Aberrant "Christian" Theology
What determines Christian theology?
This section consists of discussions of groups that espouse theology that deviates from what the Bible declares is the Word of God. Some groups have distorted basic Christian theology to such a degree that the group can no longer be considered Christian. Other groups profess the basics of biblical theology, but distort certain non-critical doctrines. The Bible advises us to correct distorted or heretical teachings, hence this page.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons)
The purpose of this page is not to bash members of the LDS church or imply that they are bad. However, they have some beliefs that are quite different from orthodox Christianity and the teachings of the Bible. For example:
- Heavens and Earth Were Created by a Council of Gods
- Obedient Humans Can Become Gods
- New Gods Are Created Through Celestial Procreation
The following information is presented to show that Mormon doctrines are not supported by the Bible, or even the officially-recognized Mormon scriptures. I have purposefully chosen to present only scriptural and scientific errors in the Mormon doctrines and not attack Mormon leadership or actions from the past. The LDS church attacked Christianity first, so this is merely a defense against LDS claims of Christian apostasy. If you find any errors in any of this information, please let me know.
LDS Theology
- Why the LDS Church is a Cult- Differences Between Christian and LDS Doctrines ( Acrobat file)
- Contradictions in LDS Doctrines ( Acrobat file)
- One God or Many? ( Acrobat file)
- Does God the Father Have a "Body of Flesh and Bone"? ( Acrobat file)
- Does "Progression" Exist or is God Unchangeable? ( Acrobat file)
- Read the Book of Mormon and Pray to Determine if it is True - Is this Good Biblical Advice? ( Acrobat file)
- Will There be Marriage in Heaven?
- Spiritual Warfare at the Redlands LDS Temple
- Testimonies of Ex-Mormons
- Mormon Links
Scientific/scriptural errors in LDS "Standard Works"
- Are the Standard Works of the LDS Church Inspired Scripture? ( Acrobat file)
- Testing the Creation Model of the LDS Church ( PowerPoint file)
- DNA Evidence and Molecular Genetics Disprove the Book of Mormon ( Acrobat file)
- Archeological/Anthropological Problems in the Book of Mormon ( Acrobat file)
- Does the Bible have errors, since it says that corn existed in the Middle East over 2,000 years ago? ( Acrobat file)
- Is it Fair for Christians to Criticize and Attack the Mormon Religion? ( Acrobat file) Why are we doing this?
- The Smithsonian Institution's statement regarding the Book of Mormon ( Acrobat file, zipped Microsoft Word file)
The Smithsonian's statement is available directly from them by writing the address listed on the statement. A mere mention of the Book of Mormon will cause them to send the statement to you. This Internet copy is a nearly exact reproduction of the original - if you have Courier font installed and use the standard settings for font sizes.
Download the zip file of all 12 Mormon papers:
Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower Society
Like Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses are basically good people. However, many have been indoctrinated into the idea that all information from non-Watchtower sources is from Satan. Because of this idea, they tend to avoid reading any material which contradicts their beliefs. For this reason, these pages consist almost solely of scripture, which they are free to interpret any way they wish (although the conclusions are rather obvious). Although Jehovah's Witnesses claim to be Christian, there are major differences in theology, which they attribute to apostasy. However, the doctrines of the Christian church are clear from the Bible and the writings of the early church fathers. The apostasy is a result of the Jehovah's Witnesses interpretation of the Bible.
- Jehovah's Witnesses Beliefs Compared to Christianity (Acrobat file)
- Jesus Christ Never Said He Was God? (Acrobat file)
- Jesus Christ: The First of God's Creations? (Acrobat file)
- Should We Worship Jesus?
- Jesus is God!
- Who is the Creator of All Creation?
- Who is Our Savior?
- Who is Our Shepherd?
- Who sent the Holy Spirit?
- Who Sent the Prophets?
- Who Resurrected Jesus?
- Who Resurrects the Dead?
- Who Will Judge Mankind?
- Who is the "Fountain of Living Waters?"
- Who Goes to Hell?
- What is the Fate of Those Who Reject Jesus Christ?
- Who Has All Power and Authority?
