Coptic Orthodox

Diocese of the Southern United States

CPT 101
WORLD RELIGIONS AND CULTS

Servants’ Preparation Program

2004

High School Boys (July 4 – 8)

High School Girls (July 26 – 30)
College (August 9 – 13)

Atlanta, GA
( TABLE OF CONTENTS (

• Introduction

• Judaism

• Christianity

• Christianity versus Judaism

• Islam

• Refuting Islam

• South Asian Religions

• Christian Cults (Jehovah’s Witness)

• Mormon

• Christian Science

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Lecture 1: Introduction
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

The Truth
In a discussion between a Christian and non-Christian religious leader, the non-
Christian leader said, “God is the super power controlling the universe. Our aim as
humans is to reach this power and be united with it. There are several paths one
may take to reach God. Christianity is one of them, but it is not the only path.” “I am
not interested in such a god!” said the Christian leader. Can God accept opposite
versions of the truth? Can God in one religion accept those who proclaim Our Lord
The Lord Jesus Christ as God, and the same God accept those who proclaim Him as
a prophet? Would that make God honest, just and full of truth?

This course is not to discuss the absolute truth from a philosophical approach, but it
is to help the servants understand the basics of the Christian faith and how it is
altered in various other religions and cults. To achieve this goal, we Christians need
to know the truth. Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

Knowing Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ leads us to know the truth, and the truth
will set us free.

The Existence of God

First of all God is the super power who created heaven and earth. Can this huge
creation be the result of an accident? Can the sun rises everyday at a specific time
on its own, lest a disaster take place? Can the stars and the planets move in their
orbits without a control unit, lest any deviation may destroy the universe? Can the
members of a living creature function together in such a wondrous way without a
super designer? Yes, God do exist, and He is in charge of the universe “The
Pantocrator”. Why can’t we see God? Because God is a Spirit, and we cannot see
spirits unless they reveal themselves to us in different ways.

God is Full of Goodness

Can this super power we call God be of evil nature? Let us look at the universe
around us. The best answer to this question is expressed by St. Gregory in his liturgy
“Because of the multitude of Your tender mercies, You have brought me into
existence when I was not. You have raised heaven as a roof for me, and established
the earth for me to walk upon. For my sake, You have bound the sea. For my sake,
You have manifested the nature of animals. You have subjected all things under my
feet. You have not left me in need of any of the works of Your honor. You are He
who formed me, and laid Your hand upon me, and inscribed in me the image of Your
authority. You have placed in me the gift of speech, and opened for me paradise to
enjoy, and have given to me the learning of Your knowledge”. No, evil nature cannot
be in this God. He is full of goodness and love.

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From Where Did Evil Come?
If God has no evil nature in Him, where does the evil around us come from? God is
light, and evil is darkness, and there is no partnership between light and darkness
“For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has
light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14) To explain the existence of evil, we note
the other spiritual creatures, we call angels. They are spirits created by God to do
some specific tasks according to God’s wisdom. They have been entrusted with
great power, but a fraction of God’s power. They are limited, while God is infinite.
Since they have the spiritual image of God, they were given the free will to make the
right choice. Satan, the most powerful archangel, chose to take God’s place. This
rebellious thought corrupted his spiritual being. He became evil by separating himself
from the light of God. It was not Satan alone, but he was accompanied by those
angels who took his side, estimated as one third of all angels. No question, such
behavior has been a cause of sadness. The existence of angels and evil spirits has
been experienced by human over the ages, and they have manifested themselves to
man over and over again.

The Creation of Man

In the midst of this fall of Satan, God created man weaker than angels, but with
opportunity to take the places vacant by the fall of Satan and his hosts. Man has a
spiritual nature as God, but confined into a flesh made out of earthly matter. The
spiritual nature, as in the case of angels, requires the free will. Man is weaker than
angels because of the mortal flesh, which depends on the fruits of the earth to be
sustained, while his spirit is immortal like God. With our limited mind, we may think,
so to speak, that we are created to teach Satan a lesson, as well as to fill the
vacancies resulting from his fall. The lesson is to show Satan the importance of
submitting the free will to its source, God Himself. By doing so man, the weaker
creation, can achieve what Satan could not achieve when he separated himself from
God.

From the first day of Adam’s creation, Satan is his enemy. Satan, out of his corrupted
nature, wants to corrupt every other nature.

The Fall of Man

Angels, being spiritual creatures, were given the freedom to choose between serving
God or rebelling against Him. Man, being a combination of spirit and flesh, was given
the freedom to obey or disobey God. The flesh needs the fruits of the earth to be
sustained. The test given to man was to fast from a certain fruit. While eating was a
requirement for the flesh to live, eating from this particular tree would result in death
to man. Satan was able to deceive man by the same sin he had. He managed to
convince man that by eating from this tree, man will be like God. By eating, death
came upon man. No matter how much man may eat to live, the flesh will die. The
spirit has been separated from God, declaring the spiritual death of man. Thus
human has failed and their nature was corrupted too.

The Salvation of Man

St. Athanasius, the 20th Pope of Alexandria, argues that the fall of man, in a way, is a
defeat of God’s power and absolute authority on the universe. Salvation of man was

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 necessary to ascertain the supremacy of God. The second hypostasis of God, the
Logos, by whom everything was made, must restore His creature through an act of
salvation. Since the fall of man brought death, a ransom must die to save man from
death. Since the wage of sin is death, then every sinner cannot be redeemed except
by the death of a sinless man. The Savior then must be sinless man unlimited within
Himself in order to redeem every sinner. The condition that the savior must be a man
requires that the Savior will be born from humans. The fact that He must be sinless
(lest His death pay for His own sins) requires that the savior be born from a virgin
without inheriting the corrupted nature. The ability to redeem every man requires that
the Savior to be unlimited which means God Himself. Thus, the only way to redeem
man was for God, the Logos, being infinite, incarnate (become man) from a virgin
(He is sinless) and die to lift up the death sentence from humankind. Salvation
requires not only the redemption, but also restoration from the corrupted nature
(Baptism). The divine wisdom is to teach Satan a lesson of submission to God by the
free will. This requires man to abide in God and God abide in him (Confirmation).
The new life after redemption requires the continuous renewal (Repentance and
Confession). Furthermore, the continuity of the new life requires the spiritual food
(The Eucharist). Thus, the coming of Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ to earth was to
achieve two things, paying the price to the divine justice, and to establish the
structure for new life after salvation (The Church).

To achieve this goal, God had to deal with man step by step in order to elevate his
mind to understand the value of his salvation, “How shall we escape if we neglect so
great a salvation” (Hebrews 2:3). Thus, God was so patient with man. He led him
through the prophets, until man was able to accept an organized religion (Judaism),
which leads to the final truth (Christianity). In the following lectures, we will examine
the method God adopted to restore man, and how Satan continue to fight back to
alter the plan of God in the mind of man.

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Lecture 2: Judaism

Introduction
After the fall of man and the corruption of his nature, the Old Testament tells us
about how Cain the son of Adam killed his brother Abel. In other words, man’s nature
deteriorated very quickly from bad to worst. By the time of Noah, his family was the
only family still worshipping God. Everybody else went astray to the extend God
destroyed all by the flood except Noah’s family.

In order not to destroy everything again, and to fulfill God’s promise of salvation, God
set aside a certain nation from which the Savior is to be born. The story starts by
God entering into a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:5-15). If Abraham and his
descendent worship God, they will be given a Promised Land and they will be a great
nation. Abraham could not wait for the promise to be fulfilled; he had a child,
Ishmael, from his slave Hagar. God told Abraham that the promise is through
Sarah’s offspring. The promised son, Isaac was born and God tested Abraham’s
faith this time by asking him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham learned his lesson
and his trust in God increased and willingly went to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. God
saved Isaac by giving Abraham a ram as animal sacrifice to substitute for his son
and praised his faith. Similarly, Isaac has two sons Esau and Jacob. Esau lost his
firstborn right to his brother Jacob and Jacob deceived his old aged father and stole
his brother’s blessing.

Jacob begot twelve sons and due to his favoritism towards his son Joseph, Joseph’s
brother sold him to the Ishmaelites who took him to the land of Egypt as a slave.
When famine struck in the land of Canaan Jacob sent his sons to buy grain from
Egypt. There Joseph who was now high ranked in the court of Pharaoh recognized
his brother and forgave them for what they did to him. He asked to bring his father
and the rest of his family to live in Egypt. Those children of Israel were fruitful and
increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land of Egypt
was filled with them. Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know
Joseph and who dealt shrewdly with the Israelites.

The Exodus
The most important event in Judaism is the Exodus. God promised Abraham that a
great nation would arise from his seed that this nation would have a homeland
(Canaan) and that the entire world would be blessed by this nation.

The book of Exodus opens with the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites crying
out for deliverance from their enslavement by the Egyptians. The key figure in God’s
plan is Moses. Moses was endangered as an infant by the forces of evil and was
miraculously delivered. He was rescued and reared by the daughter of the pharaoh
of Egypt. After recognizing his Israelite heritage and killing and Egyptians in defense
of a slave, Moses escaped to the Sinai Desert where he lived for forty years as a
shepherd. In the desert God revealed Himself to Moses and spoke through a burning
bush that was not consumed. God commanded Moses to lead the Israelites from
their slavery. Moses returned to Egypt and after a series of ten miraculous plagues
upon the Egyptians was able to gain the release of the Israelites. The final plague

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 was death to the firstborn of every house in Egypt. Israelites that ate a sacred meal
of roasted lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread and who smeared lamb’s blood
on their door posts were passed over by the angel of death. When the Israelites fled
Egypt they were pursued by pharaoh, God parted the waters of the Red Sea for the
Israelites to cross through on dry land. This event, along with the Passover, became
a main part of Jewish history, an act in which God intervened to deliver His chosen
people.

The Books of the Law

After crossing the Red Sea God communicated the law to the Israelites through
Moses. Ten Commandments are the basics to Jewish life (Exodus 20:1-17; Deut 5:6-
21). Basically these commandments stress obedience and loyalty to God and decent
behavior toward members of the community. The first five books of the Holy Bible
called Pentateuch became the single most important part of the Bible for Judaism. It
is to this material that Jews have turned for centuries, looking for inspiration and
guidance. This material became the basis for the later Mishnah and Talmud, which in
turn became central for Judaism. It is at this point that Judaism is defined as a
religion of the law and Jews as a people primarily concerned with obedience to the
laws of God.

Talmud
In addition to the written scriptures we have an "Oral Torah," a tradition explaining
what the scriptures mean and how to interpret them and apply the Laws. Orthodox
Jews believe God taught the Oral Torah to Moses, and he taught it to others, down
to the present day. This tradition was maintained in oral form only until about the 2nd
century A.D., when the oral law was compiled and written down in a document called
the Mishnah.

Over the next few centuries, additional commentaries elaborating on the Mishnah
were written down in Jerusalem and Babylon. These additional commentaries are
known as the Gemara. The Gemara and the Mishnah together are known as the
Talmud. This was completed in the 5th century AD.

There are actually two Talmuds: the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud.
The Babylonian one is more comprehensive, and is the one most people mean when
they refer to The Talmud.

