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MORMON IS A CULT.
Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from
a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] Although the biblical approach should be the Christian's primary focus, Dr. Stephen E. Parrish and I have suggested another approach in several articles and books.[2] This approach focuses on the _philosophical_ rather than the _biblical_ problems with the Mormon concept of God. In this article I will (1) compare and contrast the Christian and Mormon concepts of God and (2) present three philosophical problems with the Mormon view. *THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPT OF GOD* Christians claim that their concept of God is found in the Bible. Known as _classical theism,_ this view of God has long been considered the orthodox theistic position of the Western world. Though there are numerous divine attributes that we could examine, for our present purposes it is sufficient to say that the God of classical theism is at least (1) personal and incorporeal (without physical parts), (2) the Creator and Sustainer of everything else that exists, (3) omnipotent (all-powerful), (4) omniscient (all-knowing), (5) omnipresent (everywhere present), (6) immutable (unchanging) and eternal, and (7) necessary and the only God. Let us now briefly look at each of these attributes. *1. Personal and Incorporeal.* According to Christian theism, God is a personal being who has all the attributes that we may expect from a perfect person: self-consciousness, the ability to reason, know, love, communicate, and so forth. This is clearly how God is described in the Scriptures (e.g., Gen. 17:11; Exod. 3:14; Jer. 29:11). God is also incorporeal. Unlike humans, God is not uniquely associated with one physical entity (i.e., a body). This is why the Bible refers to God as Spirit (John 4:24). *2. The Creator and Sustainer of Everything Else that Exists.* In classical theism, all reality is contingent on God -- that is, all reality has come into existence and _continues_ to exist because of Him. Unlike a god who forms the universe out of preexistent matter, the God of classical theism created the universe _ex nihilo_ (out of nothing). Consequently, it is on God alone that everything in the universe depends for its existence (_see_ Acts 17:25; Col. 1:16, 17; Rom. 11:36; Heb. 11:3; 2 Cor. 4:6; Rev. 4:11). *3. Omnipotent.* God is also said to be omnipotent or all-powerful. This should be understood to mean that God can do anything that is (1) logically possible (_see_ below), and (2) consistent with being a personal, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, wholly perfect, and necessary Creator. Concerning the latter, these attributes are not _limitations_ of God's power, but _perfections._ They are attributes at their infinitely highest level, which are essential to God's nature. For example, since God is perfect, He cannot sin; because He is personal, He is incapable of making Himself impersonal; because He is omniscient, He cannot forget. All this is supported by the Bible when its writers assert that God cannot sin (Mark 10:18; Heb. 6:18), cease to exist (Exod. 3:14; Mal. 3:6), or fail to know something (Job 28:24; Ps. 139:17-18; Isa. 46:10a). Since God is a perfect person, it is necessarily the case that He is incapable of acting in a less than perfect way -- which would include sinning, ceasing to exist, and being ignorant. When the classical theist claims that God can only do what is logically possible, he or she is claiming that God cannot do or create what is logically _im_possible. Examples of logically impossible entities include "married bachelors," "square circles," and "a brother who is an only child." But these are not _really_ entities; they are merely contrary terms that are strung together and _appear_ to say something. Hence, the fact that God cannot do the logically impossible does not in any way discount His omnipotence. Also counted among the things that are logically impossible for God to do or create are those imperfect acts mentioned above which a wholly perfect and immutable being cannot do -- such as sin, lack omniscience, and/or cease to exist. Since God is a personal, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, wholly perfect, and necessary Creator, it follows that any act _inconsistent_ with these attributes would be necessarily (or logically) impossible for God to perform. But this fact does not count against God's omnipotence, since, as St. Augustine points out, "Neither do we lessen [God's] power when we say He cannot die or be deceived. This is the kind of inability which, if removed, would make God less powerful than He is.... It is precisely because He is omnipotent that for Him some things are impossible."[3] But what about Luke 1:37, where we are told that "_nothing_ is impossible with God?" (NIV) Addressing this question, St. Thomas Aquinas points out that this verse is not talking about internally contradictory or contrary "entities," since such "things" are not really things at all. They are merely words strung together that _appear_ to be saying something when in fact they are saying nothing.[4] Hence, _everything_ is possible for God, but the logically impossible is _not_ truly a _thing._ *4. Omniscient.* God is all-knowing, and His all-knowingness encompasses the _past, present,_ and _future._[5] Concerning God's unfathomable knowledge, the psalmist writes: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you" (Ps. 139:17,18). Elsewhere he writes, "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit" (147:5). The author of Job writes of God: "For he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens" (Job 28:24). Scripture also teaches that God has total knowledge of the past (Isa. 41:22). Concerning the future, God says: "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please,'" (Isa. 46:10). Elsewhere Isaiah quotes God as saying that _knowledge_ (not opinion or highly probable guesses) of the future is essential for deity (Isa. 41:21-24), something that distinguished God from the many false gods of Isaiah's day. *5. Omnipresent.* Logically following from God's omniscience, incorporeality, omnipotence, and role as creator and sustainer of the universe is His omnipresence. Since God is not limited by a spatio-temporal body, knows everything immediately without benefit of sensory organs, and sustains the existence of all that exists, it follows that He is in some sense present everywhere. Certainly it is the Bible's explicit teaching that God is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-12; Jer. 23:23-24). *6. Immutable and Eternal.* When a Christian says that God is immutable and eternal, he or she is saying that God is _unchanging_ (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 6:17; Isa. 46:10b) and has _always existed_ as God throughout all eternity (Ps. 90:2; Isa. 40:28; 43:12b, 13; 57:15a; Rom. 1:20a; 1 Tim. 1:17).[6] There never was a time when God was not God. Although God certainly seems to change in response to how His creatures behave -- such as in the case of the repenting Ninevites -- His nature remains the same. No matter how the Ninevites would have responded to Jonah's preaching, God's unchanging righteousness would have remained the same: He is merciful to the repentant and punishes the unrepentant. Hence, a God who is responsive to His creatures is certainly consistent with, and seems to be entailed in, an unchanging nature that is necessarily _personal._ *7. Necessary and the Only God.* The Bible teaches that although humans at times worship some beings _as if_ these beings were really gods (1 Cor. 8:4-6), there is only one true and living God by nature (Isa. 43:10; 44:6, 8; 45:5, 18, 21, 22; Jer. 10:10; Gal. 4:8; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 1 Tim. 2:5; John 17:3; 1 Thess. 1:9). And since the God of the Bible possesses _all_ power (_see_ above), there cannot be any other God, for this would mean that two beings possess all power. That, of course, is patently absurd, since if a being possesses all of everything (in this case, power) there is, by definition, nothing left for anyone else.[7] Moreover, since everything that exists depends on God, and God is unchanging and eternal, it follows that God cannot _not_ exist. In other words, He is a _necessary_ being,[8] whereas everything else is contingent. *THE MORMON CONCEPT OF GOD* Apart from biblical influences, the Mormon doctrine of God is derived primarily from three works regarded by the Mormon church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS]) as inspired scriptu The Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants (hereafter D&C), and the Pearl of Great Price. (Most of these writings were supposedly received through "revelation" by the movement's founder and chief prophet, Joseph Smith.) It is also found in Smith's other statements and doctrinal commentaries. Although not regarded by the LDS church as scripture per se, Smith's extracanonical pronouncements on doctrine are almost universally accepted by the Mormon laity and leadership as authoritative for Mormon theology. The Mormon doctrine of God is also derived from statements and writings of the church's ecclesiastical leaders -- especially its presidents, who are considered divinely inspired prophets. Additionally, we will consider the arguments of contemporary LDS philosophers who have attempted to present Mormonism's doctrine of God as philosophically coherent.[9] Because there are so many doctrinal sources, it may appear (with some justification) that it is difficult to determine precisely what the Mormons believe about God. For example, the Book of Mormon (first published in 1830) seems to teach a strongly Judaic monotheism with modalistic (God is only one person manifesting in three modes) overtones (_see_ Alma 11:26-31, 38; Moroni 8:18; Mosiah 3:5-8; 7:27; 15:1-5), while the equally authoritative Pearl of Great Price (first published in 1851) clearly teaches that more than one God exists (_see_ Abraham 4-5). This is why a number of Mormon scholars have argued that their theology evolved from a traditional monotheism to a uniquely American polytheism.[10] Consequently, our chief concern will not be the historical development of Mormon theism, but rather, the dominant concept of God _currently_ held by the LDS church. Though there is certainly disagreement among Mormon scholars concerning some precise points of doctrine, I submit that the church currently teaches that God is, in effect, (1) a contingent being, who was at one time not God; (2) finite in _knowledge_ (not truly omniscient), _power_ (not omnipotent), and _being_ (not omnipresent or immutable); (3) one of many gods; (4) a corporeal (bodily) being, who physically dwells at a particular spatio-temporal location and is therefore not omnipresent like the classical God (respecting His intrinsic divine nature -- we are not considering the Incarnation of the Son of God here); and (5) a being who is subject to the laws and principles of a beginningless universe with an infinite number of entities in it. No doubt there are individual Mormons whose personal views of God run contrary to the above five points. But since both the later writings of Joseph Smith and current Mormon orthodoxy clearly assert these five points, Mormons who dispute them are out of step with their church. The modern Mormon concept of God can best be grasped by understanding the overall Mormon world view and how the deity fits into it. Mormonism teaches that God the Father is a resurrected, "exalted" human being named Elohim who was at one time _not_ God. Rather, he was once a mortal man on another planet who, through obedience to the precepts of _his_ God, eventually attained exaltation, or godhood, himself through "eternal progression." _Omniscience,_ according to Mormon theology, is one of the attributes one attains when reaching godhood. Mormons appear to be divided, however, on the meaning of omniscience. It seems that some Mormons believe omniscience to mean that God has no _false_ beliefs about the past, present, and future. This view is consistent with the classical Christian view.[11] On the other hand, the _dominant_ Mormon tradition teaches that God only knows everything that can _possibly_ be known. But the only things that can possibly be known, traditional Mormons say, are the _present_ and the _past,_ since the former is occurring and the latter has already occurred. Consequently, since the future is not a "thing" and has never been _actual_ (and hence cannot possibly be known), _God does not know the future._ Therefore, the Mormon God is _omniscient_ in the sense that he knows everything that can possibly be known, but he nevertheless increases in knowledge as the future unfolds and becomes the present.[12] The common ground of the two Mormon views is that God must, at minimum, have complete and total knowledge of _everything_ in the past and in the present. Once Elohim attained godhood he then created this present world by "organizing" both eternally preexistent, inorganic matter and the preexistent primal intelligences from which human spirits are made. Mormon scholar Hyrum L. Andrus explains: Though man's spirit is organized from a pure and fine substance which possesses certain properties of life, Joseph Smith seems to have taught that within each individual spirit there is a central primal intelligence (a central directing principle of life), and that man's central primal intelligence is a personal entity possessing some degree of life and certain rudimentary cognitive powers before the time the human spirit was organized.[13] For this reason, Joseph Smith wrote that "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be."[14] In other words, _man's basic essence or primal intelligence is as eternal as God's._ The Mormon God, by organizing this world out of preexistent matter, has granted these organized spirits the opportunity to receive physical bodies, pass through mortality, and eventually progress to godhood -- just as this opportunity was given him by his Father God. Consequently, if human persons on earth faithfully obey the precepts of Mormonism they, too, can attain godhood like Elohim before them. Based on the statements of Mormon leaders, some LDS scholars contend that a premortal spirit is "organized" by God through "spirit birth." In this process, human spirits are somehow organized through literal sexual relations between our Heavenly Father and one or more mother gods, whereby they are conceived and born as spirit children _prior_ to entering the mortal realm (although all human persons prior to spirit birth existed as intelligences in some primal state of cognitive personal existence).[15] Since the God of Mormonism was himself organized (or spirit-birthed) by his God, who himself is a "creation" of yet another God, and so on _ad infinitum,_ Mormonism therefore teaches that the God over this world is a contingent being in an infinite lineage of gods.[16] Thus, Mormonism is a polytheistic religion. Comparing the Mormon concept with the classical Christian concept of God (_see_ the chart for a breakdown of this comparison[17]), Mormon philosopher Blake Ostler writes: In contrast to the self-sufficient and solitary absolute who creates _ex nihilo_ (out of nothing), the Mormon God did not bring into being the ultimate constituents of the cosmos -- neither its fundamental matter nor the space/time matrix which defines it. Hence, unlike the Necessary Being of classical theology who alone could not _not_ exist and on which all else is contingent for existence, the personal God of Mormonism confronts uncreated realities which exist of metaphysical necessity. Such realities include inherently self-directing selves (intelligences), primordial elements (mass/energy), the natural laws which structure reality, and moral principles grounded in the intrinsic value of selves and the requirements for growth and happiness.[18] Mormonism therefore teaches a metaphysical pluralism in which certain basic realities have _always_ existed and are indestructible even by God. In other words, _God came from the universe; the universe did not come from God_ (although he did form this planet out of preexistent matter). It follows from what we have covered that in the Mormon universe there are an infinite number of intelligent entities, such as gods (exalted humans) and preexistent intelligences. If this is denied, however, the Mormon must somehow reconcile a _finite_ number of these beings with an _infinite_ past. For instance, if there is only a finite number of gods in a universe with an infinite past, then there was a time when no gods existed (which Joseph Smith denies[19]). For a finite number of gods coming into being cannot be traced back infinitely. Moreover, if there is only a finite number of gods, then the continually repeated scenario of a god organizing intelligences so that they can begin their progression to godhood would have never begun. This is so because in Mormonism one needs a god in order for another to become a god, and no being has always been a god. Furthermore, if there were only a finite number of preexisting intelligences in the infinite past, then there could no longer be any preexistent intelligences who could become gods, since they would all certainly be "used up" by now. An infinite amount of time is certainly sufficient to use up a finite number of preexistent intelligences. At any rate, in order for Mormonism to remain consistent, it must teach that there is an _infinite_ number of gods and preexistent intelligences in an infinitely large universe. +----------------------------+-----------------------------+ | CHRISTIAN | MORMON | +----------------------------+-----------------------------| |1. Personal and incorporeal |1. Personal and corporeal | | | (embodied) | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |2. Creator and sustainer |2. Organizer of the world, | | of contingent existence | but subject to the laws | | | and principles of a | | | beginningless universe | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |3. Omnipotent |3. Limited in power | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |4. Omniscient |4. Limited in knowledge | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |5. Omnipresent in being |5. Localized in space | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |6. Immutable and eternal |6. Mutable and not eternal | | | (as God) | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |7. Necessary and the |7. Contingent and one of | | only God | many gods | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| | CONCEPT OF GOD | CONCEPT OF GOD | +----------------------------+-----------------------------+ *SOME PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE MORMON CONCEPT OF GOD* In our two books, Dr. Parrish and I deal with a number of philosophical problems with the Mormon concept of God.