Is the Mormon Church a Cult?

By Ed Enochs

The Evangelical Debate Society

“ Test the Spirits whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the World" 1 John 4:1.



If you have your Bibles, I would like you to turn with me please to Deuteronomy 13: 1-5 which reads,

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him

Then is 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 we read,

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.



We live difficult times for the Bible believing Christian, all around us there are secular and humanistic forces of evil that are attempting to stop the Church from being the salt and light to our dying world. All around us there are forces of great wickedness attempting to destroy America and silence Christians once and for all and render the true Church ineffective in its mission to be ambassadors of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We are living in days which many scholars and astute observers of our troubled times have called the Postmodern and Post Christian era of Western Civilization, where most people living in our world
No longer believe in the notions of absolute truth and morality.

The resultant effect of this wanton disregard of truth and righteousness has been the almost complete disintegration of this once proud nation based on the authority of God’s Word.

The country whose currency reads “In God we Trust” has become the playground of the devil and our nation is crumbling under the weight of our sin and rebellion against God.


Homosexuality, terrorism, violent crime, child exploitation, abortion, euthanasia and many, many other societal evils are threatening to destroy from within us and the hostile forces of Terrorist Islam, are threatening to destroy us from the outside.

In these dark days before the return of Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ needs to rise up to the challenge of the upper call which is in Christ Jesus and reach every man, woman and Child with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately there is another challenge that faces the Christian Church in America and that is the rise of false religions and cults that are deceiving millions of people around us.

In today’s colloquial vernacular, the heretical groups of people I am referring to are known as Cults, or false religious groups who profess to be a variety of Biblical Christianity, but are in reality an unscriptural organization energized by the flesh and Satan, dedicated to the promotion of grave distortions of essential Christian Theology such as the absolutely crucial and non- negotiable doctrines of the Trinity, Justification by grace through faith in Christ alone, the inerrancy, infallibility, inspiration and exclusive authority of Holy Scripture and the absolute necessity of repentance and holiness of life in the lives of true believers.

I say this, because experts in the study of heresy, cults and false teachings, gifted Christian apologists have delineated that there are certain doctrinal tendencies and characteristics of a cult that make it an organization of satanic deception.

The Greek word for a heretic is aihretikos, and while the concept is mentioned throughout the Bible, the Apostle Paul specifically use this Greek word in Titus 3:10 when he says,

Have nothing to do with people who continue to teach false doctrine after you have warned them once or twice.

The term is also used in 1 Corinthians 11:19 and Galatians 5:20 to factions and 2 Peter 2 :1-2 refer to those who bring in destructive heresies.

According the exhaustive multi-volume Oxford English Dictionary, the definitive referece on the English Language, The term “Cult”

Heretic, Heresy –One who maintains theological and religious opinions that are at variance with the orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church.

Heresy is a theological doctrine or system rejected as false by the historic Christian Church

The Greek term Hairesis denotes a teaching contrary to the body of Doctrine communicated by Christ and His apostles.


And contrary to the sentiments and misunderstandings of out postmodern and religiously liberal friends, that postulate conspiracy theories like the Da Vinci Code and the believe that original church did not have a fixed set of doctrines and that the concept of false teaching, false teachers, apostates was a latter edition to Christianity, it is clear that the Scriptures teach these concepts and we as Bible based Christians must be on guard about false teachers and heretics coming into the body of Christ in wait to deceive God’s flock,

In Jeremiah 14:14 says,

“The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds”


Jude 3 and 4 says,

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 you 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.

Jesus also warned about the coming of false, false prophets teachers and false Christ’s in the Sermon on the Mount and the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 when he said,

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)

“see that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.

Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect”

The Apostle Paul said in Acts chapter 20,

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.

In 2 Timothy chapter 4, Paul also warns,

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

In 2 Peter chapter 2, the Apostle Peter 2

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

1 John 4 says

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

The Apostle Jude spoke of these heretics in verses 3 and 4 of that one chapter book,

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

In all actuality the Bible is replete with examples of false teachers and false prophets who attempt to deceive the people of God in order to deceive, from Genesis to Revelation there are Biblical examples,

Moses warned against them,

The Prophets Cried out against them,

Jesus exhorted against them,

The Apostles under the inspiration of God the Spirit taught against them,

The totality of Biblical revelation warns God’s people of false teachers, of false prophets, heresies and cults that lie in wait to deceive,

Be careful Church of God , be careful!

Don’t follow them.

Don’t listen to them.

Don’t heed their message

Beware of the false prophets!
Beware of false teachers!

They are coming for you!

They are gunning for you!

Time after time after time people of God, I have see professing, Bible believing Evangelical, blood bought Christians be led away by deception, led away into false teachings by the cults!

I say these things to warn you

I say these things to plead with you!

Study your Bibles, know the teachings of historic Christianity,

Because the cults and false teachers are coming for you, they are gunning for you, they are running for you!

Don’t heed their false teachings, don’t abide by their false Gospel, if you do, it shows that you were never amongst God’s people in the first Place,

As First John 2:18-19 says,

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.


There are three chacteristics of a false prophet and a false teacher and a cult I want to warn you about,

A Heretic, false prophet, false teacher and the cults will do one of three things, most of the time they will deviate on one of these three absolutely essential doctrines of the historic Christian faith, often times these false teachers and cults will be guilty of deviating from all three of these fundamentals of historic and Biblical Christianity,

1. A False teacher will deny the historic doctrine of the Trinity and proclaim to you a false view of God and His eternal nature.

As Evangelical, Bible believing and blood bought, holy Ghost filled Christians we stand with the historic Christian Church and believe that there is one true God and in God exists three distinct persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

A Cult will deny the doctrine of the Trinity and they will normally confuse and convolute the persons of the Godhead and they will normally deny the Deity of Christ and teaching something heretical about Jesus Christ. Most of these cults will say that they believe in Jesus Christ, but the Jesus of the cults and false teachers is not the Jesus of the Bible, but a false Jesus of manmade and satanic origin.

As Evangelical believers in the historic Christian doctrine of the Trinity we come to belief in the doctrine of the Trinity, not because the Ecumentical Creeds teach this, the Creeds are vastly important, but are only authority is the Bible and it teaches that there is one true and living God, yet it also calls the Father God, then the Bible calls the Son God and it also calls the Son God, the only deduction we can receive from Holy Scripture is that there is one God and in God exists three distinct persons who share the same spiritual substance and nature, The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.


2. Secondly, a cult, false teacher and false prophet will be guilty of grevious heresy regarding the way a person is saved. They will deny that we are justified by gracr through faith in Jesus Christ alone. They will often teach that we are declared righteous, or justified before God by a synergitic combination of works and grace working together, But the Bible teaches that we are justified by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone based on the authority of the Bible alone. Cults, heretics, false teachers and false prophets teach against this and argue that we are saved through our good works.

The Bible says “For by grace you have been saved, though faith, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast”

And “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and reknewal of the Holy Spirit”

3. A Cult, false prophet, false teacher and heretics often have a heretical view of Scripture and will either replace the authority of the Bible with their own religious books that they claim have equal or superior authority than that of the Bible, and these false teachers will often say that the Bible is not suffiecent, that the Bible is not complete, that we need additional revelation, but the historic Christian church believes in the exclusive authority, inerrancy, inspiration and infallibility of the Bible alone. (Isaiah 40:8 and 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

These three specific things, a massive departure from the
-Nature of God
-The Nature of Salvation
-The Nature of Biblical Departure

Now, unfortunately one of these cults that is doing the work of the devil and leading many down the path to a Christless eternity in hell is the massive and internationally powerful cult known as the Church of Jesus Christ latter day Saints or known to many of us as the Mormon Church.

I have been sharing my faith with Mormons for over twenty years now and have been very, very burdened for the salvation of our Mormon friends, who have been truly deceived by Satan.

There are now over 12 million Mormons around the world and their numbers are growing and growing and growing each and every day as more than 60,000 young and enthusiastic Mormon missionaries take the False Gospel of Joseph Smith to all corners of the world.

I have done extensive outreach to the Mormon Church in California , Hawaii and Utah and I have seen Mormon Culture up close and person and I have personally been invited to speak in a theology class at the Mormon owned and operated Brigham Young University in Provo Utah .

While on a missions trip to the Mormons in Utah, I had the opportunity to hear the Latter Day Saint president and chief apostle Gordon B. Hinckley speak before an audience of over 20,000 Mormons at one of their annual General Conferences and I have been all over the State of Utah and seen areas of Mormon Territory that very few Evangelicals ever see. I have been in areas of Northern Utah in which the population is close to 98% Mormon, where there is a Mormon congregation literally every 500 yards, where you see the famous angel Moroni statue on the top of endless Mormon churches as far as your eye can see.

Along with Islam, the Mormon Church is among the fastest growing religions in the world. The Mormon Church is amongst the wealthiest religions in the World with tens of billions of dollars worth of accumulated wealth and properties.

I just got back from Hawaii and the Mormon presence on the Island of Oahu is staggering. The Mormon Church owns 500 choice acres of land on that Island where they own the biggest money making attraction of all the Hawaiian Islands known the world famous Polynesian Cultural Center that is staffed by Mormon Students from near by BYU Hawaii and is right down the street from the Mormon Temple in Aiea , Oahu .

Now, many of us have heard about the Mormon Church, possibly we have heard that Mitt Romney, the former Republican Governor of Massachusetts is a devout Mormon and is running for President,

and most of us have seen their young missionaries dressed in their white shirts, black ties riding their bicycles around town, but what is the Mormon Church? What do Mormons Believe? Why do Evangelicals view the Mormon Church as a Cult?

The cult that is now called the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints or the Mormon Church, began in 1830 in upstate New York by a young man named Joseph Smith who according to his written account, began to inquire about what denomination of Christianity he should join.

According to Joseph Smith, Upstate New York was undergoing an intense, fever pitched religious revival with many of the various denominations, including Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists and other Protestant expressions of worship all contentiously vying for allegiance at the expense of one another, so, much so that there was heated arguments, commotion and controversy transpiring throughout the entire region where Joseph Smith dwelled.

Then, according to Joseph Smith, he began to earnestly inquire as to what church he was to join. He then went out into a wooded area near his house in Paylmara New York , according to his verbal and written testimony, in order pray with great fervency in order to ask of God for revelation as to how to proceed.

Then, in one of the most contested events in the history of American religion and a corner stone belief of the entire Mormon Religion, According to Joseph Smith, he saw a great light and heavenly vision in which both God the Father and Jesus Christ, both possessing physical bodies, appeared dramatically with cataclysmic power and allegedly revealed to him that he was not to join any of the “sects” of Christendom, since in their apostate and hypocritical religion, “they honored God with their lips but their hearts were far from Him”
In the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith says,

When the light rested upon me I bsaw two cPersonages, whose brightness and dglory defy all description, estanding above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My fBeloved gSon. Hear Him!
My object in going to ainquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all awrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those bprofessors were all ccorrupt; that: “they ddraw near to me with their lips, but their ehearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the fcommandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the gpower thereof.” He again forbade me to join with any of them;


From this alleged “First Vision” the young Joseph Smith said that God the Father and Jesus Christ had appeared to Him and revealed to Him that the entire Church has gone apostate and plunged into total darkness and that true Christianity with its special ordinaces, doctrines had to be recovered. According to Joseph Smith, God had called Him to restore the true Church of Jesus Christ which had apostasied upon the closing of the 1st Century.

