THE POWER OF DA CROSS
(Part II)
I. HUMANISM
Genesis 3:1-21
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”…21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
A. THE LIES OF SATAN
1. We can be like God without God
2. That We can do Something to Make us More Like God
B. RESULTS OF THE LIE
1. Knowledge of Nakedness
2. Man-made Coverings
3. Estrangement from the Presence of God
C. GOD’S SOLUTION
1. He Covered them
2. He killed something to cover them
Skin – hide, leather
II. HINDUISM
Basically the ancient pagan religion of India
There are more than 30,000 gods in Hinduism and they could be gods of completely conflicting facets of life.
A. Maya
The Hindu understanding of reality
Hinduism believes that what we see around us is sort of real but not ultimate reality. Hinduism says that reality is real in the same way that a dream is real. It really is real but it does not define reality. This is a dream world.
So this world is a tissue or a veil or a screen you’re functioning in, but there is another world that is more real than the world you’re in. Therefore, what you need is to be delivered from Maya. You are trapped inside of this dream world or this fake world or this ultimate lighter world.
B. Moksha
To be liberated from Maya
C. Samsara (Transmigration of the Soul)
But you are trapped into a cycle of existence. You are going from one form to another. In Hinduism this is prison. This is hell to them...
D. Karma
Karma is the moral law.
There is a moral law for everything. A human being has a moral law, a dog has a moral law, etc. and you constantly have to fulfill the moral law whatever you are trapped in.
Karma is what determines what state you will be in when you come back.
E. Brahman
Ultimate nothingness. Ultimate beinglessness. They want to become one with Brahman. Ultimate nothingness and ultimate happiness...
F. Yoga
Very popular in the USA. Yoga just as a stretching exercise is fine. But the word yoga means union. And the whole idea of yoga in Hinduism is that these are postures of prayer and meditation and using of Mantras that open us up into union with Brahman. It’s a union with ultimate consciousness which can also open you up to a union with demons.
That does not mean just a few stretches and a few poses will open you up to Demons. But we must realize that yoga comes from religion and its function in that religion is to open a person to the suggestion of spirits.
G. Mantra
Chanting over and over. It’s going into such a repetition with phrases that we deaden our mind and open ourselves up to be one with some force.
H. Hinduism in America
In the 60s America had a great deal of emptiness after coming out of the war. And the Beatles were one of the keys to introduce America to Eastern mysticism, acid rock, drugs, etc. The Beatles got deeply involved in Eastern mysticism; they spread it in America. They begin to talk about karma. They brought Eastern mysticism into America.
In the 1970s people repackaged and called it transcendental meditation. They looked at it like stress management and some kind of mental health element.
III. BUDDHISM
Buddhism became popular after the war when many soldiers in eastern Asian culture began to mingle with the women and intermarry with them.
Since then, films in Hollywood have popularized it.
Siddhartha Gautama
There was a very wealthy noble man who had a son by this name, Siddhartha Gautama. Legend has it, about 500 B.C., he grew up in a house where everything was neat, clean, and protected from the outside environment.
When he was older in his late 20s, Siddhartha decided to disobey his father, venture out past his family’s walls into society, and began to see what real life was. He saw a dead man, a beggar, someone who was diseased, etc. He began to see the ugliness of life and it had so traumatized him because he had never seen suffering before and never been around it.
Later, he went back and told his father he was going to leave the compound, leave his wife, and figure out how to deal with this suffering. One day he sat under a bodhi tree, attempting to sit there until he achieved enlightenment (nirvana).
Because of this, Siddhartha meditates, fast, follows monks, and tries various means to achieve this place called “enlightenment”. During one of his meditation, he comes to enlightenment. He comes to a recognition of what is “true.” And he comes to the four Noble truths.
A. The Four Noble Truths
1. Life is full of pain and suffering. Suffering is in the world.
2. Suffering is caused by your desire or thirst for pleasure success and prosperity.
3. Suffering can be overcome by eliminating these cravings.
4. This is done by the eight-fold path.
B. The Eight-fold Path
1. Right knowledge
2. Right Aspirations
3. Right Speech
4. Right Conduct
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Meditation
The idea that Buddha introduces is the attempt to extinguish desire.
