also, that it did develop into quite a major cult is born out by the evidences from such varied places as Egypt, Africa, Japan, and China.
Today, the cult of ancestor worship is still practiced in various places, including the "Day of the Dead" by Hispanics of Mexico; but most notably in China. From ancient times the Chinese have venerated their ancestors. In fact, when they speak of family they always use the term as inclusive of both the living and the dead. The dead were, and are, viewed as living and powerful spirits. Moreover, they are thought to be vitally and intensely concerned with the welfare of their living descendants. Also, however, they can become angry and punitive if displeased. There is, however, a belief in an inseparable interdependence between the living and the dead in this practice of ancestor worship. The dead depended on the living to keep their memory alive with prayers and sacrifices; and the living depended on the dead for blessings and promotion of the welfare of the living members of “the family.”
Click picture to view full-sized.
Ancestor worship also promoted, historically, the practice of human and animal sacrifices. In China, some of the Shang kings were buried with between 100 and 300 human attendants for the next world. Members of many wealthy families were buried with bronze vessels, hunting weapons, dogs, horses, human attendants, and various other objects thought to be of use in the next life. The first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, 259-210 B.C., even had this terra-cotta army of 8,000 vivid, life-size pottery warriors, horses and chariots buried with him to guard his mausoleum.
Pharaoh worship
Click picture for
full-sized image.
Ramesses II, believed to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus. He is pictured here in life and death; and was viewed as a god in both states.
Although in Egypt Pharaohnic worship rather
than true worship of the dead
was practiced, still, worship of the Pharaoh, in life
and in death, allows us to bring this in under
the practice of worship of the dead. We know that the Pharaohs were worshiped in death
because the Pyramid burial places were never lone structures but were central structures for
whole cities of the dead. Closest to the main Pyramid, stretching along avenues leading
outward, would be the burial places, mastaba tombs, of the king’s relatives and other important personages. Surrounding
that would be clusters of smaller tombs of the ordinary citizens, obviously trying to be
as close in death to their god-king as possible; perhaps to
even share in his eternity. (Remember, eternal life was
reserved for the Pharaoh, not ordinary people.)
Here in Egypt the practice of providing for the needs of the dead (most grandly for the god-king and to a lesser extent for his immediate family and the powerful personages of his day) was practiced on a magnificent scale. The most famous instance is a huge boat found at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Gaza, burial place of Cheops, in May of 1954. This boat, buried there more than 4800 years ago, was presumably intended to ferry the soul of Cheops back and forth across the sky since it was a close copy of the “wai,” (as pictured in Egyptian drawings) which was the boat used by the Sun god himself to traverse the sky. The actual boat found by Kamal el Mallakh in 1954 was 19ft 6in wide at its center and 143ft long and when afloat would have displaced approx. 45 tons. This probably could be classified as the largest object buried with the dead for use in the “afterlife.”
As late as 1881 when the “Valley of the Kings” was first discovered and the Royal Mummies were taken northward to Cairo, the hold of the dead on the living was evidenced by the shrieks and wails of crowds of mourners lining the Nile as the boats carrying the mummies of the ancient kings floated by. One report from that time stated, “At every village the cry of mourners was heard as we passed by.” (3)
There are many other instances of worship of the dead but these will suffice as examples.
Comparison with Biblical teachings.
Worship of the dead obviously is contrary to bible teachings. Just a few sample proof-texts will be given.
Ex 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD,
whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:
Ps 81:9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither
shalt thou worship any strange god.
Mt 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve
The folly of worshiping the dead can be seen from the Scriptures.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment :
They themselves cannot help you, nor should they be worshiped as though they can help you in any way. They must go before God for judgment; and following that they are in Heaven or Hell. Ergo, they are just people, not gods, and it is folly to worship them.
This panel was entitled
"The death of the Virgin."
c.
1360 Click
picture
to view full-sized.
NOTE: The Roman Catholic doctrine of worship of Mary must also be included in this category and must be mentioned since Roman Catholicism is such an important and wide-spread cult. They would deny that Mariolatry is worship of the dead, since they believe in the doctrine of the “bodily assumption” of Mary which teaches that she is bodily alive in heaven today.
“Mary’s assumption is celebrated on August 15th as a holy day in the United States. The assumption was declared solemnly to be an infallible teaching of the Church in 1950, but belief in it goes back to the early Church; ... when Christian writers and the liturgy became concerned with Mary’s assumption in the 6th and 7th centuries, it was accepted throughout the Church.” (2)
Still, we know that she is not a living goddess since she was a mere normal human being. We know that she considered herself as a normal, sinful, human being, fully expecting to face God in the judgment, since she was aware of her need of a Saviour and her statement of that fact is even preserved for us in the Bible so there would be no question about it.
Lk 1:47 “And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."
Since we know that she is not alive today and that the bodily assumption of her is not taught in the Bible, then we can logically assume that she died and is buried. Therefore, worship of Mary must be classified under worship of the dead. Although technically it is not, from the Catholic point of view; still, in practice it is.
MOTHER GODDESS RELIGIONS
The next logical step in the development of false religions after the fall was the ascendance of the “Great Mother Goddess” religions. Mankind had already developed various religions of the dead, which we have already studied, and then his attention naturally turned to the great mystery at the other end of existence- BIRTH! And from that elemental curiosity came a cult that would eventually span the world. The natural representative of the life-giver of man is the one that is seen everyday, woman. Motherhood was a wondrous thing; and the extension of maternity of men to that of maternity of the world was a natural leap in the imaginations of fallen man. If a woman could bring life on the small plane of personal existence then why not on the plane of all existence; thus was born the Mother Goddess.
Fertility figurine
ca. 7th-6th century B.C
The typical early fertility goddess can be seen to the left. The motherhood is accentuated by the over-large paps and the lack of detail in the rest of the goddess.
Later representations, such as Canaanite Astarte and Babylonian Ishtar, added much detail but still accentuated the body portions most associated with fertility and motherhood; as did the later goddess, Diana.
Click picture for
full-sized image.
Far left is the Canaanite mother-goddess, Astarte.
The many-breasted Diana of Ephesus, pictured to the right of Astarte, was the goddess who's temple was mentioned in Acts chapter 19.
Click picture for
full-sized image.
The round hipped Babylonian Ishtar mother-goddess is shown to the left.
The accentuation of the hips is another one of the signs of fertility
associate with these goddesses.
Click pictures for
full-sized images.
Hindu- Kali.
Sometimes the Mother Goddess had a dual personality as in India. She could be both Parvati, the beautiful, loving wife of the god, (right panel) and at the same time Kali, the “Black Earth Mother” (left panel). As Kali she demanded both human and animal sacrifices.
In the earliest instances of Mother Goddess religion, the Great Mother was in the ascendance. Later, however, the male part in procreation became to be known and the Great Mother became associated with the god as her son and consort. Her worship was widespread through the Ancient Near East, the Aegean, and Crete. In Western Asia and the eastern Mediterranean the Mother remained in the ascendance but in many other areas she was relegated to being the consort of the god. In the Near East she prevailed and was known by a wide variety of names: the Mother, Great Mother, Mother of the Gods, Innana, Ishtar, Anat, Atargatis, Rhea or Dictynna, Baubo, Ma, Allat, or Cybelle. In Greece she became Hera (the Lady). At Delphi she was Ge, the Earth. At Eleusis she was Mother Earth (Demeter) and at Sparta she was Orthia. At Paphos in Cyprus she was Aphrodite, “the Foamborn.” And one of the seven wonders of the ancient world was her temple at Ephesus where she was called Artemis (Diana). In Corinth she was worshiped in a temple with more than a thousand prostitutes and many believe that Paul’s scathing condemnation of paganism in the first chapter of Romans is based upon his two year stay in Corinth.
There are many more names by which the Mother was known and many more cultures in which she was worshiped. The ones we have covered are sufficient, however, to show how widespread this false religion became. It is still existent in various parts of the world today. Catholicism’s worship of Mary also must be included here as also being mother-goddess worship since they teach she is the mother of God and, thus, a goddess herself.
NOTE: The Catholic Theology that makes Mary the "Mother of God" makes of her
a goddess. Therefore, Mariolatry, which is practiced by many Catholics, is
a form of "Mother-goddess" religion. In addition to her being
given the title of "Mother of God," many times she is also called the
"Queen of Heaven," which is the term used by most practitioners of
Mother-goddess worship for their goddess as is the commonality of depictions of
the Queen of Heaven in a Madonna-like pose with her son. Isis, Ishtar, Inanna, Hera, Lilith, Artemis (Diana), and Mary, are just a very few of the
goddesses given this
title. In 1954, Pope Pius XII officially declared Mary to be "the
Queen of Heaven." These things make it easy to see that Mariolatry is
a
very visible and widespread modern day example of Mother Goddess religion.
To the left we have Catholic Mary as Queen of Heaven.
Click picture to see full-size.
Inanna, Sumerian Queen of Heaven.
Ishtar, Babylonian Queen of Heaven.
Far right is the Isis with Horus madonna; middle is the Mary with Jesus madonna; leftmost of the three is the Demeter with Persephone madonna.
Click pictures for
full-sized images.
Far right is the Eirine with Ploutos madonna with the Messalina Britannicus madonna to the left of it.
Comparison with Biblical teachings
From the Bible we can see that the worship of the Mother Goddess is a false religion and, thus, to practice it is forbidden for the following reasons:
1. The one God of the Bible, Jehovah, is always referred to in the masculine, never in the feminine. Therefore, the existence of a “Mother Goddess” is impossible.
2. The only reference to the Mother Goddess (Diana of Ephesus) in Acts ch. 19 tells us that she is not a real god (or in this case, goddess) but the work of men’s hands. Therefore, any worship of her is a false religion that should be turned away from as you would turn away from that of any false god.
Act 19:26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
Ex 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Judges 10:13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.
I John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
It is obvious that, biblically, worship of the Mother-goddess is forbidden. Be it Diana, Ishtar, Astarte, Eirine, or Mary, any worship of them or any false god or goddess is a transgression of the Law as well as a transgression of our obligations to God under grace.
SUMMARY and TRANSITION
Those earliest religions are still with us today, in one form or another. Now, however, we will go on to study the major religions lf the world and several cults that claim to be Christian.
Most of these developed later in man’s history, true, but they have grown and flourished in various parts of the world until now, at the beginning of the second millennium, A.D., most of them number hundreds of thousands on up to millions of adherents. Some, such as Islam, and Hinduism, are fast approaching a billion followers each. Originally all were local and started with a small group of adherents; and most, as with Christianity, can trace their beginnings back to one man and his teachings.
Most of the modern day so-called “Christian” cults can also trace their beginnings back to one person. Only in their case their originators did not teach false religion but their own peculiar brands of Christian heresy. Just a few examples that come to mind are such people as Russell (Jehovah’s Witnesses), Mary Baker Eddie (Christian Science), and Joseph Smith (Mormons, who have appropriated many Christian trappings and through that have led many to mistakenly consider them a Christian cult).
Other cults can trace their beginnings, not back to one person, but to one or more peculiar heresies. In this category would fall such cults as Roman Catholicism (Mary, the Mass, and the Papacy), Seventh Day Adventists (insistence on Sabbath observance as a part of Salvation), and the various charismatic groups that insist on tongue speaking as a part of Salvation.
We will not be able to address all of the cults but we will address a few of the largest ones such as Roman Catholicism. Mainly we will address false religions.
In all of these we will present their beliefs and then compare those to the Word of God to show that they are in error in their basic precepts and beliefs.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Dr. T.E. VanBuskirk
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SECTION THREE
HINDUISM
The theology of Hinduism is quite complex.
There is an old Hindu adage that there are thirty-three million gods. This is probably just their way
of saying there are many, many, gods; but, to be
sure, however, there
are many thousands
of gods in their
pantheon.
Predominant is the
Hindu “Trinity,”of
Brahma the Creator,
Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the
Destroyer.
C lick picture to view
full-sized image.
Vishnu & his wife Lakshmi, on the serpent Ananta, afloat on the primeval waters. Brahma is depicted being born from a lotus growing from Vishnu’s navel.
Shiva in the form of the dancing god Nataraja standing on the dwarf of ignorance and sin. His upper hands hold the throbbing drum of creation and the flame of destruction. One upraised empty hand says “fear not,” while the other points to the upraised foot promising bliss to believers.
The teachings of Hinduism are varied and complex. For our purposes we will investigate only a few.
Ro 16:19 ... I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
God- In Hindu theology, the main precept is that god is
everything and everything is god. This belief system is called “pantheism.” Secondarily, they believe that “all is one,”
(“monism,” the universe exists as a unitary principle).
From the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, Invocation
“Let us see all as One, and let us see One as all.”
Brahman- The Infinite Spirit- usually translated as the “Absolute.” It is the ultimate reality underlying phenomenal existence; it is vast, unqualified, and imperishable.
Brahma- Is the cosmic creator. Brahma is etymologically related to Brahman. Brahman the Infinite Spirit, is in the neuter in Sanskrit; and Brahma the Creator is in the masculine.
Krishna- In the Bhagavad-Gita the Infinite Spirit (the Absolute) is superceded by Lord Krishna, who claims to be the very foundation of the infinite.(5)
Because of the spread of the teachings of the New Age Movement, which shares much basic theology with Hinduism, in the forefront of Western understanding of Hinduism are three of their teachings: Reincarnation Karma, and avatars. These words have become integral parts of the English language and America’s search for “Religion.” (That is, of course, America’s search, as has been the search of all who have turned away from God since the fall, for any other religion than the true “Religion,” that was handed down from our forefathers who had believed God’s Word that taught it to them.)
Reincarnation- This, in Hindu theology, is the cycle of lives in which one learns, through
deeds done in their various lives, how to return to the god of which he, and all of the rest of
the universe, is part. This could be viewed as their particular brand of salvation; and it is
accomplished through works of their own not through the intercession of a Saviour.
From the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 2, The Way of Discrimination (CD 2)
:20 Self is not born and it does not die at any time. And it does not again come into existence by being born. Self
is birthless, constant, eternal and ancient; it is not slain when the body is slain.
:22 Just as a person gives up worn out clothes and puts on other new ones, even so does the embodied self give up decrepit bodies and enter new ones.
Here it is easy to see that the Hindu does hold the concept of the soul.
The error is in their view of the beginning of the soul and its eventual destiny.
Srimad Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 7, The Way of Knowledge and Realization (ibid.)
:19 At the end of innumerable births, the man of realization takes refuge in Me, knowing that all this is Vaasudeva. Such a saint is exceedingly rare.
This state of final union with “Me,” (Vishnu, One, etc.), after innumerable lives, is called nirvana, by the Buddhists (an off-shoot of Hinduism) and moksa, release from the material state, by Hindus.(6) This reunion would correspond with Heaven in Christian terminology. The difference is that to a Christian, Heaven is a place. Whereas to the Hindu it is a state of being, i.e. absorption and oblivion into the Universal All.
Srimad Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 12, The Way of Devotion (CD 2)
:3-4 But they who worship the Imperishable, Indescribable, Unmanifest, All-pervading, Inconceivable, Changeless, Immoveable and Eternal, controlling well their senses, even-minded everywhere and devoted to the good of all beings, also attain Me alone.
:7 I quickly redeem them from this ocean of transmigratory existence beset with death.
:8 Fix your mind on Me alone, let your intellect rest in Me, you will live in Me alone hereafter; there is no doubt about it.