Evidently this alleged vision was not powerful enough, since according to Joseph Smith and public records including some important court documents proving Joseph Smith was convicted for trying to deceive people out of their money by using an alleged magical occultic “Peep Stone”. Which Smith would put in a hat and get supernatutal guidance in order to find buried treasure and other lost articles.

It can be proven conclusively, that Joseph Smith had fallen away into acts of disrepute and was not active in any Church.

Then, at the age of 25 or so, Joseph Smith said he received another visitation, this time from a being he called the “Angel Moroni” who revealed to him further what God’s incredible plan was for his life, no less than to restore the entire Church of Jesus Christ which had fallen into total apostasy by Joseph Smith’s time period there in New York.

Joseph Smith, writing in the Pearl of Great Price, then says, the following thing happened to him,

While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a by personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.
He had on a loose robe of most exquisite a whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom. Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was a glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me. He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.
He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;


According to Joseph Smith, the angel Moroni led him to a hill side there in upstate New York, where under the hill’s dirt, lay the most extraordinary of finds, the most precious of treasures, that none of his bogus treasure hunts of his previous record had revealed to him and his band of young charlatan’s, according to Joseph Smith, the Angel Moroni had revealed to him that there under the HILL COMORAH, was some golden tablets inscribed with the Ancient lost language known as “Egyptian Hirogriphics which Joseph Smith said he translated with the aid of special glasses called he called, the “Urim and Thummin, and the translation of these alleged “Golden Tablets” is a work Joseph Smith called the “Book of Mormon”, the Most important work of Scripture to the LDS Church.

The Book of Mormon tells of the alleged history of a group of Hebrews that they say migrated from Jerusalem to South America about 600 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

According to the spurious history of Mormonism, the migrating group of ancient Israelites were led by a make believe person they call the prophet named Lehi, who according to the false testimony of the Book of Mormon, directed the ancient Israelites to settle in previously uninhabited Central and South American pristine land.

According to Mormonism, these transplanted ancient Israelites residing in the Southern most part of the America ’s rapidly multiplied through procreation and populated the virgin territory. According to the unsubstantiated and false history of Mormonism, this large group of Israelites eventually became a very large people and ultimately split into two distinct bodies of people. One of these two groups of ancient Israelites would then apostatize from their faith in the Lord God of Israel and for all intents and purposes became a heathen nation.

This group of apostate former Israelites is called the Lamanites, who Mormons argue are the direct ancestors of the indigenous American Indians. Mormons teach that the Lamanites increasingly became a barbaric pagan civilization who grew increasingly corrupt, idolatrous and adversarial against the other group of migrating Israelites they call the Nephites, who attempted to honor the Lord God of Israel by correct worship. The Nephites greatly developed as an advanced people and built great cities, but were ultimately destroyed by the evil Lamanities around 400 B.C.

However, Mormons teach that before this total decimation of the Nephites took place, Jesus Christ appeared in South America and preached and taught amongst the Nephites. The teachings of Christ to the Nephite civilization, according to Mormonism was written on golden plates by the Prophet Mormon. His son, Moroni subsequently made additions to these golden tablets and buried them under a hill in upstate New York where they remained uncovered and undiscovered for 1,400 years until, Moroni, appeared as a resurrected angelic being and revealed himself, the golden tablets and God’s plan to restore the Church to the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, whom they say used miraculous glasses called the Urim and Thummin in which Joseph Smith, in turn translated these golden plates and the result is the most important of LDS Scriptures known as the Book of Mormon.

The Mormons have two additional canonical books they deem to be inspired Scripture called the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrines and Covenants, further outlining Mormon historical narrative and their specific doctrinal beliefs that Evangelical scholars have always deemed heretical on the basis of their spurious Scriptures, radically unbiblical view of the nature and existence of God and their false view of salvation.

The Mormons profess to believe in the authority of the Bible, yet we read in the Eighth Article of the LDS faith, “We believe the Bible is true in so properly translated”, meaning that Mormons believe that many precious truths were lost from the original bible and that with God’s revelation of the LDS Scriptures known as the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants.


It’s important to note that Mormons believe that the entire Church around 100 AD fell away and fell into total darkness upon the death of the last Apostle and was not restored until the coming of Joseph Smith who founded the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day-Saints in 1830 in upstate New York .

Mormons teach that while there were many who believed in Christ since the death of the Apostles, the full teachings of Gospel of Jesus Christ were lost as well as Priesthood authority, including the keys to direct and receive revelation for the Church was taken from the earth. Mormons called this period of when the Church fell away the Great Apostasy and believe the Church and its original teaching were lost and needed to be restored. The restoration of the Gospel occurred according to the LDS faith in the revelation of the Book of Mormon to the Joseph Smith whom they believe was a prophet of God.

Mormons believe that in the coming of Joseph Smith and the restoration of the Gospel, God reinstitutes many precious truths that had fallen away from the Church in the Great Apostasy they fell upon the entire Church.

According to Mormonism, the Church remained in a state of apostasy and darkness until the coming of Joseph Smith.


An important doctrine of Mormonism, is their belief that God has restored the offices of the 12 apostles, who are called to lead His Church today and the Mormons believe that God directs His church through direct revelation via the office of the head prophet and apostle of the Church today, Gordon B. Hinckley, whom Mormons believe is the head of the Church. Today, the head prophet and apostle of the Church, just as Joseph Smith, Brigham Young were the head apostles and prophets of the Church before him, receive continual direct revelation from God and their revelations and prophetical utterances are considered to be the most authoritative.


The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints also believe in restoration and building of temples where they do their most solemn religious practices such as Temple Marriages where Mormon men and women are sealed together in the LDS temple for time and eternity, priesthood blessings and such unbiblical doctrines as baptism for the dead.

You see the Mormon Church has these large temples they do not let non Mormons enter into after they have been sanctified for holy work, and one of the main functions Mormons do in these Temples is proxy Baptism, or Baptism for the dead.

Since Mormons believe the church fell into total apostasy the people who died from approximately 100 ad until the restoration of the Church in 1830 upon the coming of Joseph Smith, did not receive the necessary requirement for salvation called baptism, which living members do for them in their place in what is called “baptism for the dead”

The Mormon Temples and the LDS Doctrine and practice of Baptism for the dead are directly tied to the Mormon heretical concepts of Preexistence, Eternal Progression and exaltation which ultimately reveals one of the many reasons Evangelicals believe the Mormon Church is a cult that practices serious and grievous heresy. Mormons teach that men may become gods just like their heavenly Father, who Himself is an exalted man. Mormons believe and teach that every single person who has ever lived, lives or shall live had preexistence in a spirit world where their spiritual entity awaits to receive their mortal bodies.

Upon receiving their mortal bodies, all of life is now a challenge to progress to the next level of exaltation. In the next life, because of the atonement of Christ, that He accomplished for all people, upon our death then subsequent resurrection from the dead, Mormons believe that a person will be exalted to either one of three different levels or plains of exaltation, the celestial, telestial or terrestrial levels.

Mormons believe that if a person is faithful to the Mormon plan of salvation, is baptized, obeys the Mormon ordinances he can be exalted to godhood like his heavenly Father before him. This process of men becoming gods is essential to the Mormon plan and this is why the Mormon Church teaches that everyone needs to be baptized either in this life or by the practice of baptism for the dead, to be possibly exalted to godhood.

The Mormons deny the doctrine of the Trinity and ultimately believe that men may become gods in the same way that their heavenly father was faithful to the Mormon plan of salvation and was exalted to godhood we too can follow his path of obedience and become exalted. Mormons believe in a famous saying uttered by one of their original leaders,

“As man is, God once was, and is God is, man may become”

In the famous King Follett discourse given by Joseph Smith himself, the founder of the Mormon church said that there are many “gods”

I will preach on the plurality of Gods . . . I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. . . . Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods

First, God himself, who sits enthroned in yonder heaven, is a man like one of you. That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today and you were to see the great God who holds this world in its orbit and upholds all things by his power, you would see him in the image and very form of a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion and image of God. He received instruction from and walked, talked, and conversed with him as one man talks and communes with another.
Here, then, is eternal life--to know the only wise and true God. And you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves--to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done--by going from a small degree to another, from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you are able to sit in glory as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.

Joseph Smith taught that God was once man who in turn followed the Mormon plan of salvation and became a “god” if we follow the Mormon plan of salvation.

Brigham Young, the Second President of the Mormon Church who succeeded Joseph Smith after he was killed and then led the Mormons to settle in Utah also was a polytheist who said in his Journal of Discourses,
There was never a time when there were not Gods and worlds, and men were not passing through the same ordeals that we are now passing through (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 22-23).
Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt declared:
In the Heaven where our spirits were born, there are many Gods, each one of whom has his own wife or wives which are given to him previous to his redemption; while yet in his mortal state (Orson Pratt, The Seer, 37- 38

Mormons believe that God the Father had a preexistence in the spirit world, subsequently received His mortal body upon his earth, he in turn was faithful to the Mormon Gospel and eternally progressed to a state of exaltation and godhood where we now worship him as God our heavenly father.

According to Mormon theology, this is the plan for us as well, and that if men are faithful to the laws and ordinances of the Mormon faith, we too can become gods like our heavenly father and receive worship as god on our own planet.

Mormons teach that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three separate “gods” who are one in purpose, directly contradicting the Biblical teaching that there is only one true and living God and in God exists three distinct persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who share the same spiritual essence.

As Jesus Said in Matthew 28:19-20,


The Mormon view is obviously heresy because the Bible teaches that there is only one true and living God,

In the great “Shema” passage of Dueternonomy 6:4, it reads, “Oh hear oh Israel , the Lord your God is one Lord”

Isaiah 43: 1o says, “Before Me there was no god formed and neither shall there be a god after Me, I am the first and the last and besides Me there is no savior”


Mormonism is heretical and a cult because Biblical Christianity is inherently and exclusively monotheistic, and emphatically teaches there is only one true and living God who has existed for eternity.

The Mormon Church is also heretical because they teach that salvation is not by grace alone and deny the Biblical and Evangelical doctrine of Justification alone which teaches that we are justified or declared righteous by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone based on the authority of the Bible alone.

The Mormon Church on the other hand, directly contradicts Biblical Christianity and says in 2 Nephi 25:23 says,

“Salvation is by grace after all we can do”


In the Articles of the Mormon Church we read,

1. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

2. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.


Mormonism is heretical and a cult because it teaches that there are many gods, and that we can become gods, Mormonism is heretical because it teaches that we are saved by our works and denies that salvation is by grace alone as the Bible teaches in:



Ephesians 2:8-10

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”



Titus 3:5-6,

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

Through a Biblical and internal critique of the Mormon false religion we see that it is a cult and heretical because it contradicts God’s Word in many, many crucial and non-negotiable areas of doctrinal importance,
Mormonism contradicts God’s word about the monotheistic nature of God and says there are many gods.