[20] In this article I will present three of these. Because of space constraints, however, I cannot reply to all the possible Mormon responses to these problems. For this reason, I refer the reader to the detailed replies in my two books. *The Problem of an Infinite Number of Past Events* It is evident from what we have covered that Mormonism teaches that the past series of events in time is _infinite_ or _beginningless._ Joseph Fielding Smith, the Mormon church's tenth prophet and president, writes that Joseph Smith "taught that _our Father had a Father and so on._"[21] Heber C. Kimball, who served as First Counselor in the church's First Presidency, asserts that "we shall go back to our Father and God, who is connected with _one who is still farther back;_ and this Father is connected with _one still further back, and so on...._"[22] Apostle and leading doctrinal spokesman Bruce R. McConkie writes that "the elements from which the creation took place are eternal and therefore had no beginning."[23] O. Kendall White, a Mormon sociologist, points out that because Mormon theology assumes metaphysical materialism it "not only assumes that God and the elements exist necessarily, but so do space and time. In contrast, traditional Christian orthodoxy maintains that space and time, along with everything else except God, exist because God created them."[24] There are several philosophical and scientific problems in asserting that the series of events in the past is beginningless. Philosopher William Lane Craig has developed four arguments -- two philosophical and two scientific -- along these lines.[25] In this article, I will apply Craig's second philosophical argument to the Mormon concept of God: (Premise 1) If the Mormon universe is true, then an infinite number (or distance) has been traversed. (Premise 2) It is impossible to traverse an infinite number (or distance). (Conclusion) Therefore, the Mormon universe is not true. Premise 1 is certainly true. We have seen already that the Mormons fully acknowledge that the past is infinite. And if it is infinite, then certainly an infinite number of events has been traversed to reach today. But can an infinite number actually be traversed, as premise 2 denies? I think it is clear that it cannot. Consider the following example. Imagine that I planned to drive on Interstate 15 from my home in Las Vegas to the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City. The distance is 450 miles. All things being equal, I would eventually arrive in Salt Lake. But suppose the distance was not 450 miles, but an _infinite_ number. The fact is that I would never arrive in Salt Lake, since it is by definition impossible to complete an infinite count. An "infinite" is, by definition, _limitless._ Hence, a _traversed_ distance by definition cannot be infinite. Consequently, if I _did_ eventually arrive in Salt Lake City, this would only prove that the distance I traveled was not infinite after all. That is to say, since I could always travel one more mile past my arrival point, arriving at _any_ point proves that the distance I traveled was not infinite. Now, let us apply this same logic to the Mormon universe. If the universe had no beginning, then every event has been preceded by an infinite number of events. But if one can never traverse an infinite number, one could never have arrived at the present day, since to do so would have involved traversing an infinite number of days. In order to better understand this, philosopher J. P. Moreland provides this example: Suppose a person were to think backward through the events in the past. In reality, time and the events within it move in the other direction. But mentally he can reverse that movement and count backward farther and farther into the past. Now he will either come to a beginning or he will not. If he comes to a beginning, then the universe obviously had a beginning. But if he never could, even in principle, reach a first moment, then this means that it would be impossible to start with the present and run backward through all of the events in the history of the cosmos. Remember, if he did run through all of them, he would reach a first member of the series, and the finiteness of the past would be established. In order to avoid this conclusion, one must hold that, starting from the present, it is _impossible_ to go backward through all of the events in history. But since events really move in the other direction, this is equivalent to admitting that if there was no beginning, the past could have never been exhaustively traversed to reach the present moment.[26] It is clear, then, that premises 1 and 2 are true. Given the fact that the argument is valid, the conclusion therefore follows: the Mormon universe is not true. And if the Mormon universe is not true, then _the Mormon God does not exist,_ since his existence is completely dependent on the existence of the Mormon universe. *The Problem of Eternal Progression with an Infinite Past* In this second objection, unlike the first, I am arguing that even if we assume that the past series of events in time is infinite, it is impossible for the Mormon doctrine of eternal progression to be true. Although Dr. Parrish and I present three arguments for this view in one of our books,[27] I will limit myself to one argument in this article. Mormon theology teaches that all intelligent beings have always existed in some state or another and progress or move toward their final eternal state. McConkie writes: Endowed with agency and subject to eternal laws, man began his progression and advancement in pre-existence, his ultimate goal being to attain a state of glory, honor, and exaltation like the Father of spirits....This gradually unfolding course of advancement and experience -- a course that began in a past eternity and will continue in ages future -- is frequently referred to as a course of _eternal progression._ It is important to know, however, that for the overwhelming majority of mankind, eternal progression has very definite limitations. In the full sense, eternal progression is enjoyed only by those who receive exaltation.[28] Here is the problem: if the past series of events in time is infinite, _we should have already reached our final state by now._ Yet, we have _not_ reached our final state. Therefore, the Mormon world view is seriously flawed. The Mormon may respond by arguing that we have not yet reached our final state because there has not been enough time for it to have transpired. But this is certainly no solution, since the Mormon's own world view affirms that an infinite length of time has already transpired. One cannot ask for more than an _infinite time_ to complete a task. We must conclude, then, that since none of us has reached his or her final state -- whether it be deity or some posthumous reward or punishment -- the past series of events in time cannot be infinite in the sense the Mormon church teaches. For even if we assume that the past _is_ infinite, since we have not yet reached our inevitable fate the Mormon world view is still false. *The Problem of Achieving Omniscience by Eternal Progression* McConkie explains the Mormon doctrine of _eternal progression_ when he writes that "during his [an evolving intelligence] earth life he gains a mortal body, receives experience in earthly things, and prepares for a future eternity after the resurrection when he will continue to gain knowledge and intelligence" (D&C 130:18-19). McConkie then states that the God of this world (Elohim) went through the same process until he reached a point at which he was "not progressing in knowledge, truth, virtue, wisdom, or any of the attributes of godliness."[29] That is to say, the Mormon God progressed from a point of _finite_ knowledge until he reached a point of omniscience (_infinite_ knowledge). I believe, however, that this view is incoherent. Consider the following inductively strong argument: (Premise 1) A being of limited knowledge gaining in knowledge entails the increasing of a finite number. (Premise 2) Starting from a finite number, it is impossible to count to infinity. (Premise 3) The Mormon view of eternal progression entails a being of limited knowledge gaining in knowledge until his knowledge is infinite (remember, the Mormon universe contains an infinite number of things). (Conclusion 1/Premise 4) Therefore, the Mormon view cannot be true, for it is impossible -- given premises 1, 2, and 3 -- for eternal progression to entail that a being of limited knowledge gains knowledge until his knowledge is infinite. (Premise 5) The Mormon doctrine of eternal progression is entailed by the Mormon concept of God. (Conclusion 2) Therefore, the Mormon concept of God is incoherent. Let us review each of these premises. Premise 1 is clearly true: Mormon theology teaches that all beings are limited in knowledge unless or until they attain godhood (_see_ D&C 130:18-19). Consequently, every time one of these beings acquires a new item of knowledge on his or her journey to godhood it amounts to an increase in a finite number of items of knowledge. Premise 2 asserts that it is impossible to count to infinity if one starts at a finite number. For example, if one begins counting -- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on -- no matter when one stops counting one can always add one more member to the count. But if one can always add one more member, then one can never arrive at an infinite number -- which is, by definition, _limitless._ To use an example cited earlier, one can never arrive in a city an infinite distance away, since it is impossible to complete a count (or a distance) which has a limitless number of members. Premise 3 -- that the Mormon view of eternal progression entails that a being of limited knowledge gains in knowledge until his knowledge is infinite (since there are an infinite number of things for the Mormon god to know in his universe) -- is a doctrine clearly taught by Joseph Smith: Here, then, is eternal life -- to know the only wise and true God; and you have to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from _one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power_....When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel -- you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation.[30] (emphasis added) Therefore, given that premises 1, 2, and 3 are established as valid, then conclusion 1 logically follows. And if conclusion 1 is linked with premise 5 (a foundational belief of Mormon theism), the final conclusion of the argument logically follows: _the Mormon concept of God is incoherent._ Someone may argue that the Mormon God receives his infinite knowledge from his own "Heavenly Father" God all at once when he reaches a particular point in his progression. Although there are a number of replies to this argument,[31] one is to point out that this response does not _really_ explain how the Mormon God acquires his infinite knowledge. It merely places the problem on the shoulders of a _more distant_ God, who acquired _his_ supposed omniscience from an _even more distant_ God, and so on into infinity. Appealing to an endless series of contingent beings as an explanation for why all the Mormon gods are omniscient explains nothing. Consider the following: If Being A does not have the sufficient reason for his omniscience in the being who created him (Being B), but requires other prior conditions (i.e., B receiving his omniscience from his creator, Being C, and C receiving his omniscience from his creator, Being D, _ad infinitum_), then the necessary conditions for the omniscience of _any one_ of the gods in the series are never fulfilled and can never be fulfilled in principle. It follows from this that none of the gods in the Mormon universe could have ever actually attained omniscience. Whether a Mormon god "progresses" to infinite knowledge or receives it all at once from his own superior God, the Mormon concept of God is nevertheless incoherent. In conclusion, I began this article by defining both the Christian and Mormon concepts of God, showing them to be radically different. I then presented three related philosophical criticisms of the Mormon concept of God: (1) the problem of an infinite number of past events; (2) the problem of eternal progression with an infinite past; and (3) the problem of achieving omniscience by eternal progression. I believe these criticisms clearly demonstrate that philosophically the Mormon concept of God is irredeemably flawed. ------------------------------------------------------------------- *Francis J. Beckwith, Ph.D.* is Associate Professor of Philosophy, Culture, and Law, and W. Howard Hoffman Scholar, Trinity Graduate School, Trinity International University (Deerfield, IL), California Campus. He is the author of five books, including _The Mormon Concept of God: A Philosophical Analysis_ (Edwin Mellen Press, 1991) and _See the Gods Fall: A New Approach to Christian Apologetics_ (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993), both of which he coauthored with Dr. Stephen E. Parrish. ------------------------------------------------------------------- *NOTES* 1 E.g., Walter R. Martin, _The Maze of Mormonism,_ 2d ed. (Santa Ana, CA: Vision House, 1978); Jerald and Sandra Tanner, _The Changing World of Mormonism_ (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980). 2 Francis J. Beckwith and Stephen E. Parrish, _The Mormon Concept of God: A Philosophical Analysis,_ Studies in American Religion, vol. 55 (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1991); Beckwith and Parrish, _See the Gods Fall: A New Approach to Christian Apologetics_ (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993); Beckwith and Parrish, "The Mormon God, Omniscience, and Eternal Progression," _Trinity Journal_ 12NS (Fall 1991):127-38. 3 Saint Augustine, _City of God_ (Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1958), 5.10. 4 Thomas Aquinas, _Summa Theologica,_ I, 25, 3, as contained in _Introduction to Saint Thomas Aquinas,_ ed. Anton C. Pegis (New York: The Modern Library, 1948), 231. 5 Some contemporary theists have denied this classical view of omniscience, claiming that God does not know the future. They do _not_ deny, however, that God knows everything. Like many Mormon thinkers, they argue that since the future is not a _thing_ (because it has not happened yet), it is impossible for God to know it. For a defense of this position, see Clark Pinnock, "God Limits His Knowledge," in _Predestination and Free Will,_ eds. David Basinger and Randall Basinger (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 141-62. For the opposing view, _see_ the responses to Pinnock by John Feinberg, Norman L. Geisler, and Bruce Reichenbach, 163-77. 6 Although all orthodox Christians agree that God is _eternally_ God, they dispute whether He exists _in_ time (i.e., the temporal eternity view) or _out of_ time (i.e., the timeless eternity view). _See_ Thomas V. Morris, _Our Idea of God: An Introduction to Philosophical Theology_ (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 119-38; and Ronald H. Nash, _The Concept of God_ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983), 73-83. 7 It is true that _by_ His power God _grants_ power to His creatures. But unlike this hypothetical other God, their limited power is always subject to His unlimited power. Thus God "possesses" all power in that all other power comes from, and is under, His power. 8 Orthodox Christians all agree that God is in some sense necessary, but they do not all agree on what that means. _See_ Morris, 107-13; and Nash, 106-13. 9 For example, Gary James Bergera, ed., _Line Upon Line: Essays in Mormon Doctrine_ (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 1989); Sterling M. McMurrin, _The Philosophical Foundations of Mormon Theology_ (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1959); Sterling M. McMurrin, _The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion_ (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1965); Blake Ostler, "The Mormon Concept of God," _Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 17_ (Summer 1984):65-93; David Lamont Paulsen, _The Comparative Coherency of Mormon (Finitistic) and Classical Theism_ (Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, 1975); Kent Robson, "Omnis on the Horizon," _Sunstone_ 8 (July-August 1983):21-23; Kent Robson, "Time and Omniscience in Mormon Theology," _Sunstone_ 5 (May-June 1980):17-23; and O. Kendall White, Jr., _Mormon Neo-Orthodoxy: A Crisis Theology_ (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1987), 57-67. 10 James B. Allen, "Emergence of a Fundamental: The Expanding Role of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Religious Thought," _Journal of Mormon History 7_ (1980):43-61; Thomas G. Alexander, "The Reconstruction of Mormon Doctrine: From Joseph Smith to Progression Theology," _Sunstone_ 5 (July/August 1980):32-39; Boyd Kirkland, "The Development of the Mormon Doctrine of God," in Bergera, 35-52. 11 Neal A. Maxwell, "A More Determined Discipleship," _Ensign_ (February 1979):69-73; Neal A. Maxwell, _All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience_ (Salt Lake City: Deseret Books, 1979). 12 Ostler cites four Mormon leaders who have held views consistent with this view of omniscience: presidents Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow; and scholar B. H. Roberts. _See_ Ostler, 76-78. 13 Hyrum L. Andrus, _God, Man and the Universe_ (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968), 175. 14 D&C 93:29. 15 Bruce McConkie, _Mormon Doctrine,_ 2d ed. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966), 386-87, 516-17, 750-51. 16 _See_ Joseph Smith, _History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints_ (hereafter HC), 7 vols., introduction and notes, B. H. Roberts, 2d rev. ed. (Salt Lake City: The Deseret Book Company, 1978), 6:305-12. 17 This chart, changed slightly for this article, originally appeared in Beckwith and Parrish, _The Mormon Concept of God,_ 38. 18 Ostler, 67. 19 Joseph Smith declares, "Hence, if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that _He_ had a Father also?...." (_HC,_ 6:476). _See_ also McConkie, 577. 20 _Ibid.,_ chapters 3 and 4; and Beckwith and Parrish, _See the Gods Fall,_ chapter 3. 21 Joseph Fielding Smith, _Doctrines of Salvation,_ 3 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1959), 1:12. 22 _Journal of Discourses, by Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others,_ 26 vols., reported by G. D. Watt (Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1854-86), 5:19. 23 McConkie, 77. 24 White, 61. 25 William Lane Craig, _The Kalam Cosmological Argument_ (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1979). A popular version of his arguments can found in his _The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe_ (San Bernardino, CA: Here's Life Publishers, 1979). 26 J. P. Moreland, _Scaling the Secular City_ (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1987), 29. 27 Beckwith and Parrish, _The Mormon Concept of God,_ 59-63. 28 McConkie, 238-39. 29 _Ibid.,_ 239. 30 _HC,_ 6:306-7. 31 _See_ Beckwith and Parrish, _The Mormon Concept of God,_ 75-76. ------------- |
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MORMON IS A CULT.