Obviously, from these verses, the Hindu concept of the soul is an immortal essence that will one day be reunited and reabsorbed back into the Universal All of which it is part. (New Agers share this same doctrine with Hinduism.)
Karma- From “The Bhagavad-Gita” QPBC Edition, Key Words In the Bhagavad-Gita (5)
Action (karma) - from the Sanskrit root kr, “to do,” “to act.” Karma refers to the force of one’s actions in determining what one is and will be, to one’s role in making one’s own destiny. In theory karma is a store of good and bad actions accumulated over many lives, and it is this store of actions that binds one to phenomenal existence. Only when one acts without concern for the consequences, or fruits, of one’s actions can one escape the bondage of action. Krishna’s teaching that action is inescapable is central to the entire Gita.
The doctrine of karma tells the Hindu that what one does in a previous life has caused their
current condition. This logically leads to callousness to suffering, which is even today a
prevalent part of Indian psychological makeup. The law of karma says that they deserve their
current plight, in fact they have actually earned it by deeds in a previous life or lives and,
therefore, if you try to help them out of their suffering you are defying the law of karma.
This belief has led to the
state of India today in which many are living in the streets and many
are starving to death. Currently, the population of India is growing at a stupendous rate and
is fast approaching the one billion mark. When it does, one out of every six people on our
planet will be Indian. The squalor in which a large portion of the population is left to live can
be directly traced to the doctrine of karma.
Avatar- This particular doctrine of Hinduism is an attempt to personify the impersonal Absolute.
The impersonal Brahmin is viewed as incarnating, from time to time, in an illusory form visible to men. This only happens once during each age and only when the plight of man is depraved and hopeless without divine intervention; i.e., only when mankind is in desperate need will an avatar appear. In Hindu theology this has happened not once but time after time. In the Bhagavad-Gita twenty-two are mentioned, including Krishna. Originally the god Vishnu, the sustainer, took human form as Narayana, the seed of all avatars.
Generally there are ten avatars recognized in modern Hinduism: Matsya, the Fish; Kurma, the Tortoise; Varaha, the Boar; Narasimha, the Man-Lion; Vamana, the Dwarf; Parusha Rama, Rama of the Axe; Rama, king of Ayodhya; Buddha; and Kalkin, the incarnation of the future. Of these ten, only Rama, Krishna, and Buddha have modern followings.
Jesus- Although, historically, Jesus was not considered an avatar, modern Hinduism has recently started embracing Him as just one of the many.
Click picture to
see full-size.
NOTE: Mother-goddess influences in Hinduism. Although Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva are doctrinally the most important deities in Hinduism, to the great majority of professing Hindus the most important figure, practically speaking, is the local village goddess (gramadevata) called “Earth-Goddess” or “Mother.” These are of paramount importance to the peasant because they preside over the fertility of both animal and vegetable life as well as pestilence and diseases. Therefore, it is easy to see why these local “Mother-Goddesses” are of such immediate importance to the peasants.
Sacred Texts of Hinduism. (6) A medieval philosopher once said that “those teachings are righteous (dharmika) which do not obstruct the Veda, i.e. which do not deny the efficacy or the preeminence and eternity of those oldest of the Indian religious texts.” Although few follow and just as few read the Veda today, all Hindus pay homage to it. Beginning with the Veda, the oldest Hindu sacred text, a list of some of the texts must include:
The Vedas ca. 1500-1200 B.C.)
The Rig Veda- 1,028 hymns to the Vedic deities.
These hymns are considered by many scholars to be the oldest living religious literature in the world. This we know is not true since some of the oldest portions of the Bible were written around 1500 B.C. by Moses.(8 & 9) (Ex 17:14; 24:4, 7; 34:27; Num 33:1-2; Deut 31:9, 11; et al) This would make portions of the Bible, at the very least, contemporaneous with The Vedas. And since both Christianity and Judaism are living religions, then the scholars that look to The Vedas as the oldest living religious literature obviously are modernists that do not believe the Bible nor its testimonies as to its authorship and dating, nor the several thousands of years old traditions attesting to its age and the fact that the historical Moses wrote Genesis.
Sama Veda- A collection for purposes of chanting.
Yajur Veda- The manual of operations for the sacrifice.
Atharva Veda- Spells and incantations for medicinal purposes, magic for the battle, etc.
The Brahmanas (c. 800-600 B.C.)
The Aranyakas (c. 600 B.C.)
The Upanishads (c. 600-300 B.C.)
Definitions (7)
1. Moksa- The release from material existence and the cycle of life (or lives.)
2. Karma- This is the repository of good and bad that accumulates through various lives.
3. Atman- This is the self; or, as Christians would call it, the soul.
NOTE: The Christian view is that each soul is a separate entity. The Hindu
conception, however, is that the Atman, or self, is somehow part of the
“Ultimate Reality,” or “god,” known as Brahman.
4. Reincarnation- The process of rebirth into a new life.
5. Samsara- The cycle of life and death itself.
Comparison with Biblical teachings.
I. God- That the Hindus view of their god is a trinity is not unusual; many other religions view their god as such also, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
NOTE: Isn’t it amazing that so many Bible doctrines have become part of so many different false religions that twist them into caricatures of the truth of God’s teachings! In the book of Romans God warned us about this very thing! (Ro 1:18-25)
What is most unbiblical in the Hindu and other false religions’ and sect’s views of the
trinity is their basic concept of what or who “God” really is. Their trinity is nothing more
than an attempt to personalize a totally impersonal force they call “god.”
Their view of “god” is that “it” is an impersonal force pervading the universe. To them God and the universe are one and the same; and that, as we saw earlier, is known as “pantheism.” (The most prevalent example in America today is "the Force” of the Star Wars series.)
The Bible, however, teaches a totally different view of God.
A. He is personal- He is a “He,” not an “It.” The male gender, not the neuter,
is used throughout the Bible when talking about God. (Gen 1:5, 10, 16, 27, 31, et al)
1. He is deeply concerned and involved in the affairs of man on a personal basis.
Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
2. He is involved with the universe on a personal basis.
Heb 1:3 ... and upholding all things by the word of his power,
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
3. From Creation to daily sustenance, He is personally involved with His creatures.
|
Ps 104:27-30 |
These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give [them] their meat in due season. [That] thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. |
4. It is not a cursory care for His creation but an intimate one.
(Mt 6:28-30; 10:29-30; Gen 39:21 with 50:20; Dan 1:9; Job 1:12; et al)
B. He is eternal and, therefore, cannot be one with the universe.
1. God is eternal.
Ps 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed
the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou [art] God.
2. The universe had a beginning and, therefore, is not and logically cannot be eternal. In fact it was created by God according to the Scriptures. (Gen 1:1; et al)
3. Therefore, God cannot be one with the universe since he cannot be both the Creator and the created, both the infinite God and at one and the same time the finite material universe.
II. Karma- This is part of the Hindu belief that the future state of absorption back into the “Infinite,” and the speed that you reach that state and that your plight in the next incarnation depends totally on the life lived in the current and past ones (if you do not reach moksa, material release.) This accumulation, or repository, of good and bad is called karma.
The doctrine of karma is totally contrary to Bible teachings.
A. According to the Scriptures, a person’s current plight does not necessarily have to do with their sin (in this or any other life) nor does it necessarily have anything to do even with the sins of their parents before or after the person’s birth.
Jn 9:1-3 And as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man which was blind from [his] birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
In this account Jesus says that the man’s current plight has nothing to do (directly) with sin, neither his nor anyone else’s. If the false doctrine of reincarnation were true, then the man would have to have sinned (accumulated bad karma) in a previous life in order to have been born blind in his current life. Yet Jesus says that no sin, previous or current, is involved with the man’s blindness. (The fact of sin and the fall, and the resultant corruption and the introduction of sickness, death, etc. into the creation is a matter for discussion at a different time. Right now we are considering personal sin committed by a person or his immediate progenitors and its effects.)
B. As was mentioned before, this false doctrine of karma has led to a complete indifference to the suffering and squalor that permeates most Hindu societies. After all, they believe, the current state of a person was “earned” in a previous life. If one believes that, then in helping that person you would actually be fighting against the law of karma.
This type of indifference is also contrary to the Bible.
Jas 2:15-16 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be [ye] warmed and filled; not-withstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what [doth it] profit?
The very claims of Jesus Christ himself give the lie to this type of quasi-religious indifference. One such striking example is His claim, recorded in the book of Luke, to the prophecy of Him made in Isaiah.
Lk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives , and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (cf. Is 61:1-2)
C. The teaching of karma also leads the adherent to believe that any shortcomings (sins) of this life can be made up for in the next. This totally leaves out the necessity of a Saviour and is contrary to Bible teachings and leaves that person in danger of the Judgment, Hell and the Lake of Fire.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die,
but after this the judgment:
Jn 4:42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying:
for we have heard [him] ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
II Tim 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus
Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortal- ity to light through the gospel:
The only kind of “next life” spoken of in the Scriptures is the new life after the resurrection; and that life will be the place of the Judgments not a chance to repair the damage caused by one’s sins in the first life. In that life we will all be called to give an accounting of things done in this life; and no mention is ever made in the Bible that in it a second chance to atone for our sins will be given.
Ro 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God
Note: The Catholic Church has adopted a form of this heresy of a future chance to atone for sins, and have incorporated a variation of it into their doctrine of purgatory. This false doctrine will be discussed later under Catholicism.
III. Reincarnation- This is the Hindu belief that one experiences, through rebirth (reincarnation), a succession of lives; accumulating karma in each one, until finally reaching the state of moksa (release from the material,) whereupon the soul (atman) is once again reunited, absorbed back into, or once again realizes one's own soul as being, the Universal All (Brahman,) the Absolute Reality.
From the Hupanishads- (Hindu sacred texts)
“If a man fail to attain Brahman before he casts off his body,
he must again put on a body in the world of created things.”
A. Definitions of Bible doctrines misconstrued as reincarnations.
It is easy to see how that those only slightly versed in the Bible’s teachings on the Incarnation of Christ, the resurrection, and the various accounts of the raising of the dead, could be swayed to believe the Hindu doctrine of reincarnation. However, if one truly understands these various Bible doctrines then the falsity of the Hindu doctrine of reincarnation becomes quite apparent.
1. The Incarnation of Christ.
a. This is, literally, the infleshment of God in completely human form. It is not to be misconstrued to include pre-incarnate temporary appearances of Christ (Christophanies) in the Old Testament. The latter were only temporary and limited; i.e., they did not include all of the elements of the Incarnation.
b. The elements of the Incarnation.
The Incarnation included the birth, life, complete humanity, and death, of Jesus Christ, who alone was God in the flesh.(11) (Jn 1:14; Gal 4:4; cf. Ro 8:3; Phil 2:6; Heb 2:14)
2. Resurrection.(11)
This is the reviving of the body of a person from the dead to an eternal state.
a. The resurrection of Christ was a unique experience.
The Bible states that He is now alive forevermore, i.e., He is in an eternal state.
(Ro 6:9; II Tim 1:10; Rev 1:18) This is to be contrasted with those in the Bible that experienced a temporary reviving from death, (this will be discussed in another section) non of whom do the Scriptures give testimony that they lived forever after their reviving.
b. The resurrection of the saved and the unsaved to an eternal state of life or condemnation, respectively.
1) The Bible explains that after death, permanent physical death, the person faces the Judgment and that the Believer has already been judged in Christ and that the Unbeliever will be judged according to their works. (Heb 9:27; Jn 3:16; Rev 20:12-15)
2) The Bible also teaches that although all will be resurrected, some will be resurrected to life and others to condemnation; the results being determined by whether one has accepted Christ and been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life or whether one has rejected Him and will be judged out of the Books Of Their Works. (Jn 5:29; Acts 4:2; Rev 20:12-15)
3) The Bible also teaches that the resurrection is permanent, i.e. that there is no subsequent succession of life and death but that the resurrection is to eternal life. (Lk 20:36)
3. Raising of the dead.
a. These raisings are not to be confused with resurrection.(11)
b. Biblical raisings of the dead.
Those raised from the dead according to Bible accounts are: the son of the widow of Zarephath (I Ki 17:17-24); the Shunamite’s son (II Ki 4:18-37); Jairus’ daughter (Mk 5:22-43); the young man of Nain (Lk 7:11-17); Lazarus (Jn 11:1-44); Tabitha (Acts 9:36-43); and Eutychus (Acts 20:7-12).
1) These raisings were all temporary; for nowhere in the Bible does it say they lived eternally after their raising.
2) Only of Christ is such a statement made; which shows the difference between His resurrection (a prototype of ours and those saints that rose after His resurrection) and a mere raising from the dead which was experienced by the others in the biblical accounts.
3) Neither does the Bible ever state that such raisings were in a new body, nor does it state that there were a succession of raisings of any one of them. Quite to the contrary: the raisings were always of the person in the very same body previously occupied; and the person was always identified as being the same one that died, not just the essence (the soul, or as the Hindus call it, the atman) raised in a new body; and never is there an account of the same person being raised from the dead twice.
B. Comparison of the Hindu doctrine of Reincarnation with Biblical teachings.
It is obvious from the preceding section that the Bible teaches that a person has but one life in which to accept or reject Christ as personal Saviour. Nowhere does the Bible teach the Hindu concept of reincarnation; and those passages which might mistakenly be thought to do so, when given only a cursory glance, are shown upon closer examination to be talking of completely different types of events and teachings. The biblical teachings on The Incarnation of Christ, the resurrection of Christ and of the believing dead to eternal life and the resurrection of the unbelieving dead to eternal condemnation, and the various accounts of the temporary raising of the dead, can in no way, when understood properly, be construed as reincarnation by the wildest stretches of the imagination.
IV. Moksa.
Another doctrine of Hinduism is that of moksa. Moksa, as was explained earlier, is believed to be the liberation from material existence. This is believed to be necessary in order to be reabsorbed into the Universal All.
This doctrine (like so many false doctrines) holds a small kernel of truth within it; but, in its totality it is contrary to the Bible. The devil has always, from the very first lie told in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1, misdirection; 3:2, outright lie), mixed error with truth to formulate the most convincing type of lie. In Genesis, the first lie consisted of 20% error and 80% truth. The false doctrine of moksa also contains a modicum of truth; but, not anywhere in the same proportion as that first lie told by Satan in Genesis.
In the case of moksa the kernel of truth is that the soul (atman) will be released from material existence. (We call that process of freedom death or, if one is alive at the proper time, the Rapture.) The lie is that the freedom from material existence is permanent. This is not true. The immediate release from material existence does come about upon death; but, such release is merely temporary not permanent or, if you will, eternal. For the Believer such temporary existence is experienced in a place called heaven and is transformed into an eternal existence, in a material yet perfect body, upon the reuniting of the soul and body after the resurrection. For the Unbeliever, the temporary existence after death is in Hell in which the soul experiences torments that are perceived to be both real and material; and this temporary existence will be transformed into an eternal existence of torment in the Lake of Fire upon the reuniting of the soul with the body in the resurrection. Therefore, even though there is a kernel of truth in the doctrine of moksa it is totally untrue and foreign to true Bible theology.
A. Moksa teaches that the eventual goal of every believer is to be reunited with the Universal All in a state of reabsorptive oblivion. This is viewed as a spiritual state free from material existence, passions, and consciousness, brought about by the total absorption of the atman (the soul) back into the Universal All, the Ultimate Reality, of which it was originally part but was somehow mysteriously separated by material existence but as part of which it still was, again mysteriously, during the persons material existence. Some sects teach that the atman (the soul) somehow kind of “forgot” that it was god, or at least a part of god. I realize that this is a self-contradictory statement in Hindu theology, but, nevertheless it is what the Hindu believes. It is interesting that the Hindu finds no problem with this and many other contradictory teachings in their religion and religious writings.
