For most of American history, when people used the word “God” it was assumed that they meant the God of the Old and New Testaments. However, nowadays, in our post-Christian society the name “God” doesn’t mean the same thing to everybody.
Sometimes people who believe in a god that is drastically different from the Biblical God, let others think that they are referring to the Christian God when, in fact, they are not. Therefore, when someone talks about “God” it is important to know if they mean the Judeo-Christian God or some other god.
The Republican Convention in Tampa, Florida is an example of that. There will be talk of God there, however, there will be (at least) two different gods referred to. The Judeo-Christian God is a spiritual being. He has always existed and was not born or created. He is the Creator of all that exists everywhere.
However, at the Republican Convention, Mitt Romney and probably others, will use the name “God” to refer to the Mormon god — a god that was once a human being and then became the god of planet Earth. This god didn’t create the universe. He is one of many gods, not the only God that exists anywhere. This god has a material body and celestial wives.
Here’s a quotation taken from a Latter Day Saints (Mormon) web page. “As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be.” (The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, ed. Clyde J. Williams [1984])
American’s, of course, have the right to believe in any god that they want or to believe in no god at all. However, to lead people to think that you believe in the God of the Old and New Testament, when you don’t, is something less than honest.
So why is this important? Here’s an example: Suppose that two people are having a conversation about Washington, however, one of them is referring to the first US president, George Washington, while the other is referring to Washington, DC. They may be having a nice, civil conversation, but they are totally confused.
“For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” –Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 11:4)
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Very interesting, Steve. Of course, consequences can be very rough in the end. I would hope that people would take the time to find out the truth.
I PRAY THEY DONOT MEAN “G.D.I.”! U KNOW WHAT I MEAN?!
Americans are probably getting the government they deserve, not the government they want. Same way with God. Jesus said there will be those who did miracles and many mighty works in his name, but in the end he will declare to them: Depart from me I never knew you. Jesus bears witness to his own that they are his own. We will love the brethren, we will seek his face, we will pray. The Shepherd knows his sheep and the voice of a stranger they will not follow. I’m not worried a single Christian that knows Jesus will be led astray. But I am concerned about nominal Christians, Christians in name only, Christians that Jesus does not know, oh my. Having a Mormon president makes those very susceptible to conversion into what is known as a cult. Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and all the early Mormon leaders created a pseudo-religion and tacked Jesus name up over the door. Sorry, it just won’t fly in eternity. So, what about these folk? They are sinners like the rest of us. There is only one way into the sheepfold and that way is Jesus. Sinners must repent and turn around, accept Christ and publicly profess their faith in Him. Many have followed Christ out of the Mormon faith into true Christianity, the same way any sinner comes to Christ. Walter Martin in his treatise Kingdom of the Cults had a simple definition for cult as any group that denied the deity of Christ. Peter had it right, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.”
Steve, feel free to not post this comment brother. It is a controversial topic. Truth hurts sometime. When we are wrong, we should admit it, repent, and start anew. Talk about rejoicing around the world, it could happen, maybe this is what it takes, a Mormon President? It happened with the World Wide Church of God, they were redeemed when they did an about face to decades of error.
Bruce: Thanks for the comment. I believe in free speech. The problem with the press and Mormonism is that the media is not pointing out the different meanings of the names “God” and “Jesus” between historic, Biblical Christianity and Mormonism. Those two names have totally different meanings in the two groups, but most Americans are assuming that Mormons mean the same things by the names “God” and “Jesus” that Christians do, when it just isn’t so. By the way, I took a class from Walter Martin at Melodyland School of Theology in Anaheim, CA.
This quote by Mitt Romney was posted on the ABC News web page: “My church’s beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths.” It confirms my point that Mormons believe in a different Jesus that the Jesus of the New Testament.
If the Democrats had a Mormon candidate running, I feel sure that the right wing would go nuts. How they can justify this is amazing.
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Yes, according to Mormons, their Jesus didn’t ascend into heaven he just went on vacation to the Americas. Ha ha, fiction is harder to believe than the truth. I love Mormons, my college art teacher came from a proven Mormon lineage, I have a cousin in Utah that married into Mormonism and has scads of kids and grandkids which fulfills Mormon ideas of having lots of spirit-babies to populate their coming planet. You can’t make this stuff up. (well, someone did) Also my youngest son was in a high school rock band, and one of the four boys was from a staunch local Mormon family. He is currently doing his two year Mormon (elder?) evangelism thing. If he’s an elder I’m the pope. grin. But I do love these Mormons, in their error. A great look into early Mormonism is the movie September Dawn. It’s about a wagon train that left Arkansas headed for California. They never made it. The Baker-Fancher Wagon train with over one hundred people and 400 cattle were ambushed in Southern Utah and killed, by Mormons masquerading as Indians. Three weeks later, Brigham Young was seen riding the streets of Salt Lake City in a fancy carriage from this wagon train. All the adults died, but seventeen children were allowed to live and were farmed out to Mormon families in an adoptive process. (to me, the children being allowed to live is the only redemptive thing that happened at Mountain Meadows Massacre in Southern Utah) These children were later retrieved by the U.S. Army and returned to family in Arkansas. I called an old preacher I know by the name of Fancher. We drove to Little Rock to see September Dawn. He was a descendant relative of the ill-fated Baker/Fancher wagon train. Leon and I walked out of the movie with a knot in our stomach’s and heavy hearts. It is so sad how humans with misguided religious ideas can sink so low as to murder and deception, but we do, God forgive us.
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