It's not NEARLY THE CULT that is fundamentalist and evangelical Christian
wacks! "Oscar_Lives" wrote in message news:RHHuf.672486$x96.571060@attbi_s72... Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] Although the biblical approach should be the Christian's primary focus, Dr. Stephen E. Parrish and I have suggested another approach in several articles and books.[2] This approach focuses on the _philosophical_ rather than the _biblical_ problems with the Mormon concept of God. In this article I will (1) compare and contrast the Christian and Mormon concepts of God and (2) present three philosophical problems with the Mormon view. *THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPT OF GOD* Christians claim that their concept of God is found in the Bible. Known as _classical theism,_ this view of God has long been considered the orthodox theistic position of the Western world. Though there are numerous divine attributes that we could examine, for our present purposes it is sufficient to say that the God of classical theism is at least (1) personal and incorporeal (without physical parts), (2) the Creator and Sustainer of everything else that exists, (3) omnipotent (all-powerful), (4) omniscient (all-knowing), (5) omnipresent (everywhere present), (6) immutable (unchanging) and eternal, and (7) necessary and the only God. Let us now briefly look at each of these attributes. *1. Personal and Incorporeal.* According to Christian theism, God is a personal being who has all the attributes that we may expect from a perfect person: self-consciousness, the ability to reason, know, love, communicate, and so forth. This is clearly how God is described in the Scriptures (e.g., Gen. 17:11; Exod. 3:14; Jer. 29:11). God is also incorporeal. Unlike humans, God is not uniquely associated with one physical entity (i.e., a body). This is why the Bible refers to God as Spirit (John 4:24). *2. The Creator and Sustainer of Everything Else that Exists.* In classical theism, all reality is contingent on God -- that is, all reality has come into existence and _continues_ to exist because of Him. Unlike a god who forms the universe out of preexistent matter, the God of classical theism created the universe _ex nihilo_ (out of nothing). Consequently, it is on God alone that everything in the universe depends for its existence (_see_ Acts 17:25; Col. 1:16, 17; Rom. 11:36; Heb. 11:3; 2 Cor. 4:6; Rev. 4:11). *3. Omnipotent.* God is also said to be omnipotent or all-powerful. This should be understood to mean that God can do anything that is (1) logically possible (_see_ below), and (2) consistent with being a personal, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, wholly perfect, and necessary Creator. Concerning the latter, these attributes are not _limitations_ of God's power, but _perfections._ They are attributes at their infinitely highest level, which are essential to God's nature. For example, since God is perfect, He cannot sin; because He is personal, He is incapable of making Himself impersonal; because He is omniscient, He cannot forget. All this is supported by the Bible when its writers assert that God cannot sin (Mark 10:18; Heb. 6:18), cease to exist (Exod. 3:14; Mal. 3:6), or fail to know something (Job 28:24; Ps. 139:17-18; Isa. 46:10a). Since God is a perfect person, it is necessarily the case that He is incapable of acting in a less than perfect way -- which would include sinning, ceasing to exist, and being ignorant. When the classical theist claims that God can only do what is logically possible, he or she is claiming that God cannot do or create what is logically _im_possible. Examples of logically impossible entities include "married bachelors," "square circles," and "a brother who is an only child." But these are not _really_ entities; they are merely contrary terms that are strung together and _appear_ to say something. Hence, the fact that God cannot do the logically impossible does not in any way discount His omnipotence. Also counted among the things that are logically impossible for God to do or create are those imperfect acts mentioned above which a wholly perfect and immutable being cannot do -- such as sin, lack omniscience, and/or cease to exist. Since God is a personal, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, wholly perfect, and necessary Creator, it follows that any act _inconsistent_ with these attributes would be necessarily (or logically) impossible for God to perform. But this fact does not count against God's omnipotence, since, as St. Augustine points out, "Neither do we lessen [God's] power when we say He cannot die or be deceived. This is the kind of inability which, if removed, would make God less powerful than He is.... It is precisely because He is omnipotent that for Him some things are impossible."[3] But what about Luke 1:37, where we are told that "_nothing_ is impossible with God?" (NIV) Addressing this question, St. Thomas Aquinas points out that this verse is not talking about internally contradictory or contrary "entities," since such "things" are not really things at all. They are merely words strung together that _appear_ to be saying something when in fact they are saying nothing.[4] Hence, _everything_ is possible for God, but the logically impossible is _not_ truly a _thing._ *4. Omniscient.* God is all-knowing, and His all-knowingness encompasses the _past, present,_ and _future._[5] Concerning God's unfathomable knowledge, the psalmist writes: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you" (Ps. 139:17,18). Elsewhere he writes, "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit" (147:5). The author of Job writes of God: "For he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens" (Job 28:24). Scripture also teaches that God has total knowledge of the past (Isa. 41:22). Concerning the future, God says: "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please,'" (Isa. 46:10). Elsewhere Isaiah quotes God as saying that _knowledge_ (not opinion or highly probable guesses) of the future is essential for deity (Isa. 41:21-24), something that distinguished God from the many false gods of Isaiah's day. *5. Omnipresent.* Logically following from God's omniscience, incorporeality, omnipotence, and role as creator and sustainer of the universe is His omnipresence. Since God is not limited by a spatio-temporal body, knows everything immediately without benefit of sensory organs, and sustains the existence of all that exists, it follows that He is in some sense present everywhere. Certainly it is the Bible's explicit teaching that God is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-12; Jer. 23:23-24). *6. Immutable and Eternal.* When a Christian says that God is immutable and eternal, he or she is saying that God is _unchanging_ (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 6:17; Isa. 46:10b) and has _always existed_ as God throughout all eternity (Ps. 90:2; Isa. 40:28; 43:12b, 13; 57:15a; Rom. 1:20a; 1 Tim. 1:17).[6] There never was a time when God was not God. Although God certainly seems to change in response to how His creatures behave -- such as in the case of the repenting Ninevites -- His nature remains the same. No matter how the Ninevites would have responded to Jonah's preaching, God's unchanging righteousness would have remained the same: He is merciful to the repentant and punishes the unrepentant. Hence, a God who is responsive to His creatures is certainly consistent with, and seems to be entailed in, an unchanging nature that is necessarily _personal._ *7. Necessary and the Only God.* The Bible teaches that although humans at times worship some beings _as if_ these beings were really gods (1 Cor. 8:4-6), there is only one true and living God by nature (Isa. 43:10; 44:6, 8; 45:5, 18, 21, 22; Jer. 10:10; Gal. 4:8; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 1 Tim. 2:5; John 17:3; 1 Thess. 1:9). And since the God of the Bible possesses _all_ power (_see_ above), there cannot be any other God, for this would mean that two beings possess all power. That, of course, is patently absurd, since if a being possesses all of everything (in this case, power) there is, by definition, nothing left for anyone else.[7] Moreover, since everything that exists depends on God, and God is unchanging and eternal, it follows that God cannot _not_ exist. In other words, He is a _necessary_ being,[8] whereas everything else is contingent. *THE MORMON CONCEPT OF GOD* Apart from biblical influences, the Mormon doctrine of God is derived primarily from three works regarded by the Mormon church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [LDS]) as inspired scriptu The Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants (hereafter D&C), and the Pearl of Great Price. (Most of these writings were supposedly received through "revelation" by the movement's founder and chief prophet, Joseph Smith.) It is also found in Smith's other statements and doctrinal commentaries. Although not regarded by the LDS church as scripture per se, Smith's extracanonical pronouncements on doctrine are almost universally accepted by the Mormon laity and leadership as authoritative for Mormon theology. The Mormon doctrine of God is also derived from statements and writings of the church's ecclesiastical leaders -- especially its presidents, who are considered divinely inspired prophets. Additionally, we will consider the arguments of contemporary LDS philosophers who have attempted to present Mormonism's doctrine of God as philosophically coherent.[9] Because there are so many doctrinal sources, it may appear (with some justification) that it is difficult to determine precisely what the Mormons believe about God. For example, the Book of Mormon (first published in 1830) seems to teach a strongly Judaic monotheism with modalistic (God is only one person manifesting in three modes) overtones (_see_ Alma 11:26-31, 38; Moroni 8:18; Mosiah 3:5-8; 7:27; 15:1-5), while the equally authoritative Pearl of Great Price (first published in 1851) clearly teaches that more than one God exists (_see_ Abraham 4-5). This is why a number of Mormon scholars have argued that their theology evolved from a traditional monotheism to a uniquely American polytheism.[10] Consequently, our chief concern will not be the historical development of Mormon theism, but rather, the dominant concept of God _currently_ held by the LDS church. Though there is certainly disagreement among Mormon scholars concerning some precise points of doctrine, I submit that the church currently teaches that God is, in effect, (1) a contingent being, who was at one time not God; (2) finite in _knowledge_ (not truly omniscient), _power_ (not omnipotent), and _being_ (not omnipresent or immutable); (3) one of many gods; (4) a corporeal (bodily) being, who physically dwells at a particular spatio-temporal location and is therefore not omnipresent like the classical God (respecting His intrinsic divine nature -- we are not considering the Incarnation of the Son of God here); and (5) a being who is subject to the laws and principles of a beginningless universe with an infinite number of entities in it. No doubt there are individual Mormons whose personal views of God run contrary to the above five points. But since both the later writings of Joseph Smith and current Mormon orthodoxy clearly assert these five points, Mormons who dispute them are out of step with their church. The modern Mormon concept of God can best be grasped by understanding the overall Mormon world view and how the deity fits into it. Mormonism teaches that God the Father is a resurrected, "exalted" human being named Elohim who was at one time _not_ God. Rather, he was once a mortal man on another planet who, through obedience to the precepts of _his_ God, eventually attained exaltation, or godhood, himself through "eternal progression." _Omniscience,_ according to Mormon theology, is one of the attributes one attains when reaching godhood. Mormons appear to be divided, however, on the meaning of omniscience. It seems that some Mormons believe omniscience to mean that God has no _false_ beliefs about the past, present, and future. This view is consistent with the classical Christian view.[11] On the other hand, the _dominant_ Mormon tradition teaches that God only knows everything that can _possibly_ be known. But the only things that can possibly be known, traditional Mormons say, are the _present_ and the _past,_ since the former is occurring and the latter has already occurred. Consequently, since the future is not a "thing" and has never been _actual_ (and hence cannot possibly be known), _God does not know the future._ Therefore, the Mormon God is _omniscient_ in the sense that he knows everything that can possibly be known, but he nevertheless increases in knowledge as the future unfolds and becomes the present.[12] The common ground of the two Mormon views is that God must, at minimum, have complete and total knowledge of _everything_ in the past and in the present. Once Elohim attained godhood he then created this present world by "organizing" both eternally preexistent, inorganic matter and the preexistent primal intelligences from which human spirits are made. Mormon scholar Hyrum L. Andrus explains: Though man's spirit is organized from a pure and fine substance which possesses certain properties of life, Joseph Smith seems to have taught that within each individual spirit there is a central primal intelligence (a central directing principle of life), and that man's central primal intelligence is a personal entity possessing some degree of life and certain rudimentary cognitive powers before the time the human spirit was organized.[13] For this reason, Joseph Smith wrote that "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be."[14] In other words, _man's basic essence or primal intelligence is as eternal as God's._ The Mormon God, by organizing this world out of preexistent matter, has granted these organized spirits the opportunity to receive physical bodies, pass through mortality, and eventually progress to godhood -- just as this opportunity was given him by his Father God. Consequently, if human persons on earth faithfully obey the precepts of Mormonism they, too, can attain godhood like Elohim before them. Based on the statements of Mormon leaders, some LDS scholars contend that a premortal spirit is "organized" by God through "spirit birth." In this process, human spirits are somehow organized through literal sexual relations between our Heavenly Father and one or more mother gods, whereby they are conceived and born as spirit children _prior_ to entering the mortal realm (although all human persons prior to spirit birth existed as intelligences in some primal state of cognitive personal existence).[15] Since the God of Mormonism was himself organized (or spirit-birthed) by his God, who himself is a "creation" of yet another God, and so on _ad infinitum,_ Mormonism therefore teaches that the God over this world is a contingent being in an infinite lineage of gods.