B. Comparison with Biblical teachings.
1. Oblivion upon the realization of moksa.
While Hindu theology teaches that the final reabsorption (moksa) back into the Universal All means oblivion for the individual’s soul (atman), the Bible teaches exactly the opposite.
The Bible teaches that the soul after death is in a state of complete consciousness.
Lk 16:22-23 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
2. Hinduism teaches that this oblivion upon achieving moksa is a freedom from material existence and passions.
The Bible teaches the exact opposite.
a. In the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke ch. 16, the rich man in torment obviously feels mental anguish, thirst, and pain:
Lk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
It is obvious that the sensations of material pain are very real to this man. Likewise, the mental anguish caused by these sensations is also very real.
b. It also is to be noted that mental anguish over the fate of those left behind in the previous life is also experienced by the tormented one.
Lk 16:27-28 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
c. It is obvious from these few scriptures, among a multitude of others, that oblivion of the soul is totally contrary to Bible doctrine.
NOTE: Whether the torments of Hell are only spirit and soul oriented and the torments of the Lake of Fire are physical as well as spiritual are subjects for discussion at some other time. What matters is that to the tormented the pain is real and perceptible by what they believe to be their material senses; therefore, it is very real and physical to them. Likewise the mental anguish brought on by their current experiences, whether merely perceptional or actual, and their concern over the fate of those left behind is just as excruciatingly real. To sum it up, when the soul is in Hell, Hell is experientially real to them.
C. Moksa and Salvation.
The Hindu belief that a person can attain moksa on his own precludes the necessity of a Saviour.
1. Yet the Bible teaches exactly the opposite; that a Saviour is necessary and exists only
in the person of Jesus Christ.
Mt 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his
name JESUS:
for he shall save his
people from their sins.
I Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
2. Contrary to Hinduism, no one can attain salvation on his own, all will come up short.
Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
3. Since none can attain it on their own, then the Salvation given through Christ must be, and is, available to all mankind.
Ro 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
4. Obviously the Hindu doctrine of self-attainment of moksa, is contrary to the Bible.
V. Atman (the Self or the Soul).
This teaching of Hinduism states that the “self,” the atman, was once part of “god,” and still is in some mysterious way and yet is at the same time not, (one of those contradictions so easily accepted by Hindus) and will one day be reunited and absorbed back into “god.”
A. The Bible teachings on the soul.
1. The first soul, created directly by God, was that of Adam. The Bible teaches that God created Adam; and that this creation included both his (Adam’s) physical and spiritual essence.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
2. Although man was created in the image of God, the Bible does not teach that the soul of man is part of any “Universal Soul.” To the contrary, the scriptures just quoted make it plain that the soul of man is a totally separate entity from the “soul” or essence of God who made him and breathed into him the breath of life.
B. The essence of God did reside in one human being, Jesus Christ.
Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jn 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth
Heb 2:14a Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;
Obviously someone with only a limited understanding of the Scriptures might construe this as proof of the Hindu theory and perception of atman. However when one studies more closely it is seen that this is a special and not a general case. This is the only person mentioned in the Bible who contained the essence of God himself. It was a onetime instance in the total existence of the human race and was for a specific purpose, the salvation of the souls of men who were helpless to save themselves. (Also see Mt 1:21, 23; Ro 3:23; and I Jn 2:2. Also see the earlier section in our study addressing The Incarnation.)
C. Avatars.
The Hindu belief that “god” appears from time to time in human form in order to guide men out of their depravity is based upon a twisting of the Incarnation of Christ who incarnated only once for the specific purpose of being the Saviour of the world.
NOTE: The Hindus believe that some manifestations (avatars) were in the
form of animals; but, this is an ancient belief not much followed by
Hindus in the last several centuries. Therefore, for purposes of our study
we will only discuss the supposed appearances in human form.
1. The Incarnation of Christ, as we have seen already, was a one-time event.
However, there is one passage of Scripture that will put the lid on this Hindu false doctrine of the appearance of “god” many times in many forms.
Heb 9:25-26 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now ONCE in the end of the world HATH HE APPEARED to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Caps added for emphasis.)
This can be contrasted with the Hindu teaching of many avatars. From the Bhagavata Purana (a sacred Hindu text) 22 avatars are named but it adds that the avatars are numberless. There are ten avatars still recognized by Hindus today. (These were listed in an earlier section) Although traditionally Hindus have denied that Jesus Christ was an avatar, recently, however, Hindu spiritual leaders have crossed that boundary. Ramakrishna (1834-86), one of the main figures of the Hindu Renaissance, identified himself with Christ. In fact he declared himself an avatar and the “reembodiment of Jesus Christ.” (7)
2. The Hindu avatars were supposed to have come only to guide mankind; while Christ, on the other hand, came to carry out various things.
Christ came to: save men from their sins; pay the price demanded by God the Father for those sins, as stated in His Holy Word; and then also to teach them, by example, how to live in accord with the Laws of God, which were themselves also already available to man in that portion of His Holy Word which we now call The Old Testament. In addition He also rightly interpreted and applied the Old Testament scriptures while here on the earth and then sent His Holy Spirit to further interpret them for Him and also inspire the writers of the New Testament to finish the guidebook known as His Bible upon His (Christ’s) departure. (There are such a multitude of Scriptures that attest to these facts that we will not list them here.)
These things done by Christ are vastly different from the things supposedly done by the avatars; therefore, the avatars were not true appearances of God in the flesh. That claim can only be applied to Jesus Christ and none other.
3. From these facts it can be seen that the claims of Hindus about avatars are contradictory to the Bible doctrine of The Incarnation and God’s dealings with mankind through Christ, the one true appearance of God in flesh. Therefore, the Hindu doctrine of the avatar is totally foreign to the teachings of the Bible.
We will now go on to some related and well-known off-shoot religions that share common beliefs with Hinduism. After we do this, then we will present a Summary applicable to all of these related false religions.
Click thumbnail
to view picture.
Amida Buddha
1252 A.D.
Bronze, 37' 4"
BUDDHISM
Although Buddhism and Hinduism share some common beliefs, there are also some striking differences. The common beliefs will not be mentioned since those beliefs were already explained and refuted under the study of Hinduism. Those beliefs, however, that are different will be treated and refuted in this section.
DEFINITIONS:
Buddhism- What we call Buddhism here in the West is known in Asia as Buddha-sasana (the way of life, or the discipline, of the Awakened One) and also Buddha-Dhamma (approximate meaning, ‘the eternal truth’ of the Awakened One.) The latter term meaning “both the truth concerning the fact of the Awakened and that such awakenment is possible, and also the truth proclaimed by the one who is regarded as pre-eminently the Awakened, the Buddha, or ... Gautama... who lived in northern India in the sixth century BC.” (6)
Buddha- The term Buddha is not a personal name but a title meaning, “The
Awakened One.”
The term is most generally used of Siddhartha Gautama who was born in Kapilavastu,
India, in c. 563 B.C. and died in Kushinagara, India, in c. 483 B.C.(16)
According to Buddhists, a Buddha has appeared to reeducate people in the knowledge of Dhamma whenever the practice of sasana has ceased altogether. This has happened many times, recurring approximately every 5,000 years, throughout the history of mankind. Before the appearance of Gautama Buddha there were, according to Buddhist tradition, at least twenty-four previous Buddhas. Their existence is unprovable except as ‘revealed truth’ from Gautama himself.
TEACHINGS:
God- One of the most striking differences between Buddhism and Hinduism is that the
Buddhists acknowledge no Supreme Being. Whereas Hindus believe in Brahman, the
Universal All, the Buddhists claim that no such essential force exists in the universe.
Essentially then, the Buddhist is what we would call an atheist. This then
actually places Buddhism in the category of a philosophy of life rather than a
religion. However, it is erroneously believed to be one of the major
religions of the world, even though it is not, so we will treat it as such in
our study of it.
The Soul- The Buddha argued that there was no proof of an eternal soul, therefore it did not exist.
In the second of his Three Characteristics of Being the Buddha taught:
“All constituents of being are lacking in an ego. Our greatest illusion is that we ourselves are an enduring ego, which persists through a lifetime and even gets reborn. ... But, says the Buddha, there is no enduring I. ‘I’ is just a convenient label for a series of interconnected events.”(16)
Self-attainment of Nirvana- The Buddha taught that all enlightenment, realization,
attainments, and achievements, including the attainment of Nirvana, are attributable to “human
endeavor and human intelligence.” Although the Hindu/Buddhist concept of Nirvana is not
quite the same as the Christian concept of Heaven, still it could be equated the same from the
view that both describe what each believes to be the eventual terminus and goal of existence.
In the one case it is called Heaven, in the other it is called Nirvana. Therefore, self-attainment of Nirvana, from this view, is to be equated with self-attainment of Heaven.
Cessation of pain (physical and emotional) are self-attained- As we have already seen, Buddha taught that God is not necessary for attainment of Nirvana; and he also taught that this is the only state in which pain is no longer felt or endured. Therefore, for cessation of all pain, which we Christians view as the time when “God will wipe away all tears,” to a Buddhist is something that can be effected by man on his own without any God. (Remember, Buddhists are atheists; therefore, if God does not exist then man has to, and is able to, attain anything attainable on his own.) In the fourth of his Four Noble Truths, Buddha taught that attainment of cessation of pain is possible through the,
“Noble Eightfold Path, namely, right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration...” (16)
You will notice that all of these things are humanly attainable. You will also notice, however, that it takes the judgment, or standard if you will, of what is right and wrong out of the hands of God and puts it in the hands of man.
COMPARISON WITH BIBLICAL TEACHINGS
God- The atheistic base of Buddhism can be refuted with the first verse of the Bible.
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
If God did not exist, then He could not have created.
The Soul- The Buddhist denial of the existence of the soul of man is refuted in I Thessalonians.
I Thess 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Self-attainment of Nirvana (Heaven) and the attendant cessation of pain (physical and emotional)
The refutation of this Buddhist belief can be found in a combination of several scriptures.
Jn 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth,
and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Mt 6:9 Our Father which art in heaven... (Also Lk 11:2)
It is obvious that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father, which is in Heaven.
Rev 7:17 ... God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
These make it also obvious that all pain, both physical and emotional, shall be wiped away by God. Therefore, the Buddhist doctrine that self-attainment of these goals is possible is totally in error.
From just these few basic comparisons it can be seen that Buddhism is a false religion and that there are irreconcilable differences between it and the Bible. Therefore, no Christian should be involved with it nor its proponents except for the one purpose of bringing them to a saving knowledge of Christ.
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SECTION FOUR
HINDUISM IN AMERICA
Click picture to view.
Ramakrishna & Vivekananda
Hinduism has invaded America in an unimaginable variety of ways. Beginning in the early
1800's in New England, transcendentalism made the first entrance of Hindu ideas into the
religious thought of America. The writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1802-82) incorporated
the Hindu concepts of Brahman and Karma into early American literature. By 1893 a new
liberalism in religious thought was evidenced by the arrival and acceptance of “Swami
Vivekananda at the World Parliament of Religions.” (7) The Theosophical Society, in
America, did much to popularize Hinduism. At about this same time the Vedanta Societies, first
established in 1897, began its growth in America. Vivekananda’s Ramakrishna Mission
appealed to the educated and generally liberal segments of the American population including
philosopher and writer Aldous Huxley. The flood of Hinduism washing over America in the
twentieth century swirled and eddied around such figures as Meher Baba and his Spiritual
Advancement of the Individual Foundation, Inc. (followed and loved by Peter Townshend of
the Who, who declared Baba was Christ); Bhagwan Rajneesh; Paramahansa Yogananda and his
Self-Realization Fellowship as well as his Churches of All Religions; Maharashi Mahesh Yogi
and Transcendental Meditation; Maharaj-ji and the Divine Light Mission; Bhaktivedanta Swami
and the Hare Krishna Movement; Yogi Bhajan and the Sikh Dharma Brotherhood; Swami
Vishnu-Devananda and the True World Order; Baba Ram Das (Gordon Alpert, once a professor
of psychology at Harvard along with Timothy Leary); Bubba Free John (Franklin Jones) and
the Dawn Horse Community in California; Swami Kriyananda (Donald Walters) and the
Ananda Community in California; and includes such movements as Arica, Eckankar, Est (most
famous proponent was John Denver) the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (Hare
Krishna); as well as many of the ancient forms of the martial arts with their roots embedded in
Buddhism, specifically Zen Buddhism and Taoism. (Be careful when studying the martial arts
that you do not cross the line from learning forms for self-defense to practicing the religion or
religions that originally developed that particular martial art that you are studying.)
There are so many other movements such as yoga, meditation, Ti-chi, and a myriad of others that are based in Hinduism and its offshoots, that we cannot list them here because of limitations of space and time. Suffice it to say that you should investigate the roots of any group that approach you to find out if they are rooted in the Bible or rooted in Hinduism. Hinduism has already been shown to be a false religion so we need not go into such proofs concerning the personages and movements listed here. Suffice it to say that any of these movements here in the United States, or any others here in the U.S. or anywhere else that you find out are rooted in Hinduism, should be avoided as patently unscriptural and therefore false, which is to say ungodly. If they are not from God, and we have seen that they are not, then there is only one other possible source, and that is Satan himself.
ZEN BUDDHISM
Representative drawing
of Bodhidharma by
Hakuin Zenji (1683-1786)
Click picture to see full-size image.
This particular brand of Buddhism is an outgrowth of both
Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism (which will be discussed later.)(19)
The main difference between Zen and the mainline practice of
Buddhism is that Buddhism makes attainment of enlightenment seem
remote, something that is to be attained only after a lifetime, or many
lifetimes, of struggle and searching. Whereas Zen makes “liberation”
(Zen’s term) seem like something natural and immanent, something
startlingly obvious that could spontaneously occur at any moment.
The history of Zen is more Chinese than Indian and since the twelfth century it has become an integral part of the culture of Japan. Tradition maintains that Zen came to China in 520 A.D. with the arrival of the Indian monk Bodhidharma at Canton. That same tradition represents Bodhidharma as the twenty-eighth in the list of Indian patriarchs in a direct line of succession from Guatama Buddha himself.
Since Zen Buddhism is merely a form of Buddhism, which is an offshoot of Hinduism, then we can logically assume it is a false religion since it is derived from a false religion. If the daddy is a dog then we don’t have to prove that the offspring is also a dog. Likewise, if the parent is a false religion then so is the child.
CURRENT DEFENSE OF HINDUISM BY “CHRISTIAN” GROUPS
The recent release of a guide by the Southern Baptists urging prayer for the salvation of Hindus and Jews has sparked world-wide protests by those groups against the Southern Baptists. Adherents of Philosophical Hinduism and Jewish groups have marched and picketed in front of SBC churches in various cities here in the USA. In India and Nepal demonstrations by Philosophical Hindu adherents was widespread.
The announcement this year (1999) that the SBC will go to Chicago and seek to do some evangelizing in the year 2,000 has sparked a reaction from the “Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago.” They asserted in a letter on Nov 27th to the SBC that "hate crimes" (against Jews, Hindus, and others) might result from such an evangelistic outreach in their city. They “criticize our 'arrogance' and our 'presupposition' that non-Christians 'are outside God's plan of salvation,' as Chicago's United Methodist Bishop Joseph Sprague said in press reports.”