Sacrifices and offerings

God was worshipped by burning animal sacrifices on altars built in the open. The
Israelites did not worship their God in a building or temple until the time of Solomon
(961-922 BC). Offering of animal sacrifice continued with the flesh burned in the
courtyard of the Temple while prayers were offered to God inside the Temple.

™ Burning Offering; signifies atonement for sin and complete dedication to God
™ Grain offering: this accompanied all burnt offerings. It signified thanksgiving to
God
™ Peace offering: Expresses fellowship between the worshiper and God. There
are three types 1) Thank offering expressed as gratitude for an unexpected

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 blessing. 2) Votive offering expressed gratitude for a blessing granted when a
vow had been made while asking for the blessing. 3) Freewill offering
expressed gratitude to God without regard to any specific blessing
™ Sin Offering: Was for the atonement of sins committed unknowingly,
especially where no restitution was possible. The sin offering was of no avail
in cases of defiant rebellion against God.
™ Trespass Offering: atoned for sins committed unknowingly, especially where
restitution was possible

The practice of sacrifice stopped in the year 70 A.D., when the Roman army
destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, the place where sacrifices were offered. The
Torah specifically commands the Jews not to offer sacrifices wherever they feel like
it; they are only permitted to offer sacrifices in the place that God has chosen for that
purpose. (Deut. 12:13-14) It would be a sin to offer sacrifices in any other place.

The Synagogue
Away from the land of Israel the Jews were forced to accept a new concept of God
and new institutions of worship. Because great distances separated them from the
temple in Jerusalem, the Jews of the Diaspora developed the institution of the
synagogue as a local center for prayer and study. The word ‘synagogue’ is derived
from the Greek word synagogue or ‘assembly’. A synagogue can exist wherever
there is a copy of the Scripture (Torah and ten adult (over thirteen years of age)
Jewish males. Ten adult males constitute a quorum, or a ‘minyan. Wherever this
combination exists, there can be prayer and instruction.

Along with the synagogue arose the figure of the rabbi. The rabbi is not a priest or a
minister in the traditional sense. The word ‘rabbi’ literally means ‘my master’. With
the establishment of the Torah as the voice of God, there also arose the need for
someone to spend time studying the Scripture and teaching the community. Those
persons who had the time, interest and intelligence to study gradually began to be
singled out and eventually became known as rabbis.

The Messiah
Jews lives with the hope that God would send a messiah to defeat the enemies of
the Jews and reestablish the ancient kingdom of David. The word Messiah is an
Anglicization of the Hebrew, "moshiach" literally means the anointed one, and refers
to the ancient practice of anointing kings with oil when they took the throne. The
Messiah is a man who will be chosen by God to put an end to all evil in the world,
rebuild the Temple, and bring the exiles back to Israel and usher in the world to
come. He will be anointed as king in the End of Days.

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Lecture 3: Christianity
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4,5)

Introduction
When everything was ready for God to fulfill His promise of Salvation, He sent His
Son, Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ Christ, to pay for our sins by dying on the
cross. He also established the Church of the New Testament, and through His
teaching, and the guiding and protection of the Holy Spirit, the theology of
Christianity has been formulated based on both the Old and New Testaments.

The Concept of Trinity and the Oneness of God:

God is spirit, infinite and fills every place and time. He is eternal and has no end. He
is perfect in every thing, including mercy and justice.

God is one “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deut 6:4). Also,
“but God is one” (Galatians. 3:20).

God is one in three hypostases. This is essential in order for His attributes to be
eternal. For example, if God is merciful then this attribute of God was not there
before creating man, or it is an eternal character of God? The three hypostases are
the perfect number for all God’s characters to be eternal.

God exist by His own self (Father). He has a mind (Logos) and has life (Holy Spirit).
This concept does not contradict the oneness of God. For example, the Father is the
origin of truth, the Son is the truth and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth.

A close example, though not very exact, is the sun, while it is only one sun, but from
it the light is born and the heat proceeds. This is similar to the concept that the Son is
born from the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from Him.

The sonship of the second hypostasis does not mean a product of sexual relation as
in the world of humans. It is spiritual and not materialistic as light comes out of light.
It is not under the span of time, nor has any separation in it.

The concept of Trinity is expressed in both Old and New Testaments.

™ “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The
word God in Hebrews is “Eloheem” and this word is a plural. Its singularity id
“Eloh”.
™ “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”
(Genesis 1:26).
™ “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to
know good and evil” (Genesis 3:22).
™ “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not
understand one another’s speech” (Genesis 11:7).
™ “I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. … I have not spoken in secret
from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord

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 GOD and His Spirit Have sent Me” (Isaiah 48:12-16). Clearly in this
scripture there is a mention of the trinity.
™ “The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies
Your footstool.” (Psalms 110:1).
™ “Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind
in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established
all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If
you know? (Proverbs 30:4).
™ “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
™ “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and
the Holy Spirit; and these three are one” (1 John 5:7).
™ “The grace of the Lord The Lord Jesus Christ Christ, and the love of God, and
the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is God incarnate:

™ Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is God: “Christ came, who is over all, the eternally
blessed God” (Romans 9:5). Some other verses are: John 1:1, John 20:28, 1 Tim
3:16, Acts 20:28, Isaiah 7:14, Colossians 2:9.
™ Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is the Logos (Word): “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Some
other verses are: 1 John 5:7 and Rev 19:13.
™ Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God: “You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God” (Matthew 16: 16). Some other verses are: John 20:30,31, Luke
1:32,33, John 1:49, Matthew 27:54, John 1:34, Acts 8: 28-37.
™ Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Begotten Son of God: “The only
begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:
18). Some other verses are: John 3:16,18, 1 John 4:9.
™ There are many other verses showing that the Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is one
with the Father and equal to Him. For example, Scripture proclaims Him as the
following: He is the first and last, the Lord of Sabbath, the Lord of glory, the
Savior, the judge.
™ Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is God incarnate: “And without controversy great
is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the
Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory” (1 Tim 3:16).
ƒ He was conceived in His mother’s womb by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18;
Luke 1:34,35).
ƒ He grew up as a normal boy, developing physically, mentally and emotionally
(Luke 2:40-52).
ƒ He aged up to His thirties (John 8:57).
ƒ Physically, He hungered (Matthew 4:2), thirsted (John 19:28), He became
tired (Mark 4:38), He breathed (Luke 23:46), etc.
ƒ Emotionally, He expressed sorrow (Matthew 26:38), wonder (Mark 6:6), anger
and grief (Mark 3:5), compassion (Mark 1:41), etc.

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The Holy Spirit is God:
1. St. Paul says “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit
of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). He also said “Or do you not know
that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Thus, He used the words God and Holy Spirit in place of each other.
2. Similarly, St. Paul said “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim 3:16),
and St. Peter said “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of
God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet 1:21). Thus, God and
the Holy Spirit are one.
3. St. Peter said to Ananias “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the
Holy Spirit … You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3,4).
4. The Holy Spirit has the same attributes of God.
• He is a creator - “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created” (Psalms
104:30).
• He is powerful - “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you” (Acts 1:8).
• He knows everything - “But God has revealed them to us through His
Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1
Corinthians 2:10).
• He exists everywhere - “you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of
God dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
• He gives life - “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Our Lord The Lord
Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the
dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells
in you” (Romans 8:11).
• He is eternal and forever - “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews
9:14).
• He forgives sins - “But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you
were justified in the name of the Lord The Lord Jesus Christ and by the
Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Christ is the Fulfillment of the Old Testament Prophecies

Prophecy Old Testament Verses New Testament Fulfillment

Christ is from the seeds of Genesis 12: 7, 13: 15, 15: Acts 7: 5, Romans 4: 13,16,
Abraham 18, 17: 7-10 Galatians 3: 16,29
He is from the seeds of Genesis 17: 19, 21: 12, 26: Romans 9: 7, Hebrews 11:
Isaac 3,4 18.
He is from the seeds of Numbers 24: 17-19 Matthew 2: 2
Jacob
He is from the tribe of Judah Genesis 49: 10 Hebrews 7: 14, Rev 5: 5

He is the Redeemer Job 19: 25-27 Galatians 4: 4,5

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 He is the Son of God Psalms 2: 7, Proverbs 30: Matthew 3: 17, Mark 1: 11.
4 Luke 1: 35, Acts 13: 33
Born from a woman Genesis 3: 15 Luke 2: 7
Born from a virgin Isaiah 7: 14 Matthew 1: 22,23
Rein on the throne of Davis 2 Samuel 7: 16, Psalms Luke 1: 31,32
132: 11,15, Isaiah 9: 6,7,
16: 5, Jam 23: 5, ..
His name is Emmanuel Isaiah 7: 14 Matthew 1: 23
Will be proceeded by a Isaiah 40: 3-5, Malachi 3: 1 Luke 1: 76-78, 3: 1-6
forerunner
Born in Bethlehem Micah 5: 2 Matthew 2: 1, 5: 6
Lives in Egypt for a while Hosea 11: 1 Matthew 2: 14,15
Called Nazareth Isaiah 11: 1 Matthew 2: 23
Filled by the Spirit Psalms 45: 7, Isaiah 11: 2, Luke 4: 18-21
61: 1,2
Heals many Isaiah 53: 4,5, 29: 18,19 Matthew 8: 16,17
Deal with the Gentiles Isaiah 9: 1,2, 42: 1-3 Matthew 4: 13-16, 12: 17-21
Speak in parables Isaiah 6: 9,10 Matthew 13: 10-15
Be rejected by His Own Psalms 69: 8, Isaiah 53: 3 John 1: 11, 7: 5
Entering Jerusalem Zechariah 9: 9 Matthew 21: 4,5
victoriously
The rejected cornerstone Psalms 118: 22,23 Matthew 11: 42
Man of sorrow Isaiah 53: 3 Matthew 26: 37,38
Betrayed by a friend for 30 Psalms 41: 9, 55: 12-14, Matthew 26: 14-16
pieces of silver Zechariah 11: 12,13
The potter’s field Jeremiah 18: 1-4, 32: 6-9, Matthew 27: 7-10
Zechariah 11: 12,13
Will be wept and spat upon Isaiah 53: 12 Matthew 26: 67, 27: 26
Him
Crucified with 2 thieves Isaiah 53: 12 Mark 15: 27,28
Die for the sins of the people Isaiah 53: 5,11 Matthew 27: 50
Given vinegar to drink Psalms 69: 21 Matthew 27: 34,48
They will pierce His hands Psalms 22: 16, Zechariah John 19: 34,37, 20: 25-27
and feet 12: 10
Cast a lot on His cloth Psalms 22: 18 John 19: 23,24
Give up His soul to the Psalms 31: 5 Luke 23: 46
Father
His bones will not be broken Exodus 12: 46, Numbers John 19: 33-36
9: 12, Psalms 34: 20
Will be left alone Psalms 22: 1 Matthew 27: 46, Mark 15: 34
False witnesses Psalms 27: 12, 35: 11 Matthew 26: 60,61, Mark 14:
55-61

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 He will not speak during His Isaiah 53: 7 Matthew 26: 63, 27: 12,14
trial
Will rise from the dead Psalms 16: 10, 49: 15 Matthew 28: 2-7, Luke 24:
51
Ascend to Heaven Psalms 24: 7-10, 68: 18 Luke 24: 51
His second coming Joel 2: 30,31 1 Thessalonians 5: 2, 2 Pt 3:
10
Sits at the right of His Father Psalms 110: 1 Matthew 22: 41-45, 26: 64,
Mark 12: 35, 16: 19, Acts 7:
56
Overcome death Isaiah 25: 8 1 Corinthians 15: 54

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Lecture 4: Christianity versus Judaism

Christ is the Savior the Jews were waiting for, and the Gentiles found true life in Him.
Do we really think that Satan will accept the defeat easily? Satan’s nature became
only evil, and he does not leave an opportunity to destroy God’s kingdom.

