Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Kingdom of the Cults

Many years ago I read a book about the Mormon faith, the title of which I cannot recall at this very moment. Nor can I recall the name of the author. I have long since forgotten much of what I read back then, but thanks to VFR reader, M. Mason, some of what I read in the book way back when is now coming back to me.

Much more recently (two or three years ago at most) I read a book, Christianity in Crisis, by Mr. Hank Hannegraaff, aka, The Bible Answer Man. On reading Mr. Mason's brief accounting of the Mormon faith, Hank's book was brought to mind.

In the opening section of the book, Turning the Truth into Mythology, Mr. Hannegraaff writes:

ONCE UPON A TIME, long long ago, on a faraway planet, there lived a good God. This God was very much like you and me--a Being who stands about 6'2" to 6'3", weighs a couple of hundred pounds, and has a handspan of about 9 inches.

God's wisdom and power were so great that he could visualize beautiful images and then turn the images into reality by utilizing a special power called the force of faith.

One day this God had a cosmic brainstorm. He decided to use the force of His faith to create something superb and special. He decided to bring a whole new world into existence. This was not going to be just any old world; it was going to be the most fantastic world imaginable. In fact, this world would become so wonderful that it would feature an exact duplicate of the Mother Planet where God lived.

[...]

Yet there was much more to come, for after five days of vivid visualizations, God's mind moved into yet another dimension. On day six, in His mind's eye, God saw the crowning jewel of his creation. As the details coalesced in His mind, God suddenly found himself focused on an exact duplicate of Himself.

I'll add more to this later, but you're catching the drift I'm sure. I should note that Mr. Hannegraaff is not describing in this fairy tale rendition what Mormons believe. No; he's describing what leaders and teachers within mainstream Christianity in America believe and teach to their congregations.

Hannegraaff writes:

Well, there you have it--the skin of the truth stuffed with a monstrous lie! What you have just read is a composite of the writings and ramblings of some of the most powerful teachers operating within the Christian church today--people who have systematically turned God's truth into mythology.

What you will discover as you read on is so horrifying that your natural inclination may be disbelief or even denial. But I assure you that what I am communicating is not based on hype or sensationalism. Rather, it is painstakingly accurate and thoroughly documented.

3 comments:

Call Me Mom said...

Mr. Morris,
In that vein, may I direct your attention to this piece: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062907J.shtml
A little something a liberal relative of mine handed to me at a family holiday get-together not so very long ago to convince me of the error of my ways.
Please note that the "hit list" of prominent Christians and Christian institutions in sidebar one includes The Federalist Society, "Erick Prince and the Blackwater Security Army" as well as a list of members of Congress we should beware of due to their scary Christian/end times theology.

Terry Morris said...

Mom, thanks, but could you elaborate a bit? I don't think I understand the relevance.

-Terry

Call Me Mom said...

My apologies Mr. Morris.

Upon re-reading your post and the relevant links, it has become apparent that my train was on an entirely different track. Too many pots on the stove at this time of year.