Introduction I have heard it said with regard to studying cults and other religions, that it is better to simply know the real thing than study counterfeits. This idea is backed up with the allegation that bank employees don’t learn to spot fake bills by studying the counterfeits – instead, they study real bills until…
Introduction Many religious groups send out door-to-door missionaries to spread their message. Sometimes they just want to “plant a few seeds” or hand out literature – other times they seek on-the-spot conversion or to start an ongoing “Bible study.” Regardless of one’s ability to define and defend one’s faith, preparing for all the different groups…
Introduction Some kind of “apostasy narrative” is required to explain why a group that did not exist for nearly 2,000 years can consider itself the true expression of Christianity. Obviously, if the Church founded by Jesus did not go into apostasy, there would be no excuse to create a new group or “restore” what was “lost.” Unlike…
Introduction I had two young Mormon (LDS / Latter-Day Saint) missionaries come by my house the other day. Although I have had many meetings with Mormon missionaries in the past, this time I wanted to take a different tack than before. I wanted more than a contentious theological response that basically boiled down to “I have beliefs that disagree…
Introduction The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has done much P.R. work to get their religion to look as much like orthodox Christianity as possible (even increasing the font size on their signs to emphasize “Jesus Christ”). But does Mormonism simply add “another testament” to the Bible or are they following “other gods”…
Douglas Beaumont 