[16] Thus, Mormonism is a polytheistic religion. Comparing the Mormon concept with the classical Christian concept of God (_see_ the chart for a breakdown of this comparison[17]), Mormon philosopher Blake Ostler writes: In contrast to the self-sufficient and solitary absolute who creates _ex nihilo_ (out of nothing), the Mormon God did not bring into being the ultimate constituents of the cosmos -- neither its fundamental matter nor the space/time matrix which defines it. Hence, unlike the Necessary Being of classical theology who alone could not _not_ exist and on which all else is contingent for existence, the personal God of Mormonism confronts uncreated realities which exist of metaphysical necessity. Such realities include inherently self-directing selves (intelligences), primordial elements (mass/energy), the natural laws which structure reality, and moral principles grounded in the intrinsic value of selves and the requirements for growth and happiness.[18] Mormonism therefore teaches a metaphysical pluralism in which certain basic realities have _always_ existed and are indestructible even by God. In other words, _God came from the universe; the universe did not come from God_ (although he did form this planet out of preexistent matter). It follows from what we have covered that in the Mormon universe there are an infinite number of intelligent entities, such as gods (exalted humans) and preexistent intelligences. If this is denied, however, the Mormon must somehow reconcile a _finite_ number of these beings with an _infinite_ past. For instance, if there is only a finite number of gods in a universe with an infinite past, then there was a time when no gods existed (which Joseph Smith denies[19]). For a finite number of gods coming into being cannot be traced back infinitely. Moreover, if there is only a finite number of gods, then the continually repeated scenario of a god organizing intelligences so that they can begin their progression to godhood would have never begun. This is so because in Mormonism one needs a god in order for another to become a god, and no being has always been a god. Furthermore, if there were only a finite number of preexisting intelligences in the infinite past, then there could no longer be any preexistent intelligences who could become gods, since they would all certainly be "used up" by now. An infinite amount of time is certainly sufficient to use up a finite number of preexistent intelligences. At any rate, in order for Mormonism to remain consistent, it must teach that there is an _infinite_ number of gods and preexistent intelligences in an infinitely large universe. +----------------------------+-----------------------------+ | CHRISTIAN | MORMON | +----------------------------+-----------------------------| |1. Personal and incorporeal |1. Personal and corporeal | | | (embodied) | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |2. Creator and sustainer |2. Organizer of the world, | | of contingent existence | but subject to the laws | | | and principles of a | | | beginningless universe | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |3. Omnipotent |3. Limited in power | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |4. Omniscient |4. Limited in knowledge | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |5. Omnipresent in being |5. Localized in space | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |6. Immutable and eternal |6. Mutable and not eternal | | | (as God) | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| |7. Necessary and the |7. Contingent and one of | | only God | many gods | |----------------------------|-----------------------------| | CONCEPT OF GOD | CONCEPT OF GOD | +----------------------------+-----------------------------+ *SOME PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE MORMON CONCEPT OF GOD* In our two books, Dr. Parrish and I deal with a number of philosophical problems with the Mormon concept of God.[20] In this article I will present three of these. Because of space constraints, however, I cannot reply to all the possible Mormon responses to these problems. For this reason, I refer the reader to the detailed replies in my two books. *The Problem of an Infinite Number of Past Events* It is evident from what we have covered that Mormonism teaches that the past series of events in time is _infinite_ or _beginningless._ Joseph Fielding Smith, the Mormon church's tenth prophet and president, writes that Joseph Smith "taught that _our Father had a Father and so on._"[21] Heber C. Kimball, who served as First Counselor in the church's First Presidency, asserts that "we shall go back to our Father and God, who is connected with _one who is still farther back;_ and this Father is connected with _one still further back, and so on...._"[22] Apostle and leading doctrinal spokesman Bruce R. McConkie writes that "the elements from which the creation took place are eternal and therefore had no beginning."[23] O. Kendall White, a Mormon sociologist, points out that because Mormon theology assumes metaphysical materialism it "not only assumes that God and the elements exist necessarily, but so do space and time. In contrast, traditional Christian orthodoxy maintains that space and time, along with everything else except God, exist because God created them."[24] There are several philosophical and scientific problems in asserting that the series of events in the past is beginningless. Philosopher William Lane Craig has developed four arguments -- two philosophical and two scientific -- along these lines.[25] In this article, I will apply Craig's second philosophical argument to the Mormon concept of God: (Premise 1) If the Mormon universe is true, then an infinite number (or distance) has been traversed. (Premise 2) It is impossible to traverse an infinite number (or distance). (Conclusion) Therefore, the Mormon universe is not true. Premise 1 is certainly true. We have seen already that the Mormons fully acknowledge that the past is infinite. And if it is infinite, then certainly an infinite number of events has been traversed to reach today. But can an infinite number actually be traversed, as premise 2 denies? I think it is clear that it cannot. Consider the following example. Imagine that I planned to drive on Interstate 15 from my home in Las Vegas to the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City. The distance is 450 miles. All things being equal, I would eventually arrive in Salt Lake. But suppose the distance was not 450 miles, but an _infinite_ number. The fact is that I would never arrive in Salt Lake, since it is by definition impossible to complete an infinite count. An "infinite" is, by definition, _limitless._ Hence, a _traversed_ distance by definition cannot be infinite. Consequently, if I _did_ eventually arrive in Salt Lake City, this would only prove that the distance I traveled was not infinite after all. That is to say, since I could always travel one more mile past my arrival point, arriving at _any_ point proves that the distance I traveled was not infinite. Now, let us apply this same logic to the Mormon universe. If the universe had no beginning, then every event has been preceded by an infinite number of events. But if one can never traverse an infinite number, one could never have arrived at the present day, since to do so would have involved traversing an infinite number of days. In order to better understand this, philosopher J. P. Moreland provides this example: Suppose a person were to think backward through the events in the past. In reality, time and the events within it move in the other direction. But mentally he can reverse that movement and count backward farther and farther into the past. Now he will either come to a beginning or he will not. If he comes to a beginning, then the universe obviously had a beginning. But if he never could, even in principle, reach a first moment, then this means that it would be impossible to start with the present and run backward through all of the events in the history of the cosmos. Remember, if he did run through all of them, he would reach a first member of the series, and the finiteness of the past would be established. In order to avoid this conclusion, one must hold that, starting from the present, it is _impossible_ to go backward through all of the events in history. But since events really move in the other direction, this is equivalent to admitting that if there was no beginning, the past could have never been exhaustively traversed to reach the present moment.[26] It is clear, then, that premises 1 and 2 are true. Given the fact that the argument is valid, the conclusion therefore follows: the Mormon universe is not true. And if the Mormon universe is not true, then _the Mormon God does not exist,_ since his existence is completely dependent on the existence of the Mormon universe. *The Problem of Eternal Progression with an Infinite Past* In this second objection, unlike the first, I am arguing that even if we assume that the past series of events in time is infinite, it is impossible for the Mormon doctrine of eternal progression to be true. Although Dr. Parrish and I present three arguments for this view in one of our books,[27] I will limit myself to one argument in this article. Mormon theology teaches that all intelligent beings have always existed in some state or another and progress or move toward their final eternal state. McConkie writes: Endowed with agency and subject to eternal laws, man began his progression and advancement in pre-existence, his ultimate goal being to attain a state of glory, honor, and exaltation like the Father of spirits....This gradually unfolding course of advancement and experience -- a course that began in a past eternity and will continue in ages future -- is frequently referred to as a course of _eternal progression._ It is important to know, however, that for the overwhelming majority of mankind, eternal progression has very definite limitations. In the full sense, eternal progression is enjoyed only by those who receive exaltation.[28] Here is the problem: if the past series of events in time is infinite, _we should have already reached our final state by now._ Yet, we have _not_ reached our final state. Therefore, the Mormon world view is seriously flawed. The Mormon may respond by arguing that we have not yet reached our final state because there has not been enough time for it to have transpired. But this is certainly no solution, since the Mormon's own world view affirms that an infinite length of time has already transpired. One cannot ask for more than an _infinite time_ to complete a task. We must conclude, then, that since none of us has reached his or her final state -- whether it be deity or some posthumous reward or punishment -- the past series of events in time cannot be infinite in the sense the Mormon church teaches. For even if we assume that the past _is_ infinite, since we have not yet reached our inevitable fate the Mormon world view is still false. *The Problem of Achieving Omniscience by Eternal Progression* McConkie explains the Mormon doctrine of _eternal progression_ when he writes that "during his [an evolving intelligence] earth life he gains a mortal body, receives experience in earthly things, and prepares for a future eternity after the resurrection when he will continue to gain knowledge and intelligence" (D&C 130:18-19). McConkie then states that the God of this world (Elohim) went through the same process until he reached a point at which he was "not progressing in knowledge, truth, virtue, wisdom, or any of the attributes of godliness."[29] That is to say, the Mormon God progressed from a point of _finite_ knowledge until he reached a point of omniscience (_infinite_ knowledge). I believe, however, that this view is incoherent. Consider the following inductively strong argument: (Premise 1) A being of limited knowledge gaining in knowledge entails the increasing of a finite number. (Premise 2) Starting from a finite number, it is impossible to count to infinity. (Premise 3) The Mormon view of eternal progression entails a being of limited knowledge gaining in knowledge until his knowledge is infinite (remember, the Mormon universe contains an infinite number of things). (Conclusion 1/Premise 4) Therefore, the Mormon view cannot be true, for it is impossible -- given premises 1, 2, and 3 -- for eternal progression to entail that a being of limited knowledge gains knowledge until his knowledge is infinite. (Premise 5) The Mormon doctrine of eternal progression is entailed by the Mormon concept of God. (Conclusion 2) Therefore, the Mormon concept of God is incoherent. Let us review each of these premises. Premise 1 is clearly true: Mormon theology teaches that all beings are limited in knowledge unless or until they attain godhood (_see_ D&C 130:18-19). Consequently, every time one of these beings acquires a new item of knowledge on his or her journey to godhood it amounts to an increase in a finite number of items of knowledge. Premise 2 asserts that it is impossible to count to infinity if one starts at a finite number. For example, if one begins counting -- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on -- no matter when one stops counting one can always add one more member to the count. But if one can always add one more member, then one can never arrive at an infinite number -- which is, by definition, _limitless._ To use an example cited earlier, one can never arrive in a city an infinite distance away, since it is impossible to complete a count (or a distance) which has a limitless number of members. Premise 3 -- that the Mormon view of eternal progression entails that a being of limited knowledge gains in knowledge until his knowledge is infinite (since there are an infinite number of things for the Mormon god to know in his universe) -- is a doctrine clearly taught by Joseph Smith: Here, then, is eternal life -- to know the only wise and true God; and you have to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from _one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power_....When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel -- you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation.[30] (emphasis added) Therefore, given that premises 1, 2, and 3 are established as valid, then conclusion 1 logically follows. And if conclusion 1 is linked with premise 5 (a foundational belief of Mormon theism), the final conclusion of the argument logically follows: _the Mormon concept of God is incoherent._ Someone may argue that the Mormon God receives his infinite knowledge from his own "Heavenly Father" God all at once when he reaches a particular point in his progression. Although there are a number of replies to this argument,[31] one is to point out that this response does not _really_ explain how the Mormon God acquires his infinite knowledge. It merely places the problem on the shoulders of a _more distant_ God, who acquired _his_ supposed omniscience from an _even more distant_ God, and so on into infinity. Appealing to an endless series of contingent beings as an explanation for why all the Mormon gods are omniscient explains nothing. Consider the following: If Being A does not have the sufficient reason for his omniscience in the being who created him (Being B), but requires other prior conditions (i.e., B receiving his omniscience from his creator, Being C, and C receiving his omniscience from his creator, Being D, _ad infinitum_), then the necessary conditions for the omniscience of _any one_ of the gods in the series are never fulfilled and can never be fulfilled in principle. It follows from this that none of the gods in the Mormon universe could have ever actually attained omniscience. Whether a Mormon god "progresses" to infinite knowledge or receives it all at once from his own superior God, the Mormon concept of God is nevertheless incoherent. In conclusion, I began this article by defining both the Christian and Mormon concepts of God, showing them to be radically different. I then presented three related philosophical criticisms of the Mormon concept of God: (1) the problem of an infinite number of past events; (2) the problem of eternal progression with an infinite past; and (3) the problem of achieving omniscience by eternal progression. I believe these criticisms clearly demonstrate that philosophically the Mormon concept of God is irredeemably flawed. ------------------------------------------------------------------- *Francis J. Beckwith, Ph.D.