This stand by the Methodists that, in essence, God can save Hindus and Jews (and other
non-Christians) by means other than Jesus Christ, has now aligned the Methodists with the
cults and false religions of the world. Because they have proposed and espoused extra-biblical stands concerning Salvation, it must be said that they have stepped over the line
and must now be considered a cult themselves. According to Land, president of the SBC's
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, “I grieve, as I am sure John Wesley does from
beyond the grave, that a Methodist minister would make such statements...”
The group from Chicago includes not only the Methodist Church there but also the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and 39 other major Christian and Jewish institutions. This would also force us to consider all of those aligned with that group to be in the category of cults or, in the case of the Jewish members, in the category of false religion. That the Catholics are members of that Council is no surprise at all; and we will find later that it is the largest heretical Christian cult in the world, so of course it would align itself with such heresy and such a heretical group.
It seems kind of funny that the SBC is now finding out what the Independents have known for nearly two thousand years. That to stand up and try to obey the Great Commission has caused us to be persecuted, and many times by other supposedly “Christian” groups, to the point of the martyrdom of many millions of us true believers down through the centuries. They (those in the SBC) knew it at one time but it somehow got lost in this century. Now that persecution is once again rearing its ugly head they will soon relearn the lesson.
I wonder what the Hindus and Jews and others would say about this workbook and its stand against their false religions, and against heretical, cultic, sects of “Christianity,” like those in the group in Chicago and against other wider groups such as the World Council of Churches?
(Quotes above are courtesy of Baptist Press, a division of Religion Today. www.ReligionToday.com)
TIBETAN BUDDHISM AND THE DALAI LAMA
Of all of the expansions of Buddhism into various parts of the world, probably the most remarkable was its integration into the very fabric of society in Tibet, or “Bö” as the Tibetans call their country. (On some occasions they add “Khawajen,” meaning the “Land of Snows.”) The Tibetan plateau, average altitude 13,000 - 14,000 feet and approximately 1,000,000 sq. miles in area (roughly the size of western Europe), once inhabited by various tribes ruled by militaristic kings (warlords) became, under Buddhism, a unified country under the leadership of one man, a “Dalai Lama,” or “Oceanic Master.”
The recorded history of Tibet dates back to about 3 centuries before Christ. Originally a country ruled by military dynasties and practicing animistic religion under a priesthood of Shamans skilled at divination, sorcery, and sacrifice, it later became a totally pacifistic society dedicated to enlightenment and respecting all forms of life. Non-violence became the rule of Tibetan society and continues to be so even today.
With the arrival of Buddhism, first introduced in the seventh century A.D., it became totally integrated into the fabric of Tibetan society by the early centuries of the second millennium A.D. The military warlords began to lose their power and over the period of several centuries the Buddhist Lamas became the de-facto rulers, and later the official rulers, of the country.
Many Lamas led the country until the fifteenth century when a Lama by the name of Gendun
Drubpa became the first in the new group of high leaders later called the Dalai Lamas. He was
succeeded by Gendun Gyatso who, from a very young child, claimed to be Gendun Drubpa.
Click
here to see a full-sized image of Potala palace, former home of the Dalia Lama
until the Chinese conquered the country and the
current Dalai Lama was forced to flee. Photo by Martyn Unsworth He was accepted as the reincarnation of the
previous master and was trained to continue the
leadership of the country. The next
reincarnation, discovered through “miracles,
tests, and demonstrated abilities,” was as Sonam Gyatso. He led during the sixteenth century. In
1573 he visited Mongolia and was named the
“Dalai Lama,” by the Mongolian Emperor Altan
Khan. Included in the title were the previous
two predecessors, of which he was believed to
be their continuation through reincarnation, and
he was named “His Holiness the Third Dalai
Lama.” This leadership by supposed reincarnations still rules as a government in exile
(because of the Chinese Communists invasion of Tibet) in the person of Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, who was recognized by a
Tibetan government search party at the age of two and installed as the Dalai Lama at Lhasa at
the age of four in 1939. The “points of contact” are felt on both sides, Buddhism and Science. Infiltration of Buddhist
concepts into the various scientific disciplines was commented on by the current Dalai Lama. (Click on picture of the current Dalia Lama
far right to view full size.) “In this century, when human knowledge derived through important scientific
discoveries, fortunately a new trend is emerging. People in the scientific
disciplines are taking a fresh interest in spiritual and moral concepts and are
prepared to reappraise their attitudes towards the relevance of spiritual
development in order to achieve a more complete view of life and the world.
In particular, there is a growing interest among the scientific community in
Buddhist philosophical thought.”(20) This shows a narrowing gap between false religion and science which will be used by the
devil to discredit Christianity (true, Biblical Christianity) by showing that One of the most widely known books produced by Tibetan Buddhism is the Bardo Thodol,
known to us as the Tibetan Book of the Dead.(21) It is a manual for dying which shows you how
to prepare for death so that you will reincarnate as a human being so that you can continue
toward enlightenment, which is only possible in the form of a human. “The karma theory describes a ‘great chain of being’ postulating a
kinship
between all observed species of beings, and a pattern of development of one
life form into another. Humans have been monkeys in the past, and all
animals have been single-celled animals. The difference in the karma theory
is that individuals mutate through different life forms from life to life. A
subtle,
mental level of life carries patterns developed in one life into the succeeding ones. Species develop and mutate from species to
species. This karmic evolution can be random, and beings can
evolve into lower forms as
well as higher ones. Once beings become conscious of the process, however,
they can purposively affect their evolution through choices of actions and
thoughts. Although there are undeniable differences, the karma theory gives an evolutionary explanation of how beings are the way they
are.”(21) When looked at from a spiritual perspective is not the Hindu/Buddhist theory of karma so
closely akin to the unproved theory of evolution in the physical realm that one wonders if the
modern scientific acceptance of the quasi-scientific Darwinian theory of evolution might not
owe some of its unscientific acceptance of it to the subtle influences of Buddhist thinking? The
influx of Hinduism and Buddhism began in the last century (1800's) and accelerated immensely during
the current century (1900's). And that corresponds exactly with the growth of acceptance of the Theory
of Evolution. Most of the scientists of today were the hippies and rebels of yesterday who sat
at the feet of Gurus and learned Hindu and Buddhist philosophy in the 1960's, 70's, and 80's.
These are the school teachers and professors and scientists of today that are postulating even
newer theories based upon and further propagating the unproved theory of evolution. Neither
science nor Hinduism/Buddhism believe there is a personal God. The basic evolutionary
postulates of both negate the need for one. Tibetan Buddhism is narrowing the gap between
false religion and false science; and God condemns both. The modern influence of this unholy union of the Hindu/Buddhist and the quasi-scientific can
be seen in such modern works by scientists as “the Physics of Immortality” by Frank J.
Tippler, professor of Mathematical Physics at Tulane University. In that book Tippler
mathematically “proves” the existence of a “God” who is essentially the Hindu concept of the
“Universal all.” And yet he allows the Buddhist concept of “no god” to exist alongside by
making “God” something that is “coming to be,” i.e., that he is currently developing and that
his totality of existence is yet future, not present. He calls his theory the “Omega Point Theory.”
The Buddhist would accept this because they believe there is no God only because his existence
cannot currently be proved. But when “God” becomes a totality in the future then the proof will
be there and so obvious that the Buddhist, by his own philosophy, will have to accept his
existence. Tippler also mathematically “proves” the probability that all humans who have ever
lived will be resurrected one day into what is essentially heaven. In order to develop his
mathematical “proofs” he contends that there can be no soul as conceived of in Scripture; and
that the soul must be viewed as “nothing but a program being run on a computer called the
brain.” Bringing him in exact accord with the Buddhist concept of the soul as nonexistent.
Tippler then goes on to also stipulate, “Further, all possible types of living beings, intelligent
or not, are of the same nature...” This also closely follows the Hindu/Buddhist teachings of
the oneness of all life.(22) Summary- Tibetan Buddhism is no different, basically, than other types of Buddhism. A special study
of it was pursued because it is an example of Buddhism that has completely dominated a
country and its society, specifically Tibet. Also it was studied because of the effect and aim it
currently has of uniting false-religion and false-science and because of the leadership of the
current Dalai Lama in attempting to effect that union and thereby advance the cause of Satan
against Christ and true Christianity. Comparison with scriptural teachings. No further comparison is necessary. As I said earlier, if the parent is a dog then there is no
need to prove that the offspring is a dog. Likewise, the parent of Tibetan Buddhism has already
been shown to be a false religion; therefore, there is no need to prove that the offspring, Tibetan
Buddhism, is also a false religion. NOTE: Since Buddhists do not believe in the existence of God or any other spiritual STOP HERE
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SECTION FIVE ISLAM Probably the fastest growing religion in the world today is Islam. Beginning in the seventh
century in the interior of Arabia, this religion became a major religion in three short centuries.
Called Islam by its founder, Mohammed, the religion now claims some 700 million adherents
worldwide. The center of Islam, as far as where the most practitioners in one geographic are,
is no longer Arabia but a region of the Indian sub-continent composed of Pakistan, Bangladesh
and India. These three countries alone claim 240 million Muslims, or approximately one-third
of all adherents to Islam. The name, Islam, given to the movement by its founder Mohammed, means “acceptance,
surrender,
submission, or commitment,” and is more than just a religious system. As the name
denotes, it is a way Although Islam
originated in Arabia, the principal Muslim groups today are the Arabic, Turkish,
and Persian-speaking peoples of the Near East... the Indian sub-continent, and
the majority of the population of the Indonesian archipelago. (6)
Muhammad (Mohammed)- The prophet of Islam is, of course,
Mohammed. Born the
posthumous son of
The Vision- According to Islamic tradition, sometime after his fortieth birthday Mohammed
was alone on Mount Hira, which is near Mecca, meditating; this was during the month of
Ramadan. Suddenly, an angel appeared to him and commanded him to “recite” in the name
of God. Failing to respond, he was then grabbed by the throat and shaken by the angel as it
continued repeating the command. When this brought no obedience by Mohammed, the
angel continued throttling him until Mohammed finally, in desperation, did as he was told to
prevent being choked to death. Islam was to spring from that time of visions, beginning with
that “Night of Power;” (24) and Mohammed was to be the chosen prophet and began writing
down a series of revelations over the next 22 years that make up the Koran, which is the chief
holy scripture of Islam. From the beginning Mohammed himself, however, doubted the
visions and his call and even feared for his sanity. At times he even feared that he was
possessed by an evil spirit. When the revelations resumed after a 2 year gap, which in itself
added to his doubts and tradition says just as he was about to commit suicide, the revelations
resumed. It was only then that he accepted his being chosen as the prophet of Allah. The Kaaba at Mecca. This
huge cube is an Islamic most holy place in the most holy city. Click picture to see full sized image. Fleeing Mecca because of threats to his life in 622,
Mohammed moved the center of his ministry to Yathrib.
From that time on the town of Yathrib became known as
Medina, the city of the Prophet. This relocation from
Mecca to Medina is known as the Hegira. From that time
onward Islam began to prosper and spread. (The Islamic
calendar is even figured from that date onward.) Origins of Islam- Originally Arabia was polytheistic and the
Kaaba at Mecca was the center of the worship of many
idols. With the advent of monotheism, brought by
Mohammed, the idols were destroyed in the first Islamic
conquest when Mohammed made war on Mecca and
captured it in 632. From that time on, Islam became the
religion of Arabia and the Kaaba, under monotheism, is
still one of the most holy places to Islam. It is a huge
cube supposed to contain a sacred black stone given to
Abraham by an angel.
The Qur’än (Koran)- The Koran is a compilation of revelations, totaling some 78,000 words,
supposedly given to Mohammed from approximately AD 610 - 632 by the angel Gabriel. When
listening to the Koran IN ARABIC, Muslims believe they are hearing the very voice of Allah.
To them it is kalam Allah, God’s speech; and, for that reason, they will not accept a translation
into any other language. They believe that only in Arabic can the true words of Allah be heard.
To the Muslims, the Koran, approximately the same size as the New Testament, is the
“unimpeachable authority for all matters of doctrine, practice, and law,” (6) because it is a portion
of the heavenly book known variously as “the Well Preserved Tablet or the Mother of the
Book,” which is written in Heaven containing the “eternal speech of God.”(ibid.)
They also
believe, however, that the Koran does not contain all of the words of God, written in Heaven,
but that it contains the portion needed for the guidance of men. They believe that other portions
had been previously given to other prophets; such as the Gospel (Injil) of Jesus, the Psalms
(Zabur) of David, and the Torah of Moses.(ibid) In their original form these other portions of the
heavenly Mother of the Book were true to it. Later, distortions were supposedly introduced into
those other books by both Jews and Christians (called Peoples of the Book by Muslims);
therefore, it was necessary for a pure revelation to be once again given and in the pure language
of the Arabs so they could clearly hear and understand the very speech of God Himself. There are other important sacred writings in Islam; but, since the Koran is looked to as the
final authority in all matters, we will confine our comparative study to it alone. ISLAMIC THEOLOGY (kalam) The Theology of Islam will be presented with the
Biblical refutation of each immediately
after. God- The Islamic god is named Allah. Originally Allah was somewhat of an ignored god in
the Arabian pantheon. With the ascendance of Islam, under Mohammed the prophet, Allah
was declared to be the only god by the revelations given to Mohammed which in collected
form are know as the Koran (Qur’än.) From
the Koran(CD2 B) 1:1. In the name of ALLAH, the Gracious, the Merciful. 2:164. And your God is One God; there is no God but HE, the Gracious, the Merciful.
KJV Ps 83:18 That [men] may know that thou, whose name
alone [is] JEHOVAH,
[art] the most high over all the earth. The Koran even goes on to put the name of Allah in the mouth of
Jesus. Koran 3: 51-52 And I come fulfilling that which is before me, namely the Torah; and
to allow you some of that which was forbidden unto you, and I come to you
with a Sign from your Lord; so fear ALLAH and obey me; `Surely,
ALLAH is my Lord and your Lord, so worship him this is the right path.'
KJV At no time in the KJV, nor in the original languages, is the name Allah used. It is obvious that Allah is NOT the true God. The name translated into English as
“Jehovah” is simply an English comparative with the original which is actually more
like “Y@HOVAH” in the Hebrew. Many believe that it sounds more like “Yahwhey.” Also, at no time in the Bible is the name Allah mentioned, let alone in the mouth of
Jesus Himself. Jesus, The Son of God
Allah, according to the Koran, had no son; and it teaches that any
one who says he did is cursed by Allah.
Koran 9:30. ...and the Christians say, ‘the Messiah [Jesus] is the son of ALLAH;’ that
is what they say with their mouths. They only imitate the saying of those who
disbelieved before them. ALLAH's curse be on them ! How they are turned
away. 19: 89-91. And they say, `The Gracious God has taken unto Himself a son.'
Assuredly, you have indeed uttered a most hideous thing. The heavens might
well-nigh burst thereat, and the earth cleave asunder, and the mountains fall
down in pieces. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that Jesus is the eternal Son of God. KJV Lk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also
that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Creation of man-
Islam teaches that Allah creates each person directly in the womb of their
mother. That then would automatically involve and necessitate another teaching
by the Koran, that creation is a continuous process not a one time accomplished
fact. Koran 39: 7. ... HE creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, through three stages of darkness.