How does Satan fight the truth?

Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ described Satan as the father of all lies. If he makes
a little lie to make man deviates from the truth then he has achieved his goal of
destroying God’s kingdom.
• Among Christians, Satan will try to change one thing here or there in order to
steal the salvation from any one. This led to the birth of different denominations
among Christians, and will be discussed in the next course.
• Among weak Christians, Satan twists their mind to an extreme ideas leading to
the birth of cults. We will touch on this in the remaining lectures.
• People who are drawn by the desires of the flesh, yet they would like to feel good
before God, Satan designed religions such as Islam to please their desires.
• Some people just refuse the authority of God on the universe, Satan designs
earthly philosophy to reject the existence of God, giving birth to atheism.
• Those who enjoy the idea of many gods, Satan developed the Polytheism to lead
them to destruction.

How did Satan manage to fool some Jews?

In order for God to teach man the concept of salvation, He used a literal means such
as the Israelites becoming slave in Egypt to teach man the meaning of being in the
devil hand. The exodus story symbolizes the need for a savior to deliver us from the
hand of the devil. Crossing the Red sea is a symbol of baptism. Living in the
wilderness being fed on the manna is a symbol of the need for the body and the
blood of the Lord in the present life.

Those Jews who understood all these symbols, they became Christians, especially
after they have seen how the prophecies in their books have been fulfilled in the
person of Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ Christ. However, some Jews prefer the
earthly instead of the heavenly. For them, the Messiah must do literally like Moses.

Thus, current Jews are still waiting for the Messiah to deliver them from the hands of
their enemies. They believe that before the time of the Messiah there shall be war
and suffering (Ezekiel 38:16). The Messiah will bring about the political and spiritual
redemption of the Jewish people by bringing them back to Israel and restoring
Jerusalem (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5). He will establish a
government in Israel that will be the center of all world government, both for Jews
and gentiles (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:10; 42:1). He will rebuild the Temple and re-establish
its worship (Jeremiah 33:18). He will restore the religious court system of Israel and
establish Jewish law as the law of the land (Jeremiah 33:15).

Were sacrifices a symbol of the savior to come?

Not according to Judaism. That is a Christian teaching that has no basis in Jewish
thought. Jews don't believe in a savior, and don't believe that sacrifice has anything
to do with a savior or messiah. Thus, they are missing on the basic point of salvation,

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 which is the redemption from the death punishment. So, current Jews cannot explain
what happened to the death punishment came on Adam and Eve after falling into
sin.

Current Variations in Judaism

There is a distinction between the Jewish people and the religion of Judaism. Not all
Jewish people consider themselves to be religious. Many profess to be atheist,
agnostics or secular. Recent statistics estimate that there are about 18 million Jews
in the world. More than 1.8 million live in New York City, making it the largest
concentration of Jews any where in the world.

The term Jew covers a multitude of religious practices and beliefs. The Jews of the
world are widely divided in terms of there beliefs and practices
1. Orthodox Jews: this is the largest group within Judaism. Orthodox Judaism
strives to preserve traditional Jewish culture and strict observance of the Law of
Moses as interpreted by the rabbis. They resist the secularizing elements of
modernity. Orthodox Jews attempt to stay as close as possible to the mature of
biblical and Talmudic Judaism. Kosher food laws are stressed, along with strict
observance of the Sabbath. In worship men and women are separated in the
synagogue and both must cover their heads. Hebrew is the language of
Orthodox worship.
2. Reform Judaism: is popular mainly in the United Stated and Europe. The
Reformist tradition emphasizes the universality of traditional Jewish values,
interfaith dialogue, and social activism. It attempts to be as modern as possible in
its beliefs and practices. Its worship is usually on Friday evenings and its
synagogues are called temples. Men and women sit together with uncovered
heads. The vernacular is used throughout most of the service with Hebrew
interspersed only occasionally. Organ music and choirs are common. Few
members of Reform temples attempt to keep all of the kosher food laws or the
Talmudic restrictions of the Sabbath. One of the most important developments of
the Reform Judaism is the ordination of women as rabbis
3. Conservative Judaism: developed in the nineteenth century is between the
Orthodox and the Reform. Conservative Judaism is firmly rooted in the rabbinical
tradition, but is somewhat more relaxed in matters of religious practice than the
Orthodox movement. It is distinguished from Orthodox Judaism by its greater
concern with the scientific study of the Bible and rabbinical material. In its
worship, the vernacular is used more than Hebrew. Unlike Reform Jews
conservatives tend to worship on Saturday morning. Men are required to cover
their heads wit the traditional skullcap during worship. Many Conservatives
attempt to abide by the biblical and Talmudic law regulation food and Sabbath
observance.

Other Kinds of Judaism not considered major branches

ƒ Reconstructionist Judaism: is an American offshoot of Conservative Judaism. It
maintains that Judaism is a ‘religious civilization’ that constantly adapts to
contemporary life. Reconstructionism is understood to be not only a religion but a
culture, with its own history, laws and arts.
ƒ Hasidic Judaism: Usually called Hasidism, is an ultra Orthodox movement
characterized by strict observance of the Law of Moses, is socially separatist
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 ƒ Zionism: is listed here because it is sometimes mistaken as a form of Judaism. In
reality it is a political movement dating from the late nineteenth century.

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Lecture 5: Islam

Islam started in the 7th century Arab Peninsula and quickly spread to all the Middle
East and most of Europe. Below is how Muslims people introduce their religion to
others.

What Is Islam?

The religion of Islam is the acceptance of and obedience to the teachings of God
which He revealed to His last prophet, Muhammad.

Some Basic Islamic Beliefs

1. Belief in God:
Muslims believe in one unique incomparable God, Who has neither son nor
partner; and that none has the right to be worshipped but Him alone. He is the
true God, and every other deity is false. He has the most magnificent names and
sublime perfect attributes. No one shares His divinity, or His attributes.

In the Quran, God is described as follows:

“He is God, the One. God, to Whom the creatures turn for their needs.
He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none like Him.” (Quran,
112:1-4)

God is not Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ Christ, and Our Lord The Lord Jesus
Christ is not God. Even Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ himself rejected this.
God has said in the Quran:
“Indeed, they have disbelieved who have said, “God is the Messiah (Our
Lord The Lord Jesus Christ Christ), son of Mary.” The Messiah said,
“Children of Israel, worship God, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever
associates partners in worship with God, then God has forbidden
Paradise for him, and his home is the Fire (Hell). For the wrongdoers,
there will be no helpers.” (Quran, 5:72)

God is not a trinity. God has said in the Quran:

“Indeed, they disbelieve who say, ‘God is the third of three (in a trinity),’
when there is no god but one God. If they desist not from what they say,
truly, a painful punishment will befall the unbelievers among them. Would
they not rather repent to God and ask His forgiveness? For God is Oft
Forgiving, Most Merciful. The Messiah (Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ
Christ), son of Mary, was no more than a messenger... “(Quran, 5:73-75)

The Arabic word Allah means God (the one and only true God who
created the whole universe). This word Allah is a name for God, which is
used by Arabic speakers, both Arab Muslims and Arab Christians. This
word cannot be used to designate anything other than the one true God.
The Arabic word Allah occurs in the Quran about 2700 times. In Aramaic,
a language related closely to Arabic and the language that Our Lord The
Lord Jesus Christ habitually spoke, God is also referred to as Allah.

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 2. Belief in the Angels:
Muslims believe in the existence of the angels and that they are honored
creatures. The angels worship God alone, obey Him, and act only by His
command. Among the angels is Gabriel, who brought down the Quran to
Muhammad.

3. Belief in God’s Revealed Books:

Muslims believe that God revealed books to His messengers as proof for
mankind and as guidance for them. Among these books is the Quran, which
God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. God has guaranteed the Quran’s
protection from any corruption or distortion. God has said:
Indeed, We have sent down the Quran, and surely We will guard it (from
corruption). (Quran, 15:9)

4. Belief in the Prophets and Messengers of God:

Muslims believe in the prophets and messengers of God, starting with Adam,
including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Our Lord The Lord
Jesus Christ (peace be upon them). But God’s final message to man, a
reconfirmation of the eternal message, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last prophet sent by God.

5. Belief in the Day of Judgment:

Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) when all
people will be resurrected for God’s judgment according to their beliefs and
deeds.

6. Belief in Al-Qadar:
Muslims believe in Al-Qadar, which is Divine Predestination, but this belief in
Divine Predestination does not mean that human beings do not have freewill.
Rather, Muslims believe that God has given human beings freewill. This means
that they can choose right or wrong and that they are responsible for their
choices. (So what is Al-Qadar then?!)

The belief in Divine Predestination includes belief in four things: 1) God knows
everything. He knows what has happened and what will happen. 2) God has
recorded all that has happened and all that will happen. 3) Whatever God wills to
happen happens, and whatever He wills not to happen does not happen. 4) God is
the Creator of everything.

Some Benefits of Islam

1. The Door to Eternal Paradise
The Prophet Muhammad said that the lowest in rank among the dwellers of
Paradise will have ten times the like of this world, and he or she will have
whatever he or she desires and ten times like it. Also, the Prophet
Muhammad said: {A space in Paradise equivalent to the size of a foot would be
better than the world and what is in it.} He also said: {In Paradise there are
things which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has
thought of.} He also said: {The most miserable man in the world of those meant
for Paradise will be dipped once in Paradise. Then he will be asked, “Son of
Adam, did you ever face any misery? Did you ever experience any hardship?”

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 So he will say, “No, by God, O Lord! I never faced any misery, and I never
experienced any hardship.”}

If you enter Paradise, you will live a very happy life without sickness, pain,
sadness, or death; God will be pleased with you; and you will live there forever.
God has said in the Quran:
“But those who believe and do good deeds, We will admit them to
gardens (Paradise) in which rivers flow, lasting in them forever.... “(Quran,
4:57)

2. Salvation from Hellfire

This life is our only chance to win Paradise and to escape from Hellfire, because
if someone dies in disbelief, he will not have another chance to come back to this
world to believe.
“Those who have disbelieved and died in disbelief, the earth full of gold
would not be accepted from any of them if one offered it as a ransom.
They will have a painful punishment, and they will have no
helpers.” (Quran, 3:91)

Is There Any Sacred Source Other than the Quran?