Mormonism contradicts God’s word about the monergistic nature of salvation in that the Bible teaches that a person is justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Mormonism contradicts God’s Word about the exclusive inspiration, inerrancy, infallibility and authority of the Scriptures alone.

Mormonism is heretical and a cult because it teaches there are many gods, salvation is by works and that the Bible is a corrupted document that has not been translated down throughout history correctly, Mormonism is a cult because it says the spurious books, The Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price and Doctrines and Covenants are inspired Scripture when the Bible says it alone is the Word of God. The Mormon Scriptures on the other hand are not the Word of God because they were not inspired by God, they contradict God’s first Word and are filled with many false doctrines and errors that contradict the Bible,

The Bible on the other hand is perfect, it is inspired, infallible, inerrant, self-attesting, self-authenticating and are our only authority in all matters of faith and practice,

The Apostle Paul told Timothy,

2 Timothy 3:15-17

“And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:19-21

“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”


After examining the evidence against the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints , the only conclusion we can come to in light of the clear testimony and teachings of Holy Scripture, the Mormon Church is indeed a false religious cult that is deceiving millions of people around the World.

If there are Mormons here today listening to this message, I would like to encourage you to come out of this religious cult here and now, and turn from your sins and false doctrines and place your faith in the one true and living God who sent His only begotten Son in to world to die on the cross and rise again from the dead in order to give all those who sincerely repent and believe in Christ, eternal life through faith in His name.

For us who are true believers in Jesus Christ, it is time to reach Mormons with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ with the same boldness and lack of fear that Mormons use in trying to deceive people with their false Gospel.

As the late great Evangelical cult expert used to say on his Bible Answer Man show,
“Will you do for the truth, what the cults do for a lie?”


May God have mercy on us for being lazy and indifferent in reaching Mormons with His saving Gospel.

May God raise up and army of Christians right here and now from this place that will go into the kingdom of the cults and reach every man, woman and child that has been deceived by the false Gospel of Mormonism with true saving message of Jesus Christ.

My Whole Life Has Been a Million to One Shot

The Testimony of the Kid nobody Wanted except God

An Important Letter to My Family and Friends

(My whole life has been a million to one shot)


"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved"

(Romans 10:17)


Dear Precious Family and Friends,

Well there is so much to write about, so much going on, I don't know where to begin. First of all I want to thank God that he kept my father alive, and he will finally be returning home from the hospital and I will be coming back to the states in a couple of days, after spending several weeks in beautiful Oahu Hawaii, which has become my second home to me. The Lord has been so good to me out here and a couple of Calvary Chapel's out here have treated me with such kindness and love it is so hard to come back to the mainland of America, but I know now, that it is my calling to be the leader of the Evangelical Debate Society in order to promote the Gospel and Biblical Apologetics in a loving and intellectual manner. So many exciting things are occurring in my life right now, it is hard to write it all down.

My time in Hawaii, has been something like Moses, Paul or our Lord, when God called them into the back side of the wilderness only to emerge with a calling from God. Hawaii has been my wilderness, where the Lord called me out here to visit my father in his greatest hour in need and where I have visited him at his side for 21 straight days in the hospital.

On my spare time away from my father's hospital room, the Lord has been calling me like young Samuel, to do a work, I did not want to do, to do something I felt I could not do.

You see, my whole life has been a million to one long shot. I was born into a family of severe child and substance abuse, where I was beaten nearly to death and left for dead. As a teenager, after being kicked out of my home by my mother, who despite her college degree and success in the business world, had a bad drinking problem and my whole life, then became a fight for survival on the most harsh of circumstances. As, a teenager, I roamed the streets, without a home to call my own, sometimes picking up coke cans for redemption at the store and even eating trash out of trash cans. I often slept under bridges and in public parks and for all intents and purposes, my life was over before it began.

But God was rich in mercy towards me, and never gave up on me, I am the ultimate prodigal son, the underdog no one gave a chance in a cruel world of indifference and superficiality, there was no one there for me ultimately but God.

I was the ultimate rehab project, scarred by abuse and emotional trauma, I have never felt comfortable in this world of comfort and ease. Like the Tarzan, Lord Grey-stoke, version of the classic story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, I lived like a virtual animal and even when I was cleaned up and earned admission into some of Evangelicalism's most prestigious schools, including the Moody Bible Institute, Biola University and the Master's Seminary, I still felt like an outcast, as the ultimate outsider, that everyone looked past as an after thought.

After coming to Christ at the age of 19 some twenty years ago, it has been a long haul accepting that God loved me and that I truly had friends in this world. To me, I was still the same kid that spent eight months living outside, sleeping on a bench, with a rock for my pillow and nothing but time...time to dream, time to study, which I did, for thousands and thousands of hours I would study at the University of Michigan Library and later at Wastenaw Community College, Fullerton College, Pierce College, Biola University, Westminster Seminary, Master's Seminary, I studied and studied and studied only one subject: Apologetics, which has become the subject of my life and soul.

Since that time God has allowed me to arrange large conferences at Biola University, debate Muslims, Mormons Unitarians, Wiccans and a whole host of other non-Evangelical groups all for His sovereign glory.

My life is a tale of the ultimate underdog, the kid that everyone rejected, scorn and left for dead. At times this past has scarred me and caused me to doubt my calling as an apologist. At times, I have rebelled, but each and every-time, God has raised me up out of the mire of darkness that threatened to engulf me as it did Kurt Cobain, who was the same age as me and who quintessentially represented the angst and alienation of my generation.

God has been so merciful to me my friends and family, so much it is hard to comprehend the unfathomable grace of God, that keeps on giving and giving and giving, that never quits, relents or gives up on a born loser and ultimate underdog like me. My name is Eddie Enochs, and I was born into poverty to substance abusing parents, I was often beat and left for dead in a world I had no choice to be in. Through all the pain, sorrow and rejection, the very God of the universe called me by name and made me His Son.

In the cross of Jesus Christ I have found redemption through His blood. I have been born again to a new and living hope, I have been saved and adopted by the beloved. My name is Eddie Enochs and I am born again in Jesus Christ. I am saved and justified by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone based on the authority of the Bible alone.

I want to thank God for all of you friends and family members who have been there for me.

After being led out into the wilderness, I now know who I am and where I come from and where I am going. I am called by God, I am born again in Jesus Christ and I have been called of God to defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ, against all odds and against the hardest Critics of Christianity.

You see, my who life has been a fight for survival, my whole life has been a million to one, once in a life time long shot. If I can survive beatings which almost killed me, the streets and almost every hardship known to an American man, I can most certainly defend the faith for the Glory of God.

I am not the best apologist in the world, if you want that, there is James White and the Late Walter Martin or Greg Bahsen, but I make this promise to you my precious family and friends, that I will not give up trying to defend the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. If knocked down into the dirt from which I came, I will rise again, if I am defeated I will study harder, work longer, be the last man in library, I will do all that I can to defend the faith for the glory of God, the truth of the Bible and for you my precious family and friends. If I am killed men, like Joel Hughes and Emilio Ramos will immediately take my place. If I live, together we can make a difference for the glory of God. My rag tag band of brothers made up of guys like Gabe, Mike, Emilio, Steve, "Count Dukoo" Wilson and Joel will do our best to defend the Bible by Scripture alone against all odds and against all challenges, we are the Evangelical Debate Society and we defend the Christian faith all for the Glory of God and we will debate anyone, any place at any time for the truth of the Gospel and the glory of JESUS. If we lose, we shall rise again. If we die we shall be resurrected anew in the Kingdom of God.

We will keep on going when we can't go on, we will take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ even if it means our death, we are born again, blood bought Christians, with a checkered and dark past but have a bright future in the light of the face of the majestic presence of God.

My name is Eddie Enochs and I am the child of alcoholic parents, I almost died of a drug and chemical abuse overdose when I was 17 years old. On two occasions, I was almost beaten to death by gang members on the mean streets of Detroit. I have been to hell and back with a message of hope and redemption through faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God and Savior of the world.

"For God, so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life".

John 3:16

My name is Eddie Enochs, born to alcoholic parents, born to die, but raised to newness to life. Together with my band of brothers, we are:

The Evangelical Debate Society

Together, we rejoice in Jesus Christ together and invite you out to our apologetics conference next Saturday, June 2, 2007 starting at 10:00 AM at Oasis Community Church in Moreno Valley California.

I want to thank all my family members and friends for not giving up on me, when I gave up on myself. I don't need to write your names here, you know who you are.

Oh, one last thing, the biggest Christian radio station in Southern California, just contacted me and wants to speak to me about having my own weekly cutting edge and issues based radio show.

Not to bad for someone, everyone looked past, never gave a chance, was picked last always for dodge ball, and was left to die only to be born again in Jesus Christ.

My name is Eddie Enochs and together we are the Evangelical Debate Society.

I love you all so very much!

Sincerely in Jesus and the one
True, Trinitarian, Evangelical,
Bible based, Grace alone, Pro-life
Christian Faith,

Your Son, Brother and Friend,

Ed Enochs

Chairman and Co-Founder

The Evangelical Debate Society

The One and Only Jesus Christ

by Ed Enochs

Chairman,

The Evangelical Debate Society

"For in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

Anomaly: Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God and all things that came into being through Him and without Him nothing has come into being that has came into being" (John 1:1-3).

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:15-18).

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they" (Hebrews 1:1-4). In the howling, swirling wasteland of spiritually bankrupt Postmodern Americana, Almighty God has spoken with final authority in His inerrant, infallible, inspired, self- authenticating and perfect Word and in the Logos of God: Jesus Christ, who was send by God the Father to die on the cross and rise again from the dead in order to give us eternal life.

From the moment of our conception until the point of our final expiration, we are being incessantly bombarded by secular society with two seemingly idiosyncratic contradictory ideologies or world -views. These beliefs or structural or behavioral characteristics peculiar to an individual or group, the German Philosophers classified by the lexical moniker, Weltanschauung, or the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world and the collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.

The twin simultaneously contradictory weltanschauungs or world-views that both govern and permeate secular Western Civilization are Modernity with it's overt reliance on scientific progress and human ingenuity and Postmodernity, which postulates absolute ethical and propositional relativism have one thing in common: They both reject the Historic Christian conception of the uniqueness and exclusivity of Jesus Christ over all other ideological reference points and socio-religious options. Modernity, with its reliance on the scientific method, postulates the secularist / naturalist view that we live in a closed system of cause and effect and that nothing happens outside of the natural laws of physics.

Thus, the miraculous and supernatural Jesus as found in Holy Scripture has no place in the modern mind, since miracles are an impossibility.In the Postmodern framework, Jesus has been reduced to just another irrelevant teacher amongst many religious leaders, gurus and shaman and His special role as the Son of God who was sent by God the Father to die for the sins of humanity has been rendered obsolete...However, the Jesus Christ of Holy Scripture is truly an Anomaly, who transcends the fallen and darkened schema of sinful and depraved men and has been send via the will of God the Father, into actual time-space history to accomplish the divine plan of salvation. Jesus Christ truly transcends and breaks into all our worldly systems, revealing to us the glory of God, culminating the grand divine historical-redemptive event: the Cross of Jesus Christ.The Cross of Jesus Christ is what brings us to God..."But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)."For God made Him, who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21)."For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18).