- Did Christ Die on a Cross? (Acrobat file)
- Where Do We (Believers) Go When We Die?
- Does Man Have a Spirit?
- One Body of Believers
- Christ's Second Coming
- Eternal Life: Through Knowledge or Jesus Christ?
- False Prophecies of the Jehovah's Witnesses
- Jehovah's Witnesses Admit to Promulgating False Prophecies Under Oath in a Court of Law
- Captives of a Concept (Anatomy of an Illusion) Book Review
Download the zip file ( 214 KB) of all 25 Jehovah's Witnesses papers in Microsoft Word 2000/2003 format. Don't have Microsoft Word? Get the Microsoft Word Viewer from the Resources Page
Links
- A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESS BIBLE THE NEW WORLD TRANSLATION by M. Kurt Goedelman
- The New World Translation on Trial by Robert M. Bowman, Jr. (Christian Research Institute)
New Age
New Age beliefs are not technically an aberrant form of Christianity, although some aspects of New Age beliefs borrow from Christian ideas.
New Age Spirituality - An Examination of Beliefs- The New Age Paradigm - An Examination of Beliefs
- Does the Bible and Science Support Reincarnation?
- UFO's and Extraterrestrial Aliens - Why Earth Has Never Been Visited
- Gospel in the Stars?- What Does the Bible Say About Astrology?
Other bad ideas
- The Singularity Movement: Why the Singularity Won't Be Coming Any Time Soon - How not to live forever.
- Nostradamus Predictions 2012: The Greatest Prophet of Modern Times? - Don't forget to take our Nostradamus Predictions Quiz.
- The Real 2012 Prophecy: Mayans, Nostradamus Predictions, and Planet X, Oh My! - Our most popular page in 2012 that unbelievers hate.
Eastern Religions
Challenging Eastern Worldviews by Robin Collins
Christian Groups with some aberrant theology
Seventh Day Adventism
- Daniel Seven-Nine: Does it Support Seventh Day Adventism - Is there an "investigative judgment of the saints"?
- Matthew 5-17-19; Too Slender of a Reed to Support Seventh-Day Sabbatarianism Must the Christian set aside only Saturday to worship the Lord?
- Should Christians Worship on Saturday or Sunday? "The Lord's Day": An Analysis of the Meaning of the Phrase in Revelation 1:10
- Is the Sabbath a Creation Ordinance? Did the early church fathers observe the Sabbath? ( 40 kb)
- A Review of Judging the Sabbath by Ron du Preez A technical rebuttal to du Preez's interpretation of what Paul meant by a Sabbath in Colossians 2:16 ( 460 kb)
Roman Catholicism
- Transubstantiation- Does the Eucharist Become the "Real Presence" - the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ? - Is there biblical support for the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation?
King James Onlyism
- Is the King James Version the Only Bible that a Christian Should Read? - Why King James "onlyism" fails the test.
Young earth creationism
- Appearance of Age - A Young Earth Problem - Yes, this young earth doctrine is a problem, since it claims that God is a deceiver, corrupting the true nature of the God of the Bible.
- No Death Before the Fall - A Young Earth Problem - Young earth creationists claim that there was no animal death before the Fall, and that God judged the animals on the basis of man's sin or that God judges unjustly. The claim that animals first died due to sin, implies that they have the capacity to sin. Tying Romans 5:12 into animal death, implies that Christ died to redeem animals.
- More young earth problems
Open Theism
Openness Theology (also known as "Open Theism" or "Free Will Theism") holds that God is not really omniscient, but has only "dynamic omniscience," in that the future is only partly known by Him.
- Open Theism (many different articles, from CARM)
- Open Theism: Online Responses and Debates (Christian Research and Evangelism)
- Open Theism's Attack on the Atonement (John MacArthur)
The Apocrypha
The Apocrypha consists of 15 books of Jewish literature written during the intertestamental period. They lack inspiration of God, have questionable authorship, and often contradict scripture.
Additional Resources:
The Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin
Reasoning from the Scriptures With the Jehovah's Witnesses by Ron Rhodes
http://www.godandscience.org/cults/
Last Modified January 20, 2012