The Bible, however, teaches but one creation; and that God rested from creating on the
seventh day. KJV Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen 2:1-2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. On the matter of direct creation of each person in the womb, (which we have already seen
is impossible by the previous verses, Gen 1:1 & Gen 2:1-2) the Bible teaches that God knows
us in the womb, and that He forms us in the womb, but not that He creates us in the womb. Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest
forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto
the nations. The Koran teaches that Allah made man out of a clot of blood.
96:1-3 In the name of ALLAH, the Gracious, the Merciful. Proclaim thou in
the name of thy Lord Who created, Created man from a clot of blood. The Bible teaches, however, that man was made from the dust of the ground.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Salvation-
To become a member of Islam and be guaranteed the bliss of heaven, one has only
to recite a simple formula stating the oneness of God and the fact that Mohammed is his
prophet.
Koran “I testify that there is no God but God, and
that Mohammed is the Prophet of God.”(7)
And the one god meant in the formula is Allah. Koran 4:172 ... Verily, ALLAH is the only One God. In the Bible, however, Salvation is only received by calling on the name of Jesus Christ,
the Lord. Acts 4:10-12 ... Jesus Christ of Nazareth ... Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved. Ro 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And in the matter of Mohammed being a prophet, that is impossible since there are no
more prophets since the completion of the perfect Word of God; and Mohammed was not
even born until the seventh century AD, long after the completion of the Bible. I Cor 13:8-10 Charity never faileth: but whether [there be ] prophecies, they shall
fail; whether [there be] tongues, they shall cease; whether [there be] knowledge, it
shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. In addition, there is nothing in the Bible added to believing on the death burial and
resurrection of Christ (the Gospel according to I Cor 15:1-4) including believing that
Mohammed or anyone else is a prophet of God. (The scriptures that teach that Christ is
a prophet, which is taught in the Bible, do not enter into the issue of Salvation neither by
context, inference, nor interpretation.) NOTE: This also brings up a related issue, new revelation. As the prophet of God,
according to Islamic theology, Mohammed supposedly brought forth the Koran by direct
revelation from God Himself. This is impossible because the scriptures just quoted, as
well as others preclude the possibility of any further revelation from God after the
completion of the perfect Word of God. Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of
this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book SUMMARY-
These differences suffice to show that Islam is a false religion. The Koran’s
denial of Christ as the Son of God; it’s denial of scriptural Salvation; it’s adding to the Word
of God; and the differences between it’s accounts of various events in the Bible, such as
Creation and the statement that Jesus said Allah is God; all are sufficient proof that the Koran
is false and Islam is a false religion. One can only draw the conclusions that Allah is a
different god than Jehovah and that Mohammed probably was right when he first thought he
was possessed by an evil spirit. We know that it was not the Holy Spirit because the
revelations given to him (Mohammed) could not have come from God because the Bible
teaches Addendum- The very fact that Mohammed stated that the “angel” choked him into
submission is another place where Islam’s Koran differs widely from the Bible. The
Holy Spirit of God never “choked” any of the prophets to get them to obey so He could
deliver His Word through them. He may have brought events, some of them
unpleasant, into the lives of recalcitrant ones He chose for a particular job, (such as
Jonah to get him to obey and Paul in order to get him saved) but he never sent an angel
to physically choke or perpetrate any other form of violence upon any of them, or
on any other of those He used to write the Scriptures,
into compliance. To do so would have violated several major Bible doctrines; first and
foremost would be the Bible doctrine of the free will of man before God. Dr. VBK STOP HERE
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SECTION SIX MORMONISM (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)
As we will see it is not a “Christian” church, nor
even a “Christian” religion, by any traditional sense of the
word. True, they do use the name of Jesus Christ; but, the
Christ they present is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the
same Christ that is presented in the Bible. Therefore, the only similarity between the LDS
church and a Christian Church is the similarity of the name of their so-called “saviour”
with that of the
true Saviour as presented in the Bible. Therefore, Mormonism will not be presented as a divergent sect of Christianity but as what
it truly is, a false-religion.
Founder: Joseph Smith (1805-1844) In 1820, at the approximate age of 15, Smith
supposedly had a spiritual experience in the woods
of Manchester, Ontario County, NY. In this experience, Smith claims to have seen the Father and the
Son, Jesus Christ. First in the grip of some
powerful unseen enemy that held him helpless, he
claims to have then been enveloped in a pillar of
intense light, “above the brightness of the sun,” that
released him from the bondage of the power holding
him and from which the two personages then
supposedly appeared. During this encounter, Smith said he received instructions to not join any existing Church
since, in the words of Smith recounting the instructions that were supposedly given him from
the Lord, “they were all wrong... all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those
professors were all corrupt...”(26)
From this encounter came the beginnings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
commonly called the Mormons or the LDS Church; a new church founded upon revelations
supposedly given to Smith from that moment on through the rest of his life (approx. 14 yrs. total
revelations.) Beginning with six members, the church was organized on April 6, 1830.(27) Scripture: The religious writings of Mormonism are varied; but the most famous are: The
Book of Mormon; Doctrine and Covenants; and The Pearl of Great Price. There are many
others, such as, Mormon Doctrine; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith; Essentials in
Church History; and a plethora of others from the time of Joseph Smith on down to the
present, including the writings and revelations of all of the prophets from Smith to the current
one, Gordon B. Hinckley. TEACHINGS OF THE LDS CHURCH The teachings of Mormonism vary from prophet to prophet. The teachings of the various
prophets many times contradict one another; and sometimes even contradict themselves from
revelation to revelation. The revelations and contradictions are so widespread and varied, over
the existence of the church, that to cover them all is impossible at this time. For the purposes
of our study we will confine ourselves to a few; but they will be major doctrinal issues. (We will give the Mormon teaching and then the biblical teachings immediately following
in each section.) GOD- LDS teachings- For the basic Mormon teaching on God we will go back to statements made
by the first Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith (in the book, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, arranged and compiled by the church Historian, Joseph Fielding Smith and his
assistants in the Historian’s Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) “That which is without body, parts and passions
is nothing. There is no other God in
heaven but that God who has flesh and bones.” “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits
enthroned in yonder heavens... It is the first principle of the Gospel
to know for a certainty the Character of God... that he was once a
man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an
earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did...” God has a body of flesh- Further clarification of the Mormon doctrine of God,
first expounded by Joseph Smith, can be
found in Mormon Doctrine, by McConkie. “God the Father is a glorified and perfected Man, a Personage of flesh
and bones, in which tangible body an eternal spirit is housed.”(28) Also, in Doctrine and Covenants: D & C 130:22 “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s...”(29)
Plurality of Gods- Mormon Doctrine by McConkie. “... a plurality of Gods exists... there is an infinite number of holy
personages... Where was there ever a son without a father? And where
was there ever a father without first being a son?... The prophet also
taught... that there is a god above the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...
if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that he had a Father also?”(28) BIBLE (KJV) teachings- Here are a few passages from the Bible that show us the true God: Num 23:19 “God [is] not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent...” Job 9:32 “For [he is] not a man...” Deut 4:35 “Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know
that the LORD he [is] God; [there is] none else beside him.” Deut 4:39 “Know therefore this day, and consider [it] in thine heart, that the LORD he [is] God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: [there is] none else.” I Sam 2:2 “[There is] none holy as the LORD: for [there is] none beside thee...” II Sam 7:22 “Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for [there is] none like thee, neither [is there any] God beside thee...” I Ki 8:60 “That all the people of the earth may know that
the LORD [is] God, [and that there is] none else.” I Chr 17:20 “O LORD, [there is] none like thee, neither [is there any] God beside thee...” Is 43:10 “Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom
I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand
that I [am] he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall
there be after me.” Is 45:5-6 “I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else, [there is] no God
beside me: I girded thee,
though thou hast not known me: That they
may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that [there
is] none beside me. I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else.” Is 45:18-22 “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God
himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he
created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD;
and [there is] none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place
of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I
the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye [that are] escaped
of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their
graven image, and pray unto a god [that] cannot save. Tell ye, and bring
[them] near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this
from ancient time? [who] hath told it from that time? [have] not I the
LORD? and [there is] no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour;
[there is] none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of
the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else.” The Bible also tells us that those things called “gods” are really nothing. I Cor 8:4-6 “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are
offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol [is] nothing in the
world, and that [there is] none other God but one. For though there
be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be
gods many, and lords many,) But to us [there is but] one God, the
Father, of whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him.” Jn 4:24 “God [is] a Spirit...” These passages are sufficient to show that the “god” of Mormonism is not the God of
the Bible. Their “god” is one of many gods; ours is the only God. Theirs is the
culmination of an infinite number of “Fathers” begetting sons who then became gods and
who then themselves begat sons; ours is eternal, without beginning and without end, not
the son of infinite previous generations of gods. The teaching of the Bible is incontestably
clear that there is, has been, and always will be but one true God; and
that all others are false and non-existent. In addition, the God of the Bible is a Spirit and,
therefore, does not have a body of flesh and bones. JESUS CHRIST- LDS teachings- One teaching of the Mormon church is that Jesus is the spirit-brother of
Lucifer, the angel; and he (Jesus) is just one of a multitude of spirit-children of God. According to McConkie, concerning pre-existence as spirit children of “God our
Father,” Jesus was supposed to have said, “I was in the beginning with the Father, and
am the firstborn... Ye were also in the beginning with the Father...”(28) (Quoting from
Doctrine and Covenants 93:21-23) “Christ is the
Firstborn, meaning that he was the
first Spirit Child born to God the Father in pre-existence.” (ibid.) According to them, Jesus is, “... the literal Son of God- the firstborn in the spirit, the
Only Begotten in the flesh...”(ibid) And they also believe that he was born of God in the
same way that all people are born- by sexual relations between God the Father and his
celestial Wife. “... begotten and born of heavenly parents... offspring of celestial
parentage... in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the
sons and daughters of Deity.”(ibid.)
This included the conception of Jesus by “a higher manifestation” of natural means. “That child to be born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in
violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof;
and, the offspring from that association of supreme sanctity, celestial Sireship,
and pure though mortal maternity, was of right to be called the ‘Son of the
Highest.’ ... through the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity,
declared of God, demonstrated by science, and admitted by philosophy, that
living beings shall propagate- after their kind.” Lucifer- According to Mormon teachings, Lucifer was, along with Jesus, also a “son of
God who was born in the morning of pre-existence.”(ibid.) (Also see, Doctrine and
Covenants 76:25-26) They, like we, consider Lucifer an angel of God. 2 Nephi 2:17-18 “... an angel of God, according to that which is written, had
fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which
was evil before God... yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil...”(29) He and one-third of the angels of heaven, all “spirit children of the Father...
were cast down to earth...”(ibid.) Logically then, if Lucifer is an angel; and if Jesus is his spirit-bother; then Jesus
is also an angel. BIBLE (KJV) teachings- Here are a few passages from the Bible that show us the fallacy
of the Mormon Jesus. Jesus is not descended from God; He is God. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.” Since Jesus is God, then He cannot be an angel; because, they are creations of God.
(Ps 91:11; 103:20; 104:4; 148:2; Mt 4:6; 16:27; 22:30; Mk 13:27; Lk 12:8-9) We are told not to worship angels; but we are told that worship of Christ is allowed;
therefore, He cannot be an angel. Col 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, Rev 22:8-9 “And I John saw these things, and heard [them]. And when I had
heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which
shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See [thou do it] not for I am
thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep
the sayings of this book: worship God. Mt 4:10 “... Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve.” Mt 2:11 “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child
(Jesus) with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him...” Mt 8:2 “And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord...” (There are also many other scriptures showing worship being given to Christ.) It is obvious that Jesus cannot be an angel. He is the Creator and angels are created
beings. It would be illogical to think that He could have created Himself. Since Satan
(Lucifer) is an angel, a created being, then Jesus, the Creator, logically could not have also
been his brother. Jesus the Saviour-
If Jesus was Satan’s brother, as Mormonism contends, then, as an angel,
He could not have been the Saviour since only God can be the Saviour. Is 43:3 “For I [am] the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour...” Is 43:11 “I, [even] I, [am] the LORD; and beside me [there is] no saviour...” Is 45:15 “Verily thou [art] a God that hidest thyself,
O God of Israel, the Saviour.” Is 45:21 “... a just God and a Saviour; [there is] none beside me.” Is 49:26 “... I the LORD (Jehovah) [am] thy Saviour and thy
Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.” Lk 1:47 “And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” Lk 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour , which is Christ the Lord.” (There are approx. 20 more NT scriptures that attest to the fact that Christ is Saviour.) To sum it up: if Christ is an angel, as the Mormons claim their Christ is, then He cannot
be the Saviour; since only God can be the Saviour. However, the Christ of the Bible is
God; therefore, He can be the Saviour. The only logical conclusion we can draw from the
teachings of Mormonism and the teachings of the Bible is that they are talking about two
totally different personages; i.e., two different Christs. Summary-
From these comparisons alone it is obvious that Mormonism presents a different
“god” and a different Jesus. Since Christianity is based upon the Biblical God, who is the only
God, and the Biblical Jesus, the Saviour, and who is God in the flesh and not an angel; then the
only conclusion that we can draw is that Mormonism is not a Christian religion, in any kind of
orthodox sense of the term, and therefore we must consider it a false religion, based on the
teachings of fallen men who could not understand the Bible and who, therefore, twisted it’s
teachings into something completely foreign in both content and meaning. STOP HERE
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SECTION SEVEN This section may take two weeks to complete. CATHOLICISM (Specific emphasis, Roman Catholicism)
Gregory IX. Pope from 1227-1241. Established the Court of
the Inquisition in 1233. When you read most histories of Christianity, one thing you
will notice is that the bulk of the literature concerns itself with
the history of Catholicism. One reason for this is because,
historically, Catholicism was the most prevalent sect of
Christianity. The reason for that is that the Roman Catholic
Church controlled most of the secular power, especially during
the second millennium, either directly or indirectly through their
control over the leaders of the various nations; and at the
pinnacle of power sat just one man, the Pope. Because of their
power, repression of other churches was the norm. This
prevented other churches from prevalent places in so-called
Church Histories- most of which were written by unbelievers
and/or those under the influence or control of the Catholic
Church. Such ungodly actions by the Roman Catholic Church were mirrored in the actions of the
various churches of the Reformation. Together they killed believers by the millions; but,
because of the size and power of the Roman Catholic Church, they led the way, by far, in sheer
numbers of those slaughtered as “heretics.” If you look at history you will see that “Religion” has been responsible for more carnage and
slaughter than any other single cause. Many in this country (USA) would even say, and in other
countries whole groups do loudly and frequently say, that “Christianity,” was and still is one of
the leaders in that area. The reason for such a view is the mistaken idea that “Roman
Catholicism,” is synonymous with “Christianity.” There is nothing that is farther from the truth!
We will see that Catholicism (we will use that term to denote Roman Catholicism unless
otherwise indicated) is NOT an example of biblical Christianity. Except in their use of Christian
terms, they have deviated so far from true Christianity that they no longer should be considered
“Christian.” That is not to say that there are no Christians in the Catholic Church, but that the
Catholic Church itself is no longer a Christian institution. There are “saved” people in
Catholicism as there are saved people in other “Christian” cults. To adamantly claim that there
are no saved people in Catholicism, as many do, is to make the common mistake that salvation
is based upon their Church. It is not! Salvation is based upon one’s personal relationship with
Jesus Christ, alone! What church you are in will dictate how fast and how far you mature in
spiritual things; but, what church you are in DOES NOT dictate whether or not you are saved!