Can God's Existence be Proven Through Science?

By Joel Hughes

For the Evangelical Debate Society

(Joel is a graduate of the Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa School of Ministry and is currently completing his B.A. Degree in Philosophy at California State Fullerton, Orange County California).

One of the funniest movies of late is Nacho Libre. However, I must immediately qualify that claim by saying it nowhere competes in the area of humor and intelligence as Napoleon Dynamite. I have never laughed harder and more often in any other movie than that one.[1] Yet Nacho Libre, directed by the same man, is a comfortable second in genius.

It is possible that I have just discredited anything further I am going to say with these opening comments, but I will stick by my convictions and be bold. Besides, I think it says somewhere that the righteous are as bold as a liger, and I want to be one of those. Anyhow, there is a scene in Nacho Libre where Jack Black, “Nacho,” meets the imbecilic hobo who later becomes his trusty sidekick. At one point after the two men fight in the dirt, Nacho says, “Don’t you believe in God?” The moronic man says, “I don’t believe in God. I believe in science.” It is very funny.

But this introduces an important topic that many people misunderstand, namely, the nature and limits of science. The quote above is indicative of a general outlook and attitude in many, if not possibly the majority, of those living in our Western culture. Science is viewed as the surest method to discover knowledge about reality. Everyone wants to use science and to be “scientific.” In many people’s eyes, believer and unbeliever alike, there is hardly anything worse than getting saddled with the label of “unscientific.” Thus both Christians and skeptics alike desperately seek to be “scientific.”

Can we prove the existence of God using science? Can science disprove the existence of God? I have seen a gospel tract that says, “Science Proves the Bible.” Is that true? In the recently televised debate on the existence of God, Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (two solid Christian brothers) squared off against two pompous atheists. Ray and Kirk confidently promised before the debate that they would prove the existence of God based on scientific evidence, and without ever appealing to the Bible or faith. Is this possible? Can science do this?

The simple answer is, no, science cannot prove the existence of God. But then again, science cannot disprove the existence of God either. Many Christians will no doubt reject this thesis because they want their beliefs to rest solidly on a foundation of science. However, they are, like most of the rest of the culture, deceived into what “science” really is. They have put too much faith in this word, assuming it to be more powerful than it actually is. And Christians who try to prove the existence of God by using science are guilty of gross question begging, a logical fallacy. But let us work up to this conclusion.

Divine Connotations

The word “science” in our Western culture is probably one of the most overused, abused, and misunderstood words. Yet it is also one of the most powerful words. It carries the highest respect and authority in our modern societies. It has done so for quite some time now. If something has the word “scientific” in it, it immediately receives a gold stamp. I feed my Pit Bull pup, Science Diet dog food. Such a name makes you think that each bit of kibble has been genetically and organically engineered for peak performance by men in white coats in a lab.

Furthermore, whenever an authority is needed for the evening news or news reporting program, no matter what the topic is, the network will track down, not a pastor or theologian, but a “scientist.” During this last New Years Eve celebration, a popular talk radio station wanted to comment on how to go about making and keeping a new years resolution. Now you would think that a pastor or counselor would be ideal to interview as to how to live one’s life, but no, the radio station interviewed a pediatrician. That’s right, a kiddy doctor! She was offered as an authority on how to make and keep a new year’s resolution. I believe that the only reason is because her profession is tied, even if remotely, to the “scientific” community. Thus she was viewed as an authority on how to think and live life.


Science is viewed by the majority of our Western culture as the new form of special revelation that has replaced God’s special revelation in Scripture. The scientists are the new high priests of society who will discover the truth and lead us into a new age of enlightenment. Science is viewed as the opposite of mythology, and religion is usually lumped in with the latter. Millions of men and women trust their eternal souls to this word and what they think it represents in the same way that millions of Christians trust their eternal souls to Christ and what He means. The word science in our culture carries divine connotations. In his book, The Mythology of Science, the late Rouses Rushdoony says that science in our modern culture has taken on a status of magic. Science can do miraculous and seemingly magical things.

But the majority of Westerners have little if any idea of what real science is. For them it is merely a banner word. They put the word “science” on a banner and march forward with confidence, but for the greater part it is an empty slogan. The word science, like most other words, is like an empty can. The label reads science on the shell, but what is inside often varies radically from person to person, even academic professionals. Very few people are able to even give a beginning definition of the term. It is often the case that when an unbeliever is trying to argue with me as to why they do not believe in Christianity, they, like Nacho’s illiterate friend will say they believe in science, not religion.

They throw it out like a bomb hoping that it will shut me up. They use it as their trump card. My standard response is always to simply ask them what science is. This usually brings a look of worry on their faces and most of the time they try to change the subject. I do not let them. This is most interesting when I am street preaching and the arrogant heckler is put on the spot in front of a crowd.
In the Cameron/Comfort debate against the atheists, I found it very interesting that both sides claimed to be using science. Comfort’s main argument was that he could prove God’s existence using scientific arguments and evidence. The atheists’ main argument was that science disproves the existence of God Comfort argued for. So whose science is correct? But the problem is worse than this. Not only do Christians and atheists claim to use science to prove their point, Muslims do as well. I have a book in my library that allegedly gives all the scientific evidence of why Islam is true. On the late night radio program, Coast to Coast, I hear New Agers, witches, numerologists, remote viewers, ghost busters, and a host of other paranormal people who all claim to be entirely scientific. They all use “science” to support their beliefs.

A similar problem occurs in the debate over whether or not a Christian can lose his or her salvation. I have seen Christians debate this topic to the point of anger. But the whole time neither person has stopped to define what “salvation” is. If they did so they would usually find that they had quite different conceptions of what “salvation” is. They need to pause and define for themselves, what is salvation? Likewise, in the debate over theism and atheism, what is science? Thus before we can know whether or not science can prove or disprove the existence of God, it is necessary to have some idea of what this thing “science” actually is.

What is Science?

The word science comes from the Latin and means “to know.” Science then is about gaining knowledge, particularly knowledge previously unknown. It is about discovery. Scientific work is by definition (at least supposed) limited to perceivable reality. In a general sense, science is not as mysterious or complicated as most people think. Science simply refers to any systematic methodology that humans use to gain knowledge of the world. But this knowledge is of a particular sort. Science is the attempt to discover law like principles in the world in order to predict future events. The scientist looks for predictable patterns of causal relations in the physical universe. Scientific reasoning uses repeated experiences in the past and assumes that such patterns will reliably hold in the future. This is called inductive reasoning. Science cannot function apart from the principle of induction. “…Science must always provide a clear prediction of future phenomena (by definition).”[2] This point will be significant later. The inductive principle assumes that the future will remain reliably stable as it always has in the past. The “principles” that scientists discover are often called scientific “laws,” such as the law of gravity or the law of entropy. These “laws” are assumed for the most part to be stable and reliable, so that, for example we can shoot a shuttle to the moon (and not miss) or take a medication (and not die because the chemical elements behaved differently today than they did in past use).

Science has two basic roles: explanation and prediction. The scientist seeks to form hypotheses based on observations of the physical world. As the scientist studies a number of related hypotheses, he or she then seeks to form a more general theory. These theories act as useful models of reality. Theories are general frameworks that help us interpret reality and understand causal relations in order to improve life. Having a working theory helps the scientist to explain why or how X behaves as it does; they also help scientists to predict how X will operate in the future. It is in this sense that evolution is a theory. Evolution is a theoretical framework that many people use to explain the origins and development of life on earth. In the same way, creationism is a theory of reality. And people should know that there is not just one agreed upon theory of evolution, there are many (as there are “Big Bang” theories). Some scientists, like Stephen Jay Gould, taught the theory of punctuated equilibrium, while others like Richard Dawkins taught a view of gradualism. Nor is evolution a recent idea in the history of ideas. The idea has been held in one form another for thousands of years. The pre-Socratic philosopher, Anaximander, taught a strikingly similar view, as did many philosophers throughout history. The thing that made Charles Darwin so different is that he allegedly provided the mechanism that caused one species to change into another (i.e. natural selection). But this has proved to be more of a philosophy than science also. In the same way, there is no one theory of creation, there are many. Nevertheless, both theories are in consensus on more general ideas about reality and knowledge.

It is important to realize that a theory is not the same as a worldview. A theory is a more consciously held paradigm with particular details worked out. A worldview, however, is less consciously held; it is rather the underlying (often unconscious) assumptions about reality, knowledge, and conduct. Worldviews cannot in the nature of the case be tested by the methods of natural science and consequently all worldviews are ultimately held by faith. Theories flow out of and are controlled by worldviews. When modern science was born, the majority of scientists held to a theistic and often Christian worldview. In our day, the majority of scientists hold to a worldview of naturalism.

Naturalism is the philosophical presupposition that all phenomena can be explained by purely natural means. They begin with this assumption at the outset of all their thinking and any supernatural appeal is ruled out by definition. All reality is interpreted in light of this controlling assumption. Note carefully: this is not science, it is philosophy. Likewise, Christianity is a worldview; it is not science, it is a philosophy. The Christian rejects the notion of naturalism and because of his or her Christian commitment, maintains that many things cannot be explained by purely naturalistic causes (e.g. miracles, life, design, existence, answered prayer, conversion, resurrection, etc.).

Naturalism is not the same as natural science, though scientists like to make us think science is the same as naturalism. I would venture to say that most of those out in the world doing science probably are not aware of this crucial distinction. They have uncritically and unconsciously swallowed the lie that naturalism (the philosophy) is synonymous with science (an operational practice).

Both Christians and non-Christians can engage in doing natural science, i.e., studying the observational world for law-like principles to explain and predict phenomena. The question, however, is which philosophy or worldview can justify doing science? That is the issue. We will return to this issue later. The famous “scientific method” in its simplest form is how scientists are supposed to proceed. It has these four steps (at least):

1. It should be repeatable in a controlled environment
2. The scientist makes repeated observations
3. They then draw data (leading to various hypotheses)
4. and they empirically verify or falsify their hypotheses

Now it should be immediately noted that this “method” is by no means without dispute among scientists and philosophers of science. The scientific method is so disputed among various philosophies of science that a univocal definition does not exist. It is often very difficult to distinguish concretely the line of demarcation between science and non-science. Every one of these methodological steps has been challenged by various philosophies of science. In particular, critical rationalists, in opposition to methodological naturalism, challenge the idea of pure empirical objectivity and neutrality; they also say that the demarcation line between natural and supernatural explanations is arbitrary. Thus at the least, we can see that “science” is no monolithic enterprise where everyone is in agreement. There are radically different views of “science” even within the unbelieving community. This should give them humility, but, well…

It is also important to understand that science is not some impersonal mechanical force out in the world, nor is it akin to a divine oracle that a select group of elites can tap into in order to discover the secret truths of the universe; science is a human endeavor, which immediately throws us into interpretation. Science is practiced by all sorts of different humans who possess all sorts of different worldviews, beliefs, desires, prejudices, and motivations. While many people like to give or still believe that science is purely an objective and unbiased pursuit of truth, it is not so. There is a large subjective element in scientific research. There is a large amount of creativity, imagination, and often shear accident in scientific discovery. To be sure, greater objectivity and accuracy are impressive due to the creation of various measurement devices and techniques. But the idea that science is purely objective, neutral, and unbiased is an idea birthed out of the Enlightenment period but rarely held to by philosophers of science in our day (e.g. Thomas Kuhn). Yet old ideas die hard. And so both non-Christians and Christians alike still believe that science is the ultimate dispenser and arbitrator of knowledge.

