Author Archives: victormorris

A Group Snapshot: Mormonism

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Religious revivals were common in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the early 19th century. A young farm boy named Joseph Smith was encouraged to become a part of such a movement. This teenager went into a grove of trees near his home to ask God which church was right. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and declared that all the churches were wrong, and all their creeds were an abomination in God’s sight. Smith was told to join none of the churches. This is a significant event, called the “First Vision” in Mormonism.

Later Joseph was visited by an angel named Moroni. Moroni revealed to him the existence of a set of golden plates on which was inscribed the history of the ancient people of the New World. After several years, Smith was allowed to remove these plates from where they had been buried on a hillside, a hill called Cumorah. Through supernatural means, Joseph Smith was able to translate the plates. The translation became a book called The Book of Mormon, which was published in 1830. Later that year Smith organized a church which he claimed was the true, restored church of Jesus Christ.

Thus was born the American home-grown religion of Mormonism. This religion, officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is one of the most bizarre religions ever concocted by man (or devil). Many whole books have been written describing the complicated and confusing teachings of the Mormon Church. Allow me to just summarize a few of these:

• God is an exalted man, and has a physical body
• God has spiritual wives in heaven, who give birth to spirit children.
• We were all born as spirit children in a place called the First Estate
• The Fall was necessary for salvation to occur.
• The Father and Son are two separate beings—two different gods
• God is the literal father of Jesus in the flesh
• The LDS Church is the only true church
• The LDS are the true Israelites
• The living Prophet and President of the Church is inspired and speaks for God
• God has restored the priesthoods through Joseph Smith and the LDS Church.
• The two priesthoods are necessary for salvation. These priesthoods are the Aaronic and Melchizedek.
• Baptism is the new birth; and baptism forgives us of our sins
• There are secret Temple ceremonies, based on Freemasonry, which a devout Mormon is expected to observe.
• You can be baptized for the dead
• We must work and obey all of God’s commands to have eternal life
• There are three heavens (but only Mormons go to the third and highest heaven)
• There is a process of eternal progression—people can go from being born as spirit children, to becoming physical beings, to exaltation as a god.
• Being sealed in a Temple marriage ceremony is required for eternal life
• You can become a god
• Once deified you will have your own spirit children

Summary of Beliefs

God: God is an exalted, resurrected man, with a physical body. There are many gods. The
trinity consists of three separate gods.
Jesus: Jesus was the first-born spiritual son of God in spiritual realm. He was born of a literal
physical relationship between God and Mary. Jesus had to advance to become a god.
Salvation: All men are saved by grace in the sense that they can be resurrected. But to achieve
eternal life in the highest heaven requires baptism, good works, the priesthood, and
Temple work.
Human nature: We are “gods in embryo” and have the potential to advance to become gods.
Sin: There is no such thing as original sin. Each person is accountable for his own sins.
Afterlife: There are three heavens. Only good Mormons go to the highest heaven. There is a
hell, but it is temporary for most people. There is a strong belief in bodily resurrection.
Scripture: There are four standard works of Scripture: the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine
and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price.
Truth: Truth is revealed by God, through the Scriptures and through living prophets. God can
redefine and alter truth as need be. The words of a living prophet are more important
than the written Scriptures.

Welcome to Their World…

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One of the most hotly contested controversies in educational, political and scientific circles has been Intelligent Design, or I.D. It has popped up in presidential press conferences. It has become an issue in local elections. And it is the subject of discussion on television, radio, scientific journals, and popular magazines. Indeed, just a few years back I watched a debate on C-Span dealing with I.D. and whether it should be taught in public schools. It has appeared everywhere. So, let’s join the fray, and discuss the issue of I.D. Continue reading →

Freemasonry

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The beginnings of Masonry are uncertain. It probably began with the stonecutters and masons who worked on the Medieval cathedrals. They organized themselves into guilds and lodges. To preserve guild secrets and tricks of the trade, they developed a closed institution with passwords and identifying signs. They also developed a number of legends regarding the antiquity of their craft. These are known as operative masons, that is, masons who actually work in stone. With the demise of cathedral building, the lodges began to die off. To preserve their identity some began to allow non-operative masons into their fellowship. Some of these masons began to see masonry as an opportunity for spiritual and moral truths to be taught. These were called Speculative Masons. They were heavily influenced from a variety of traditions, including the Kabbalah, Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism and Templarism. By the end of the 17th century most lodges in England were wholly speculative in membership. In 1717, four of these lodges united to form the Grand Lodge of England. Soon, speculative masonry enjoyed a time of great growth. It spread from England to the Continent and to America. Beginning the mid-1700’s there began to develop various systems of higher degrees. Continue reading →

White Supremacists

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Probably everyone is familiar to a greater or lesser degree with the White Supremacy movement. We envision KKK members in their pointed white hoods, or survivalists holed up somewhere in the wilds of the upper mid-West fighting off ATF and FBI agents. And these are not unrealistic images. However, as with all cults there is a heretical theological basis to the movement.