True, the gospel is well hidden by the religious trappings of various cults, including
Catholicism, and it is that much harder for the person to come to a saving knowledge and
appropriation of the Lord Jesus Christ when in such a cult but that does not mean it cannot
happen. Remember, no one is saved because of their religion; but, many are saved IN SPITE
OF IT! The deviations of Catholicism from biblical Christianity is what we will dwell on in this
segment of the workbook. To set the stage, we must consider the following. Satan has certain precepts that he has promoted throughout the Bible and down through
history. We will concentrate on the six most obvious and destructive ones. There are six basic Satanic precepts:
(32) 1. To be God and receive the worship due only to God. 3. To pervert God’s teachings by perverting His Word. 4. To subvert God’s plan for mankind and the Universe. 5. To prevent man from perceiving the true God. 6. To prevent man from perceiving the true
Saviour. Definitions: Satanism & Satanists- Any religion that seeks to aid Satan in his quest to become God
is Satanism, and its adherents are Satanists. Satanic & Satanic religion- Any religion or church that follows the precepts of Satan
(any or all
of the six Satanic precepts just given) without actually espousing any form of worship
of him, either publicly or secretly, is a Satanic religion. Cult- Any “church” or “religion,” that claims to be “Christian” but follows the
Satanic precepts, either wittingly or unwittingly, is a cult. False
Religion- A
cult is to be contrasted with a “false religion.” False religions do NOT claim to be
Christian; while cults, on the other hand, DO claim to be Christian. Both may follow the same
Satanic precepts; but it is understandable when done so by a group that does not claim
to be Christian but it is not understandable, in fact it is indefensible, when done so by a group of supposed
Christians who claim to be following the Bible but their actions and beliefs show them
to be false followers, errant in their practice of what they claim to believe. Summary- Any religion, or church, that follows the aims of Satan is being led by Satan, either
wittingly or unwittingly, and is a Satanic religion. It is not necessary for a religion or
church to follow all of the aims of Satan for that religion to be Satanic. It is enough if
Satan deludes them into following him in even one of his basic aims. And if that
religion or church claims to be “Christian,” as the Roman Catholic Church does, then
that false sect of Christianity is in reality a “Christian” cult and
not true, biblical,
Christianity. We will now examine Roman Catholicism to see if it is a cult. We will list a Satanic precept,
then we will give the teachings and practices of Roman Catholicism; and then we will compare
them with plain Bible teachings. Then a simple comparison will be made to see if they follow
the Bible or the Satanic precepts. That comparison will make it plain whether Catholicism is
Satanic, following the precepts of Satan, or whether it is Christianity, following the teachings
of God’s as taught in His Word. NOTE: As is done throughout this workbook, only the
KJV (for English speaking people)
will be considered as authoritative. Where confusion is brought about that results in
Catholic doctrinal errors by their use of their inferior translations, a comparison with the
KJV will be used to show that error for what it is. SATANIC PRECEPT ONE Satan
wants to be God and receive the worship due only to God. (This precept delineates “Satanism” and “Satanists.”) However, we will now examine their teachings to see if they follow any of the other
Satanic precepts. If they do, then we would have to conclude they are a Satanic religion. SATANIC PRECEPT TWO To delude men and women into thinking they can also become gods, with the attendant powers and privileges that God reserves to Himself. The Popes, Priests, and Mary- The Catholic Church claims for these the powers and place on earth that is reserved for
God alone. POPES Vatican Council I, (1869-70) It was stated at this council on Jan 9, 1870, that: “The Pope is Christ in office, Christ in jurisdiction and power... we
bow down before thy voice, O’ Pius, as before the voice of Christ,
the God of truth; in clinging to thee, we cling to Christ.” Pope Leo (1878-1903)
On June 20, 1894, Pope Leo stated of the papacy: “We hold upon the earth the place of God Almighty.” This statement gives to the Pope the authority of God, the power of God, and the place
of God upon this earth. Here, in these two statements, we find that the Catholic Church teaches that man can
possess and wield not only the power and authority of the Son, but also that of the Father.
Obviously they have placed the Pope in the place of God upon the earth, with all of His
attendant power and authority resting in the various men who have held the papacy. PRIESTS The priest is also placed on an equal footing with Christ by taking upon himself the ability
to absolve the penitent one of their sins. This can be seen in the formula spoken by the priest
at the end of the “confession.” “Finally, I ABSOLVE YOU from your sins- in the name
of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”(33) MARY The Catholic Church places Mary on an equal footing with Christ. In fact, in many ways
they consider her superior to Christ. The Romish church claims that they have always
believed certain things about Mary: 1. That she is the “Queen of Heaven,” and the “mother of God.”(Ibid.) 2. That she was, “conceived without sin, remained sinless throughout her life.”(Ibid.) 3. That you can reach Christ, “only through Mary.” 4. And that she is man’s, “greatest assurance and the only ground of his hope.”(34) It is obvious that the Catholic Church places the Popes, the Priests, and Mary, on an equal
footing with God. Now let’s see what the Bible has to say about that. Bible Proclamations- 1. Is the Pope Christ upon the earth” Speaking to the Church at Corinth: “Now ye are the body of Christ...” (I Cor 12:27) Speaking to the Church at Ephesus: “... which is his body...” (Eph 1:23) Speaking of the Church at
Colossae: “... the body, the church...” (Col 1:18)
It is obvious that the Local Church is the body of Christ and wields the authority,
jurisdiction, and power of Christ on earth. It is not the Pope, he is but one member of the
body; that is, assuming for a moment that he might be saved and going to Heaven rather
that lost and going to Hell. 2. Does the Pope “hold upon the earth the place of God Almighty?” Deut 4:39 “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart,
that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth
beneath: there is none else.” Therefore, there is but one God in Heaven and Earth- and it’s not the Pope. 3. Can the Priest “absolve you from your sins?” The Bible teaches that God the Father can forgive sins: I Jn 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The Bible also teaches that the Son of God can forgive sins: Mt 9:6 “But that ye may know that the Son of
man hath power on earth to forgive sins...” Obviously prayer and confession to God, not a Catholic priest, are the only channels for
forgiveness given in the Bible as being acceptable to God.
Prayer for Salvation: Ro 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Prayer of confession to God: I Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Prayer of faith: Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise
him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Straight to God is the Bible way; not through a priest or anyone else. No one but God
can forgive your sins; and to teach that a priest can absolve you of those sins, and
thereby placing himself in the place of God, is just simply not scriptural. 4. Was Mary sinless and thereby on an equal footing with Christ? Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; The only person ever mentioned in the Bible who was sinless was Christ. I Pet 2:21-22 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for
us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin... Since Christ is God in the flesh, then only God is sinless; and to declare Mary sinless
is to place her on an equal footing with God. 5. Is Mary our only assurance and ground of hope for reaching God? The Bible tells us that our assurance lies in the fact of Christ’s resurrection; not in Mary. Acts 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world
in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath
given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead. We are also told that the Gospel is our assurance; not Mary. I Thess 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance... The Bible also teaches that we abound in hope through the Holy Ghost; not Mary. Ro 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. We also find in the Scriptures that Jesus Christ is our hope; not Mary. I Tim 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, [which is] our hope; It is obvious that no matter how pious a young Jewish woman that Mary may have
been, she was not on an equal footing with God. She was a sinner just like every
other mere mortal that lived upon this earth from Adam to the present. Our
assurance, our hope, our faith, cannot rest in Mary; it must rest in God alone, be He
Father, Son, or Holy Ghost! I Pet 1:21 Who by him [Jesus] do believe in God, that raised him up from the
dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Because of the way that Mary is presented in the Bible, an obedient, pious, Jewish
virgin, I am sure that even now in Heaven she herself is appalled at the way that Roman
Catholicism misrepresents her by placing her on an equal footing with God. By calling her
the Queen of Heaven, which by the way is a pagan term adopted by Catholicism, they
make of her a goddess. I am sure this grieves that subservient sinner who even called Jesus
her Saviour and took her rightful place as one of the redeemed saved by the shed blood of
her son, Jesus, who was the Son of God. Summary- The second Satanic Precept is: “To delude men and women into thinking they can also become gods.” - Catholicism maintains that priests have the ability to forgive sins, an ability that the
Bible says is reserved for God alone; and yet humans can attain to the Roman Catholic
priesthood. - Catholicism teaches that Mary, who was a mere human being, was the “mother of God,”
and the “Queen of Heaven,” which could only mean that she was a Goddess. Also, by teaching that she was sinless from her conception to her bodily
assumption into Heaven, they are saying that she was holy WITHOUT the work of
Salvation and Sanctification of herself by God. This would make her equal with God
since only God is holy in and of Himself. (Holiness is an “attribute of the divine nature...”(35)
i.e., it is an attribute of God.) - And, finally, by teaching that the Pope is “Christ on earth,” The Roman Catholic Church
is giving the Pope a place in the Trinity; i.e., they make him a person of the Godhead;
and yet men can attain to the office of Pope. While Catholicism does not overtly teach the doctrine that men can become gods, as
does Mormonism, still, they do teach that men and women can, on their own without any
action by God, attain the attributes of God, as well as the status, authority, and power of
God on earth. Any one of which would put them in the position of being equal with God.
The Bible teaches that there was only one in the flesh that was equal with God; and that
was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God the Son. He alone thought it not robbery to be so;
and the obvious connotation is that for any one else it would be robbery. Jn 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Phil 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: However, to be fair, since the Catholic Church does not teach that Mary, the Priests, and
the Pope, are actually attaining to godhood, then we cannot say that they completely and SATANIC PRECEPT THREE To pervert God’s teachings by perverting His Word. We will explore the Catholic adherence to this precept by exploring their beliefs
concerning Mary, the Bible, the Church, and the Kingdom, and then seeing how
those beliefs line up
with God’s Word. Do they pervert His Word or not? Let’s see. MARY- According to Roman Catholicism. Sinlessness- They teach that she was:
“... conceived without sin, remained sinless throughout her life...” (33) Virginity- They teach that: “Because of Mary’s great role she... was perpetually a virgin
... lifelong virginity.” (33) Way to God- They believe that only through Mary can you reach Christ, through whom you
can then reach God. “... you can reach God only through Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ only through
Mary... God desires that all graces that He bestows on us to come through the
hands of Mary.” (34) This would have to include Salvation because the Bible says that “... by grace are
ye saved...” (Eph 2:8); therefore Salvatory grace, according to Catholicism, can only
come through the hands of Mary. This would make her the only ground of our hope. THE BIBLE- The Roman Catholic teachings on the Bible are that: “[It] alone is not a competent or safe guide to a correct
understanding of all the teachings of the Christian religion.”
(37) They also teach that any interpretation of it must meet the judgment of the Roman Church. “... interpreting Scripture is subject finally to the judgment of the Church.”
(38) And concerning the placing of other writings on an equal level with the inspired Word of
God, they teach that: “... sacred tradition, Sacred Scriptures and the teaching authority of the [Roman
Catholic] Church, in accord with God’s most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others...”
(Ibid.) Concerning the effectiveness of the Bible as a guide for living today, they say that: “The simple truth is that the Bible, like all dead letters, calls for a living interpreter...
the Catholic Church is the living authoritative interpreter of the Bible.”
(37) THE KINGDOM OF GOD- They believe that the Roman Catholic Church is the Kingdom of
God that is spoken of in the Bible. “He [Christ] came to establish His Kingdom and that Kingdom is the [Roman Catholic] Church.”
(36) “He remains invisibly in the Kingdom which He established, the Church.”
(Ibid.) They variously refer to the Roman Church as: “His [Jesus’s] Kingdom,” and “the Kingdom of God...”
(Ibid.) COMPARISON WITH BIBLE TEACHINGS- We will now compare Roman Catholic
teachings on Mary, the Bible, the Church, and the Kingdom, with the Bible’s teachings on
those subjects. Mary 1. Was she sinless as the Catholics proclaim? Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God She knew she was a sinner and that God, by sending Christ to be born of her, was
saving her soul and the souls of all other believers according to His promise. Lk 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 2. Was Mary a perpetual virgin or did she have other children after Jesus? Mk 6: Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and
Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? The Catholic Church tries to explain away this passage by saying that it is Jesus’
“spiritual,” or “Christian” brothers and sisters that are being referred to in this
passage. God knew that the Devil would try this tactic, so He (God) gave us another
passage that makes it impossible to make such a misinterpretation. Mt 12:46-50 While he yet talked to the people, behold, [his] mother and his
brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him,
Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who
are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and
said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my
Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. In this passage it is obvious that Jesus was making a comparison between His
spiritual kinsfolk and His kinsfolk according to the flesh. The mother and brethren
standing without were His fleshly brethren and mother; and those disciples there with
Him were the ones that He called His kin according to the spirit. These two passages alone make it plain that, according to the Bible, Mary had
other children after Jesus. This is sufficient to show that the Catholic doctrine of the
perpetual virginity of Mary is contrary to the Bible; and their attempts to explain
away the Bible passages that teach her normal childbearing after Jesus miraculous
conception and birth are attempts at perversion of God’s teachings by perversion of
His Word under the guise of The Church being the only true interpreter of God’s
Word and that all understanding of it is subject to the judgment of the Roman
Catholic Church. 3. Is Mary really the way to God? How about part of the way to God? Is she our only
ground of hope as the Catholic Church teaches? I Tim 2:5 For [there is] one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus; Acts 4:10 & 12 :10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the
dead... :12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
I Tim 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God
our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, [which is] our hope; The Bible 1. The Bible needs nothing nor anyone in order to make it sufficient as a guide for us. Ps 119:105 Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
God’s Word ALONE is a sufficient guide for God’s people to keep them from sin. Ps 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 2. Only the Holy Spirit, not the Catholic Church, is needed for guidance through God’s
teachings to learn and understand the truth. Jn 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth... Jn 14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things... 3. Contrary to what the Catholics teach, the Bible is LIVING not dead. I Pet 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 4. Which Bible? The final nail in their coffin concerning the Word of God is the fact that
the Roman Catholic Church has always used a perverted version of the Bible taken from
the minority manuscripts instead of from the majority manuscripts. The manuscripts
from which their “Bible” is taken include many passages perverted by a man that was
once ousted by even his own group as a heretic- Origen. The Kingdom of God
Is the Roman Catholic Church the Kingdom of God spoken of in the Bible? A church is the people not the building; and according to Roman Catholicism, all
believers are part of the one Universal (Catholic) Church. That Universal Church,
according to them, is the Kingdom of God. 1. Universal Church. The Bible teaches that a Universal Church exists at this time ONLY in Heaven- not
upon the earth. Heb 12:23
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in
heaven...
And it will NOT exist upon the earth until the Lord brings it back with Him.
Rev 19:11-14 2. The Kingdom of God is everlasting (Dan 4:2-3) the
Church is not. Dan 4:2-3 I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God
hath wrought toward me. How great [are] his signs! and how mighty [are]
his wonders! his kingdom [is] an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion [is]
from generation to generation.
The church will have an end. It came into existence during the ministry of Christ and
will be gone from the earth at the rapture. Then it will come back to earth with Christ
and then cease to exist at the end of His millennial reign. Therefore, it is not
everlasting; but, as we have seen, the Kingdom of God is. 3. At this time the Kingdom of God is within
people; the church never was; i.e., the
Kingdom is internal while the church is and always has been an external thing. People
are in the church but the church has never been nor is it now in the people. Luke 17:20-21 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom
of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh
not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold,
the kingdom of God is within you. 4.