Science is not static; it is always changing, discovering new information and discarding older theories with newer ones. This does not necessarily mean that science is progressing upward toward more accurate knowledge of the universe. Over the last few centuries, science has worn many masks. It always functions out of various worldviews. For example, the majority of scientists in our time adhere to the philosophy of naturalism and the theory of evolution. They approach the world with this assumption and interpret everything in light of it. Yet can many of their interpretations be considered true knowledge? The Christian says no. Modern science has produced many amazing breakthroughs that have led to life enhancing technology, but modern science has also at the same time promulgated a massive amount of false ideas. Thus while science as a discipline is never static, it is also not always progressing toward some utopia of knowledge as many people think. Such an idea or assumption is more philosophic than it is scientific, and again it is an idea common to the history of ideas from pre-Socratic philosophers up to Hegel and Marx. It assumes things about the nature of reality. It has been said that if you do not like what science says about something, just wait a year, it will change. Obviously much more could be said about the nature of science, but what I have said is sufficient to demonstrate my initial contention.
For many Christians, science is like the boogie man, it is an enemy to avoid. But once we really understand what science is in its basic sense—discovering reliable patterns in things to predict future applications—we can see that not only is there nothing to fear, but Christians of all people should endorse and employ scientific thinking in their lives.
While scientific discoveries can do many wonderful things, science also has many limitations. Science is about observation of the physical world, about what is the case. It therefore has no opinion of absolute morality, since it is fallacious to move from what is the case to what ought to be the case (the naturalistic fallacy). It has little if anything to say about politics (which is largely governed by moral considerations), government, and how families and societies ought to conduct themselves. People who say they live their lives solely by science usually know nothing of science. But what about religion and God? Can’t we use science to prove the existence of God? Let us now see why we cannot.

Science and God

The most popular approach in our day to prove the existence of God is the argument from design, technically called the teleological argument. It argues that the universe and many things in the universe display marvelous design, and wherever there is an intelligent design, there must of necessity be a designer behind it. That designer is said to be God. Now as Christians we know this is true because the Bible tells us so. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. But those who use the argument from design, and other similar arguments like it, based on a natural theology, do not want the Bible to interfere with their thinking. In an attempt to be “scientific,” they falsely assume that they have to be (and actually can be) totally neutral, unbiased toward any position, and fully objective in their interpretation of the “facts.” The Bible would spoil all of that. So the Christian is proud that he is not bringing the Bible or God into his thinking. He makes sure the unbeliever with whom he is seeking to persuade sees that he is not relying on God’s revelation. He pretends to be self-sufficient in his independence, just like the unbeliever allegedly is.
In his opening presentation, Ray Comfort used this argument from design to prove “scientifically” that God exists. He held up a Coke can and said obviously it did not arise as it is by pure chance over time. The building they were in was used as another analogy. The building is scientific proof that a builder exists somewhere. Again, he used an analogy of a painting. The fact that a painting exists indicates that there surely must have been a painter who created it. He also gave analogies of the human body and of his car. But is this science? After we have seen what science is, are these scientific proofs? I would say not. They seem to be arguments of analogy and philosophy, but not science. If we used this type of reasoning then we would have to say that the existence of crop circles proves that aliens in space crafts exist. We would have to say that apparitions of Mary and Jesus in everything from a shadow on a wall to a burn in a pancake reveal that Mary and Jesus caused these designs. We would have to admit that faint sounds and voices in the static of white noise are proof that the souls of the departed are still roaming around somewhere.
The Christian cries out in response, “But we can offer alternate explanations for what caused these phenomena.” The atheist says the same thing to the Christian when he offers his argument from design. The atheist submits his theories to explain the existence of the universe and the appearance of design. These often prove unfruitful squabbles because both parties are chopping at the leaves rather than analyzing the roots that support them.
But what about Ray’s arguments? Don’t they prove that God the Creator exists? Well, aside from the fact that his arguments are not science so defined; at best they might prove that some sort of powerful entity exists, but this is a far cry from the Triune God revealed in the Bible. Here is part of the problem. These arguments can at best prove that a finite and limited God exists within our realm of reality. How so? This is because you cannot have in your conclusion new information that was not in your premises. The argument from design otherwise known as the teleological argument begins from the finite, visible, experiential, immanent, and temporal reality and tries to conclude with an infinite, invisible, incomprehensible, transcendent, and eternal personal God. This is a leap in logic called a lacuna.

Thus at best this argument can prove some form of finite being that exists within our experiential reality. From this line of reasoning then there is no reason Ray and Kirks “God” could not be powerful space aliens or even a demon. Is that an acceptable argument for Christianity? Is God pleased with that? Does this type of reasoning leave the unbeliever with an excuse (lit. an apologetic) for their unbelief, which the Bible says they have none (Rom. 1:19)? Obviously no. But none of this is surprising since these arguments are not new nor invented by Christians. They come out of ancient pagan Greek philosophy primarily from the works of Aristotle. They later were adopted by Medieval Muslim philosophers and then by the Roman Catholic philosopher, Thomas Aquinas. Protestants have unfortunately continued this ancient trend by using them today.


Furthermore, the atheists had a sufficient rebuttal of their own. We can go and find the designers, builders, and painters who created these products, but we can’t go and interview God, unless of course you say He speaks in His word. But this begs the question by presupposing the very thing you promised and boasted that you would leave aside. So the analogies themselves are not even accurate. Painter and painting are finite physical things in our temporal universe; God is infinite and non-physical (invisible), while creation is the opposite; God is eternal, while creation is temporal and dependent. The analogy does not fly.

Finally, the atheists mentioned all the flaws and problems in this world. Apart from the Bible we have no concept of an ethical fall in the beginning that has brought such problems into our world. If those who employ arguments based on natural theology were consistent, they would have to admit that this being they seek to prove, based solely on the observable evidence around us, has faults and flaws as well. Thus they might prove that Zeus exists, but would any Christian be content to leave unbelievers with that belief? Other critiques of these arguments could be offered, but such should suffice to show that we ought as Christians to set natural theology aside, and not the Bible.
But let us look at what I think is the most significant problem with trying to use science to prove God’s existence.

The Philosophic Prerequisites of Science

I believe that most scientists in the field and in the lab are largely unaware of the philosophic assumptions of science. Most scientists are uneducated in the philosophy of science that undergirds what they are doing. This was brought home to me in a most evident way after I had a discussion with one of my science teachers at college. This man had an impressive career as a geologist and earth scientist. Yet when I began asking him about the assumptions he makes when he carries out his studies, he had virtually no idea what I was talking about. While philosophy majors fill the classes on the philosophy of science, I imagine that not many science majors sign up for those courses. Yet science cannot be done in a vacuum; one must of necessity make many crucial assumptions about the nature of reality, knowledge, and ethics in order to practice and justify (even believe in) science.

Earlier I mentioned that both Christian and non-Christian can engage in the doing of natural science. That is, they can carry out laboratory experiments, observe patterns in the field, formulate mathematical models, and discover new things (like planets or cures). But that is the application of scientific principles. The crucial question, however, is which philosophy or worldview can account for and justify these exploits. The dominant philosophy in science today is naturalism. Does naturalism (and usually materialism, the view that all reality is matter/energy) provide the necessary conditions that science requires? The answer to that depends on what these necessary conditions are.
What is necessary for science to work and what is necessary, more importantly, for this working to be justified? The Hindu can practice scientific work, but that does not mean that the Hindu worldview (that all reality is illusion) can justify this practice. This is one reason why places dominated by Hinduism never produced any significant science or scientific enterprise. There is a reason why science as we know it had its birth and origins in the Western world. So what are the necessary pre-conditions for the justification of science? What conditions must exist (first) in reality itself for the intelligibility of science? Here are some of the significant ones.

The Inductive Principle

I pointed out earlier that science rests on the principle of induction, i.e. the assumption that the future will hold stable as it has in the past. This element allows for prediction. If this principle cannot be justified, we have no assurance to make any predictions. This is because the regularity of nature is the prerequisite or pre-condition to inductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning is the prerequisite to scientific investigation and practice. This is a famous “problem” in the history of philosophy, one which secular style worldviews have yet to produce any satisfying solution.
But someone might respond that we know the future will be like the past because it has always been so. One of the best philosophers of the last century, Bertrand Russell, expounded this problem most clearly. He showed that such thinking is guilty of committing the fallacy of begging the question. To appeal to past regularity in order to justify future regularity begs the question by assuming the very principle in question. In order to justify one’s use of induction one must first presuppose the truth of induction (i.e. regularity of nature). So the non-Christian cannot prove or justify inductive reasoning without committing a fallacy. A fallacy is an error in reasoning. So much for all the “we’re so rational” talk that atheists love to puff out. This is not an insignificant or trivial point to ignore.

Logic and Mathematics

But this is not all that science requires for it to function, or better yet, to be possible. Science also heavily relies on the use of logic and mathematics. Can naturalism and materialism account for the laws of logic? What is logic? It is at least three things. First, the laws of logic, such as the law of non-contradiction (that A is not non-A at the same time in the same sense), are universal in nature. They do not exist in America but not in Africa . Every mentally healthy person uses logic, for better or worse. Second, the laws of logic are absolute. Thus they are not relative; personal feelings or opinions are irrelevant to the conclusions of a sound and valid argument. Thus the laws of logic are not arbitrary or relative. They are absolute. Third, the laws of logic are abstract entities. They are not physical particles or chemicals. Thus the laws of logic are universal, absolute, and abstract entities. Can such a feature be a part of a worldview that says that all reality is composed of matter (or some form of energy) and matter alone? Can such a feature exist in a world that is said to be physical and relative? It seems not. Again, so much for all the “we’re so logical” boasting atheists are famous for spouting off. But there is more.

Freedom and Rationality

Science also requires human freedom and rationality. But can such features exist in the worldview of naturalism? Naturalism says that every event must have a natural explanation. It says that all things are determined and controlled by the laws of physics and genetics. The idea of a free self, a free mind that is more than the mere mixing and reacting of chemicals is not a part of the worldview of naturalism. If naturalism were correct, then we would have no reason to believe it were so. How is that? If all our thoughts are merely the reaction of chemicals controlled by the physics and genetics, then the idea of a self is an illusion; we are essentially no different than anything else, no different than a beetle or a plant, which also are mere matter-in-motion controlled by the same laws.

Thus you yourself did not step back and rationally analyze the world, weigh the evidence, think through various philosophies, and self-consciously and freely draw your own conclusions. It naturalism is true, you could not help but believe what you believe; you could do no otherwise because “you” do not really exist (as you think you do and as science requires). You are merely a slave to impersonal laws. If this is the case, you have no reason to believe what you believe because you could not do otherwise. Thus atheists and naturalists are quite inconsistent when they argue that their position is “true” while all others are “false.” If naturalism were true, the atheist has no reason to believe so; to believe so is inconsistent with their basic presuppositions; and inconsistency is a sign of irrationality. But there is more.

