Mormonism holds to polytheism (many gods rather than One). The polytheism of Joseph Smith is evident in his own writings. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith was compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith (10th president of the LDS and Joseph Smith Jr.’s great nephew), and printed in 2009 from a 1924 copy. I did a search for “gods” and found numerous instances. If someone wants to question this copy, another one online is published by the Book of Abraham Project, an organization... Read more
Mormonism holds to “another Jesus” (2 Cor 11:4) and many gods (polytheism). *** PART ONE GO TO PART TWO *** Dr. Barry R. Bickmore holds a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Virginia Tech, and is the author of Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity. Currently he is a professor in the department of geological sciences at Brigham Young University. In the Mormon Church he has been a seminary teacher, ward clerk, elder’s quorum president, and quorum teacher, among other... Read more
Mormonism denies the Trinity, which is essential to Christianity; therefore it is not Christian. I’m not scared to say it, but then, I am an apologist, whose job is to say unpopular things, and note that someone or something is in error. We can’t say this in public now because it isn’t “PC” and is supposedly “bad form.” In Mormonism, man becomes God and God was once a man. It’s a question of intellectual honesty. Mormonism is not Christian, by... Read more
Very in-depth discussion on whether Jesus is God or not. PART FOUR GO TO PART ONE GO TO PART TWO GO TO PART THREE 13) JOHN 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father {is} in me, and I in him. And Christians are also spoken of as being “in” the Father and the Son. Please take note: Joh 17:21 that all may be one, as You are in Me,... Read more
Very in-depth discussion on whether Jesus is God or not. PART THREE GO TO PART ONE GO TO PART TWO GO TO PART FOUR 11) JOHN 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. EGW EIMI is without significances, as it was a common phrase in Greek. For example, the blind man stated such in John 9:9, while Peter used the very same words in Acts 10:21. Of course the lack of the implied predicate... Read more
Very in-depth discussion on whether Jesus is God or not. PART TWO GO TO PART ONE GO TO PART THREE GO TO PART FOUR Worship of angels is condemned (Col 2:18), and angels refuse worship (Rev 19:10 and 22:8-9). Therefore, Jesus could not be an angel, let alone lower than an angel. This flat-out contradicts Scripture. He is contrasted with the angels in Hebrews 1:5, 7, 13. Angels can only worship God. Hence, Jesus is God. Unfortunately you demonstrate further a priori assumptions here. For... Read more
Very in-depth discussion on whether Jesus is God or not. My opponent (who wished to remain anonymous) replied systematically to one portion of my paper, Jesus is God: Biblical Proofs. His words will be in blue. The paper is designed to flow back and forth in order to give a sense of the issues being debated and how the two sides argue and respond. Readers can thus decide which presentation is more reasonable, plausible, and true to the Bible. The biblical... Read more
Pre-debate negotiations revealed one party utterly unwilling to be flexible. We just agreed to do a live chat (typing in an Internet chat room) last night. I have previously engaged in a written “dialogue” with Matt Slick: head of the large and influential (anti-Catholic) CARM discussion forum. And I have described our first live chat “debate.” After my challenge to engage in debate on the topic of “Is Catholicism Christian?”was turned down by Bishop “Dr.” [???] James White and his sidekick James Swan (complete... Read more
Account of a farcical live spoken “debate” with a well-known anti-Catholic. On 28 August 2003 I engaged in a more or less spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment “debate” (as others describe it; not me) with Calvinist apologist Matt Slick (head of the large CARM discussion forum) on PalTalk: a popular Internet venue which allows people to talk (with a microphone) to others in the Internet room, much like a teleconference. The discussion was not recorded, so we are left with people’s impressions of the... Read more
Merit is, as St. Augustine said, “God crowning His own gifts.” My understanding of Catholic soteriology is not that we are somehow coming up with a “righteousness of our own” at all. The Catholic Catechism cites this very utterance. We understand God’s grace and our appropriation of it, as of a piece (not opposed to each other), according to biblical verses such as the following: 1 Corinthians 3:8-9 He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according... Read more
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