* is Associate Professor of Philosophy, Culture, and Law, and W. Howard Hoffman Scholar, Trinity Graduate School, Trinity International University (Deerfield, IL), California Campus. He is the author of five books, including _The Mormon Concept of God: A Philosophical Analysis_ (Edwin Mellen Press, 1991) and _See the Gods Fall: A New Approach to Christian Apologetics_ (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993), both of which he coauthored with Dr. Stephen E. Parrish. ------------------------------------------------------------------- *NOTES* 1 E.g., Walter R. Martin, _The Maze of Mormonism,_ 2d ed. (Santa Ana, CA: Vision House, 1978); Jerald and Sandra Tanner, _The Changing World of Mormonism_ (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980). 2 Francis J. Beckwith and Stephen E. Parrish, _The Mormon Concept of God: A Philosophical Analysis,_ Studies in American Religion, vol. 55 (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1991); Beckwith and Parrish, _See the Gods Fall: A New Approach to Christian Apologetics_ (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993); Beckwith and Parrish, "The Mormon God, Omniscience, and Eternal Progression," _Trinity Journal_ 12NS (Fall 1991):127-38. 3 Saint Augustine, _City of God_ (Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1958), 5.10. 4 Thomas Aquinas, _Summa Theologica,_ I, 25, 3, as contained in _Introduction to Saint Thomas Aquinas,_ ed. Anton C. Pegis (New York: The Modern Library, 1948), 231. 5 Some contemporary theists have denied this classical view of omniscience, claiming that God does not know the future. They do _not_ deny, however, that God knows everything. Like many Mormon thinkers, they argue that since the future is not a _thing_ (because it has not happened yet), it is impossible for God to know it. For a defense of this position, see Clark Pinnock, "God Limits His Knowledge," in _Predestination and Free Will,_ eds. David Basinger and Randall Basinger (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 141-62. For the opposing view, _see_ the responses to Pinnock by John Feinberg, Norman L. Geisler, and Bruce Reichenbach, 163-77. 6 Although all orthodox Christians agree that God is _eternally_ God, they dispute whether He exists _in_ time (i.e., the temporal eternity view) or _out of_ time (i.e., the timeless eternity view). _See_ Thomas V. Morris, _Our Idea of God: An Introduction to Philosophical Theology_ (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 119-38; and Ronald H. Nash, _The Concept of God_ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983), 73-83. 7 It is true that _by_ His power God _grants_ power to His creatures. But unlike this hypothetical other God, their limited power is always subject to His unlimited power. Thus God "possesses" all power in that all other power comes from, and is under, His power. 8 Orthodox Christians all agree that God is in some sense necessary, but they do not all agree on what that means. _See_ Morris, 107-13; and Nash, 106-13. 9 For example, Gary James Bergera, ed., _Line Upon Line: Essays in Mormon Doctrine_ (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 1989); Sterling M. McMurrin, _The Philosophical Foundations of Mormon Theology_ (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1959); Sterling M. McMurrin, _The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion_ (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1965); Blake Ostler, "The Mormon Concept of God," _Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 17_ (Summer 1984):65-93; David Lamont Paulsen, _The Comparative Coherency of Mormon (Finitistic) and Classical Theism_ (Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, 1975); Kent Robson, "Omnis on the Horizon," _Sunstone_ 8 (July-August 1983):21-23; Kent Robson, "Time and Omniscience in Mormon Theology," _Sunstone_ 5 (May-June 1980):17-23; and O. Kendall White, Jr., _Mormon Neo-Orthodoxy: A Crisis Theology_ (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1987), 57-67. 10 James B. Allen, "Emergence of a Fundamental: The Expanding Role of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Mormon Religious Thought," _Journal of Mormon History 7_ (1980):43-61; Thomas G. Alexander, "The Reconstruction of Mormon Doctrine: From Joseph Smith to Progression Theology," _Sunstone_ 5 (July/August 1980):32-39; Boyd Kirkland, "The Development of the Mormon Doctrine of God," in Bergera, 35-52. 11 Neal A. Maxwell, "A More Determined Discipleship," _Ensign_ (February 1979):69-73; Neal A. Maxwell, _All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience_ (Salt Lake City: Deseret Books, 1979). 12 Ostler cites four Mormon leaders who have held views consistent with this view of omniscience: presidents Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow; and scholar B. H. Roberts. _See_ Ostler, 76-78. 13 Hyrum L. Andrus, _God, Man and the Universe_ (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968), 175. 14 D&C 93:29. 15 Bruce McConkie, _Mormon Doctrine,_ 2d ed. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966), 386-87, 516-17, 750-51. 16 _See_ Joseph Smith, _History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints_ (hereafter HC), 7 vols., introduction and notes, B. H. Roberts, 2d rev. ed. (Salt Lake City: The Deseret Book Company, 1978), 6:305-12. 17 This chart, changed slightly for this article, originally appeared in Beckwith and Parrish, _The Mormon Concept of God,_ 38. 18 Ostler, 67. 19 Joseph Smith declares, "Hence, if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that _He_ had a Father also?...." (_HC,_ 6:476). _See_ also McConkie, 577. 20 _Ibid.,_ chapters 3 and 4; and Beckwith and Parrish, _See the Gods Fall,_ chapter 3. 21 Joseph Fielding Smith, _Doctrines of Salvation,_ 3 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1959), 1:12. 22 _Journal of Discourses, by Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others,_ 26 vols., reported by G. D. Watt (Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1854-86), 5:19. 23 McConkie, 77. 24 White, 61. 25 William Lane Craig, _The Kalam Cosmological Argument_ (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1979). A popular version of his arguments can found in his _The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe_ (San Bernardino, CA: Here's Life Publishers, 1979). 26 J. P. Moreland, _Scaling the Secular City_ (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1987), 29. 27 Beckwith and Parrish, _The Mormon Concept of God,_ 59-63. 28 McConkie, 238-39. 29 _Ibid.,_ 239. 30 _HC,_ 6:306-7. 31 _See_ Beckwith and Parrish, _The Mormon Concept of God,_ 75-76. ------------- |
#3
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MORMON IS A CULT.
Thank god I'm an atheist.
On 1/3/2006 9:56:35 PM, "Oscar_Lives" wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] Although the biblical approach should be the Christian's primary focus, Dr. Stephen E. Parrish and I have suggested another approach in several articles and books.[2] This approach focuses on the _philosophical_ rather than the _biblical_ problems with the Mormon concept of God. In this article I will (1) compare and contrast the Christian and Mormon concepts of God and (2) present three philosophical problems with the Mormon view. *THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPT OF GOD* Christians claim that their concept of God is found in the Bible. Known as _classical theism,_ this view of God has long been considered the orthodox theistic position of the Western world. Though there are numerous divine attributes that we could examine, for our present purposes it is sufficient to say that the God of classical theism is at least (1) personal and incorporeal (without physical parts), (2) the Creator and Sustainer of everything else that exists, (3) omnipotent (all-powerful), (4) omniscient (all-knowing), (5) omnipresent (everywhere present), (6) immutable (unchanging) and eternal, and (7) necessary and the only God. Let us now briefly look at each of these attributes. *1. Personal and Incorporeal.* According to Christian theism, God is a personal being who has all the attributes that we may expect from a perfect person: self-consciousness, the ability to reason, know, love, communicate, and so forth. This is clearly how God is described in the Scriptures (e.g., Gen. 17:11; Exod. 3:14; Jer. 29:11). God is also incorporeal. Unlike humans, God is not uniquely associated with one physical entity (i.e., a body). This is why the Bible refers to God as Spirit (John 4:24). *2. The Creator and Sustainer of Everything Else that Exists.* In classical theism, all reality is contingent on God -- that is, all reality has come into existence and _continues_ to exist because of Him. Unlike a god who forms the universe out of preexistent matter, the God of classical theism created the universe _ex nihilo_ (out of nothing). Consequently, it is on God alone that everything in the universe depends for its existence (_see_ Acts 17:25; Col. 1:16, 17; Rom. 11:36; Heb. 11:3; 2 Cor. 4:6; Rev. 4:11). *3. Omnipotent.* God is also said to be omnipotent or all-powerful. This should be understood to mean that God can do anything that is (1) logically possible (_see_ below), and (2) consistent with being a personal, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, wholly perfect, and necessary Creator. Concerning the latter, these attributes are not _limitations_ of God's power, but _perfections._ They are attributes at their infinitely highest level, which are essential to God's nature. For example, since God is perfect, He cannot sin; because He is personal, He is incapable of making Himself impersonal; because He is omniscient, He cannot forget. All this is supported by the Bible when its writers assert that God cannot sin (Mark 10:18; Heb. 6:18), cease to exist (Exod. 3:14; Mal. 3:6), or fail to know something (Job 28:24; Ps. 139:17-18; Isa. 46:10a). Since God is a perfect person, it is necessarily the case that He is incapable of acting in a less than perfect way -- which would include sinning, ceasing to exist, and being ignorant. When the classical theist claims that God can only do what is logically possible, he or she is claiming that God cannot do or create what is logically _im_possible. Examples of logically impossible entities include "married bachelors," "square circles," and "a brother who is an only child." But these are not _really_ entities; they are merely contrary terms that are strung together and _appear_ to say something. Hence, the fact that God cannot do the logically impossible does not in any way discount His omnipotence. Also counted among the things that are logically impossible for God to do or create are those imperfect acts mentioned above which a wholly perfect and immutable being cannot do -- such as sin, lack omniscience, and/or cease to exist. Since God is a personal, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, wholly perfect, and necessary Creator, it follows that any act _inconsistent_ with these attributes would be necessarily (or logically) impossible for God to perform. But this fact does not count against God's omnipotence, since, as St. Augustine points out, "Neither do we lessen [God's] power when we say He cannot die or be deceived. This is the kind of inability which, if removed, would make God less powerful than He is.... It is precisely because He is omnipotent that for Him some things are impossible."[3] But what about Luke 1:37, where we are told that "_nothing_ is impossible with God?" (NIV) Addressing this question, St. Thomas Aquinas points out that this verse is not talking about internally contradictory or contrary "entities," since such "things" are not really things at all. They are merely words strung together that _appear_ to be saying something when in fact they are saying nothing.[4] Hence, _everything_ is possible for God, but the logically impossible is _not_ truly a _thing._ *4. Omniscient.* God is all-knowing, and His all-knowingness encompasses the _past, present,_ and _future._[5] Concerning God's unfathomable knowledge, the psalmist writes: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you" (Ps. 139:17,18). Elsewhere he writes, "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit" (147:5). The author of Job writes of God: "For he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens" (Job 28:24). Scripture also teaches that God has total knowledge of the past (Isa. 41:22). Concerning the future, God says: "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please,'" (Isa. 46:10). Elsewhere Isaiah quotes God as saying that _knowledge_ (not opinion or highly probable guesses) of the future is essential for deity (Isa. 41:21-24), something that distinguished God from the many false gods of Isaiah's day. *5. Omnipresent.* Logically following from God's omniscience, incorporeality, omnipotence, and role as creator and sustainer of the universe is His omnipresence. Since God is not limited by a spatio-temporal body, knows everything immediately without benefit of sensory organs, and sustains the existence of all that exists, it follows that He is in some sense present everywhere. Certainly it is the Bible's explicit teaching that God is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-12; Jer. 23:23-24). *6. Immutable and Eternal.* When a Christian says that God is immutable and eternal, he or she is saying that God is _unchanging_ (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 6:17; Isa. 46:10b) and has _always existed_ as God throughout all eternity (Ps. 90:2; Isa. 40:28; 43:12b, 13; 57:15a; Rom. 1:20a; 1 Tim. 1:17).[6] There never was a time when God was not God. Although God certainly seems to change in response to how His creatures behave -- such as in the case of the repenting Ninevites -- John |
#4
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MORMON IS A CULT.
I have an idea. Let's give Oscar what he wants by reposting his drivel
along with our one sentence responses. ****ing morons. Steve |
#5
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MORMON IS A CULT.
LOL!!!!