The followers of this movement generally think of themselves as part of the Christian Identity movement, or simply the Identity movement. They call themselves this because the distinctive belief that characterizes them is the assertion that they are the true children of Adam, and the true heirs to the promises of Israel. Generally it is posited that only the white (or Aryan) race are true sons of Adam. Other races, especially Jews and blacks, are descended from some other source. There are several theories offered for their variant origin. Some believe that the inferior races are descended from a sexual liaison between the Serpent and Eve. Some think that they are a cursed race (or races) originating either with Adam’s son Cain, or Noah’s son Ham. Others say that the hated peoples are descendents of the demonic “sons of God” who fell in the days of Noah by having sex with human women. Today there are many groups which teach that the non-white races are descendents of pre-Adamite “bestial” peoples, i.e., they are literally “beasts of the earth” and while having bodies and souls, they have no spirits. Whatever their origin, it is commonly held by believers of the Identity movement that Jews, blacks, and all non-white, non-Aryan peoples are inferior, spiritually cursed, and rejected by God.

There are three main categories of Supremacists. The first is the most visible, and probably the most well known. This is the U.S. group known as the Ku Klux Klan, which began after the American Civil War as an attempt to “protect white southerners” and keep “uppity” blacks in their place. The Klan has waxed and waned in its membership and influence through the years. Their heyday was in the 1920’s and 1930’s in the U.S. The second group is those Supremacists who model their beliefs and organizations after Hitler’s National Socialist Party. This includes the more traditional groups which are rooted in the Nazism of the 1930’s and 1940’s, as well as the more contemporary Neo-Nazis groups. The Neo-Nazis are found not only in the U.S., but also in many other places, most notably in Germany, Britain, and other western European countries. The third category is comprised of the Christian Identity churches, such as the Church of Jesus Christ Christian, Aryan Nations. They characterize themselves as the true followers of Jesus Christ, and the promoters of the true gospel, which is meant exclusively for white Protestants.

It is common to see aberrant action and behavior follow heretical belief. This is no less the case with regards to the White Supremacists. There is a perverted and twisted theological base for this movement. The two main areas where the Scriptures are “twisted” by these groups is in their views regarding the true identity of Israel, and the spiritual/physical origins of Adam and Eve’s children. First, the identity of Israel…

In Britain and America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries there was a great deal of speculation as to the fate of the so-called “Ten Lost Tribes.” Out of these speculations arose the idea that the Lost Tribes had through the centuries migrated northward and westward, finally settling in Britain. It was asserted that the Anglo-Saxons are actually the true descendents of Israel. Supposedly this is even evidenced by their name: “Saxon” being held to be a contraction of “Isaac’s Sons.” Also, the word “British” was believed to be derived from the Hebrew words for covenant (berith) and man (ish): Berith+ish = British, or “man of the covenant.” (I am not making this up. They really believe this!) This odd teaching came to be known as British-Israelism. British-Israelites say that Great Britain is the biblical Ephraim and that America is Manasseh, and they are the true Israelites. This strange belief affected a number of cults, including the followers of Joseph Smith, as well as the followers of Herbert W. Armstrong. It also is a major component of the doctrinal structure of the Christian Identity movement.

A second major component of their belief system is the Two-Seed Doctrine. This doctrine asserts that there are two strains of heredity running through human history. In some forms of 19th century Reformed theology this referred to the elect and the non-elect. It was taught that God had infused good seed into Adam and Eve. But with the Fall, Satan had also infused bad seed. Whether you were part of the elect or not was evidenced by God’s providential decision as to which seed you belonged. This teaching is still found in some Primitive Baptist churches. In the Christian Identity movement, they have taken this teaching a step further and given a racial twist to it. They also assert that there are two seeds present in the history of the human race(s). First, there is the natural and godly seed. This seed began with Abel, the son of Adam and Eve. However, there is another seed, an ungodly, wicked and cursed seed. This seed began with Cain, who was the unnatural offspring of a sexual encounter between Eve and the Serpent/Satan. The first seed is represented in the pure, white, Aryan followers of God. The second seed is represented in the corrupt, “colored,” non-Aryan children of the Devil. Throughout history there is a spiritual and racial conflict between these seeds. And, of course, one of the greatest sins we can commit is to mix the seeds.