Moral Absolutes

Science also requires a strong commitment to ethics, namely honesty. The online Wikipedia article on “Science” says, “Scientists value relative truth and knowledge, and the actual progress of science requires cooperation between scientists, and is highly intolerant of dishonesty. Cooperation and honesty are thus values which are intrinsic to the actual social practice of the scientific method itself.” How ironic (and again inconsistent) that most scientists will advocate some form of moral relativism, but are “highly intolerant of dishonesty.”

Elsewhere I have argued at length that only the Christian worldview can account for and make sense of morality. Morality on a non-Christian view of the world is a category mistake; it is akin to asking what the color blue smells like. But if there is no moral absolutes and no accountability after death, why should scientists not lie, exaggerate, and deceive if it will personally benefit their career, reputation, and bank account? Even the idea of caring is an idea foreign to atheism and naturalism. This is why I so appreciated reading the atheists, Fredrich Nietzsche and Jean Paul Sartre in the history of philosophy. I appreciate them because of they at least try to be consistent and honest with their worldview. They bite the bullet and acknowledge that these moral motions and notions like honesty and caring are not a part of the inventory of their outlook. They freely attribute them to Christianity.
Other assumptions about existence must also be taken for granted in order to justify science, such as reliability of sense perception and that an objective reality actually exists. Non-Christian worldviews—especially materialistic naturalism—is fatally susceptible to the intellectual threat of skepticism, the view that no knowledge is possible. The unbeliever has no means or criteria to determine or tell them whether or not they are in the Matrix or merely a brain in the vat of a mad scientist. More could be said, but such is enough for our point here.


Now what about the Christian worldview? We maintain that it alone can account for and justify the belief in and practice of these principles. On the principle of induction, the Bible reveals that the sovereign God is in control of all things. On this view of reality, we can have full assurance that the future will be like the past because God promises so. When God made His covenant with Noah, He promised that “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22). Many other verses testify to this promise also. Apart from this promise, we could not “subdue” and take “dominion” over creation.


Further, the laws of logic find their ultimate justification in the Being and Mind of God, who alone is truth. We are made in the image of God and thus have a limited but nevertheless real capacity to think like God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Pr. 1:7) and in His light we see light (Ps. 36:9). Similarly, moral absolutes necessary to justify a “high intolerance” of dishonesty and an obligation to tell the truth, can only find meaning and possibility on a foundation of Christian theism. The same can easily be argued for the reliability of sense perception (cf. Rom. 1:19) and of an objective reality (Gen. 1:1; John 1:1-3). The way God set up, designed, and structured creation allows for real knowledge of the objective world of empirical inquiry.

Conclusion

Christian apologists who seek to prove the existence of God by attempting to use unbiased and neutral science must also face these same philosophic questions. We must ask them what universe they stand in when they offer their arguments and use science? I hope by now you can see the dilemma that they face. Here is where they are guilty of committing the logical fallacy of begging the question. These well intentioned apologists assume that science—and all the prerequisites that go along with it—can actually function apart from the Christian worldview, the very view they try so hard to set aside in their presentations. They assume that science as a discipline can be successful apart or independent of this worldview and they attempt to establish the truth of this view by using science. Yet we have seen that this is not possible. Science does not and cannot in the nature of the case prove God; God is the necessary prerequisite to make science intelligible. Christians ought therefore to stand firm in their faith, be honest with the issue, and begin their arguments with this God who alone is the precondition for anything to make sense.
Christians therefore should not argue from unbelieving soil in an attempt to appease the unbeliever’s autonomous rebellion. The Christian who starts his or her argument from unbelieving intellectual soil, to the degree that he is consistent, must necessarily end his argument in that soil. To start on turf that is entirely antithetical and hostile to Christian presuppositions but then switch and conclude with Christian assumptions is itself inconsistent and thus irrational.

Proving the existence of the true and living God of Scripture is simply beyond the bounds of natural science. To prove God’s existence we must resort rather to theological and philosophical arguments. God, at least the God of the Bible, is not an observable entity. Furthermore, the transcendent God of Scripture is not on the same level of being that we are or that we experience. God’s ontological being is not the same as our ontological or metaphysical being. The Creator and the creator do not share the same ontology, or being. All this to say, the God of Scripture, as opposed to all other finite deities (i.e. idols) is transcendent, that is, He is beyond or outside the experiential universe.

God is not only beyond time and space, His very essence is of a wholly different sort. Thus one cannot move from the visible, finite, and temporal to the invisible, infinite, and eternal without making a massive logical leap (i.e. a fatal fallacy). Finally, God is not a law-like principle that we can test repeatedly and expect mechanical regularity. God is the most and only free agent. He is above the “laws” of science. The so-called laws of science are nothing more than a sentence on a piece of paper attempting to describe how the sovereign God of all creation holds His universe together ( Col. 1:16-18; Heb. 1:3; John 1:1-3).

To not be able to prove God’s existence by using science is no great loss. It is only a loss if you assume that science is the sole source of knowledge and truth. It is only a loss if you assume that man is the source and origin of truth, justice, morals, meaning, and beauty. But if you assume these things, then you are a devout humanist and probably not a Christian.

Soul Sleep and the Importance of Sound Doctrine

"Be diligent to study yourself approved unto God, as Workers who do not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the Word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).


"If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.

"Wherever the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that one point."
- Martin Luther

Recently, I have been asked why "soul sleep" is, in my estimation, such a "pernicious" or destructive doctrine.

My response to this is that in our postmodern and propositionally bankrupt Western Culture, all doctrine is deemed abhorrent and irrelevant by secular society and this indifference to sound Biblical theology as greatly influenced the Evangelical Christian culture in America today as well.

Secular society's hatred of even the concept of absolute Biblical truth has greatly spread like a ideological virus throughout American Evangelicalism, to the point that attempting to defend the traditional Evangelical stance against temporal immortality and for the theological view that people are conscious before the resurrection, is deemed the height of futility and arrogant and repressive obstructionist. Yet, in my estimation, every jot and tittle of the Word of God is of vital importance since it was communicated by Almighty God for His Church to know propositionally. Therefore, I believe the concerned Evangelical believer should not give one iota or inch to the mindset of doctrinal relativism, but instead defend and proclaim every bit of the revealed Word of Almighty God, irrespective of how insignificant, mundane or trivial it might appear to those skeptical of such committed adherence to traditional Evangelical theology.

The issue of "soul sleep" is important because it is important to Almighty God the Sovereign Lord of the Universe, and if God saw fit within His providential will to address the issue related to the state between death and the resurrection, then it must be important to all those who love the Word of God in sincerity and in truth.

In an earlier era of American Evangelicalism, long before the inception of seeker sensitive and emergent church Christianity, the Evangelical Christian Church within the contiguous United States placed a tremendous emphasis on the study of and the vigorous adherence to sound Evangelical theology.

While the doctrine of "soul sleep" may not be as "pernicious" as any other false Biblical teaching that is contrary to the revealed Word of Almighty God ( Acts 7:58-60, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 and Philippians 1:21-24 conclusively demonstrates the veracity of the tradtional Evangelical view that people are very much conscious after death and before their resurrection), the point is that no doctrine is unimportant and deserves anything less than full defense by the seasoned believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anything less than a full defense of every aspect of the Word of God is to retreat from our calling to defend the faith once and for all delievered to the saints.

Good Article on Soul Sleep

From:

http://www.letusreason.org/Doct15.htm

Is there an afterlife? There are two extremes that are used to distort the Bible doctrine of the intermediate state of the believer after death. One is Spiritism, that teaches everyone has an afterlife in heaven, so it doesn't matter at all what you believe here on earth. Within this is the belief that we can contact the dead. Those who die have not really passed on into another place away from earth, but they are living in the spirit world, a world which is a dimension right here on earth which we cannot see. In other words, they are among us, they are watching and helping us. The Bible clearly denies this fact by showing that there are two destinations in the afterlife, and none of these are related to any closeness to the living. We cannot contact them and they cannot contact us (Lk.16, Deut.18:10-12).
The other extreme is evolution, that this is all there is and that there is no afterlife, so we needn't consider what happens when we die. This is what Atheism teaches, that there is no eternality to our soul and we all just go back to the ground since that's what we're made of and there is no spirit or soul in man.
The Jehovah's Witness's teaching is quite similar to this since they believe that when you die both the soul and body are extinguished, the body taking longer to cease to exist, yet the soul is immediately snuffed out. Atheism also believes in anihilationism. The Devil, who invents these views, will use both ends to distort the truth. On one hand he has people choose to believe that there is no after life, and on the other he distorts it to say that we all go to the same place, no matter how we live or what we believe in our life right now everything will be alright.
So what exactly happens to us when we die? Is there an afterlife? Do we cease to exist as atheists say? Or does life continue on as the spiritualists state, with everyone ending up in the same place where we will all be comfortable? Throughout the history of mankind, the afterlife has been an enigma. Almost all religions believe in an afterlife, some quality of life in the spiritual realm that exists afterwards, either in a nebulous world or in having an abundant life in a place called heaven. The immortality of the soul is something hoped for by all people. This has also been a subject debated within the church for centuries. Does the Bible teach existence after death, or do we cease to exist, as Jehovah's Witness claim? And what of the soul-sleep of the Seventh Day Adventists?
First, let's look at what the Jehovah Witnesses believe. This comes from Charles Taze Russell being influenced by what was called Second Adventism, (meaning the second advent). This is before they became the Seventh Day Adventists where they based themselves on the Sabbath day belief. Jehovah Witnesses believe that when someone dies their personality and life is so united with the body that it ceases to exist. This not only occurs with believers, but also non-believers and with Jesus, so God has to refashion everyone by memory.
What we're dealing with here is re-creation. What they have is not a resurrection, because the individual's body and soul are carbon copied to exist later on Paradise Earth. This is what they teach as their good news of the kingdom. Everyone is going to live on paradise earth one day. one of the problems is if you die before the resurrection, well, you won't be there. You will not participate in the new earth because God will copy you from memory and your duplicate will be enjoying all the benefits of all your hard work for the kingdom. Of course, none of this is biblical, it's all fantasy and never going to happen. If we ask the Jehovah's Witness about this and explain this to those who come to our door it can strongly affect their false belief system and make them question what hope they have as a Jehovah Witness. So annihilations, which is what they teach, is not a biblical answer for how God deals with the after life of the soul and the body.
When we come to the subject of soul-sleep we find this view has been sporadically held throughout church history. The Ana-Baptists believed in this in the 1500's. King Edward VI stated in his fortieth article out of forty-two, that "The souls that do depart hence do sleep, being without all sense, feeling, or perceiving until the day of judgment, do utterly decent from the right that is closed to us in Holy Scriptures."
In modern times we have two well known major groups that hold to this teaching. One is Christadelphianism and the other is Seventh Day Adventism. Soul-sleep is the denial of man's conscious existence between when he dies and the resurrection day. It's what is called the intermediate state of the believer, in which their view is both the body and the soul lay rest in the ground.
Christadelphian's deny the existence of hell and they hold to what is called conditional immortality, as do the Seventh Day Adventists. What most groups do, who deny an immortal existence either with the Lord or in punishment in the hereafter, end up camping on the Old Testament Scriptures to prove their points.
We need to understand that there are a number of mysteries in the Bible that were not fully revealed until Christ came. This doctrine comes under that heading. It was concealed in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament. What most people do is look to the Old Testament Scriptures to validate this teaching such as Eccl. 9:5-6, "For the living know they shall die: but the dead know not any thing," or Psalm 146:4, "His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish". Or Psalm 115:17, "The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence" or Psalm 6:5 "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks? And of course, there is Ezek. 18:4, "the soul that sinneth, it shall die. "From these Scriptures and many others, the Seventh Day Adventists and other groups make their air-tight case that death is a peaceful sleep for the soul. Well, actually, it's not so air-tight, it's more like Swiss cheese. This means that it is spiritual death, a separation not a non existence. Otherwise they would cease to exist as soon as they sin. There are many scripture that say the soul is dead even when someone is alive, he is dead even when alive
When someone does a study on this or any other subject, they need to take all the body of literature and weigh it out and see which covenant these things were spoken under, are they a metaphor, is it a hyperbole, is it poetic? To make biblical sense out of this serious issue, we need to look at all the literature of that particular subject.
Because this is not just a spirit sleeping, waiting for the resurrection that is being promoted. This doctrine actually affects other crucial doctrines, such as eternal punishment and eternal life.
As I read the fundamental doctrines of Seventh Day Adventism, there are a few Scriptures either missing or purposely neglected which actually changes one's view on this particular subject, because they hold vital information on the afterlife. Before I go to that I'm going to walk us through the arguments and some biblical answers.
There is poetry in the Psalms, for instance Psalm 22:26:" The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the Lord that seek him; your heart shall live forever." Now, logically, I don't think anyone takes this Scripture in its solid, literal sense or would believe that someone's physical heart is going to live forever while our body and our soul die. Our heart is not going to be outside our body living forever. The word heart obviously means something other than how we interpret it today. the intent of this word means something other than the physical organ. Proverbs 23:7 tells us as a man thinks in his heart, so is he, or Matt. 13:5, lest they should understand with their heart. Obviously there's an intent of this Scripture that means not just the physical organ.
Actually the word heart represents the inward man, his soul, his spirit, and is usually interchangeable throughout the Scriptures. Just as soul can be substituted for one's life, their heart, mind and body, so can the word heart. They are interchangeable throughout the Scriptures.
The main argument for those who promote soul-sleep are these: the word sleeping is for those who die, that it is unconsciousness (1 Thess.4:13-14, 1 Cor. 15:20,51). Some go so far to say that one's eternal destiny is determined, not at death, but later at the final judgment. And some will even claim that we can still repent, even in the afterlife. We don't find this is the Seventh Day Adventism but there are other groups that believe this kind of teaching.
So, let's look at the word sleep, because that's what's crucial here. What does sleep mean? The Bible uses this term when speaking of death in that the physical body, a dead body, looks very similar in this state. It's always referring to the physical body, not the soul. It is the appearance of the body that is sleeping, no one is able to see the spirit . It is also a term used exclusively for believers. The term sleeping, in reference to death, is not used for unbelievers. I find that to be crucial in understanding what the Bible is trying to portray to us when it says that the dead in Christ are sleeping.
Believers and unbelievers do not experience the same afterlife. So, sleeping is used for one who is in Christ, it is God' s viewpoint of a temporary suspension of physical activity, yet, there is a continuation of the mind and the soul, the personality.
Does the believer wake up in the resurrection? Is he put back in an immortal physical body? Yes, he is, yet, we never see a spirit resurrected because they have not died like the body. The term resurrection only applies to the body.
The Bible is very clear that the spirit can live outside the body. Angels can and do function outside a body and yet, they can also function within a body. We see they can possess people and actually there can be more than one spirit or fallen angels inside a body. Although this alone does not make a strong case for a continuation of an afterlife, it does show that a spirit can operate and function outside the body.
There are numerous passages that teach that humans are conscious after their death, so let's look at a few. Matt. 17:1-8 and Luke 9:28-36 are just a few of the passages on the transfiguration where we find Moses and Elijah appearing on the Mount with Jesus and a few of His disciples. Elijah was taken to heaven alive while Moses died a physical death, yet, Moses is consciously alive just like Elijah. Moses couldn't have been resurrected because Christ is to be the firstfruits of the resurrection and he had risen yet. While Christ raised may from the dead they were people that recently died not old Testament saints dead for hundred of years. There were others raised to life on earth on earth by Jesus only to die again later. But, here is someone who is dead for 1,500 years, so it isn't Moses' decomposed body brought back out of the ground as a resurrection, this was a spiritual appearance.
Jesus taught that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the living, not of the dead, referring to Exodus 3:5, I am who I am, insinuating that all these prophets were still living. This silenced the Sadducee’s who challenged Him on this matter because they did not believe in an afterlife. So we have Moses here, appearing in spirit. That is the only plausible explanation because, again, Jesus had to be the first body resurrected unto eternal in life in that way.
Paul himself relates a story in the New Testament In 2 Cor. 12:1-4 in which, fourteen years before, he was caught up to the third heaven. This is the place where God dwells. He calls this place Paradise and he was awed by the experience and the things that he heard but, he wasn't sure if this occurred in his body or without his body, so he wasn't sure if he was alive or dead when this event occurred. Now obviously, his corruptible body could not enter heaven since all must go through transformation to be able to function there. Mortal flesh is unable to enter heaven, as Jesus said, flesh and blood cannot enter, so there has to be some kind of transformation to enter in there.
What happens to believers, according to the Bible, at death? This is the question we're pondering about as far as soul-sleep. Do we just rest in the ground just like our body? What exactly happens to our body, what exactly happens to our soul? The Bible speaks about a material and immaterial part of man. We find in Gen. 3:19 our bodies are made of the earth and they return to the earth. In Phil. 1:23-24, Paul states that he desired to depart to be with Christ, which is far better. Now, Christ is in heaven, He's not in the ground, so if this was soul-sleep, he being with Christ, Christ would have to be in the ground. Paul goes on to say, nevertheless, to be in the flesh is more needful for you. so he wanted to stay to help out the saints in the church and fulfill his ministry.
We also find in 2 Peter 1:13, Peter talks about putting off his tabernacle, or tent, calling it a temporary dwelling place. James 2:26 tells us the body without the spirit is dead. He doesn't say the spirit also dies, he says the body without the spirit dies. In Gen. 35:18, speaking of Rachel, it tells us, her soul was departing and she died. The spirit exists afterwards and gives us life, when he leaves the body it dies. The body dies and goes back into the ground, yet the spirit continues on with a life of its own.
Eccl. 12: 6-7 describes in poetry the shattering of life, that the dust returns to earth, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Yet, earlier, in verse 5, he writes a man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. So Solomon is speaking about those who turn to God as he started off this chapter, stating remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before difficult days come. And then he speaks about our eternal home. If it is sleep in the grave, as people are claiming, then that means we are going to stay in the grave, the ground, forever, if our soul actually sleeps. They are using this scripture in a way that it's an eternal home in the ground and we are never to be raised up. Of course, that is not what it means.
One of the scriptures they use is Eccl. 9:5, the dead know nothing. Now this is true, since it is the body that dies, that part of the man which dies and goes into the ground, knows nothing. But there is a part of man that flies away at death and returns to God who gave it, Psalm 90. So, Those who believe, go to rest in Christ. It couldn't mean only our breath since that would not go to God but to the atmosphere.
Many of the Old Testament Scriptures, rather that showing a state of unconsciousness of the soul, are really languages of appearance, that after death they had the inability to continue the process that was normal while they were here on earth in their bodies. So it is a language of appearance as man's perspective is looking at the body functions. Yet, in Heb. 9:27 we find after death, the judgment, in other words one goes either to heaven or to hell, and it is determined at death, not afterwards. So we go to rewards, to rest, or to punishment and eternal separation. Death is not a cessation of existence, but a separation of existence. We have choices to make now that will effect our eternal destiny. Jesus knew very well of this and he warned of it constantly.
Now, what of the Scripture in 1 Tim. 6:16 speaking of God, who alone has immortality? The Scripture applies mortal and immortality to one's bodily condition. It is the body that is mortal, never the soul, or spirit. For example, Paul writes in 1 Cor. 15: this mortal will put on immortality, speaking of the resurrection of our bodies. Likewise, in 1 Tim. 6:16, he's speaking of Jesus as the immortal God/man. Spirit, by its own nature, is a deathless entity. God is spirit, and so are angels. God is spirit and fashioned man in the image of Himself, and, while God has always existed, no beginning or end, he has given mankind a limited similarity, like Himself, something that lives on. The body is described as mortal the soul is never described in these terms. Paul states this mortal must put on immortality (1 Cor.15:53). He is speaking of a resurrected body just as it was said in 2 Pt.1:13 to put off this tent as a temporary dwelling. In. Rom. 6:9: "Knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him." Therefore 1 Tim.6:16 means he alone has immortality as his nature and being the first fruit raised in the resurrection.
In our human experience our spirit never feels old, no matter how old the body gets our spirit inside does not feel the same age. If one becomes an invalid it doesn’t affect their spirit, their spirit does not also become an invalid , it essentially is unaffected by the outer person it still is free. Science tells us our body renews all its cells every 7 years. If we were only our body we would have to relearn everything again because all of our knowledge is contained in the physical aspect of man. But this again is not so, even the bible shows people who died in heaven remembering and recognizing others.
The New Testament teaches Spirit existence after death as doctrine. James says the body without the spirit is dead not the spirit itself. For example, in Rev. 6:9-10, we see souls who have been slain, under the alter of God, asking the Lord to avenge them. We find they are conscious and they are speaking. The soul and personality of each one of us lives on. Jesus taught in Matt. 10:28, Fear not those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. The Greek word for destruction, aplollumi, has numerous meanings. We have to look at the context it's put in. It can mean perish, lost, destroy, to render useless, or to give over to eternal misery, and I believe that is the correct rendition when we look at where he's saying the soul will be in the afterlife of those who disobey the Gospel.
In Matt. 25:46 there are those in the judgment who go into everlasting punishment and those who go into everlasting life. The same Greek word means eternal and forever. If there is no eternal punishment, then the same word that is applied for eternal life means there is no eternal life, ever. So the Greek, appropriated to both these places that destined for those who either believe or not believe, means eternal. Likewise in Luke 16, the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus always used real-life situations to illustrate His teachings. In this story He actually names the person. Jesus does not teach fictitious stories and it's not a parable, in my opinion, because He actually names a person, which He did not do in parables.
These are living conditions in the afterlife of torment and peace. The New Covenant has revealed what was unclear in the Old Testament writings. 2 Cor. 4:16,18 tells us "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. . . .While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." Now here, Paul applies the outer man to the temporal and the tabernacle we live in, and the inner man to the eternal. In the following verse he states, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" Here is the scripture that is often neglected and, put in context, we find it fully elaborating on the continual existence of man, 2 Cor. 5:1-8. He sums it all up in verse 8 saying, we are always confident knowing that while we are home in the body we are absent from the Lord. and he goes on to say to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When all our earthly tent is dissolved, we can be assured that we will be in the presence of the One we serve and we love here on earth We will be further clothed. This is the Scripture that is consistently neglected by those who promote soul-sleep. As in Phil.1:23 Paul states to be with Christ is far better. This would be impossible if we go to sleep in the ground with the body.
Likewise, in 1 Thess. 4:13-17, we are told that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. Then he states, those who are alive will not precede those who have fallen asleep. The Lord from heaven will come down with a trumpet call and the dead in Christ will rise first. And then those who are alive will be caught up together with them in the air with the Lord forever.
Since the resurrection did not occur before this event, who is Jesus bringing with him from heaven? They don't have bodies, the resurrection hasn't occurred, so they are immaterial souls that will be united with their bodies at this resurrection event. They existed fellowshipping with the Lord in heaven. Jude says the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints. Paul describes this event in 1 Cor. 15:51 Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed. When? At the last trump. The dead are raised incorruptible, and then he goes on to describe that mortal will put on immortality. So he's talking about our bodies. Then death, he states, is swallowed up in victory; our souls are not dead because we were made alive in Christ.
Rom. 8:11 says, But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who dwells in you.
There is a day of uniting with those who fell asleep in Christ, with their bodies to be transformed and live forever, and the hope of the believer is that, whether we live or die, we are to be with the Lord. It is stated in the Scriptures, I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, death, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you're in Christ be persuaded, be encouraged, we have assurance. Yet, there are many other people all around us who don't have this assurance and I hope that we will be the ones to bring the good news to them. We should not sorrow as the world does (1 Thess.4:16-18)