Yes. The sunnah (what the Prophet Muhammad said, did, or approved of) is the
second source in Islam. The sunnah is comprised of hadeeths, which are reliably
transmitted reports by the Prophet Muhammad’s companions of what he said, did, or
approved of. Belief in the sunnah is a basic Islamic belief.

Who Is the Prophet Muhammad?

Muhammad was born in Mecca in the year 570. Since his father died before his birth
and his mother died shortly thereafter, he was raised by his uncle who was from the
respected tribe of Quraysh. He was raised illiterate, unable to read or write, and
remained so till his death. His people, before his mission as a prophet, were
ignorant of science and most of them were illiterate. As he grew up, he became
known to be truthful, honest, trustworthy, generous, and sincere. He was so
trustworthy that they called him the Trustworthy. Muhammad was very religious, and
he had long detested the decadence and idolatry of his society.

At the age of forty, Muhammad received his first revelation from God through the
Angel Gabriel. The revelations continued for twenty-three years, and they are
collectively known as the Quran.

As soon as he began to recite the Quran and to preach the truth which God had
revealed to him, he and his small group of followers suffered persecution from
unbelievers. The persecution grew so fierce that in the year 622 God gave them the
command to emigrate. This emigration from Mecca to the city of Madinah, some 260
miles to the north, marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar.
After several years, Muhammad and his followers were able to return to Mecca,
where they forgave their enemies. Before Muhammad died, at the age of sixty-three,

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 the greater part of the Arabian Peninsula had become Muslim, and within a century
of his death, Islam had spread to Spain in the West and as far East as China.
Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of Islam was the truth and
clarity of its doctrine. Islam calls for faith in only one God, Who is the only one
worthy of worship.

What Do Muslims Believe about Our Lord The Lord Jesus Christ Christ?

Muslims respect and revere The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ (peace be upon him).
They consider him one of the greatest of God’s messengers to mankind. The Quran
confirms his virgin birth, and a chapter of the Quran is entitled ‘Maryann’ (Mary). The
Quran describes the birth of The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ as follows:
“[Remember] when the angels said, ‘O Mary, God gives you good news of a
word from Him (God), whose name is the Messiah The Lord The Lord Jesus
Christ Christ, son of Mary, revered in this world and the Hereafter, and one of
those brought near [to God]. He will speak to the people from his cradle and as a
man, and he is of the righteous.’ She said, ‘My Lord, how can I have a child when
no mortal has touched me?’ He said, ‘So [it will be]. God creates what He wills.
If He decrees a thing, He says to it only, ‘Be!’ and it is.’” (Quran, 3:45-47)

The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ was born miraculously by the command of God, the
same command that had brought Adam into being with neither a father nor a
mother. God has said:

The case of The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ with God is like the case of Adam.
He created him from dust, and then He said to him, “Be!” and he came into
being. (Quran, 3:59)

During his prophetic mission, The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ performed many
miracles. In the Quran God tells us that The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ said:

“I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I make for you the shape of a
bird out of clay, I breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God’s permission. I
heal the blind from birth and the leper. And I bring the dead to life by God’s
permission. And I tell you what you eat and what you store in your houses....”
(Quran, 3:49)

Muslims believe that The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ was not crucified. It was the
plan of The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ’ enemies to crucify him, but God saved him
and raised him up to Him. And the likeness of The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ was
put over another man. The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ's enemies took this man and
crucified him, thinking that he was the Lord The Lord Jesus Christ.

Neither Muhammad nor The Lord Jesus Christ came to change the basic doctrine of
the belief in one God, brought by earlier prophets, but rather to confirm and renew it.

What Are the Five Pillars of Islam?

The Five Pillars of Islam are the framework of the Muslim life. They are the
testimony of faith, prayer, giving zakat (support of the needy), fasting during the

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 month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime for those who are
able.

1. The Testimony of Faith:

The testimony of faith is saying with conviction, “La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur
rasoolu Allah.” This testimony of faith is called the Shahada, a simple formula
which should be said with conviction in order to convert to Islam. The testimony
of faith is the most important pillar of Islam.

2. Prayer:
Muslims perform five prayers a day. Each prayer does not take more than a few
minutes to perform. Prayer in Islam is a direct link between the worshipper and
God. There are no intermediaries between God and the worshipper.

Prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. A

Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices, factories, or
universities.

3. Giving Zakat (Support of the Needy):

All things belong to God, and wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust.
The original meaning of the word zakat is both ‘purification’ and ‘growth.’ Giving
zakat means ‘giving a specified percentage on certain properties to certain
classes of needy people.’ The percentage which is due on gold, silver, and cash
funds that have reached the amount of about 85 grams of gold and held in
possession for one lunar year is two and a half percent. Our possessions are
purified by setting aside a small portion for those in need, and, like the pruning of
plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.

4. Fasting the Month of Ramadan:

Every year in the month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast from dawn until sundown,
abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations.

Although the fast is beneficial to health, it is regarded principally as a method of

spiritual self-purification. By cutting oneself off from worldly comforts, even for a
short time, a fasting person gains true sympathy with those who go hungry, as
well as growth in his or her spiritual life.

5. The Pilgrimage to Mecca:

The annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca is an obligation once in a lifetime for those
who are physically and financially able to perform it. About two million people go
to Mecca each year from every corner of the globe. Although Mecca is always
filled with visitors, the annual Hajj is performed in the twelfth month of the Islamic
calendar. Male pilgrims wear special simple clothes which strip away distinctions
of class and culture so that all stand equal before God.

The rites of the Haj include circling the Kaaba seven times and going seven
times between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa, as Hagar did during her search
for water. Then the pilgrims stand together in Arafa and ask God for what they
wish and for His forgiveness, in what is often thought of as a preview of the Day
of Judgment.

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 The end of the Hajj is marked by a festival, Eid Al-Adha, which is celebrated with
prayers. This, and Eid al-Fitr, a feast-day commemorating the end of Ramadan,
are the two annual festivals of the Muslim calendar.

This is how Muslims attract others to Islam. It sounds simple, clear and to the point.
In the next lecture, we will show what the above has neglected, and the other things
which they never mentioned above.

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Lecture 6: Refuting Islam

Please email the Diocese for this lecture.

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Lecture 7: South Asian Religions

In the far east, a group of religions based on the view that “All is god and god is all”.
This is known as “Pantheism” which give birth to different religions such as
Hinduism, Taoism and some form of Buddhism.

Hinduism

The term “Hinduism” is derived from an ancient linguistic root that means ‘to flow’
and rivers have indeed been and have remained a central feature in this religious life
of nearly a billion Indians.

Hinduism makes up around 13% of the world’s population. The vast majority of
Hindus –some 700- million- live in India, where they account for 82% of the
population. There are more than one million Hindus in North America

Hinduism can be traced back to around 1500 BC It began as a polytheistic and

ritualistic religion. Brahman “all is one” is an impersonal monistic force. The highest
form Brahman is called “nirguna’ which means ‘without attributes or qualities. The
Hindu concept of god continued to develop in the direction of god being personal.
Nirguna Brahman became Saguna Brahman, which is Brahman with attribute. This
personified form of Brahman is also called Ishvara.

According to Hindu tradition Ishvara became known to humanity through the Trimurti
(literally, ‘three manifestations’) of Brahman. Those manifestations include Brahme
(the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Siva (the destroyer). Each of the three
deities has at least one devi or divine spouse. Ishvara became personified even
further though the tem mythical incarnations of Vishnu called avatars. The forms of
these incarnations include that of animals (fish, tortoise or boar) and persons (Rama,
Krishna, Buddha).

It is estimated that there are 330 million other gods in Hinduism. In the course of its
history, Hinduism has spawned three other religious movements that have since
become world religions: Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism

Hindu scriptures were collected over hundreds of years, beginning with the writing of
the oral traditions around the last half of the second millennium BC The scriptures
are known as the Vedas ‘wisdom or ‘knowledge’. They were written to give the
priests instructions as to how to perform the rituals. The concluding portions of the
Veda are called the ‘Upanishads’, which are a synthesis of Vedic teachings. They
are also called ‘Vedanta’. The general assumptions of the Upanishads include a
belief in pantheism, karmic retribution and reincarnation.

1. Classification of Hinduism
Today there are three basic classifications of Hindu sects

ƒ The abstract monists: stress the philosophical oneness of the universe

instead of religious or theistic ideas
ƒ The Vishnuites: devoted to the worship of the god Vishnu (in many different
manifestations) as the supreme form of divinity

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 ƒ The Shivaites: devoted to the worship of the god Shiva as the highest
manifestation of divinity. TM with its philosophical concentration relates the
monistic classification, while ISKCON believes that Krishna, the supreme god
is also known as Vishnu and so they are identified with the Vishnuites.

2. Hindu Beliefs
ƒ God:
There is no single Hindu idea of God. Hindu concepts of deity can include
any of the following: monism (all existence is one substance); pantheism (all
existence is divine); Panentheism (God is in creation as a soul is in a body);
animism (God or gods live in non-human objects such as trees, rocks
animals, etc); polytheism (there are many gods); henotheism (there is one
god we worship among the many that exist); and monotheism (there is only
one God)
ƒ Karma and Samsara:
All souls are eternal and accountable for their own actions throughout time.
Karma refers to the debt one’s bad actions which must be atoned for in order
for one to escape the wheel of samsare, or reincarnation (the soul inhabits
successive human bodies) or transmigration (the soul inhabits successive
bodies- human, animal or even plants or inanimate objects)
ƒ Salvation:
The three major paths to Hindu ‘salvation’ include karma marga, the way of
disinterested action; bhakti marga, the way of devotion and jnana marga, the
path of knowledge or mystical insight. Jnana marga achieves self-realization
through intuitive awareness and mystical insight.

3. ISKCON (Hare Krishna)

The second major Hindu sect that developed in the 15th century through the
teachings of a man named Chaitanya, who instituted worship of Vishnu as God
against the prevailing local worship of Shiva. Chaitanya taught that Krishna was
the supreme personality of the Godhead.

Hare Krishna are known today in America for their fund-raising activities through
public solicitation, their spiritual; chanting, their community vegetarian feasts and
their often public ceremonies honoring their idols. ISKCON places of worship,
called temples, preaching centers work independently of one another but under
the direction of an area manager.

ISKCON Beliefs
a. God:
Although the bulk of Hindu scripture is pantheistic (everything is a part of
God) portions of the Hindu scripture notable the Bhagavad-Gita are basically
monotheistic presentations of Hinduism. Bhagavad-Gita is the most sacred
scripture of ISKCON. ISKCON belief in God is essentially monotheistic and
Krishna is said to be the supreme personality of the /godhead. Any
incarnation of the one God is incarnation of Krishna
b. Christ:
The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is Krishna’s Son but in apposition no more
unique to God than any other man could strive to attain. To the Hare Krishna
The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ is not the unique Son of God, God manifest
in the flesh. He is not an incarnation of Krishna
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 c. Salvation:
Salvation is obtained by removing one’s karmic debt through devotion the
Krishna and right actions through multiple incarnations. ISKCON salvation
comes to those initiates who “follow the four regulative principles, chant
sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on beads every day, and follow all
the regulated temple programs” also “From the body of any person who claps
and dances before the Deity showing manifestations of ecstasy, all the birds
of sinful activities fly away upwards”

4. Transcendental Meditation TM
TM is a spiritual practice or yoga introduced to the Western society by its founder
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as a religious exercise or philosophy. Encountering
skepticism from non-religious westerners, Maharishi revamped his TM program
and promoted the movement as a scientifically sound, non-religious
psychological exercise designed to relieve stress to bring peace to the inner man
thereby having a positive effect on society and to enable the advanced
practitioner to participate in astral projection (his soul leaving his body) and
levitation.

