Summit Lecture Series: Is Mormonism Christian or a Cult? with Douglas Groothuis part 6

Last updated on: June 3, 2016 at 12:55 pm by Christian Podcast Central

Summit Lecture Series: Is Mormonism Christian or a Cult? with Douglas Groothuis part 6 2016-06-03T12:55:19-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Summit Lecture Series Slider

Cults always demote God, make his standards less strict, and give human beings too much credit and ability to save themselves. Now, a Mormon will say, “Jesus is my Savior,” but what do they mean by that?

Mormons believe that there are many Gods; that every God that exists is an exalted man; and that Gods create other Gods through procreation. Many years ago, I asked some Mormon missionaries, “Is it right that you are metaphysically polytheistic and devotionally monotheistic?” They answered, “Yes.” Metaphysically polytheistic is the belief in the existence of many Gods. Mormons also believe that all Gods became Gods after beginning their life as humans, including Jesus Christ and what they call the Heavenly Father.

Human beings, in their belief, are apart of “eternal progression.” This means that Mormons believe that eternal salvation is achieved by ultimately developing into a God who can have his own universe. This belief is also very male-oriented and one can find male-orientation throughout Mormonism. For example, many of its early leaders were polygamists and women have never been able to participate in the authority of the church.

So, when they say, “Jesus is my Savior,” they mean that Jesus provides all resurrection for all humans. When Jesus conquered death and resurrection, he conquered it for everyone. They call that salvation, but what they really want is exaltation. Every God, in their eyes, was once a man, so they want to be exalted to a higher status. Women can still be exalted, but not to the level of men. Mormons say that Jesus has dealt with their mortality and that they will be resurrected because of Him. However, they also believe that they will be exalted according to their good works and their obedience to the doctrines and practices of the Mormon Church.

As you can see, God is demoted and not considered the one true God who has existed for all eternity. In Isaiah 43:10 God says,

Before me there was no God formed, and there will be none after me.

That is very clear.

Moreover, their doctrine of eternal progression does not make any philosophical sense. Mormons don’t believe that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. They believe that Gods and men go back eternally. You cannot traverse or cross an actual infinite of events. You would never reach now. We have a very clean, logical, and sensible position as Bible-believing Christians. We believe that in the beginning, one God created the heavens and the Earth. We also believe that we are utterly incapacitated by human sinfulness. Consider Mark 7:20-23, where Jesus himself says,

“What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make someone unclean.”

According to Christ and the rest of the scripture, the problem of humanity is deepest. It came from the fall of Adam and Eve, and we have an inherited these tendencies and irresistible proclivities to sin and to make ourselves, not God, the center of the universe. Only God’s sovereign mercy can deliver us from that. Mormon’s believe that God did part of the work and that we do the rest with our good works, but this, according to scripture, is simply untrue.

Doctrine and Covenants

Previous Post

May 30, 2016

The Daren Streblow Comedy Show Mini-Cast 144: We Have A New Producer & On the Road with Leland Klassen

Next Post

June 1, 2016 Transform: Following Your Passion Is A BAD Idea

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Brad Stine Has Issues Christian Podcast Central Classic Podcast Experience God Life Grounded Ouxano Parent Like You Mean It The Protest Show with Thor Ramsey The Summit Lecture Series Uncategorized What You’ve Been Searching For

Select a Month July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz