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.

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Standout negative reaction to Romney's faith speech

Over at VFR Auster declares Lee Harris the winner of The Most Tortured Argument of the Week Award for his non-persuasive argument in favor of the view that Romney's speech missed the mark.

I agree that Mr. Harris should be the hands-down winner of this prestigious award given that part of his case involves his declaring that he "doesn't have a problem with Satan worshippers in America, he just isn't inclined to vote for one." What!?

I can say that I don't have a problem with the followers of modern Mormonism in this country (and I enjoy the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's patriotic music very much!), I'm just not inclined to vote for one, and this would be consistent with my view and I think a reasonable position to take. On the other hand, I can't say that I don't have a problem with Satan worshippers. And I damn sure can't say that I'm merely disinclined to vote for one. I can say that I would never vote for a known Satan worshipper irregardless of his superior qualifications otherwise. I can say that I have a serious problem with Satan worshippers in this country without reservation.

So, what's with the goofy analogy offered by Mr. Harris here? He's disinclined to vote for a Satan worshipper in the same way that I'm disinclined to vote for a Mormon? How am I supposed to identify with a nonsensical statement like that which in no way is representative of my view towards Mormons?

I'm not inclined to vote for a Mormon as I've already said, but that doesn't mean I'd never vote for one as with Satan worshippers ... or Muslims.

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