The Kingdom of God is His sovereign rule in the universe, in both the spiritual and
physical realms, and in the hearts of His people. (Ps 103:19) Thus, neither the Catholic
Church, nor any other church, can be considered to be the Kingdom of God. The church
exists within the Kingdom, true, but to say that that which is part is the whole is illogical. Summary- SATANIC PRECEPT FOUR To subvert God’s plan for mankind and the Universe. God’s plan for mankind and the Universe is salvation and perfection- or, you might put it as
being "redemption and remaking"- and that man should keep His Commandments. For us human
beings in this fallen creation, it is redemption from the curse and salvation through Christ that
is God’s plan for us and then a remaking of us in the resurrection or the rapture. For the
universe it is redemption from the curse upon it and, eventually, it’s replacement by a perfect
one wherein dwelleth righteousness. (Eccl 12:13; Ro 8:20-23; Eph 1:8-14; II Pet 3:13 et al) SALVATION: 1. Roman Catholicism teaches that there are many ways to God other than by Salvation
through Christ. “Any adult who believes in God and basically desires to do his will, and who has
sorrow for his sins out of love of God, has God’s grace-presence by this sincere
desire. His sins would be forgiven - many men come to God in this way through
other none-Christian religions.” (2) 2. They believe that even a belief in God is not necessary- that good works and attitude
will save. “... one who cannot believe in a personal God, through no fault of his own, but is
committed to following his conscience, receives God’s grace-presence... basic
orientation to some worthy ideal outside of himself... good of society... welfare of
those he loves... he is unknowingly seeking God... and God comes to him... God
lives in many of those unbelievers, though they may oppose him or those who try
to work for him.” (ibid.) 3. They believe that baptism saves. “He gives to me, without suffering and pain, His salvation! So let no one think that
baptism is merely the wiping out of sin... We know much more precisely that
though it is indeed a cleansing from sin, it is also a sharing in the death and
resurrection of Christ... Everything actually happened to Christ. But in your case
it is a likeness of His passion and death which happens. His salvation, however,
you receive not in mere likeness, but in fact. (Second Mystagogical Catechesis, 5)
In baptism, then, by ‘water and the Holy Spirit’ we acquire new life; we are ‘born
again’... ‘it (baptism) effects in the supernatural order, a cleansing of our souls
from sin.” (Enclosed quotes were those of the source.) KEEPING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS They believe that when God’s commandments are too much of a “grave inconvenience”
that they can be set aside. Concerning fornication- which is sex outside of the bounds of marriage- they teach: “... when there is a proportionately grave inconvenience, pre-ceremonial inter-course is not pre-marital intercourse, even if we take into consideration ones'
ecclesial reality (i.e., that one is not yet married in the Church). ‘No pre-ceremonial intercourse,’ therefore, is not an absolute principle and never was
considered one by Catholic moralists. Exceptions are possible when there is
serious inconvenience.” (102) (Parenthesis and quote marks are those of the author of
the source quoted.) COMPARISON WITH BIBLE TEACHINGS- We will now compare Roman Catholic
teachings with the Bible to see if they subvert God’s plan for mankind and the universe. Salvation - Roman Catholicism teaches that there are many ways to God other than by Salvation
through Christ- good works, attitude, baptism, etc.- but God says that there is NO OTHER
way than through Christ. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Also: Ro 10:13; Jn 3:16-17; 10:9; Acts 2:21; 15:11; 16:13. These and a hundred other
scriptures tell us that Jesus is the ONLY WAY to be saved. Abstinence from sin in obedience to God’s commandments - Roman Catholicism says that
God’s commandments can be set aside if they are a “grave inconvenience.” But God says- first concerning the one example that we gave from Catholicism’s teachings
and then about obeying His rules in general: I Thess 4:3 For this is the will of God, [even] your sanctification,
that ye should abstain from fornication: God’s “will” is that we should abstain from fornication and all other sins; and He makes
no provision for “inconvenience” for fornication or for any other reason Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
It is our DUTY to obey God’s rules and not set them aside for any reason. Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.
In fact those who set aside His commandments are probably not even saved. Lk 6:46 And why call ye me, (Jesus) Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Mt 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity. God even tells us that the whole creation is cursed because of man’s sin and groans to
be restored to perfection- which is God’s plan for it. (Gen 3:17; II Pet 3:13; Ro 8:22-23) Ro 8:22-23 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now. And not only [they], but ourselves also, which have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body. And sin was the reason for God’s curse upon the ground- so why should we continue
setting aside God’s commandments and keep sinning, even if it is an “inconvenience?”
God says that such sin should not even be “once named among” us! Eph 5:3-8 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once
named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking,
nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye
know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an
idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man
deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of
God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with
them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk
as children of light. From these verses it is easy to see that God makes no provision for setting aside His
rules because of inconvenience or for any other reason. It is not God’s plan that we should
continue in sin but that we should keep His rules and allow Him to accomplish ongoing
sanctification in our lives. Ro 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein? Summary- By teaching salvation through many other means than by Christ and by
teaching that mankind
can set aside God’s rules if they are an “inconvenience,” it is obvious that Roman Catholicism
is in direct contradiction to God’s teachings in His Word and in complete agreement with the
fourth Satanic Precept. Any church that would teach these things is quite evidently not following God’s teachings
and, therefore, they are aiding Satan in his attempt to subvert God’s plan for mankind and the
universe- which is salvation, perfection, and that men should keep His commandments. Jesus himself
stated
in Mt 12:30:
"He that is not with me is against me; and he that
gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." SATANIC PRECEPT FIVE To prevent man from perceiving the true God. ACCORDING TO ROMAN CATHOLIC TEACHINGS: God had a mother - Mary is called, literally, “... the mother of God,” (2) God lives in unbelievers - As we have already seen Roman Catholicism teaches that those who
are baptized are saved whether they are believers or not; and, thus, God lives in them. We
also have already seen that they also teach that anyone who believes in God is saved; that
anyone who is martyred is saved; that anyone who simply follows their conscience or has a
basic orientation to some worthy ideal outside of himself even though they may oppose God
and His people or may not even believe in Him- that those people are saved even though they are unbelievers and God lives
within them. God the Holy Spirit is incapable of explaining the Bible and leading believers into all
truth- They teach that He cannot lead the believer into all truth without the Catholic Church’s
help. In an earlier section this was shown to be true so we will not go over it again. Suffice
it to say that their teachings on God the Holy Spirit make Him impotent at the least. God the Son, Jesus Christ, is not the sole Saviour of mankind- As we have already seen in an earlier section, they believe that Mary is also a way to God
as is baptism, the Catholic church, attitude and conscience, philanthropy and martyrdom, and
others. In essence, they teach that there are many ways to God and that God the Son alone
is not sufficient. Again, they make God impotent. God inspires men to lie - According to Roman Catholicism, the inspired writers of the Gospels
did not give an accurate and truthful account of the things done and said by Jesus. Instead
they teach that those inspired writers took, “... scores of narratives - and frequently -
remolded and refashioned them to bring out the lesson they wanted to teach.” (33) They teach that in the “Gospels, one should distinguish historical facts from theological
elaboration.” (ibid) And concerning the accounts of the miracles, “... the miracle accounts of the Gospel are
often more than a record of what happened- some are adaptations of similar ones in the
Old Testament- the Gospel writers did not intend to write history in the scientific sense,
rather they were writing theological reflections on existing traditions” (ibid)
They even say the writers lied and put words in the mouth of Jesus. According to Lk 10:25-37, the Jews asked Jesus some questions and He answered them.
But according to Roman Catholic teachings: “Did he answer exactly as related in the
Bible? It is not certain.” Here they are casting doubts that God’s inspiration of the human
writers is somehow flawed and nobody is certain what Jesus really said. God used evolution to create man
- The Roman Catholic God and creation is presented thus: “The discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo made Christians aware that Genesis 1 is not
a sacred lesson in science but a poem on creation - Most scientists hold that the human
species has developed somehow from lower kinds of life. This knowledge helped
Christians to rethink the ‘how’ of God’s creative activity and to understand that
Genesis 2 and 3 is not a lesson in Anthropology, but an allegory.” (ibid) GOD’S TEACHINGS ON THESE MATTERS Now we will compare God’s teachings on these matters with the teachings of the Catholic
Church. We will reiterate Roman Catholicism’s view and then we will present God’s view. God had a mother
- Does the Bible teach that this Roman Catholic doctrine is true? The Bible teaches that the one true God is from everlasting to everlasting and, therefore,
could have had NO MOTHER! Ps 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the
earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou [art] God. Deut 33:27 The eternal God [is thy] refuge... Also see Ro 1:20; I Tim 1:17).
Even the Hebrew name for God, Jehovah (YAHWEH) means “self-existent”
(34) Since God is eternal, as the Bible teaches, then Mary is not the “mother of God” since she
could not have give birth to the eternal “God” but merely to the temporal man, Jesus.
Therefore, this “God” that the Roman Catholics teach about cannot be the true eternal “God”
of the Bible. God lives in unbelievers - Is this true of the true God? Or is it an error on the part of Roman
Catholicism.
Unbelievers are damned, not saved. Thus they do not have God living within them. Jn 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but
he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God. Only Christians are the temple of God the Holy Spirit and have the fullness of God within. I Cor 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
[which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? Eph 3:17-19 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted
and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
It is obvious that God is talking to the Christian believers and they ALONE are the
temple of God. The unbelievers are damned. Therefore, it is impossible that God lives
within them. God the Holy Spirit is incapable of explaining the Bible and leading believers into all truth-
Does the Bible Teach this? Or is this another error concerning God and His abilities? Jn 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth... God the Son, Jesus Christ, is not the sole Saviour of mankind- Does the true God actually teach this? Or is it true what the Roman Catholics say that
one can also be saved through works such as baptism or some philanthropic endeavors, or
even by attitude or following one’s conscience? Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
[it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Does the true God teach that only Jesus is the
Saviour? John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
How about Mary? Is she the co-mediator as Roman Catholicism teaches? Speaking of Jesus, God said in His Word: Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. God inspires men to lie - Is this true? Did God really do that? The Bible Teaches that only the Devil is the liar and the father of lies in men. Jn 8:44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is
no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar,
and the father of it. Jas 1:17-18 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth... Titus 1:2 God, that cannot lie... And if He cannot lie- then how could He be the source of lying inspiration? In fact,
lying is so abhorrent to God that He consigns those lost people who lie to the lake of fire
at the final judgment. Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in
the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. So how could God, who cannot lie, inspire someone to write lies and then say they
deserve to be consigned to the lake of fire for doing so? That is not even logical let
along just. God used evolution to create man
- What did God say about the creation of man? Gen 1:27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of
God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God did not take billions and billions of years to bring it about by evolution. Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
And from the very beginning they were created man and woman- not some simple
elements that evolved into living things over billions of years who then evolved into
pre-human hominids which then evolved over millions of years into man and woman. Mk 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. And God brought them forth by Christ, not by evolution. Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or
powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Summary- To summarize what we have learned about the Roman Catholic “God” - He is a “God” who
had a mother - is a liar and inspires men to lie - cannot explain His own Bible to us without
human intervention - lied about creating man and when and how He did it - and lied about how
men could be saved - well, I guess that about sums it up. Now we are left with only two possibilities: ONE: Either the Roman Catholic Church’s positions in these areas teach of a god
completely different from the God of the Bible. TWO: Or their teachings about God are in direct contradiction to the teachings of God in
His Word; i.e., they are teaching heresy. Either way is a road to disaster; but, we will give them the benefit of the doubt as to
whether their God is the God of the Bible - we will allow that He is the one True God of the
Scriptures. However, we then must conclude that, according to the scriptures, what they are
teaching about God is total, unscriptural, heresy. But, as to whether they are in accord with the Fifth Satanic Precept, we must answer
with a resounding “Yes!" Because of the clouds of doubt that they cast upon God’s character, function, and origin,
we are forced to conclude that they are in complete accord, either wittingly or unwittingly, with
Satan’s Fifth Precept which is “To prevent man from perceiving the true God.”
SATANIC PRECEPT SIX To prevent man from perceiving the true
Saviour. CATHOLIC BELIEFS We have already studied a number of Catholic beliefs that there are many ways to God and,
thus, many ways to be saved. We need not go over them again; but we will mention a few of
them briefly. The ways to God, the ways to be saved according to them, most of them works
based, include: baptism; martyrdom; philanthropic endeavors; following your conscience; an
attitude that directs us outward to others rather than inward in a self-centered way; and other
ways. They believe that God dwells in many unbelievers because of these aforementioned things
and, therefore, that there are many ways to be saved outside of Christ. GOD’S TEACHINGS ON THESE MATTERS As we have already seen; God says that only Christ is the way to salvation. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. It is not with the help of Mary, as the Roman Catholics teach: Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Nor is it through works- as the Roman Catholics also teach. Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
[it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. It is obvious that the Roman Catholics teach that there are many other ways to SUMMARY-
Since Roman Catholicism follows 5 of the 6 Satanic Precepts, leaving out only the first
one (Satan wants “To be God and receive the worship due only STOP HERE
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CONCLUSION It was my intention to include several other well-known cults and false religions. However,
because of time constraints, both of my personal time as well as the limited number of weeks
allotted for the teaching of this class, I have been forced to curtail any further presentations. Hopefully, some time in the future, I will be able to expand upon this present work. But, at
this present time, it looks as if that possibility is remote. It is my prayer that what has been presented to you will be of benefit; at the very least to arm
you against the onslaught of cults and false religions that swarm in ever-increasing numbers
around us. Many of the Protestant churches that once stood strong against these malevolent enemies of
true godly religion have begun the slide into murky compromise. The waters, beginning in the
20th century, have darkened into blackened polluted waves and they now swirl around them and
will soon totally obscure the light of God that once shined from those churches. Deviating from
the Word of God through false and ungodly travesties of it they sink deeper and deeper into the
inescapable pits of the new translations that feed the heresies of the centuries into their minds,
their souls, and their hearts; and all in the name of God by association with the sound of
holiness. “The Bible can’t be wrong” they say; and the “New Bibles,” which are but travesties
of the true Bible, emblazon the spiritual sounding titles across their covers, “Holy Bible.” And
the preachers that promote them wave them high like spiritual banners and call them “the Word
of God!” Through these methods of subtle spiritual, physical, and mental/emotional subterfuge
they deceive the hearts of the people. And upon these shifting foundations they build fanciful
worlds of spiritual myths and dreams that have no true basis in the reality of the true Word of
God. But the people believe because of the use of religious sounding books and rhetoric. Drumming hard on the heels of these galloping horses of doom carrying their Protestant and
Catholic riders recklessly headlong toward heresy and destruction, come the chariots of the cults
and the false religions. When the horses of heretical doom stumble, as they must one day
because they have no endurance to continue on indefinitely and no center of balance to keep
them from stumbling when splashing madly through the pit-strewn road of carnal religion and
without God’s guidance and strength, the chariots will inevitably overrun them as the Roman
chariots did to the fleeing foot soldiers of their enemies. When that eventually happens, then the cults and the false religions and the ghost of Christian
religion will become one- with antichrist as their head. Their new name- the One World Church
that we are warned of in the book of the Revelation. Until then, and while we remain, we must try to do what we can to slow the headlong rush
and, in God’s strength, try, at the least, to partially restrain the headstrong perpetrators of the
destruction of “the faith that was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude :3)
It is my prayer for you that this brief foray into the world of the cults and the false religions
will in some measure forewarn you and forearm you for the battle. Perhaps it will give you
some bit of ammunition for the fight. Because we are in a battle and you will be attacked,
sooner or later. The seduction of the enemy is to get you entangled in half-truths and wise
sounding but twisted explanations by which they will try to convince you that they believe like
we believe. “Spirituality,” will be used as a weapon against you. And their “Bibles” will be
waved like white flags. But be not deceived, those flags they wave as white will be found out
to be blood-stained rags. Rags stained not only with the blood of Christ, whom they killed, but
stained also with the blood of martyrs past, present, and future, who stood against them even
unto death. But if you do not know what to look for, then you will not know them for what they
are. If that happens, if you accept their “spiritual” trappings and “Holy Bibles,” that are blood-stained travesties of the true Word of God, then you will be lulled into believing that they want
peace and conciliation. If that happens, then you will be drawn into their way of destruction.
Oh yes, if you are saved you cannot personally face the endless destruction of Hell and the Lake
of Fire, but you can become part of the destruction of the “faith which was once delivered unto
the saints,” as well as becoming guilty of the destruction of the multitudes that will face eternal
destruction through the false gospels and false saviours of the false faith given to them by the
false religion that you have helped to promote. The purpose of this class has been to help you to not be seduced by them and to arm you for
the eventual battle with them. • You now know what they believe and exactly what God teaches about what they believe. • You now know how to combat their heresies with your only weapon, the true Word of God. • You have the love of Christ within you to share with them and you have the power and
knowledge of God to resist them and to do spiritual battle whenever you have to. Do not be mean-spirited about it; but be strong in your beliefs and unmoveable in your stance
for God in defense of true, biblical, God-given “religion,” as they call it, but which God calls
“the faith.” I want my last words to you to be from the Word of God. Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort
you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Taylorsville, UT - Dr.
T.E. VanBuskirk - 11/28/07 (click
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questions that you missed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. The King James Version of the Bible 2. Welhelm, Anthony J. Christ Among Us. N.Y: Newman Press, 1996 3. Hobson, Christine The World of the Pharaohs. NY: Thames and Hudson Inc. 4. Janson, H.W. and Janson, D.J., Eds. Key Monuments of the History of Art.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1961 5. Miller, Barbara S., (trans.) The Bhagavad-Gita. NY: Quality Paperback Book Club 6. Parrinder, Geoffrey, Ed.
WORLD RELIGIONS From Ancient History to the Present.
NY: Facts on File 7. Crim, Kieth, Gen. Ed.
The Perennial DICTIONARY OF WORLD RELIGIONS. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989, Paperback Edition. 8. Archer, Gleason L. Jr, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Chicago: Moody Press 9. Unger, Merrill F. Introductory Guide to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan 10. Honderich, Ted, Editor. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995 11. Thiessen, Henry C. Lectures in Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999, Revised edition. Revised by Vernon D. Doerksen. 12. De Chardin, Teilhard. A New Synthesis of Evolution. Glen Rock, NJ: Deus Books, Paulist Press 13. Miller, L. Ed. Philosphical and Religious Issues. Encino, CA: Dickenson Publishing Company, Inc. 1971 14. Kerr, Hugh T., Ed. Readings In Christian Thought. Nashville: Abingdon Press, Seventh printing 1978 15. Bratcher, Robert B.,
Ed.
OLD TESTAMENT QUOTATIONS in the NEW TESTAMENT, Revised Edition.
London: United Bible Societies, 1961 16. McGreal, Ian P. Editor. Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. NY: Harper Collins Publishers Inc. 1995 17. Swami Prabhavananda, Manchester, Frederick.
The Upanishads, Breath of the Eternal.
NY: Mentor Books, NAL Penguin Inc, Paperback 18. Haviland, William A. Cultural Anthropology, 4th Edition. NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1983 19. Watts, Alan W. The Way of Zen NY: Mentor Books 20. Piburn, Sidney, Ed. The Dalai Lama, A POLICY OF KINDNESS. NY: Snow Lion Publications 21. Thurman, Robert A.F. Trans. The Tibetan Book of the Dead. NY: Quality Paperback Book Club, 1998 22. Tippler, Frank J. Physics of Immortality, The. NY: Doubleday, 1994 23. Beers, Burton F. WORLD HISTORY, Patterns of Civilization. NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc. 1984 24. Severy, Merle, Ed. Great Religions of the World, Third Edition. National Geographic Society, 1978 25. Myers, Philip V.N. Mediaeval and Modern History. NY: Ginn & Company, 1905 26. Berrett, William E.
RESTORED CHURCH, The. Fifteenth Edition Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1973 27. Smith, Joseph Fielding. Essentials in Church History. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1950 28. McConkie, Bruce R. MORMON DOCTRINE. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966 29. BOOK OF MORMON; DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS; PEARL OF GREAT PRICE. Trilogy published by Deseret Books, Salt Lake City, 1976 30. Talmage. Jesus the Christ, Missionary Edition. 31. Kors, Alan C. and Peters, Edward. Editors. Witchcraft In Europe. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press 32. VanBuskirk, Dr. T.E. An Examination of Roman Catholicism. Masters Thesis submitted to Salt Lake Baptist College, 1994 33. Wilhelm, Anthony J. Christ Among Us. Revised Edition. NY: Newman Press, 1973 34. Ligouri, Alphonsus; English adaptation by Warren, Cornelius J. The 12 Steps To Holiness. Original title: The School Of Christian Perfection. Boston: Mission Church Press. Paperback edition by Tan Books and Publishers Inc., 1986 35. Evans, William. Great Doctrines of the Bible. Chicago: Moody Press 36. Johnson, George; Hannan, Jerome; Sister Dominica, M. Story of the Church, The. NY: Benziger Bros. Inc. (Printers to the Holy Apostolic See.) 37. O’Brien, John A. Finding Christ’s Church. 38. VATICAN II CONSTITUTION 39. VanBuskirk, Dr. T.E. Doctrinal Chaos of the Translations, The. Doctoral
Thesis submitted to Salt Lake Baptist College, 1997 40. Catholic Bible Association of America,
The, New American Bible, The, St.
Joseph Edition.
NY Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1970 41. James Strong, Abingdon’s Strong’s Concordance of the Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press 42. Noss, John B., Man’s Religions, 6th Edition. NY: Macmillan Publishing Co. 43. Smith, Jonathan Z., et al, Eds. Dictionary of Religion. San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco CD’s 44. CD 1The Holy Bible, A+ Edition
Advantage Plus Dist. Inc. 244 Deerfield Rd. Apex, NC 27502 A. The King James Version B. The Greek Received Text 45. CD
2 Bibles & Religion CD Titles, 411 Waverly Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02154-8414 A. Arnold, Sir Edward (trans.) The Bhagavad Gita. B.
THE HOLY QUR'AN Translated by Maulvi Sher Ali Edited by Malik Ghulam Farid MEDIA REFERENCES 46.
MR1 Baptist Press, a division of Religion Today.
47.
www.newadvent.org/cathen/06796a.htm 48.
atheism.about.com/.../bldef_gregoryix.htm 49. http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/sunburst.htm 50. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/
hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam_en.html
AD CAELI REGINAM
Tibetan Buddhism is identical to other types of Buddhism in its teachings.
Reincarnation,
and an atheistic view of God are part and parcel of its teachings. The current Dalai Lama
believes that Buddhism can teach Marxism how to develop a socialist society by the peaceful
means of reason and a gentle training of the mind. He believes that Buddhism has many
“points of contact” (20) between itself and psychology, cosmology, neurobiology, the social
sciences and physics. It is not surprising that he feels such kinship between his religion and
both the materialistic and philosophical sciences (so-called) because the basis for Buddhist
denial of God is that there is no proof of his existence; and belief by faith is not allowed as
proof; therefore kinship with those disciplines that claim physical or philosophical proof
for themselves is quite
natural. Buddhism can be
reconciled to Science, while Christianity cannot. Therefore, either humanity will have to accept
some type of religion compatible with science, such as Buddhism, or Christianity will have to
change; which is what the devil wants. The only types of Christianity that will eventually be
allowed will be those that can be reconciled with science; and that will only be those types that
are so watered down that they will be unrecognizable as Scriptural, historic, Christianity. Faith
will not be found since it is not allowed by Science nor by religions such as Buddhism. And
without faith it is impossible to please God; and without it, faith the channel for God’s grace,
true salvation is unattainable. And Tibetan Buddhism is paving the way for this process. The
Dalai Lama is a very good, very moral, very kind man; and just the kind of man the devil loves
to use to further his own cause of subverting God’s plan, God’s Word, and God’s Salvation. In the preliminary explanations of the translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead by
Thurman, the comparison is drawn between the unproved Darwinian theory of evolution in
Science and the idea of karma taught by Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is in the forefront of closing the gap and encouraging a synthesis that
could be called “religico-science,” or
metaphysics as it is more commonly called. Metaphysics
is currently viewed in a negative light by both the scientific and the theological communities.
However, that is fast changing, as we have already seen, because of the obvious Buddhist
philosophical influences on those who call themselves scientists. If one looks at Darwinian
evolution, or even the newer theory of Punctuated Equilibrium (radical mutations causing
immense jumps of evolution and allowing one life form to quickly evolve into a different one,)
it is easy to see that, because of the lack of scientific proof of either, belief in them actually
necessitates an exercise of faith, Therefore, they are more religious philosophies than the
scientists would ever admit. In fact if faith is a religious exercise and not a scientific one, which
the scientists claim, then acceptance of evolution in the face of the lack of scientific proof,
which makes it an exercise of faith, makes belief in evolution an indisputably religious belief
and not a “scientific” one. And the previously described connection between the basics of the
Hindu/Buddhist theory of karma and the basics of the theory of evolution merely solidifies the
religious kinship of both theories. or
supernatural beings, and since the secular definition of religion is an attempt to: “... manipulate
supernatural beings and powers to their advantage,”(18) then, contrary to the belief of most
people in the world and all of the authors of most of the textbooks on religion, Buddhism should not
truly be called a religion at all. It would be better called a philosophy; but, because it is
considered by most to be a religion, I have included it in the Comparative Theology section of
this workbook and treated it as a false religion. Dr. VBK
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again.
of life that permeates every sphere of existence for the practitioner. For
Muslims, as those practitioners are called (Muslim means ‘those who make or do Islam’) the
will of the sovereign god, to which they have committed themselves, is to be followed, without
question, through their life and, if need be, to the death. Islam is in every aspect an attitude of
obligation to fulfill the purpose of their god; i.e., Islam is a person’s proper relation to god. In
return for maintaining this attitude of proper relationship, Islam, the practitioner receives the
true fulfillment of life here on earth and good rewards in the hereafter.(6)
Abdullah sometime between AD 570-580, his mother died soon after his
birth. Raised by an uncle, Abu Talib, the details of Mohammed’s early childhood are sketchy
and unreliable. One confirmable story, however, is his marriage to the widow, Khadijah, to
whom he remained married until her death. None of their boy children survived until manhood
and it was only after her death that Mohammed took other wives.
that no more words were to be added to or taken away from the completed Bible.
Therefore, whatever spirit he saw and received the revelations from, and who was supposed
to have throttled him until he capitulated, must have been from Satan, not from God.
Once you have passed the test, do not take it
again.
Recommended reading: Struggle
to Peace by Richard & Cindy Benson
Because of their peculiar beliefs about “god,” the Mormon
church should rightly be called a false-religion, not a “Christian
cult.” Because of the mistaken belief that anyone who uses the
name of Jesus is a follower of a Christian religion, many apply
the term “Christian cult” to Mormonism. That is an
unfortunate error on their part. The LDS church has sought,
with mounting fervor in the 1990's, to be recognized by the
world as the “Restored Church,” claiming to be a sect of
Christianity. 
Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805 in
Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont.
Once you have passed the test, do not take it
again.
The most infamous arm of terror and power of the Vatican
surfaced with the official establishment of the Court of the
Inquisition in 1233 by Pope Gregory IX. This instrument, according to Etchegaray,
head of the Vatican’s main committee for the year 2000,
“fined, imprisoned and tortured alleged
heretics, including astronomer Galileo.” Many connect the Inquisition with Witches and
Witchcraft; but, in reality, such Satanic pursuits were not even considered
as heretical offenses until 1258 when the
Inquisition asked Pope Alexander IV for permission to add such practices to the list of
“ecclesiastical offenses of which it could take judicial cognizance.”(31) The Pope refused,
except where manifest heresy could be proved on the part of the offender. (Decretal letter Quod
super nonullis) It was not until the end of the fifteenth century, two hundred years later, that
witchcraft was generally recognized as heretical by “The Church.” Therefore, contrary to the
belief of many, the
Inquisition was for the sole purpose of discovering and dealing with heretics,
not witches. And a heretic was defined by Rome (we will use that term to denote the papal seat
of power, the Vatican) as anyone that disagreed with the tenets of Roman Catholicism. The
Inquisition reached its peak of intimidation and torture during the 16th century while combating
the Reformation. Etchegaray said that the Church (Roman Catholic) must take “responsibility
for the evils of the Inquisition.”
2. To delude men and women into thinking they can also become gods,
with the attendant powers and privileges that God reserves to Himself. The Roman church does not worship Satan nor do they teach that any one do so. In fact,
they are adamantly opposed to Satan as the enemy. Therefore, since they do not follow this
main precept of Satan, we cannot consider Catholicism to be Satanism.
overtly follow the Satanic precept. But, we can, however, see Satan’s hand at work as he
uses the Roman Church to spread beliefs that GRAY the lines of demarcation between God
and man and their respective and rightful places. By doing so they effect a kind of back-door approach to the Satanic precept of godhood for man. Therefore, the Catholic church
scores about 50% in following this Satanic precept.
Is the Roman Catholic teaching that the Bible is not sufficient to guide the Christian
true? Is it also true that the Bible must be mixed with Catholic tradition and the teaching
office of the Catholic Church in order for it to be understood? Is it true that only the
Roman Catholic Church can rightfully interpret the Bible? We shall see. From their perversion of the Bible's plain teachings concerning Mary, the Bible,
the Church, the Kingdom of God, Salvation, the Holy Spirit, and combining that
with our earlier studies showing their perversions of the doctrines of both God
and Jesus Christ, it is easy to see that the Roman Catholic Church has
transgressed by following whole-heartedly this Third Satanic Precept. Which is, "To pervert God’s teachings by perverting His Word." I say "whole-heartedly" because their doctrines are in such direct
contradiction to the Word of God; and this is easily seen by the plain sense of
the Word. Thus, to contradict those plainly understood doctrines of God's
Word and to choose rather to follow the traditions of the Church, which they
place on a higher plane than the Bible, is to willingly move away from
God. And when one moves away from God and His Word, it is always to go the
other way, which is to follow after the leading of Satan who orchestrates all
perversions of God's Word. God than
through Jesus Christ. And by doing that they cloud the issue of Salvation to a state of
impenetrable murkiness through which it is impossible to see even vaguely who the Saviour
really is. Thus we have no choice but to believe that they, either wittingly or unwittingly, are
in accord with the Sixth Satanic Precept which is “To prevent man from perceiving the true
Saviour. to God”), then we must
conclude that it is a Satanic religion. Thus, when we have compared it to the teachings of
the Bible, we must conclude that it is a cult at the least and a false religion at the worst.
And since they follow so many of the Satanic Precepts and deviate so radically from
biblical Christianity, then we are almost forced to conclude that they are, in the final
analysis, a false religion far removed from true Christianity, “the faith,” as God calls it,
and far removed also from the most basic of precepts taught to us in God’s Word.
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