"John" wrote in message ... Thank god I'm an atheist. On 1/3/2006 9:56:35 PM, "Oscar_Lives" wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] Although the biblical approach should be the Christian's primary focus, Dr. Stephen E. Parrish and I have suggested another approach in several articles and books.[2] This approach focuses on the _philosophical_ rather than the _biblical_ problems with the Mormon concept of God. In this article I will (1) compare and contrast the Christian and Mormon concepts of God and (2) present three philosophical problems with the Mormon view. *THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPT OF GOD* Christians claim that their concept of God is found in the Bible. Known as _classical theism,_ this view of God has long been considered the orthodox theistic position of the Western world. Though there are numerous divine attributes that we could examine, for our present purposes it is sufficient to say that the God of classical theism is at least (1) personal and incorporeal (without physical parts), (2) the Creator and Sustainer of everything else that exists, (3) omnipotent (all-powerful), (4) omniscient (all-knowing), (5) omnipresent (everywhere present), (6) immutable (unchanging) and eternal, and (7) necessary and the only God. Let us now briefly look at each of these attributes. *1. Personal and Incorporeal.* According to Christian theism, God is a personal being who has all the attributes that we may expect from a perfect person: self-consciousness, the ability to reason, know, love, communicate, and so forth. This is clearly how God is described in the Scriptures (e.g., Gen. 17:11; Exod. 3:14; Jer. 29:11). God is also incorporeal. Unlike humans, God is not uniquely associated with one physical entity (i.e., a body). This is why the Bible refers to God as Spirit (John 4:24). *2. The Creator and Sustainer of Everything Else that Exists.* In classical theism, all reality is contingent on God -- that is, all reality has come into existence and _continues_ to exist because of Him. Unlike a god who forms the universe out of preexistent matter, the God of classical theism created the universe _ex nihilo_ (out of nothing). Consequently, it is on God alone that everything in the universe depends for its existence (_see_ Acts 17:25; Col. 1:16, 17; Rom. 11:36; Heb. 11:3; 2 Cor. 4:6; Rev. 4:11). *3. Omnipotent.* God is also said to be omnipotent or all-powerful. This should be understood to mean that God can do anything that is (1) logically possible (_see_ below), and (2) consistent with being a personal, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, wholly perfect, and necessary Creator. Concerning the latter, these attributes are not _limitations_ of God's power, but _perfections._ They are attributes at their infinitely highest level, which are essential to God's nature. For example, since God is perfect, He cannot sin; because He is personal, He is incapable of making Himself impersonal; because He is omniscient, He cannot forget. All this is supported by the Bible when its writers assert that God cannot sin (Mark 10:18; Heb. 6:18), cease to exist (Exod. 3:14; Mal. 3:6), or fail to know something (Job 28:24; Ps. 139:17-18; Isa. 46:10a). Since God is a perfect person, it is necessarily the case that He is incapable of acting in a less than perfect way -- which would include sinning, ceasing to exist, and being ignorant. When the classical theist claims that God can only do what is logically possible, he or she is claiming that God cannot do or create what is logically _im_possible. Examples of logically impossible entities include "married bachelors," "square circles," and "a brother who is an only child." But these are not _really_ entities; they are merely contrary terms that are strung together and _appear_ to say something. Hence, the fact that God cannot do the logically impossible does not in any way discount His omnipotence. Also counted among the things that are logically impossible for God to do or create are those imperfect acts mentioned above which a wholly perfect and immutable being cannot do -- such as sin, lack omniscience, and/or cease to exist. Since God is a personal, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, wholly perfect, and necessary Creator, it follows that any act _inconsistent_ with these attributes would be necessarily (or logically) impossible for God to perform. But this fact does not count against God's omnipotence, since, as St. Augustine points out, "Neither do we lessen [God's] power when we say He cannot die or be deceived. This is the kind of inability which, if removed, would make God less powerful than He is.... It is precisely because He is omnipotent that for Him some things are impossible."[3] But what about Luke 1:37, where we are told that "_nothing_ is impossible with God?" (NIV) Addressing this question, St. Thomas Aquinas points out that this verse is not talking about internally contradictory or contrary "entities," since such "things" are not really things at all. They are merely words strung together that _appear_ to be saying something when in fact they are saying nothing.[4] Hence, _everything_ is possible for God, but the logically impossible is _not_ truly a _thing._ *4. Omniscient.* God is all-knowing, and His all-knowingness encompasses the _past, present,_ and _future._[5] Concerning God's unfathomable knowledge, the psalmist writes: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you" (Ps. 139:17,18). Elsewhere he writes, "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit" (147:5). The author of Job writes of God: "For he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens" (Job 28:24). Scripture also teaches that God has total knowledge of the past (Isa. 41:22). Concerning the future, God says: "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please,'" (Isa. 46:10). Elsewhere Isaiah quotes God as saying that _knowledge_ (not opinion or highly probable guesses) of the future is essential for deity (Isa. 41:21-24), something that distinguished God from the many false gods of Isaiah's day. *5. Omnipresent.* Logically following from God's omniscience, incorporeality, omnipotence, and role as creator and sustainer of the universe is His omnipresence. Since God is not limited by a spatio-temporal body, knows everything immediately without benefit of sensory organs, and sustains the existence of all that exists, it follows that He is in some sense present everywhere. Certainly it is the Bible's explicit teaching that God is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-12; Jer. 23:23-24). *6. Immutable and Eternal.* When a Christian says that God is immutable and eternal, he or she is saying that God is _unchanging_ (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 6:17; Isa. 46:10b) and has _always existed_ as God throughout all eternity (Ps. 90:2; Isa. 40:28; 43:12b, 13; 57:15a; Rom. 1:20a; 1 Tim. 1:17).[6] There never was a time when God was not God. Although God certainly seems to change in response to how His creatures behave -- such as in the case of the repenting Ninevites -- John |
#6
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MORMON IS A CULT.
"Oscar_Lives" wrote in message news:RHHuf.672486$x96.571060@attbi_s72... Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have SNIP It's 'Mormonism' not 'Mormon' ya dolt. One is a practice the other is a person. If you're gonna be a biggot at least be accurate - sheesh!!! |
#7
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MORMON IS A CULT.
"Steve Scott" wrote in message ... On Wed, 4 Jan 2006 11:32:20 -0500, "C & E" wrote: "Oscar_Lives" wrote in message news:RHHuf.672486$x96.571060@attbi_s72... Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have SNIP It's 'Mormonism' not 'Mormon' ya dolt. One is a practice the other is a person. If you're gonna be a biggot at least be accurate - sheesh!!! Uhh, it's bigot, not biggot, if you care about accuracy. Never fails, when someone is correcting someone's literacy they get it wrong also... LOL "ya" is not considered a word either... Doh! -- I filled out an application that said, 'In Case of Emergency Notify.' I wrote 'Doctor.' What's my mother going to do? --Steven Wright |
#8
Posted to alt.hvac,alt.home.repair
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MORMON IS A CULT.
Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana |
#9
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MORMON IS A CULT.
She kicked your ass, dude!
hehe "dianaiad" wrote in message oups.com... Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana |
#10
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MORMON IS A CULT.
What's strangely funny is how Fred doesn't have even a hint of the
definition of a cult, and if he did, he would be embarrassed on just how silly his post sounds. The other six posts you've made in the last year also amazes me on just how void a human can be of actual knowledge towards any subject and then come on a group and remove all doubt that your a completely void of an educated guess of this subject.... Amazing, you must be a regular that hides behind a different name when things of religion come up.... Not one post about HVAC, only aggressive replies towards religion, AND they are all humorously dangerous of total ignorance. What's also funny is just how shallow Steves B.'s replies really are. He never shows up until someone posts something about God and then suddenly appears out of nowhere! This is true also with Fred. Therefore, I assume they are regular(s) that can't handle being man enough to take the heat of their foolish, childish and non educated and ridiculous posts. Steve B. talks about drivel, while in fact, Steve's posts are the best example of explaining Absolute Zero, They required no energy in thought processes, no energy for research or developmental thinking and reasoning. Then he ignorantly calls everyone else a moron... We should include your posts in the HVAC book of definitions of what Absolute Zero is! I don't know why Steve B and Fred have so much hate towards those who do believe in a higher authority. Possibly because the Bible teaches that those who are effeminate 'shall NOT enter into the kingdom of God..." Steve claims vehemently that there is 'is no God', I claim that you have no intelligence, my argument is just as valid as yours since neither have any foundational absolutes to base facts upon. The Bible states, "The FOOL has said in his heart, there is NO God." and your posts are making God out to be much more intelligent than you two. As a matter of fact, even the devil believes there is a God, so, I guess you are a little less than he...... how said, a tiny little person with absolutely zero input towards anything good or constructive, and everything to be ashamed of. Its funny how those who contribute nothing always try to convey that they are the masters of truth and contributors to society, but a Google search reveals that you contribute nothing constructive or adhesive, let alone intelligent in terms of your replies. Its like you tear out the definitions of words in hopes others will think your definitions are the correct ones. There is no doubt that these replies are from at least one regular, I think possibly two. And what's sad is, they don't understand why others here don't like them.... another classical case of being the fool. "Steve B" wrote in message newsjIuf.6776$JT.1498@fed1read06... I have an idea. Let's give Oscar what he wants by reposting his drivel along with our one sentence responses. ****ing morons. Steve |
#11
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MORMON IS A CULT.
dianaiad wrote: Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana It was indeed wasted verbiage. I could have summed it up thusly: Mormon's are cultist morons. OTOH, you should rethink your definition of cult. You aren't even wrong. You can't simply make up your own definition of a well defined term just because you think you have an enlightening twist, and nor can those that you quoted. cult cult (kùlt) noun 1.a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. b. The followers of such a religion or sect. 2.A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 3.The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. 4.A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease. 5.a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. b. The object of such devotion. 6.An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest. noun, attributive Often used to modify another noun: a cult figure; cult films. [Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate.] - cul´tic or cult´ish adjective - cult´ism noun - cult´ist noun Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. _____________________________________________ In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. You're damn right its a derogatory term, and well deserved by those who are members of said cults. Now take this religious crap somewhere else, such as perhaps alt.****ing.lunatic hvacrmedic |
#12
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MORMON IS A CULT.
In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging
upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. you mean like the followers of Pat Robertson or George Bush or Rush Limbaugh? |
#13
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MORMON IS A CULT.
Jimi Hendrix wrote: In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. you mean like the followers of Pat Robertson or George Bush or Rush Limbaugh? Something like that. I'd leave Rush out of it though, he's actually right a lot of the time. hvacrmedic |
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MORMON IS A CULT.
"Jimi Hendrix" wrote in message ... In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. you mean like the followers of Pat Robertson or George Bush or Rush Limbaugh? Another regular who hides behind a fascade. |
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MORMON IS A CULT.
"dianaiad" wrote in message oups.com... Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana Diana, I have another suggestion, go away, and don't have any kids, we have enough idiots in the world. I bet you read that all on your own one night !! Ha ha, yeah, right!!! Here is the 20th century definition of a cult, I don't care if you like it or not, it is accurate. BTW, I DID read Van Baalen's book in 1973 and didn't go to google to search something that would align itself with my predispostional views. Your a real classic idiot. Evangelical Christian and Counter-Cult Movement usage: Any religious group which accepts most but not all of the historical Christian doctrines (the divinity of Jesus, virgin birth, the Trinity, salvation, etc.). The implication is that the cult's theology is invalid; they teach heresy. Under this definition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), Unification Church and Jehovah's Witnesses to be cults. But they would not classify Wicca as such, because it is not associated with Christianity. The earliest use of this meaning of the word "Cult" is believed to be a 1938 book "The Chaos of the Cults" by J.K. VanBaalen. On the other hand, new religious groups such as the Mormons, Unification Church and Jehovah's Witnesses generally regard themselves to be the true Christian church. They view all other denominations as being in error. (But not as a cult unless they deny the fundamental doctrines, some listed above.) |
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MORMON IS A CULT.
"Fred Garvin" wrote in message ... She kicked your ass, dude! hehe She didn't kick anybody's ass. Just be glad no one came after you, Fred. We could swing anywhere and hit the ass! |
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MORMON IS A CULT.
"C & E" wrote in message ... "Oscar_Lives" wrote in message news:RHHuf.672486$x96.571060@attbi_s72... Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have SNIP It's 'Mormonism' not 'Mormon' ya dolt. One is a practice the other is a person. If you're gonna be a biggot at least be accurate - sheesh!!! Your an IDIOT !! Lets pretend were talking about Baptists and inject Baptist into the sentence. Your idiotic reply suggests it should be Baptism or Baptisim (BTW, there is no such word so don't waist your time telling me about it) This is funny, you critique something and remove all doubt that your the fool! You major on the minors and ignore all the major points. I'm sure that you have never made typo mistakes before and are perfect, so go where there are no typo errors and leave us alone. Gosh, don't you have your own newsgroup to go too, like Alt.IdiotsWhoRemoveAllDoubt ? |
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MORMON IS A CULT.
"Steve Scott" wrote in message ... On Wed, 4 Jan 2006 11:32:20 -0500, "C & E" wrote: "Oscar_Lives" wrote in message news:RHHuf.672486$x96.571060@attbi_s72... Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have SNIP It's 'Mormonism' not 'Mormon' ya dolt. One is a practice the other is a person. If you're gonna be a biggot at least be accurate - sheesh!!! Ha ha ha!!! Great one Steve!! Rich |
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Oscar, you started a bar room fight :-)
This is great, notice the regular(s) pretending to be someone else when
replying! This is too funny. Watch out for flying bottles! Rich |
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MORMON IS A CULT.