TM leaders persistently neglect to inform the public of TM’s religious nature and
of the fact that the motivational health or political program they are promoting is
actually a TM front project

TM Beliefs
a. God:
TM concentrates on those Hindu scriptures which present a pantheistic view
of God. Therefore God is pantheistic and one’s goal is to lose his won
personality in the oneness of God.
b. The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ:
TM ignores The Lord The Lord Jesus Christ almost entirely although
Maharishi teaches that anyone can become as enlightened as The Lord
Jesus Christ through the application of TM techniques.
c. Salvation:
Is accomplished by realizing that one is in union with the Creative
intelligence: “the answer to every problem is that there is no problem. Let a
man perceive this truth and then he is without problems’ this comes through
practicing meditation “A huge mountain of sins extending for miles is
destroyed by Union brought about through transcendental meditation without
which there is no way out”

Conclusion:
Hinduism in all its forms denies the biblical Trinity, the deity of Christ and the
doctrines of the Atonement, sin and salvation through the sacrifice of our Lord
the Lord Jesus Christ Christ. It replaces resurrection with reincarnation and both
grace and faith with human works. One cannot achieve peace with God through
Hinduism or any of its sects.

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Buddhism
Buddha means “Enlightened One”. Buddhism began in a region of northeast India,
representing today’s Nepal.

1. Siddhartha Gautama
Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (born around 563 BC) the son of
King Suddhodana Gautama, ruler over a small district on the Indian slope of the
Himalayas. Shortly after Siddhartha’s birth a hermit named Asita allegedly had a
vision of the ‘rejoicing of the gods at the birth of the man supreme, who was born
for the welfare and bliss of the entire world’. Asita subsequently traveled to
Suddhodana’s royal court where he was shown the child. The hermit allegedly
prophesied that if this prince remains in the palace when grown up he will
become a great king and subjugate the whole world, but if he forsakes the court
life to embrace a religious life, he will become a Buddha the Savior of the world.

King Suddhodana believing that contact with human misery would prompt
Siddhartha to leave home in search of spiritual truth immediately ordered his
servants to forever shield the prince from all contact with evil and suffering.
Siddhartha became a prisoner of luxury.

Legend has is that Siddhartha out of either curiosity or inner discontent eluded
his royal attendants and ventured into the outside world. Over several days he
visited a nearby park where he made some disturbing observations. The first day
he encountered and old man bent by age, the second day he saw a diseased
person possibly a leper. On his third trip he viewed a corpse and on the fourth
day he met an ascetic monk. Siddhartha was never the same. He concluded that
life is nothing but an experience plagued by sorrow. Siddhartha left home and
began a quest of spiritual truth. He meditated alone under a tree in a state of
bliss for seven weeks. During these seven weeks Siddhartha went though four
trance-like stages, after which he achieved enlightenment. He was now worthy of
the name Buddha ‘the enlighten one’. Gautama started teaching what he had
learned. His sermons contained the Four Noble Truths which would serve as the
foundational teachings of Buddhism. Gautama died in Kushinagara at the age of
80 of apparent food poisoning.

2. Buddhism teachings (Dharma)

Buddhism teachings deal with on basic goal how to escape samsara (the cycle of
rebirth commonly known as reincarnation). Freedom from samsara leads to
nirvana, which is commonly thought as a state of complete deliverance from pain
and sorrow.

Buddha termed his Four Noble Truths Pativedhanana which translated means
‘the wisdom of realization’

a. The First Noble Truth:

Dukkha (a bone twisted out of its joint) Life is full of sorrow and pain. To
believe that life without suffering is possible is to believe an illusion.
According to the Buddha people do not accept this truth but instead choose
to cope with pain by deceiving themselves into thinking that life is also filled
with happiness.
b. The Second Noble Truth: Tanha (Attachment)
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 The suffering we encounter is all due to the false desires of the senses that
have been deceived into clinging to the impermanent world. The cause of
suffering is desire, craving due to ignorance. All things in life are meaningless
and insignificant because they are temporary.
c. The Third Noble Truth: Nirodha (cessation)
The way out of suffering lies in the ability to disengage oneself completely
from the false desires of the temporary self.
d. The Fourth Noble Truth
Desire can be eliminated by following the Eightfold Path. (Marga)
Wisdom:
Right Views (understanding)
Right Aspirations (ambition)
Ethical Conduct
Right Speech (communication)
Right Conduct (action)
Right Livelihood (vocation)
Mental Discipline
Right Effort (endeavor)
Right Mindfulness (mind control)
Right Concentration (deep meditation)
The goal of all Buddhism is not heaven or being with God, for there is no God
in Gautama’s teaching. Rather they seek nirvana the elimination of all
suffering desires and the illusion that the self exists.

Buddhism and Christianity:

Similarities:
ƒ Buddhists are taught to live according to several percepts that are in harmony
with Scripture such as refraining from stealing, committing adultery, and lying.
ƒ Buddhists recognize that life is temporal. Nothing here has any eternality.
ƒ Buddhism teaches that all people are subject to suffering. The Bible supports this
belief, for pain and affliction are spoken often in Scripture. However, God’s Word
teaches that although suffering is not a pleasant experience it can be used to our
benefit.

Dissimilarities:
ƒ Sufferings:
Buddhism finds no redeeming value whatsoever in suffering. Suffering is only
something to escape. Suffering does not intermittently intrude into human life; life
is suffering. Christianity view suffering as allowed by God and used by Him to
shape and refine us for eternal life.
ƒ Reincarnation:
According the Buddhism reincarnation exists. Everyone must escape
reincarnation through the false desires of the world. Self-effort is the key to
obtaining nirvana. Christianity refuses reincarnation for it is contrary to the Holy
Bible. Hebrew 9:27 teaches us that we live only one lifetime after which comes
the judgment of our souls. Scripture points out that those who have come to faith
in Christ will be in God’s presence immediately after death, not reincarnated
(Philippians 1:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:8)

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Lecture 8: Christian Cults

Introduction
As discussed earlier, Satan fights the body of Christ by every mean. Among weak
Christians, Satan twists their mind to extreme ideas leading to the birth of cults.
Those who follow these cults are no longer considered Christians by the main stream
Christians. Examples of these cults are:
Jehovah’s Witness
The Mormons
Christian Science

Jehovah’s Witness
Jehovah's Witnesses, also known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (with
headquarters in Brooklyn, New York), was officially founded in 1884 [as the Zion's
Watch Tower and Tract Society (originally the Zion's Watch Tower in 1879), officially
adopting the name of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931], by Charles Taze Russell (1852-
1916). In 1870, Russell was exposed to the teachings of William Miller, one of the
founders of the Second Adventist Movement and acquired an interest in end time
prophecies. Russell originally denied the doctrine of Hell, and would go on to reject
nearly every other Christian doctrine, as well as add many physically and spiritually
dangerous doctrines of his own making. Many of these unique and bizarre teachings
were to be found in his six volume series titled, Studies in the Scriptures.

For the year 2000, the Watchtower Society claims a worldwide membership of over
six million (about one million U.S.) in more than 91,000 congregations in 235
countries speaking 340 languages, and takes in approximately 300,000 new
members each year (288,907 in 2000). According to JW statistics, yearly
proselytizing is accomplished via 4.8 million home Bible studies and 1.2 billion hours
of witnessing. The JWs field over 500,000 full and part-time missionaries. Instruction
and training are provided for all JWs at five meetings a week, held primarily in
"Kingdom Halls." Every week, an average of 45 new JW congregations is formed. [In
the year 2000 in the United States alone, it was reported that 988,000 Jehovah's
Witnesses spent more than 181 million hours in field service (i.e., door-to-door
witnessing and Bible studies).

JW leadership claims its victims by asserting itself to be the sole Christian religion
and authority on the earth today, as well as God's mouthpiece or prophet. The
Watchtower further disrupts families through its harsh and unbiblical interpretation of
"dis-fellowship" and the practice of "shunning." Family members who are former JWs
are labeled by Watchtower adherents as "apostates" and prevented from even social
contact. Dis-fellowship or disassociated children, parents, and grandparents are kept
from any type of communication with active members of the organization. Divorces
are common within the sect when one member becomes disillusioned with
Watchtower teaching and mind-control.

Not only has the name of this cult been changed time and again, but they also
change their doctrines regularly -- between 1917 and 1928, they changed their
doctrines 148 times! Russell died in 1916 and was replaced by the second president,
Joseph F. Rutherford. "A process of replacing Russell's writings with Rutherford's
began in 1921 with the publication of Rutherford's Harp of God. Between 1921 and
1941, Rutherford was to write twenty books and numerous pamphlets, which would
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 slowly revise the doctrine and structure left him by Russell" (Encyclopedia of
American Religions, G. Melton, Vol. 1, p. 485). One of Rutherford's books that
caused a great amount of controversy was the seventh volume of the Studies in the
Scriptures.

Russell adopted many of his doctrines from the Seventh-Day Adventists, but the JWs
began to emphasize door-to-door evangelism and literature distribution after
Russell's death and subsequent leadership assumption by Joseph Franklin
Rutherford. The JWs have published over ten billion pieces of literature since 1928.
Its main periodicals are The Watchtower magazine (circulation of over 20 million in
more than 130 languages) and Awake! (About 16 million copies in more than 80
languages), both published semi-monthly.

Historically, the JWs are best known for their practices of refusing (1) to serve in the
military; (2) to salute the flag; (3) to celebrate Christmas, birthdays, or other holidays;
and (4) to give or to accept blood transfusions. [Rejecting the medical practices of
vaccinations, organ transplants, and blood transfusions, the Watchtower has caused
the deaths of many of its members throughout its history. Interestingly, vaccinations
and organ transplants have now been acknowledged by the Watchtower as
acceptable practices, contradicting their previous doctrinal position.] (Although some
of these practices are neither Biblical nor unbiblical in and of themselves, depending
upon one's motives and the exact nature of the practice, the reasons the JWs give
for them often are unbiblical.)

Below are the highlights of what JWs believe concerning their source of authority, the
Godhead, Christ, sin, salvation, heaven and hell, etc.