C. Nirvana
Buddhism has an appearance of spirituality, but it lacks the power thereof.
Buddhism is increasing in America because it is a form of humanism. Buddha himself was an atheist. Buddhism doesn’t teach you about a God. Therefore, in a society where people are trying to move away from God, Buddhism gives you just enough spirituality with the absence of God.
For example, in Buddhism, part of the idea is to get a person out of a more rational Western mindset. So, the student may be asked what is the sound of one hand clapping, called a Koan. It is a question that is supposed to unravel knots in the mind.
Buddhism is a selfish response from the human heart about suffering. For instance, if you’ve ever been hurt by someone in a relationship, your first response might be, “I’ll never love again so that I cannot be hurt again”.
The Bible says in this life there will be pain.... Jesus taught, promised, and said he would be with us as we walk through the difficulties.
Buddhism dictates, don’t care about anything and you won’t suffer. But Jesus said, love so much that you’re willing to endure everything and lay down your life.
IV. MORMONISM
A. Mormonism is growing fast in America.
B. From 3/4 million in 1940, they have grown to almost 12 million today.
C. There are more than 30,000 college-age missionaries in 95 countries and 20 territories.
D. They average almost 300,000 converts a year, many from the pews of Christian churches.
E. Highly visible Mormons include Steven Covey, the Osmonds, Orrin Hatch, and Steve Young (SF).
F. In 1990, Mormons spent over 100 million dollars in advertising focused on Americans.
G. Joseph Smith
In 1805, Joseph Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont, to a family known for treasure hunting. The family moved to Palmyra, New York, in 1817 and became embroiled in the religious upheaval of revival. Smith said he began seeking God about which denomination he should join.
H. Joseph Smith’s Visions
In 1820, when he was fifteen, God the Father and Jesus appeared to Smith.
They told him all denominations were wrong and that the truth had not been preached since the first century. In 1823, the angel Moroni appeared to Smith and called him to restore the true gospel. He told him of a stone chest he had buried in the nearby “Hill of Cumorah.” It held a book of scripture written upon gold plates. They were buried by Indians who lived around A.D. 400. These Indians were descendants of Jewish settlers who arrived in America 600 years before Christ. Four years later, after repeated visits to the site, Smith dug up the chest and translated the plates.
The plates were supposedly written in “Reformed Egyptian.” Smith would later claim appearances by John the Baptist, Peter, James, John, Moses, Elias, and Elijah. He believed the lost tribes of Israel buried gold plates in a gold chest and he was chosen to dig up these plates.
I. Early Mormon History
The first “Church of Christ” was organized April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York. Latter Day Saints (LDS) were added later. Smith translated the plates and received revelations which became the LDS “Doctrine and Covenants.” After he moved to Kirtland, OH, and Zion, MO, the church located in Nauvoo, Illinois, grew to 20,000. Smith became “Lieutenant-General Smith” over a heavily armed force of 2,500. Like a paramilitary force, Smith was jailed in 1844 and later killed with his brother, Hyrum, when a mob of 200 stormed the cell. Brigham Young became leader of the Mormons and led them to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1847.
J. Joseph Smith’s Character
Joseph Smith had more than 27 wives officially. Fawn Brodie documents 48 wives in her biography. Smith became a 33rd degree Mason in 24 hours. Smith was charged with heresy, adultery, and fornication by his own appointees, Cowles and William. Smith fired the first shots when the crowd of 200 stormed his second story jail cell in Nauvoo. Smith was originally jailed because he destroyed the office of a newspaper that had attacked him in print.