On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 21:02:43 -0600, RP
wrote: dianaiad wrote: Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana It was indeed wasted verbiage. I could have summed it up thusly: Mormon's are cultist morons. OTOH, you should rethink your definition of cult. You aren't even wrong. You can't simply make up your own definition of a well defined term just because you think you have an enlightening twist, and nor can those that you quoted. cult cult (kùlt) noun 1.a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. b. The followers of such a religion or sect. 2.A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 3.The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. 4.A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease. 5.a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. b. The object of such devotion. 6.An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest. So, this admits that Christianity is a cult too. noun, attributive Often used to modify another noun: a cult figure; cult films. [Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate.] - cul´tic or cult´ish adjective - cult´ism noun - cult´ist noun Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. _____________________________________________ In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. You're damn right its a derogatory term, and well deserved by those who are members of said cults. Now take this religious crap somewhere else, such as perhaps alt.****ing.lunatic hvacrmedic |
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Oscar is green
oscar goes:
snip snip...big speel dude don't act like this man. what's wrong with you hvac and home repair? good heavens you do damage to the Lord work acting like this you're in Rome do like the Romans STOP CROSSPOSTING I don't wanna see this again when me or anyone wants to learn about God we do not come to hvac an repair to learn about God we goto the God sector in otherwords, if you have something valueable to contribute to people who want to learn about God..HOW WILL WE KNOW WHERE YOU POSTED THIS WEEK OR NEXT WEEK!!!!! this is green of you stoppit |
#22
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MORMON IS A CULT.
RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana It was indeed wasted verbiage. I could have summed it up thusly: Mormon's are cultist morons. Indeed, you summed his post up succinctly. I do differ with his (and yours, it seems) opinion, however. OTOH, you should rethink your definition of cult. You aren't even wrong. Then why should I rethink it? You can't simply make up your own definition of a well defined term just because you think you have an enlightening twist, and nor can those that you quoted. Of course I can. Whatsistwit did it. Or are you one of those prescriptive, rather than descriptive, linguistic curmudgeons? cult cult (kùlt) noun 1.a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. b. The followers of such a religion or sect. 2.A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 3.The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. 4.A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease. 5.a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. b. The object of such devotion. 6.An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest. noun, attributive Often used to modify another noun: a cult figure; cult films. [Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate.] - cul´tic or cult´ish adjective - cult´ism noun - cult´ist noun Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. Doncha just love the internet? Here, I'll do you one better; here is the definition from the definitive(yes, that was deliberate) English Language Dictionary, the OED (That's "Oxford English Dictionary") 1. Worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings. Obs. (exc. as in sense 2). 2. a. A particular form or system of religious worship; esp. in reference to its external rites and ceremonies. b. Now freq. used attrib. by writers on cultic ritual and the archæology of primitive cults. 3. transf. Devotion or homage to a particular person or thing, now esp. as paid by a body of professed adherents or admirers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRAFT ADDITIONS SEPTEMBER 2004 cult, n. and a.2 Designating cultural phenomena with a strong, often enduring appeal to a relatively small audience; (also) designating this appeal or audience, or any resultant success; fringe, non-mainstream. Hence: possessing a fashionable or exclusive cachet; spec. (of artistic figures or works) having a reputation or influence disproportionate to their limited public exposure or commercial success. Freq. in cult figure, status. A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. I cut the etymology, timeline and quotes for space. However, I think that you can see that my 'personal definition' isn't quite as out of line as you claim it is, especially since even the American Heritage Dictionary will recognize the OED as the trump expert in these matters. _____________________________________________ In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. In short, you are correct....but only partially. You are, in fact, commiting a logical fallacy, one of composition. You are assuming that because a certain type of cult has a set of attributes, all cults have those attributes. That's like saying that because some Ford Mustangs are red, that all cars are red. You're damn right its a derogatory term, and well deserved by those who are members of said cults. Now take this religious crap somewhere else, such as perhaps alt.****ing.lunatic Actually, I'm not the one that brought it in here. |
#23
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MORMON IS A CULT.
Geoman^^ wrote: "Jimi Hendrix" wrote in message ... In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. you mean like the followers of Pat Robertson or George Bush or Rush Limbaugh? Another regular who hides behind a fascade. What, he hides behind an electronica musician? |
#24
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MORMON IS A CULT.
dianaiad wrote: RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana It was indeed wasted verbiage. I could have summed it up thusly: Mormon's are cultist morons. Indeed, you summed his post up succinctly. I do differ with his (and yours, it seems) opinion, however. OTOH, you should rethink your definition of cult. You aren't even wrong. Then why should I rethink it? You can't simply make up your own definition of a well defined term just because you think you have an enlightening twist, and nor can those that you quoted. Of course I can. Whatsistwit did it. Or are you one of those prescriptive, rather than descriptive, linguistic curmudgeons? cult cult (kùlt) noun 1.a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. b. The followers of such a religion or sect. 2.A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 3.The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. 4.A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease. 5.a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. b. The object of such devotion. 6.An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest. noun, attributive Often used to modify another noun: a cult figure; cult films. [Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate.] - cul´tic or cult´ish adjective - cult´ism noun - cult´ist noun Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. Doncha just love the internet? Here, I'll do you one better; here is the definition from the definitive(yes, that was deliberate) English Language Dictionary, the OED (That's "Oxford English Dictionary") 1. Worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings. Obs. (exc. as in sense 2). 2. a. A particular form or system of religious worship; esp. in reference to its external rites and ceremonies. b. Now freq. used attrib. by writers on cultic ritual and the archæology of primitive cults. 3. transf. Devotion or homage to a particular person or thing, now esp. as paid by a body of professed adherents or admirers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRAFT ADDITIONS SEPTEMBER 2004 cult, n. and a.2 Designating cultural phenomena with a strong, often enduring appeal to a relatively small audience; (also) designating this appeal or audience, or any resultant success; fringe, non-mainstream. Hence: possessing a fashionable or exclusive cachet; spec. (of artistic figures or works) having a reputation or influence disproportionate to their limited public exposure or commercial success. Freq. in cult figure, status. A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. I cut the etymology, timeline and quotes for space. However, I think that you can see that my 'personal definition' isn't quite as out of line as you claim it is, especially since even the American Heritage Dictionary will recognize the OED as the trump expert in these matters. _____________________________________________ In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. In short, you are correct....but only partially. You are, in fact, commiting a logical fallacy, one of composition. You are assuming that because a certain type of cult has a set of attributes, all cults have those attributes. That's like saying that because some Ford Mustangs are red, that all cars are red. You're damn right its a derogatory term, and well deserved by those who are members of said cults. Now take this religious crap somewhere else, such as perhaps alt.****ing.lunatic Actually, I'm not the one that brought it in here. But you seemed to be defending the opponents of the OP's post. Nitpicking terminology is seldom fruitful. We've just seen the evidence of that, twice Since we all know where each other stand on the issues now, I'm done. This isn't the place for it. If the post was flaming another contributor then the religious content is secondary to the intent of the post, but to get into philosophical/theological debate is OT of an OT subject--doubly not acceptable in any topic specific groups such as these. Good luck to everyone with their beliefs, just don't force them down my throat or I'll force them right back up your ass hvacrmedic hvacrmedic |
#25
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MORMON IS A CULT.
Georde T wrote: On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 21:02:43 -0600, RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana It was indeed wasted verbiage. I could have summed it up thusly: Mormon's are cultist morons. OTOH, you should rethink your definition of cult. You aren't even wrong. You can't simply make up your own definition of a well defined term just because you think you have an enlightening twist, and nor can those that you quoted. cult cult (kùlt) noun 1.a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. b. The followers of such a religion or sect. 2.A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 3.The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. 4.A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease. 5.a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. b. The object of such devotion. 6.An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest. So, this admits that Christianity is a cult too. Amen. hvacrmedic noun, attributive Often used to modify another noun: a cult figure; cult films. [Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate.] - cul´tic or cult´ish adjective - cult´ism noun - cult´ist noun Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. _____________________________________________ In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. You're damn right its a derogatory term, and well deserved by those who are members of said cults. Now take this religious crap somewhere else, such as perhaps alt.****ing.lunatic hvacrmedic |
#26
Posted to alt.hvac,alt.home.repair
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MORMON IS A CULT.
Geoman^^ wrote:
"dianaiad" wrote in message snip to Diana, I have another suggestion, go away, and don't have any kids, we have enough idiots in the world. I bet you read that all on your own one night !! Ha ha, yeah, right!!! Here is the 20th century definition of a cult, I don't care if you like it or not, it is accurate. According to whom? BTW, I DID read Van Baalen's book in 1973 Oh, my beating heart, he read a book! Mind you, "The Chaos of Cults" isn't quite as polemic and inacurate as later books, and van Baalen isn't QUITE as nastily inaccurate as, say, Walter Martin, but his depiction of the LDS church doctrine was still somewhat inaccurate in some very important points. Note: I didn't argue with his opinion; his opinion was his and he had every right to it. What I said was that his descriptions of LDS doctrine were inaccurate. I don't have a copy of "The Chaos of Cults" in front of me at the moment, so I can't give you chapter and verse...and the one I read was published in 1938 (the first edition), Since it has been revised and expanded several times since then, and since its last incarnation, a decade ago, was published by the Christian Research Institute, I have a feeling that the accuracy level is even more problematic now. However, do not, by any means, let that disturb your preconceptions. and didn't go to google to search something that would align itself with my predispostional views. (snort) This from the man who went to the internet to cut and paste an American Heritage Dictonary definition, without doing any other research? Your a real classic idiot. That's "you're", not "your." Tell me, dear sir, have you read any books since "The Chaos of Cults"? Evangelical Christian and Counter-Cult Movement usage: Any religious group which accepts most but not all of the historical Christian doctrines (the divinity of Jesus, virgin birth, the Trinity, salvation, etc.). The implication is that the cult's theology is invalid; they teach heresy. Under this definition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), Unification Church and Jehovah's Witnesses to be cults. But they would not classify Wicca as such, because it is not associated with Christianity. The earliest use of this meaning of the word "Cult" is believed to be a 1938 book "The Chaos of the Cults" by J.K. VanBaalen. On the other hand, new religious groups such as the Mormons, Unification Church and Jehovah's Witnesses generally regard themselves to be the true Christian church. They view all other denominations as being in error. (But not as a cult unless they deny the fundamental doctrines, some listed above.) And you got this from where, exactly? It is generally a good idea to properly attribute the source of a quote. By the way; since when did the 'Evangelical Christian and Counter-Cult Movement" get to define words for the rest of the English speaking world? Hint: never. They don't get to do that. YOU don't get to do that. Even van Baalen didn't get to do that. Oh, just as an aside...never get into an argument about linguistics with an English professor. In fact, I would strongly advise you not to get into such a discussion with anyone who has recieved greater than a "C" in English 80. Diana |
#27
Posted to alt.hvac,alt.home.repair
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MORMON IS A CULT.
RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana It was indeed wasted verbiage. I could have summed it up thusly: Mormon's are cultist morons. Indeed, you summed his post up succinctly. I do differ with his (and yours, it seems) opinion, however. OTOH, you should rethink your definition of cult. You aren't even wrong. Then why should I rethink it? You can't simply make up your own definition of a well defined term just because you think you have an enlightening twist, and nor can those that you quoted. Of course I can. Whatsistwit did it. Or are you one of those prescriptive, rather than descriptive, linguistic curmudgeons? cult cult (kùlt) noun 1.a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. b. The followers of such a religion or sect. 2.A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 3.The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. 4.A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease. 5.a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. b. The object of such devotion. 6.An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest. noun, attributive Often used to modify another noun: a cult figure; cult films. [Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate.] - cul´tic or cult´ish adjective - cult´ism noun - cult´ist noun Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. Doncha just love the internet? Here, I'll do you one better; here is the definition from the definitive(yes, that was deliberate) English Language Dictionary, the OED (That's "Oxford English Dictionary") 1. Worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings. Obs. (exc. as in sense 2). 2. a. A particular form or system of religious worship; esp. in reference to its external rites and ceremonies. b. Now freq. used attrib. by writers on cultic ritual and the archæology of primitive cults. 3. transf. Devotion or homage to a particular person or thing, now esp. as paid by a body of professed adherents or admirers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRAFT ADDITIONS SEPTEMBER 2004 cult, n. and a.2 Designating cultural phenomena with a strong, often enduring appeal to a relatively small audience; (also) designating this appeal or audience, or any resultant success; fringe, non-mainstream. Hence: possessing a fashionable or exclusive cachet; spec. (of artistic figures or works) having a reputation or influence disproportionate to their limited public exposure or commercial success. Freq. in cult figure, status. A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. I cut the etymology, timeline and quotes for space. However, I think that you can see that my 'personal definition' isn't quite as out of line as you claim it is, especially since even the American Heritage Dictionary will recognize the OED as the trump expert in these matters. _____________________________________________ In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. In short, you are correct....but only partially. You are, in fact, commiting a logical fallacy, one of composition. You are assuming that because a certain type of cult has a set of attributes, all cults have those attributes. That's like saying that because some Ford Mustangs are red, that all cars are red. You're damn right its a derogatory term, and well deserved by those who are members of said cults. Now take this religious crap somewhere else, such as perhaps alt.****ing.lunatic Actually, I'm not the one that brought it in here. But you seemed to be defending the opponents of the OP's post. Of course. The OP, as you term him, is an idiot, attacking people behind their backs and in general being a jerk. When one does that on the internet, one can expect a member of the group being so attacked to take notice and object. Nitpicking terminology is seldom fruitful. We've just seen the evidence of that, twice Since we all know where each other stand on the issues now, I'm done. This isn't the place for it. If the post was flaming another contributor then the religious content is secondary to the intent of the post, but to get into philosophical/theological debate is OT of an OT subject--doubly not acceptable in any topic specific groups such as these. Good luck to everyone with their beliefs, just don't force them down my throat or I'll force them right back up your ass Again, I'm not the one who started it. I may well not be the one who ends it, either, but since I did NOT start the Mormon-bashing, you certainly cannot accuse me of forcing anything down your throat, can you? Diana |
#28
Posted to alt.hvac,alt.home.repair
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MORMON IS A CULT.
RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana It was indeed wasted verbiage. I could have summed it up thusly: Mormon's are cultist morons. Indeed, you summed his post up succinctly. I do differ with his (and yours, it seems) opinion, however. OTOH, you should rethink your definition of cult. You aren't even wrong. Then why should I rethink it? You can't simply make up your own definition of a well defined term just because you think you have an enlightening twist, and nor can those that you quoted. Of course I can. Whatsistwit did it. Or are you one of those prescriptive, rather than descriptive, linguistic curmudgeons? cult cult (kùlt) noun 1.a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. b. The followers of such a religion or sect. 2.A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 3.The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. 4.A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease. 5.a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. b. The object of such devotion. 6.An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest. noun, attributive Often used to modify another noun: a cult figure; cult films. [Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate.] - cul´tic or cult´ish adjective - cult´ism noun - cult´ist noun Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. Doncha just love the internet? Here, I'll do you one better; here is the definition from the definitive(yes, that was deliberate) English Language Dictionary, the OED (That's "Oxford English Dictionary") 1. Worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings. Obs. (exc. as in sense 2). 2. a. A particular form or system of religious worship; esp. in reference to its external rites and ceremonies. b. Now freq. used attrib. by writers on cultic ritual and the archæology of primitive cults. 3. transf. Devotion or homage to a particular person or thing, now esp. as paid by a body of professed adherents or admirers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRAFT ADDITIONS SEPTEMBER 2004 cult, n. and a.2 Designating cultural phenomena with a strong, often enduring appeal to a relatively small audience; (also) designating this appeal or audience, or any resultant success; fringe, non-mainstream. Hence: possessing a fashionable or exclusive cachet; spec. (of artistic figures or works) having a reputation or influence disproportionate to their limited public exposure or commercial success. Freq. in cult figure, status. A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. I cut the etymology, timeline and quotes for space. However, I think that you can see that my 'personal definition' isn't quite as out of line as you claim it is, especially since even the American Heritage Dictionary will recognize the OED as the trump expert in these matters. _____________________________________________ In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. In short, you are correct....but only partially. You are, in fact, commiting a logical fallacy, one of composition. You are assuming that because a certain type of cult has a set of attributes, all cults have those attributes. That's like saying that because some Ford Mustangs are red, that all cars are red. You're damn right its a derogatory term, and well deserved by those who are members of said cults. Now take this religious crap somewhere else, such as perhaps alt.****ing.lunatic Actually, I'm not the one that brought it in here. But you seemed to be defending the opponents of the OP's post. Of course. The OP, as you term him, is an idiot, attacking people behind their backs and in general being a jerk. When one does that on the internet, one can expect a member of the group being so attacked to take notice and object. Nitpicking terminology is seldom fruitful. We've just seen the evidence of that, twice Since we all know where each other stand on the issues now, I'm done. This isn't the place for it. If the post was flaming another contributor then the religious content is secondary to the intent of the post, but to get into philosophical/theological debate is OT of an OT subject--doubly not acceptable in any topic specific groups such as these. Good luck to everyone with their beliefs, just don't force them down my throat or I'll force them right back up your ass Again, I'm not the one who started it. I may well not be the one who ends it, either, but since I did NOT start the Mormon-bashing, you certainly cannot accuse me of forcing anything down your throat, can you? Diana |
#29
Posted to alt.hvac,alt.home.repair
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MORMON IS A CULT.
dianaiad wrote: RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: Oscar_Lives wrote: Most Christians who critique the Mormon view of God do so from a strictly biblical perspective. Christian apologists have correctly pointed out that Mormon theology conflicts with biblical doctrine in a number of important areas, including the nature of God, the plan of salvation, and the nature of man.[1] snip rest of autobot reposting of something this complete and utter idiot has posted in its entirety several times, often within the SAME THREAD, and that I, to my utter shame, actually answered once, point by point. Man, I will NEVER learn not to feed the trolls Regarding the title of this thread: Mormon is/was a man, or, if you don't believe that he existed, a fictional character in a book. Either way, he can't be a cult. Mormon ISM can be. In fact, it is a cult. So, by the way, is Catholicism, every single sect of Protestantism, and every other 'ism' there is out there. You might try looking up the definition of a word before you pull something this utterly brainless: cult: a system of community of religious worship and ritual. Another definition of 'cult' that is nonreligious is " obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." Of course, I like the following definitions much better: bullet "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality. bullet "Cults are claimed to be deceitful. They are claimed to be harmful to their members. They are claimed to be undermining American values. Cults are claimed to be just about every bad thing in the book these days, and with the pervasive images of Manson and Jim Jones hanging over us, any group that is called a cult is immediately associated with those two people." J. Gordon Melton. bullet "My working definition of a cult is a group that you don't like, and I say that somewhat facetiously, but at the same time, in fact, that is my working definition of a cult. It is a group that somebody doesn't like. It is a derogatory term, and I have never seen it redeemed from the derogatory connotations that it picked up in the sociological literature in the 1930s." J. Gordon Melton. From http://www.religioustolerance.org/cults.htm In other words, you blithering idiot, "cult" is simply you being childish and letting us know that you don't like the Mormons. We get that already. So I have a suggestion for you; go fix somebody's airconditioner. Hopefully not mine; I wouldn't let you within fifty feet of my swamp cooler and I SURE wouldn't allow you anywhere near a pipe that carried natural gas. You would overload the system. Diana It was indeed wasted verbiage. I could have summed it up thusly: Mormon's are cultist morons. Indeed, you summed his post up succinctly. I do differ with his (and yours, it seems) opinion, however. OTOH, you should rethink your definition of cult. You aren't even wrong. Then why should I rethink it? You can't simply make up your own definition of a well defined term just because you think you have an enlightening twist, and nor can those that you quoted. Of course I can. Whatsistwit did it. Or are you one of those prescriptive, rather than descriptive, linguistic curmudgeons? cult cult (kùlt) noun 1.a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. b. The followers of such a religion or sect. 2.A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 3.The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. 4.A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease. 5.a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. b. The object of such devotion. 6.An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest. noun, attributive Often used to modify another noun: a cult figure; cult films. [Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate.] - cul´tic or cult´ish adjective - cult´ism noun - cult´ist noun Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. Doncha just love the internet? Here, I'll do you one better; here is the definition from the definitive(yes, that was deliberate) English Language Dictionary, the OED (That's "Oxford English Dictionary") 1. Worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings. Obs. (exc. as in sense 2). 2. a. A particular form or system of religious worship; esp. in reference to its external rites and ceremonies. b. Now freq. used attrib. by writers on cultic ritual and the archæology of primitive cults. 3. transf. Devotion or homage to a particular person or thing, now esp. as paid by a body of professed adherents or admirers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRAFT ADDITIONS SEPTEMBER 2004 cult, n. and a.2 Designating cultural phenomena with a strong, often enduring appeal to a relatively small audience; (also) designating this appeal or audience, or any resultant success; fringe, non-mainstream. Hence: possessing a fashionable or exclusive cachet; spec. (of artistic figures or works) having a reputation or influence disproportionate to their limited public exposure or commercial success. Freq. in cult figure, status. A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. I cut the etymology, timeline and quotes for space. However, I think that you can see that my 'personal definition' isn't quite as out of line as you claim it is, especially since even the American Heritage Dictionary will recognize the OED as the trump expert in these matters. ____________________________________________ _ In short, a cult consists of a group of schizophrenic individuals hanging upon every word of yet another schizophrenic and/or psychopathic individual, who is in turn usually the so-called founder and/or leader. In short, you are correct....but only partially. You are, in fact, commiting a logical fallacy, one of composition. You are assuming that because a certain type of cult has a set of attributes, all cults have those attributes. That's like saying that because some Ford Mustangs are red, that all cars are red. You're damn right its a derogatory term, and well deserved by those who are members of said cults. Now take this religious crap somewhere else, such as perhaps alt.****ing.lunatic Actually, I'm not the one that brought it in here. But you seemed to be defending the opponents of the OP's post. Of course. The OP, as you term him, is an idiot, attacking people behind their backs and in general being a jerk. When one does that on the internet, one can expect a member of the group being so attacked to take notice and object. Nitpicking terminology is seldom fruitful. We've just seen the evidence of that, twice Since we all know where each other stand on the issues now, I'm done. This isn't the place for it. If the post was flaming another contributor then the religious content is secondary to the intent of the post, but to get into philosophical/theological debate is OT of an OT subject--doubly not acceptable in any topic specific groups such as these. Good luck to everyone with their beliefs, just don't force them down my throat or I'll force them right back up your ass Again, I'm not the one who started it. I may well not be the one who ends it, either, but since I did NOT start the Mormon-bashing, you certainly cannot accuse me of forcing anything down your throat, can you? But you were bashing the Mormon basher, and I happen to like the Mormon basher. You don't expect somebody to post a flaming reply to somebody and not catch some heat over it do you? We are clearly not of the same camp. Though you express yourself intelligently, the content of your replies paints a superstitious picture, which is not befitting of someone who values logical argument as you feign to do. BTW, are you good looking? Oh, wait a minute, are you actually female? hvacrmedic |
#30
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MORMON IS A CULT.
RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: snip to We are clearly not of the same camp. Though you express yourself intelligently, the content of your replies paints a superstitious picture, which is not befitting of someone who values logical argument as you feign to do. "feign"? BTW, are you good looking? Depends on your POV. At least my children don't wince when they look at me. Oh, wait a minute, are you actually female? Yes. And, and unless the average statistics regarding these things are way off kilter, probably old enough to be your mother, at least. I may be old enough to be your grandmother. |
#31
Posted to alt.hvac,alt.home.repair
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MORMON IS A CULT.
RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: snip to But you were bashing the Mormon basher, and I happen to like the Mormon basher. Do you, then? That's nice. You don't expect somebody to post a flaming reply to somebody and not catch some heat over it do you? Nope. But I don't have to sit quietly and take it, either. Just call me Diana the Danite. We are clearly not of the same camp. Though you express yourself intelligently, the content of your replies paints a superstitious picture, which is not befitting of someone who values logical argument as you feign to do. "Feign"? BTW, are you good looking? My kids don't throw up when they see me. Oh, wait a minute, are you actually female? Yes. And given the general statistics of the internet, probably old enough to be your mother's big sister. I'd say 'grandmother', except that those who post in usenet groups like this one tend to be a little older than the typical internet junkie. Diana. |
#32
Posted to alt.hvac,alt.home.repair
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MORMON IS A CULT.
dianaiad wrote: RP wrote: dianaiad wrote: snip to But you were bashing the Mormon basher, and I happen to like the Mormon basher. Do you, then? That's nice. You don't expect somebody to post a flaming reply to somebody and not catch some heat over it do you? Nope. But I don't have to sit quietly and take it, either. Just call me Diana the Danite. We are clearly not of the same camp. Though you express yourself intelligently, the content of your replies paints a superstitious picture, which is not befitting of someone who values logical argument as you feign to do. "Feign"? BTW, are you good looking? My kids don't throw up when they see me. Oh, wait a minute, are you actually female? Yes. And given the general statistics of the internet, probably old enough to be your mother's big sister. I'd say 'grandmother', except that those who post in usenet groups like this one tend to be a little older than the typical internet junkie. Diana. You're correct. Most of us here have been around the block. Take care Diana hvacrmedic |
#33
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MORMON IS A CULT.
"Evangelical Christian and Counter-Cult Movement"
this is an oxymoron, as far as I am concerned, as evangelicals, fundamentalists, religious right, republicans, whatever you want to call them, are the ones drinking the Kool-Aid!! if you want to see a classic film about how a town full of people, who remind me exactly of the groups above, get brainwashed and turn into mindless lemmings, see the 1956 classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049366 It may be from 1956, but it's relevance 50 years later to 2006 is eerie and very scary. |
#34
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MORMON IS A CULT.
"Jimi Hendrix" wrote in message ... "Evangelical Christian and Counter-Cult Movement" this is an oxymoron, as far as I am concerned, as evangelicals, fundamentalists, religious right, republicans, whatever you want to call them, are the ones drinking the Kool-Aid!! if you want to see a classic film about how a town full of people, who remind me exactly of the groups above, get brainwashed and turn into mindless lemmings, see the 1956 classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049366 It may be from 1956, but it's relevance 50 years later to 2006 is eerie and very scary. Nah, I like "Motel Hell" better. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081184/fullcredits |
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