1. Source of Authority.
JWs claim the Bible as their final authority, but Russell's writings, especially
Studies in the Scriptures, are considered "the light of the Scriptures." JWs have
their own translation of the Scriptures (New World Translation, published in
1961), which reflects the binding interpretations of the group's leaders. The JWs'
New World Translation greatly perverts the Scriptures to avoid placing
themselves under the judgment of God (cf. John. 1:1; 8:58; I Tim. 2:6; Ac. 10:36;
Col. 1:16-17; 2:9-10; etc.). Hence, the leader's interpretation of the Bible, not the
Bible itself, is the final authority of JWs. The Watchtower magazine is one of the
JWs main sources of doctrine, and is considered authority. JWs believe that God
is not a triune God, but only "Jehovah God" (Let God Be True, pp. 100-101).
They teach that Trinitarianism is a belief in three gods, and thereby, Satan-
inspired polytheism.
2. God the Father
Known as Jehovah, the Watchtower considers Him to be the only true eternal
God, the Almighty. They write, "There was, therefore, a time when Jehovah was
all alone in universal space" (Let God Be True, p. 25). Being alone, the first
creative act of Jehovah was to create His Son
3. The Lord Jesus Christ Christ.
Since JWs do not believe in the Trinity, they also do not believe that The Lord
Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. They add the word "other" four times to
Colossians 1:16,17, teaching that Christ was God's first creation, i.e., the
reincarnation of Michael the archangel created by Jehovah, rather than the
Creator.
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 5. Use of Name Jehovah.
JWs use the name "Jehovah" only for God (in order to distinguish between God
and The Lord Jesus Christ Christ), while failing to recognize that The Lord Jesus
Christ is the fulfillment of "Jehovah" in Isaiah 40:3 and Matthew 3:3.
6. Resurrection of Christ.
JWs deny the bodily resurrection of Christ through their teaching that the body of
Christ was annihilated by God -- not risen -- but rather a new one was created
three days after His death. This they call the "resurrection" of Christ. Thus, The
Lord Jesus Christ was "resurrected" as a "glorious spirit creature" and does not
now have a glorified physical body. Instead, they claim The Lord Jesus Christ
arose spiritually and only "materialized" at various times after His resurrection so
He could be seen alive. (Awake!, 7/22/73, p. 4).
7. The Holy Spirit.
JWs deny the deity of the third person of the Trinity, as either God or as a
person. They claim that the Holy Spirit is only an impersonal "active force of
Almighty God which moves His servants to do His will." (Reasoning From the
Scriptures, pp. 406-407; The Watchtower, 6/1/54, p. 24).
8. Sin.
JWs believe that the first man, Adam, disobeyed Jehovah when tempted by the
angel Lucifer, who was jealous of man. As a result of disobedience, Adam and all
his descendants lost the right to life and so became liable to death. This liability is
applied to temporal death only.
9. Salvation.
JWs claim everlasting life is a reward for doing the will of God and carrying out
one's dedication -- in other words, salvation is a reward for good works. (JWs are
expected to spend five hours per week in door-to-door visitation and witnessing,
are responsible for selling twelve subscriptions to The Watchtower magazine
each month, and are responsible for conducting a "Bible study" each month in
the homes of their converts.) According to JW theology, a person has one of
three possible destinies. The Anointed (144,000) will be in heaven to reign with
Jehovah God. The rest of the faithful Jehovah's Witnesses (not of the 144,000)
will live forever on a paradise Earth. Both of these classifications are determined
to a great extent on membership in the Watchtower organization as well as going
door-to-door spreading the message of the Watchtower. Those people who are
not members of the Watchtower organization will be destroyed by Jehovah God
and cease to exist. There is no concept of eternal punishment or hell in
Watchtower theology (Let God Be True, pp. 90-95, 289). They also believe that
men will have a second chance, after death, to be saved.
10. The Body of Christ.
JWs believe that the members of the spiritual Body of Christ, or "Christian
Congregation," number only 144,000 (Rev. 7:4-8). Most of those members of
Christ's Body are now deceased and are reigning with The Lord Jesus Christ in
heaven since 1918. (Anybody born after 1936 cannot be in that number.) The
remaining members still on earth, approximately 8,000 (out of whom are selected
the "Governing Body"), are known as the "Remnant." They are collectively known
as Jehovah God's "channel of communication" to men. They are the only ones
"born again" and are the only ones who have a hope of going to Heaven. The
rest of Jehovah's faithful witnesses only hope to be worthy enough to inherit the
Earth, and will never see "The Lord Jesus Christ/Michael," nor will they ever go
to Heaven. All "so called Christendom" will be destroyed at Armageddon.
11. Soul Sleep.
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 JWs deny the immortality of the soul. They do not believe the soul an exist apart
from the body, but that a corpse remains in an unconscious state in the grave
waiting for the resurrection.
12. Annihilation of the Wicked.
JWs teach that the "second death" is annihilation and extinction -- the wicked will
cease to exist and will not suffer everlasting torment. They claim that a "doctrine
of a burning hell" is "wholly unscriptural," "unreasonable," "contrary to God's love"
and "repugnant to justice". They claim that "hell" is the grave.
13. Prophecy.
The Bible lists six identifying marks of false prophets, any one of which is
sufficient for identification:
a. Through signs and wonders they lead astray after false gods (Deut. 13:1-4);
b. Their prophecies don't come to pass (Deut. 18:20-22)
c. They contradict God's Word (Isaiah. 8:20);
d. They bear bad fruit (Matthew. 7:18-20)
e. Men speak well of them (Luke. 6:26);
f. They deny that The Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Christ, has come
once and for all in the flesh (1 John. 4:3), thereby denying His sufficiency in
all matters of life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3).
Most cults are founded upon false prophecies, which, if pointed out, offer an
effective way to open blind eyes and rescue cultists. Russell's false prophecies
formed the basis for what became The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and
the Jehovah's Witnesses. Russell declared that the Second Coming had taken
place invisibly in October 1874, and the Lord was truly present, and that in 1914
the faithful (the 144,000) would be translated to heaven and the wicked
destroyed. Armageddon (which began in 1874) would culminate in 1914 with the
complete overthrow of earth's rulers and the end of the world. C.T. Russell, still
on earth, died in 1916.

In the early 1920s, JWs zealously distributed on the streets and from door to door a
book titled Millions Now Living Will Never Die. It was prophesied, "The year 1925 is a
date definitely and clearly marked in the Scriptures, even more clearly than that of
1914. We may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob and the faithful prophets of old ... to the condition of human perfection"
("Millions Now Living Will Never Die," The Watchtower, 7/15/24, p. 89). The JWs
even built a house in San Diego where the patriarchs were to live and tried to deed it
to King David (The house was quietly sold in 1954). In the early 1940s, JWs were
declaring that Armageddon, only months away, would end World War II and the
defeat of the Nazis would usher in God's rule on earth (The Watchtower, 12/41).
Their book, Children, suggested that plans to marry and have children be postponed
until after Armageddon. It's been a long wait! Not giving up, they later prophesied
that God's millennial kingdom would commence in 1975. Again JWs were told not to
engage in any plans for this world, including marriage and having children. Many quit
their jobs, sold their homes, and dedicated themselves to going door to door. All in
all, the Watchtower has predicted the end of the world for 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975,
and 1989.

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Lecture 9: Mormonism

Mormonism, known as The Church of The Lord Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or
LDS (with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah -- a state that is now 70% Mormon),
was officially founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr. (1805-1844). Smith claimed to
have had a personal visit from God the Father at the age of 15, who introduced him
to Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ then supposedly told him not to join any church
because they were all wrong and all the Christian church's doctrines "were
abominations" (Joseph Smith -- History 19, Pearl of Great Price). After Smith's
murder in 1844, Brigham Young took the cult to Utah, where there is now a major
University named after him, and the number of Mormons exceed one million. The
Mormon Church currently claims about 11 million baptized members worldwide (5.2
million U.S., ranking it 5th among the largest 25 U.S. denominations), up from about
2.5 million in 1970. Over the last decade, nearly 300,000 individuals over the age of
eight have joined the Mormon Church every year. Membership is expected to grow
to over 23 million over the next two decades. It is growing fastest in Latin America
and Asia. Official publications include Church News, a weekly 16-page newspaper,
and the Ensign, a monthly magazine.

The Mormon Church collects at least $6 billion a year from its members, and
generates at least another $5 billion in sales from its various business enterprises. Its
total church assets exceed $30 billion. (At least 100 companies are controlled by the
Mormon Church, and some estimate its total annual revenues in excess of $20
billion! The church also owns 18 radio stations in the U.S.) Part of the Church's
income goes to operate an elaborate internal welfare system so its members avoid
any governmental assistance. The Mormon Church also has a 58,000-plus
missionary force working in more than 160 nations in 102 languages. The Church's
Provo, Utah, 26-acre Missionary Training Center receives 500 new missionaries a
week into its 3-9 week intensive missionary training program. (All boys, once they
turn 19, are expected to dedicate two years of their lives to missionary service.)
Fielding missionaries is a $500 million per year effort and currently reaps more than
300,000 new converts each year. Nevertheless, only about 46% of Mormons attend
a church meeting at least once a month. The clean-cut image that Mormons have
attained has been a major factor in the attractiveness of the Mormon Church to
outsiders. They are forbidden to drink coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages, and use
tobacco products.

The Mormon Church (LDS) is organized so that one prophet leads the church.
Beneath the prophet in authority is the Council of the Twelve Apostles. A third group
of men are called the First and Second Councils of the Seventy. All of these men
together are called the General Authorities. Local churches are called Wards or
Stake Centers and meet for worship in what the Mormons call "meeting houses." The
Temples are not for worship, but are used for ceremonies for the living and the dead.
Less than ten percent of all LDS members are allowed to enter these structures.

As of year-end 2002, there were 114 operating temples of Mormon worldwide, with
another 14 under construction or approved (albeit less elaborate than the 50 temples
in existence at the end of 1997). Approximately 65,000 members must be in an
immediate area to qualify for a temple. Temples are required for Mormon marriages
and for proxy baptisms of ancestors. Most people assume Mormon temples are
places of worship. This is not true. Only secret, occult rituals for the living and the
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 dead are performed there, and Mormons think they must perform them to have
eternal life. It is tragic that over eleven million Mormons think they need secret
handshakes, oaths, incantations, and rituals, which originated in occultic Scottish
Rite, in order to be with God in heaven! (In the final years of Joseph Smith Jr.'s life,
he became a "worshipful master" in the Masonic Lodge).