While some New-Nazi groups have reverted to a pagan theology, believing this to be the truest expression of their Aryan roots, most White Supremacists claim to be Christian. And while they may superficially seem to agree with many basic Christian beliefs, e.g., the Trinity, the Resurrection of Christ, etc., in reality they reject the true Gospel of Jesus. First of all, their faith is more about race than it is about grace. Racial purity and ethnic heritage is essential to salvation in their worldview. Also, the racist and hate-filled ideology they espouse is completely inconsistent with the Gospel of the Savior who died for the whole world, and desires that all men come to salvation.

Summary of Beliefs

God: Superficially orthodox in Christian Identity churches, including belief in the Trinity. Some
Neo-Nazi groups are pagan in theology.
Jesus: Jesus is the Savior of the Aryan people, true sons of Adam.
Salvation: Salvation is essentially a result of birth; race is of paramount importance.
Sin: Holiness and purity are expressed in racial terms; racial purity is the utmost good.
Afterlife: Basically heaven is for the good, white Christian.
Scripture: For the Christian Identity groups, and the Klan, there is an allegiance to the Bible, as
interpreted with their hermeneutic. The writings of Hitler, and other such leaders of the past may also be revered.
Truth: Truth is absolute, as determined by the heretical teachings of the leaders. The White
Separatists are the true church of Jesus. All other churches are heretical.

Sources:

Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult by George A. Mather and Larry A. Nichols.
The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects and New Religions by James R. Lewis

Forgive Me, O Great Gaia!

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Okay, so here is my beef. If you are going to believe in evolution, then be consistent about it. Don’t say you believe in the evolution of species—which generally presupposes God as either nonexistent or irrelevant, and blind chance as the motivating force of reality—and then use theistic and creationist terminology.

What am I talking about? Well, some time back I saw one of those nature programs on PBS. Now I like PBS. I find many of its programs interesting and informative. But I have to take their worldview with a grain of salt. (Should I say “lump”? How about enough salt to make soup in Lake Superior?) Their programs that deal with nature and science always have an evolutionary bias. I have come to expect it, and can usually choose to ignore it. (“Liar!” I get somewhat upset every time.)

But this one program sticks in my mind, and I can’t just forget it. I am watching this program on birds and wetlands. Most of you know how much I like birds, so I am really enjoying this program.

Well, suddenly this nice nature walk turns into a lecture on conservation. No problem—except that in the middle of this treatise on evolution and the competition of species, with a good dose of environmental concern thrown in, we start hearing about “man’s role,” “mankind’s responsibility,” and our “stewardship of the earth.”

Hello! Does anybody out there understand the concept of stewardship and responsibility? Stewardship means you are holding something in trust for someone else. Responsibility means we will answer to someone else for our actions. If we are stewards of the earth, to whom are we responsible? Doesn’t saying we are stewards of the earth assume that there is someone (some One?) to whom we will answer for how we treat this earth?

By the way, while we are talking about this stuff—there was another thought that occurred to me while watching this program. As is typical with such PBS fare, humanity got the rap as being the bad egg in the universe’s Easter basket. I guess you could say, we are the thorn in Gaia’s side.

But let us assume for a minute that the philosophical bias of this PBS program is true—that we all arrived here on the evolutionary highway. Isn’t evolution essentially amoral and ethically neutral? If evolution is true, there is no good or bad involved—just what is, i.e., what has evolved. No one faults foxes for eating rabbits, or lady bugs for eating aphids. So why does mankind, only an evolved primate, become the pimple on evolution’s face? (A face that had its cosmetics applied randomly, I might add.)

It seems to me that if man has developed the intelligence to learn how to exploit the environment, to rape the land, to wantonly kill and destroy animal and plant species—well, who is to complain? (And to whom?) Evolution, along with the chaotic blind goddess Chance, has brought homo sapiens to this point. We are the top competitors in the field, the masters of natural selection. So what if we kill off spotted owls or dodo birds or Bengal tigers… we have evolved to the point of being able to do so. Who is to say we are wrong? Who’s to say there is such a thing as wrong?

Unless…

Unless, evolution is a bunch of bunk, and random acts of nature did not bring us to this point…

Unless creation is a fact, and there is a Moral Agent who started the whole shebang going…

Unless there is a Creator, and HE did make us, and we are going to answer to HIM one day!

Then you do have stewardship
And responsibility
And moral choices
And right and wrong—including how we treat the environment!

You can’t have your cake (of moral responsibility) and eat it too (i.e., have it devoured by blind, random chance).

Sorry, Darwin.