K. History according to the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon was written between 600 B.C. and A.D. 428. Supposedly, ancient people migrated from the Tower of Babel to South America. These were the Jaredites who perished because of apostasy. Later in 600 B.C., a group of Jews were warned by God to flee before the Babylonian captivity. These, led by Lehi and his son Nephi, landed in South America. They divided into two opposing nations, the Nephites and the Lamanites, the latter being darker skinned. Mormons believe Jesus visited the Nephites after His resurrection in South America. A man by the name of Mormon and his son, Moroni, wrote the Book of Mormon on gold plates and buried them during a battle with the Lamanites in A.D. 428. These are what Joseph Smith dug up in 1823: a “restoration of the true gospel.”
L. Problems with the Book of Mormon, Part I
No Book of Mormon cities have been located.
No Book of Mormon names have been found in New World inscriptions.
No genuine inscriptions have been found in Hebrew in America.
No genuine inscriptions have been found in America in Egyptian or anything similar to Egyptian, which could correspond to Joseph Smith’s “reformed Egyptian.”
No ancient copies of Book of Mormon scriptures have been found.
No ancient inscriptions of any kind in America which indicate that the ancient inhabitants had Hebrew or Christian beliefs have been found.
No mention of Book of Mormon persons, nations, or places have been found.
No artifact of any kind which demonstrates the Book of Mormon is true has been found.
Rather than finding supportive evidence, Mormon scholars have been forced to retreat from traditional interpretations of Book of Mormon statements (Hal Hougey, Archaeology and the Book of Mormon, p. 12).
M. Problems with the Book of Mormon, Part II
1. Smith stole the idea of ancient Indians from Solomon Spaulding’s 1795 historical novel, Manuscript Found.
2. The Book of Mormon, written 600 B.C. to A.D. 428, quotes verbatim from the King James Bible, written A.D. 1611.
3. Over 2,000 corrections have been made in the Book of Mormon since 1830—strange for a divinely revealed book.
4. One character in the Book of Mormon quotes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
N. Pillars of Mormon Theology
The Law of Eternal Progression: “As man is, God was, and as God is, man may become.” The god of Mormonism was once a man on another planet.
He obeyed the laws and ordinances of the god of that world. When he died, he was judged by his god as being found worthy for godhood. The Mormon god was sent with goddess wives (spirit wives) to a planet near the great star, Kolob, near our galaxy. This god and his wives bore “spirit children.” These are the humans who now populate earth.
O. Pillars, Part II
When the Mormon god decided to populate earth, he called a council to decide how. Jesus and Lucifer, his eldest sons, presented differing plans and Lucifer rebelled with 1/3 of the “children.” Lucifer and his 1/3 were cast to earth and became the devil and his demons. He fathered the black race. Jesus was the God of the Old Testament, who earned his divinity through his works in the flesh. His death only returned us to Mormonism’s true god and the system of works he requires. Salvation comes through temple rituals, passwords, hand grips, secret keys, service, and so forth.
P. Other aspects of Mormon Doctrine
Mary was conceived by an immortal father in the same way mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers. Jesus was married, according to Mormons. He married the two Marys and Martha. The Bible is only accepted if “correctly translated;” which means, with Mormon re-translations, Mormons are focused on genealogy because they believe they can baptize ancestors by proxy. One temple ritual involves magical underwear which Mormons continue to wear. Blood oaths are also required at certain levels of spiritual rank on penalty of throat slitting from ear to ear.
All men will go—not to hell—but to one of three heavens: Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial. There are two priesthoods: Aaronic and Melchizedek.
Q. Mormon Books and Government
In 1978, they received the revelation that blacks are not the children of Lucifer and can be priests. They changed their doctrine on polygamy....
R. Mormon Marriages
The U.S. government forbade Mormon polygamy in 1890.
Since then, Mormons practice “celestial marriage.” Human marriages must be sealed in Mormon secret temples in order to endure for eternity.
A man can seal himself to several wives for the future life. These wives will be kept in the next life and become the “spirit brides” to birth “spirit children.” No new marriages will take place in the next life.
S. Mormon Character and Practice
Mormons are moral, pro-family, very patriotic, and avoid drugs, alcohol, and smoking.
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