Below are the highlights of what Mormons believe concerning their source of
authority, the Trinity, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, sin, salvation, and heaven and hell:

2. Source of Authority.
Mormonism teaches that the canon of Scripture was not closed when the Bible
was completed. They have three sources in addition to the Bible, all of which
they believe contain God's revelations -- the Book of Mormon (changed in more
than 4,000 places since 1830), Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great
Price. However, Mormons follow the teachings of these three books even when
they contradict the Bible. For example, Mormonism teaches that the Bible is the
Word of God "as far as it is translated correctly." Then whenever a Mormon belief
contradicts Scripture, the Mormons say that particular part of Scripture is
translated incorrectly, and that the correct translation is in one of the Mormon
scriptures (The Maze of Mormonism, p. 131). Thereby, the Bible is rejected as
the infallible Word of God.
3. Trinity.
Mormonism teaches polytheism (versus monotheism taught in the Bible),
believing that the universe is inhabited by many gods who produce spirit children.
Joseph Smith declared, "I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have always
declared God to be a distinct personage. The Lord Jesus Christ a separate and
distinct personage from God the Father, and the Holy Ghost was a distinct
personage and a Spirit. And these three constitute three distinct personages and
three Gods" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 370).
4. God.
In Mormon theology the god of our planet is believed to have once been a man
on another planet. Who through self-effort and the help of his own father-god,
was appointed by a counsel of gods in the heavens to his high position as the
god of planet Earth. And now has a physical, resurrected, glorified body.
Mormonism teaches that through the atonement of Christ and by their good
deeds and "holy" living, men can one day become gods, and with their multiplicity
of "goddess wives," populate their own planets.
5. Christ.
Mormonism acknowledges the divinity of Christ, but as noted above, Mormon
doctrine on what constitutes divinity falls seriously short of the Biblical standard.
Mormonism teaches that The Lord Jesus Christ, Lucifer, and all the demons, as
well as all mankind, are actually all spirit brothers and sisters, born in the spirit
world as spirit babies to our man-god Heavenly Father and his goddess wives.
Mormon leaders have consistently taught that God the Father ("Adam-god") had
sexual relations on earth with Mary (his own spirit daughter), to produce the
physical body of The Lord Jesus Christ. Early Mormon apostles also asserted
that Christ was a polygamist, and that His wives included Mary and Martha (the
sisters of Lazarus) and Mary Magdalene.
6. Holy Spirit.
In Mormonism, a distinction is drawn between the Holy Ghost and the Holy Spirit.
As LDS Apostle Marion G. Romney stated: "The Holy Ghost is a person, a spirit,
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 the third member of the Godhead" (Ensign, May 1977, pp. 43-44). The sixth LDS
prophet, Joseph F. Smith, explains that the Holy Spirit is not a person but rather
an impersonal force. He says, "You may call it the Spirit of God, you may call it
the influence of God's intelligence, you may call it the substance of his power; no
matter what it is called, it is the spirit of intelligence that permeates the universe"
(Mormon Doctrine, McConkie, pp. 752-753).
7. Sin.
In Mormon theology, it is not quite clear how the first humans, Adam and Eve,
came to live on this earth and received bodies, but somehow they did and began
the process of human procreation, whereby bodies are produced for their spirit
children. But at the very beginning of the process of human generation, sin
entered necessarily. The earthly bodies of Adam and Eve were intended to be
immortal tabernacles for their spirits, "but it was necessary for them to possess
through mortality and be redeemed through the sacrifice made by The Lord
Jesus Christ that the fullness of life might come." Therefore, they disobeyed
God's commands. Since the fall of man was necessary, it became necessary for
men to disobey God in order to do His will. Adam's fall, thereby, was a fall
“upward”. Concerning the transmission of sin to Adam's posterity, Mormons take
a negative position -- they believe that men will be punished for their own sins,
and not for Adam's transgression. Having rejected the doctrine of the imputation
of the guilt of sin, Latter Day Saints likewise repudiate the transmission of
inherent corruption or original sin.
8. Salvation.
Mormon theology teaches that the atonement of Christ was essential to our
salvation and eternal life with God, but that it is not sufficient. Christ's shed blood
on the cross provides for universal resurrection of all people, but does not pay for
personal sins; according to Mormonism, only Christ's blood shed in the Garden of
Gethsemane atones for personal sin. Besides faith in Christ, complete and
permanent repentance of all sin as well as many good works are required.
Mormonism also teaches that one must be baptized in water to be saved, and
that salvation will also be available in the next world for those "missing-out" in
this one. Therefore, Mormons avidly pursue genealogy and practice baptism for
the dead.
9. Heaven and Hell.
Mormonism teaches that there are three degrees of glory: Celestial (for good
Mormons able to cease sinning in this lifetime, Terrestrial (for good people who
do not comply with all the teachings of Mormonism), and Telestial (for those who
have lived unclean earthly lives). Mormonism teaches that there is a hell, but only
for the "sons of perdition," a very small number of souls that cannot be
redeemed. According to Mormonism, then, the vast majority of mankind will be
"saved," though it should be obvious that no one will make it to the Celestial
Kingdom. [Blacks used to be totally out of the equation: "Black people are black
because of their misdeeds in the pre-existence" (Three Degrees of Glory, LDS
Apostle Melvin J. Ballard, p. 21); "The Negro is an unfortunate man. He has been
given a black skin. But that is nothing compared with that greater handicap. He is
not permitted to receive the priesthood and the ordinances of the temple,
necessary to prepare men and women to enter into and enjoy a fullness of glory
in the Celestial Kingdom" (Elder George E. Richards). In 1978, however, the
Mormon Church announced that God had lifted his curse from the African race.
10. Temple Rituals.

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 A typical temple ceremony would take place as follows: "The ritual began in a
small cubicle where we had to strip completely. We then put on 'the shield,' a
poncho with a hole for the head, but open on the sides (similar to a hospital
gown). We went through a series of ‘washings and anointing’, as various parts of
our bodies were touched by elderly temple workers who mumbled appropriate
incantations over them. Our Mormon underwear, 'the garments,' are said to have
powers to protect us from 'the evil one.' It had occult markings, which were so
'sacred' that we were instructed to burn them when the garments wore out. The
endowment ceremony mocked all doctrines held to by Biblical Christianity, and
Christian pastors were portrayed as servants of Satan. We had to swear many
blood oaths, promising we would forfeit our lives if we weren't faithful, or if we
revealed any of the secrets revealed to us in the temple ceremonies. We were
made to pretend by grotesque gestures to cut our throats, chests, and
abdomens, indicating how we would lose our lives. We were never told who
would kill us! The inference was, and history testifies to, that it would be the
Mormon priesthood." (Testimony of a former Mormon). [Note: The blood oaths
and portrayal of Christian pastors were removed in April of 1990, despite the fact
that the ordinance was purported to have been given originally by a revelation
and was never to be changed].

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Lecture 10: (c) Christian Science

Introduction

The movement known as Christian Science is a religion "emphasizing divine healing

as practiced by The Lord Jesus Christ." It is officially known as The Church of Christ,
Scientist (CCS) (with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts), founded in 1879 by
the much married Mary Baker Glover Patterson Eddy (1821-1910). It is one of the
more sophisticated modern cults, attracting many intellectuals. Estimated
membership was about 350,000 in the 1930s with approximately 2,500 branch
churches, societies, and college organizations in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Estimates suggest that membership has fallen to well under 100,000 at the present
time. While the branches are democratic in government, they all conform to the rules
laid down in Mary Baker Eddy's Manual of The Mother Church (1895); church affairs
are now overseen by a self-perpetuating board of five people.

Under the leadership of Board of Directors Chairman Virginia Harris, the CCS has
embarked on an aggressive, multi-faceted marketing program designed to
mainstream itself and to attract new members. For example, the CCS is finding new
ways to promote itself in light of our society's current interest in self-awareness,
spirituality, mind/body connections, alternative medicine, and women's issues.

Mrs. Eddy was chronically sick growing up, with many ailments including paralysis,
hysteria, seizures and convulsions. At 22, she married her first of three husbands,
George Glover, who died within 6 months from yellow fever. Following Glover's
death, she began to be involved in mesmerism (hypnosis) and the occult practices of
spiritualism and clairvoyance (Ruth Tucker, Another Gospel, p. 152). Still ill, she
married Daniel Patterson in 1853, a dentist and homeopathic practitioner. It was
during this time she met mental healer Phineas P. Quimby (1802-1866), whose
influence would shape her belief of Christian Science. Quimby believed that illness
and disease could be cured through positive thoughts and healthy attitudes, by
changing one's beliefs about the illness. She claimed that Quimby cured her; she
suddenly improved, but later the symptoms returned (Another Gospel, p. 155).

After Quimby's death in 1866, Mrs. Eddy determined to carry on his work. She had
developed a "psychic dependence" on Quimby, drawing on his spiritual presence,
claiming even visitations by his apparition. Eddy "reached the scientific certainty that
all causation rests with the Mind, and that every effect is a mental phenomena."
Eddy took Quimby's teachings one step further, claiming that sickness, death, and
even our physical bodies do not exist, but are only imagined. Based on this
absurdity, Mary Baker Eddy formulated her unique interpretations of Scripture upon
which Christian Science was founded (and recorded in Eddy's 1875 book, Science
and Health with Key to the Scriptures. (In 2001, the ten millionth copy of Science and
Health was sold). In essence, Christian Science is a revival of ancient Pantheism.
[Eddy later published 16 other books, including Retrospection and Introspection
(1891), which tells of her own experience of discovering, practicing, and teaching the
"science" of Christian healing].

The event that Mrs. Eddy claimed as the inauguration of Christian Science occurred
in February of 1866. She claimed to have had a near fatal fall on icy pavement, but
was instantly healed when "the healing Truth dawned upon my senses," and the
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 divine healing ministry was born (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 24; Science and Health,
p. 107). Testimony from her attending physician as well as other correspondence
from Mrs. Eddy at the time strongly dispute Mrs. Eddy's "official" version of those
events (Anthony Hoekema, Christian Science, pp. 12-13).

Healing became a major distinctive of Christian Science. According to Eddy Baker,

the central fact of the Bible is the superiority of spiritual over physical power. The
spiritual superiority is evident in other ways than healing. Telepathy is practiced in
Christian Science treatment, and may be considered a form of psychic healing.
Christian Science claims to prove through the healing of disease and other difficulties
that the understanding of God and his spiritual creation is as effective now as it was
in The Lord Jesus Christ' time. Its adherents, therefore, rely on "divine law" in times
of sickness instead of resorting to medical and other material means. Christian
Scientists do not use doctors, medicine, or immunizations. Christian Science
Practitioners are used to “help people through the false reality of illness." Instead,
proper prayer and training are employed to battle the "non-reality" of illness. (The
right of Christian Science parents to withhold medical treatment from their children
has many times been challenged in court.)

Publications
Publications of the Christian Science Publishing Society include the Christian
Science Quarterly, containing Bible lessons for daily study; The Christian Science
Journal, a monthly magazine; Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine; The
Christian Science Monitor, a daily newspaper; and The Herald of Christian Science.
In the 1980s, the group expanded into other media, producing both radio and
television news programming. Their venture into cable-television operations was
ended in 1992, when it was discovered "that the church had secretly transferred
$46.5 million from endowments and pension funds to help cover huge losses on the
'Monitor Channel,' which had lost over $325 million" (Chicago Tribune, 1/27/93, p. 2).
[Additionally, there were losses of $36 million and the resulting termination of World
Monitor, a newspaper begun in 1988. The Christian Science Monitor is said to be
losing $13 million annually (Martin Gardner, The Healing Revelations of Mary Baker
Eddy, p. 218).]

Instead of preachers (the CCS has no ordained clergy), Christian Science's Sunday
services consist mainly of prescribed readings from the Bible, followed by interpretive
readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (which Eddy thought
was divinely inspired. "I should blush to write of Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures as I have, were it of human origin and I apart from God its author; but
[since] I was only a scribe echoing the harmonies of heaven in Divine Metaphysics, I
cannot be super-modest of the Christian Science Textbook."). Eddy's "Scientific
Statement of Being" (read every week from every Christian Science pulpit) begins
with, "There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter," and ends with,
"Therefore, man is not material; he is spiritual." Wednesday meetings include
testimonies of healing from the congregation. Readers, both men and women, are
elected from the membership to conduct the services. Practitioners, also both men
and women, devote full time to the work of "spiritual healing."