What's So Pernicious About Soul Sleep?

Part 1.

"So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."

(2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body" (Philippians 1:21-24).

"While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep" (Acts 7:59-60).


Well, it is interesting what things strike a cord with the readers of my blogs and essay's. My recent work entitled, "Is the Seventh Day Adventist Church a Cult?" even drew Nathan Hitchcock, my old "Cross Talk" co-host on Biola's KBBK's radio station into the fray, as well as Biblical Unitarian Patrick Navas. These fine gentlemen and others have asked me essentially, what is so "pernicious" about the doctrine of "Soul Sleep" espoused by Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians and other abberant religious groups.

The doctrine of Soul Sleep or unconscious temporal mortality essentially postulates the wayward thesis that human beings do not possess immortal souls, rather their souls are their physical existence and when the body dies, the soul goes to the grave to wait the resurrection. Some heretical cults such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Christadelphians teach, the soul goes to the grave, subsequently those who are righteous are risen at the resurrection and those who are evil are anniliated.

For the sake of time, I will limit the scope of this response essay to the doctrine of "Soul Sleep" exclusively and exclude the additional conception of annilationism, since not all advocates of "Soul Sleep" necessarily espouse the doctrine that the soul of the wicked is annilated at the resurrection. If time and interest arises for me to take on the issue of annilationism, I shall.

Now, the doctrine of Soul Sleep is "pernicious" or destructive because it is contrary to the Bible's explicit teaching that, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord", that is, the Bible clearly teaches that the soul of a Christian immediately goes to heaven to be with Christ. Thus, the souls of redeemed people immediately are with Jesus Christ in heaven and are not "sleeping" or in a state of unconsciousness. Paul said to be "absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" and that he had a "desire to depart to be with Christ." Yet, the main argument for those who promote soul-sleep are these: the word sleeping is for those who die, that it is unconsciousness (1 Thess.4:13-14, 1 Cor. 15:20,51).

In the days ahead, I will further develop my thoughts on "soul sleep" I am in Hawaii, so be patient with me, I'll get to this little by little until I develop a full essay on the immortality of the soul.

Is the Seventh Day Adventist Church a Cult?

"But examine everything carefully, hold fast to the truth"
(1 Thessalonians 5:21).


The weather has been fantastic here on Oahu and the other day, while taking King Kameamea hwy to north shore to experience the famous "surfing beaches" such as Pipeline, I saw a rather large Seventh Day Adventist Church on the north side of this beautiful island paradise and I realized that even being more than 2,500 miles from home that I cannot escape the reality of Biblical truth and false teaching. After seeing the Seventh Day Adventist Church my mind began to ponder the following...

I have noticed that the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) has a significant presence here in Oahu. Here are some of my thoughts on the Seventh Day Adventist Church and American Evangelicalism.

In today's postmodern world, the notion of absolute truth has been all but eviscerated from the collective consciousnesses of the vast majority of citizens now residing in contemporary society. Even more so, the very idea of an Evangelical body of doctrinal specificity and theological exactitude that determines the criterion of Biblical orthodoxy and heresy is voraciously deemed irrelevant, abhorrent and the height of Fundamentalist obstructionism by the atheistic and humanistic liberal intelligentsia that sets the ideological trends in our society.

Even in most quarters of today's Evangelical Christian Church in America, doctrinal precision and personal stands for conscience sake and doctrinal integrity goes against the grain and ecclesiastical expectations of today's theologically lapsed, seeker sensitive, pragmatic and emergent church orientated churches.

However, in diametrical counter distinction to this ad hoc doctrinal relativism, the Evangelical Christian Church since its inception has always been founded on and greatly concerned about Biblical truth. The Evangelical Christian Church is founded on the Biblical and revelational proposition that an "Evangelical theology" is possible.

That is, in direct ideological opposition to contemporary post modernistic anti-doctrinarism, historic Christianity maintains and espouses that Almighty God does exist and has spoken specifically, propositionally and coherently to human civilization in the perfectly and uniquely inspired, infallible, inerrant, authoritative and self-authenticating Word of Almighty God (2 Timothy 3:15-17 and 2 Peter 1:18-21).

Having established that the Bible alone is the Evangelical Christians absolute and only standard of truth and in attempt to answer the question that serves as the eponymous title of this theological essay entitled, "Is the Seventh Day Adventist Church a Cult?” a specific Biblical criterion and definition of what Evangelicals mean by "cult" must be first determined. In other words, "what is a cult?"

While the term “cult” is not used within the pages of inspired Biblical Writ, the concept of heresy and false teaching is and Conservative Evangelical Christians residing within the North American Hemisphere have generally utilized the term "cult" to personify any religious group or sect that teaches a doctrine or dogma that is heretical. Heresy, according to the Oxford Dictionary is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary to the Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church.

The pages of Holy Scripture and the written annals of ecclesiastical history are replete with a myriad of examples of heretical sects and aberrant groups that have arisen to teach unsound doctrines to draw away members of the true Church of Christ. The Arians, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are among those pernicious heretical sects who have been successful in drawing away members from the Faithful. (Matthew 7:13-15, Matthew 24:1-44, Acts 20, Galatians 1, 1 John 3-4 and Jude are chapters in the Bible that deal with this conception of false teachers and heretical doctrine being propagated amongst the elect.

Generally, a “cult” or heretical sect will teach egregious errors contrary to established Christian doctrine and in particular will be heretical concerning the triune God (they will deny the Trinity), justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone based on the authority of the Bible alone. And finally most cultic sects will supplant and replace the authority of the Bible with their own derived authority such as the Book of Mormon.

Now, in the case of the Seventh Day Adventist organization, (from here on mentioned as SDA) a tremendous debate has raged within conservative Evangelicalism over the doctrinal status of the SDA Church. For example, Anthony A. Hoekema, in his book, the Four Major Cults, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1963, Hoekema argues that the SDA is definitely heretical and a cult, yet the late Evangelical cult expert Walter Martin in his book “The Kingdom of the Cults, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1965, argues that while the SDA has several serious doctrinal problems, Martin would not place the SDA in the same category as other groups deemed “cultic” such as the LDS Church and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In contemporary conservative Evangelical circles this same difference of opinion still remains as to how Biblical Evangelicals should view the SDA church.
In the face of this debate within contemporary Evangelicalism over the doctrinal and ecclesiastical status of the SDA church, the question immediately arises, “Why the Evangelical Disagreement over the Seventh Day Adventist Church?”
The issue of doctrinal status of the SDA church and how Biblical Evangelical Christians should regard Seventh Day Adventists is a complex one and every SDA member must be evaluated on a case by case basis. Some members or more biblical than others.

The SDA church is a religious organization that is well known for teaching that observing Saturday, the seventh day of the week is a universal and transcendent mandate for all humanity and that God commands all people to keep Saturday as the Sabbath.

The SDA movement was established in 1863 and grew out of the “Millerite Movement” in the mid 1800’s that gained enormous popularity when a Baptist minister named William Miller (1782-1849) sensationally predicted that Jesus Christ would return on October 22, 1844.

When the Second Coming of Christ (the Second Advent) did not occur a major disappointment occurred with many of Millers followers leaving the movement. However a significant portion of Miller's disciples remained within the movement and eventually began to follow a woman that many SDA believed to be a divinely inspired prophet named Ellen G. White (1827-1815).

During Ellen G. White's lifetime she was a prolific author (wrote 40 books, 5,000 journal articles and over 50,000 written pages in total) and undisputed prophetic leader of the SDA movement that now numbers over 14 million people worldwide.

Among the aberrant teachings of Ellen G. White and the SDA are as follows (From the Official SDA Website)

see: http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html

1. Sabbath Keeping is Mandatory:
The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts. (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; Luke 4:16; Isa. 56:5, 6; 58:13, 14; Matt. 12:1-12; Ex. 31:13-17; Eze. 20:12, 20; Deut. 5:12-15; Heb. 4:1-11; Lev. 23:32; Mark 1:32.)

2. Levitical Dietary Laws

"Along with adequate exercise and rest, we are to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified in the Scriptures."


3. Soul Sleep (the dead are unconscious until the Second Coming)

The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later. (Rom. 6:23; 1 Tim. 6:15, 16; Eccl. 9:5, 6; Ps. 146:3, 4; John 11:11-14; Col. 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:1-10.)

4. The Authority of Ellen G. White


One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen. G. White . As the Lord's messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:14-21; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 12:17; 19:10.)


5. Investigative Judgment

There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the time of His ascension. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry. It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Heb. 8:1-5; 4:14-16; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; 1:3; 2:16, 17; Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14; 9:24-27; Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6; Lev. 16; Rev. 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:12.)


Conclusion

Many people over the years have asked me what I thought about the SDA Church. While the issue is complex, I generally believe there is enough false and destructive teaching in the SDA religion, that people should be very cautious about attending a SDA church. Sabbath Keeping, Keeping Old Testament Dietary Laws, Soul Sleep, the role of Ellen G. White and the Unbiblical and unwarranted teaching of the "investigative judgment" are seriously aberrant and false teachings that every Christian should avoid. Whether or not the SDA religion is a cult or not, I cannot say for certain, but it's shown me enough for me to avoid it. The SDA concepts of Sabbatariansim, "investigative judgment" Ellen G. White's prophetic authority and the pernicious doctrine of "soul sleep" are aberrant at best and border on being heretical.