Mrs. Eddy presented Christian Science as a scientific system of healing based upon
spiritual laws God (allegedly) had revealed to her. She taught these laws must be
followed -- without deviation -- if a believer wishes to practice Christian Science with
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 consistent success. She taught Christian Science cannot be mixed with any other
doctrine or spiritual healing system, and, thereby, it is incompatible with medicine.
Eddy also believed in "Malicious Animal Magnetism" (MAM), which is negative
mental energy or power, on the level of black magic. "Reading Rooms" are local
Christian Science libraries where members go to read Eddy's works to aid their
spiritual evolvement.

Christian Science Beliefs

Christian Scientists call themselves Christians, but their beliefs deviate from Biblical
Christianity on nearly every central Doctrine. Below are the highlights of what
Christian Scientists believe concerning their source of authority, the Godhead, Christ,
the Holy Spirit, the Resurrection, sin and salvation, heaven and hell, man's destiny,
and disease and death:

1. Source of Authority.
Mary Baker Eddy claimed the Bible was her "only textbook" and "only authority."
Yet she also said the Bible has thousands of errors -- 30,000 in the Old
Testament and 300,000 in the New Testament. Christian Scientists believe that
Mrs. Eddy's discovery of Divine Science is the "final revelation" from God. They
claim Science and Health is divinely inspired (even though it has been proven to
contain numerous plagiarism and revisions). -- Science and Health is the "first
book" which has been "uncontaminated by human hypothesis" (The First Church
of Christ, Scientist and Miscellany, p. 115; Science and Health, pp. 99, 139, 456-
457). One is only supposed to read the Bible if they have Eddy's "key" in hand,
so as to find out what a passage means. The implication is that God couldn't
make Himself plain, but has to have Mary Baker Eddy interpret what He says.
With this in mind, the world was, in effect, left to grope in darkness until Mrs.
Eddy came on the scene.
2. Language.
Christian Scientists have given Bible terms allegorical, metaphysical definitions
that are completely different from normal usage. Everything is spiritualized to the
point that the physical no longer exists. New meanings have also been assigned
to many traditional theological doctrines. (For example: "Adam was not an actual
person who was created by God and fell into sin.’ Adam' means error; a falsity;
the belief in 'original sin,' sickness, and death; evil; the opposite of good.")
3. Trinity.
Christian Science clearly repudiates the Trinitarian Godhead: "The theory of
three persons in one God (that is, a personal Trinity or Tri-unity) suggests
polytheism, rather than the one ever-present I Am" (Science and Health, p. 256).
Instead, "Life, Truth, and Love constitute the triune Person called God ... God the
Father-Mother; Christ the spiritual idea of sonship; divine Science or the Holy
Comforter" (Science and Health, p. 331-332). Christian Science teaches that the
Biblical concept of the Trinity suggests "heathen gods" (Science and Health, p.
152). God is thus viewed as an impersonal "Divine Principle," a conception of
one's mind (Science and Health, pp. 361, 469). On page 465 in another of Mrs.
Eddy's "authoritative" books, entitled Miscellaneous Writings, she wrote: "God is
incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite, mind, spirit, soul, principle, life, truth, love,"
but devoid of any personality. To the contrary, the Bible teaches that God is a
triune, personal, transcendent Being who created "the world and all things in it"
(Act 17:24). He is not a pantheistic all in all. He is holy and just, as well as love.
God created and governs the universe, including man (Acts 17:24-27).
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 4. The Lord Jesus Christ Christ.
Christian Science denies that the incarnation of Christ was the fullness of deity
dwelling in human flesh, denies the perfection of the man The Lord Jesus Christ,
and attempts to explain away the historical death and bodily resurrection of The
Lord Jesus Christ (Science and Health, pp. 336, 29, 332, 53, 398, 313, 593;
Miscellaneous Writings, p. 201) Christian Science believes that Mary's
conception of The Lord Jesus Christ was spiritual -- on pages 332 and 347 of
Science and Health, the virgin birth of Christ is described and explained: "The
Lord Jesus Christ was the offspring of Mary's self-conscious communion with
God. ... Mary's conception of him was spiritual." Christian Science believes that
the names "The Lord Jesus Christ" and "Christ" do not refer to the same person -
- that The Lord Jesus Christ is the human man and Christ is the "divine idea"
(i.e., "dualism"). They teach that the spiritual (good) cannot dwell in material
bodies because they are evil; thus The Lord Jesus Christ could not have been
both God and man. To the contrary, the Bible teaches that The Lord Jesus Christ
is not the divine idea of God but was God uniquely manifested in the flesh, truly
God and truly man, one divine Person with two indivisible natures, who is the
only Savior and the only truth and Lord (John 1:1-3,14; Col. 2:9; Philippians. 2:6-
7; John 14:6). Christian Science believes that The Lord Jesus Christ was not
God and the only way to heaven, but only the "wayshower" (cf. John. 20:31; 1
John. 4:2, 3).

Christian Science not only denies that The Lord Jesus Christ is God incarnate, it
also denies that The Lord Jesus Christ is one Person with two natures -- fully
God and fully man. Christian Science presents The Lord Jesus Christ in terms of
a Gnostic duality: "The spiritual Christ was infallible: The Lord Jesus Christ as
material manhood was not Christ'' (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 84). "Christ as the
true spiritual ideal, is the ideal of God now and forever ..." (Science and Health,
p. 361). "The Christ is incorporeal, spiritual ..." while, "The corporeal [physical]
man The Lord Jesus Christ was human only (Science and Health, p 332). Yet
"matter is mortal error … matter is the unreal and temporal" (Miscellaneous
Writings, p. 21). So what Christian Science actually concludes is that the physical
humanity of The Lord Jesus Christ was an illusion, ''as it seemed to mortal view"
(Science and Health, p. 315).

Concerning the blood atonement of The Lord Jesus Christ Christ: "The material
blood of The Lord Jesus Christ was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when
it was shed upon 'the accursed tree,' than when it was flowing in his veins ..."
(Science and Health, p. 25). Christian Science teaches that the death of The
Lord Jesus Christ for sin was a "man-made" theory, and that The Lord Jesus
Christ was alive in the tomb, demonstrating the "power of Spirit to overrule
mortal, material sense" (Science and Health, p. 44). Eddy states, "Christ was not
crucified ... The Lord Jesus Christ, being the man who possessed the Christ
consciousness, was the one who went to the cross and who appeared to die."
Thus, according to the theology of Christian Science, the Bible only appears to
say that The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and His body was laid in the
tomb; it must instead be understood that The Lord Jesus Christ actually never
died, but was rather in the tomb denying death's reality!
5. Holy Spirit.
Christian Science denies that the Holy Spirit is a personal being. It teaches that
the Holy Spirit is Christian Science. -- "This Comforter I understand to be Divine
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 Science" (Science and Health, p. 55). It is the unfolding of the thoughts and
infinite mind of God (pp. 502-503). [cf. John. 16:13-14] Thus, God, the Holy
Spirit, cannot indwell a person (Science and Health, p. 336).
6. The Resurrection.
It is obvious that if The Lord Jesus Christ never physically died on the cross to
atone for sins that mankind cannot commit (Science and Health, pp. 45-46), then
the resurrection must also have a unique meaning in Christian Science. Eddy
explains, "When The Lord Jesus Christ reproduced his body after its burial, he
revealed the myth or material falsity of evil; its powerlessness to destroy good
and the omnipotence of the Mind that knows this: he also showed forth the error
of nothingness of supposed life in matter, and the great somethingness of the
good we possess, which is of Spirit, and immortal" (Miscellaneous Writings, p.
201). The Lord Jesus Christ resurrection was thus the manifestation of the error
of evil. He demonstrated that sin and death are illusions and that if one wishes to
rid themselves of these illusions, they only need to deny their reality.
7. Sin.
Christian Science denies the existence of all matter, including man's physical
body. They say that man is "incapable of sin, sickness, and death." They claim
sin, sickness, and death are the "effects of error," thereby denying the reality of
sin. Bottom line, to Christian Science, there is no sin (Science and Health, p.
447). This is a consistent deduction and fundamental principle of the Christian
Science system -- namely, God is all and God is good, and since the real man
has never departed from his original state of perfection, he is not in need of
salvation. He is saved now and reposing in the bosom of the Father. He has
always been saved -- that is, as God's idea of the expression of the mind, man is
forever held in the divine consciousness. And since sin and evil have no reality,
all ideas of sin and evil are illusions. They are the product of the mortal mind.
Hence, it is a sense of sin which is sinful because of the illusory product of the
mortal mind. They say that man's real problem is the belief of sin, and that "Christ
came to destroy the belief of sin." [Eddy writes in Miscellaneous Writings in the
question and answer section: "If there is no sin, why did The Lord Jesus Christ
come to save sinners?" She answers, "The Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and
to save such as believe in the reality of the unreal; to save them from this false
belief; that they might lay hold of eternal Life ..." (p. 63). In other words, The Lord
Jesus Christ came to save mankind from the false belief that sin is real! The Lord
Jesus Christ saving work was to exemplify the fact that death is unreal, that sin is
only an illusion or false belief, and that to deny its existence is the ultimate task of
each person.]
8. Salvation.
Since Christian Scientists do not believe that sin is real, they, therefore, see no
need for salvation in The Lord Jesus Christ Christ. Notwithstanding, Christian
Scientists still teach a salvation based on works -- and contrary to even their own
teachings, a salvation through victory over suffering and temptation.
9. Hell.
Christian Science denies the existence of hell and eternal punishment, and,
therefore, there is no devil (Science and Health, p. 469). Hell is defined as
"mortal belief; error; lust; remorse; hatred; revenge; sin; sickness; death." They
believe that hell is a self-imposed "mental anguish," emanating from the guilt of
one's imagined sin.
10. Man's Destiny.

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 Christian Science teaches that since God is all good and nothing that is real
exists outside God, then sin, sickness, and death are mortal error or an illusion.
Christ, as the Truth, therefore came to set man free from these false beliefs by
His teachings and example (Science and Health, pp. 473, 475, 108). Christian
Science denies the penal, substitutionary atonement of Christ, saying, ''The
material blood of The Lord Jesus Christ was no more efficacious to cleanse from
sin when it was shed on 'the accursed tree,' than when it was flowing in his veins
as he went daily about His Father's business" (Science and Health, p.25). "The
Lord Jesus Christ taught the way of Life by demonstration. There is but one way
to heaven, harmony, and Christ in Divine Science shows us this way" (Science
and Health, p. 242). ''Universal salvation rests on progression and probation …
No final judgment awaits mortals …" (Science and Health, p. 291)
11. Disease and Death.
Christian Scientists claim that since organic disease does not exist, "the cause of
all so-called disease is mental" [i.e., 'the belief in sin is thereby the cause of it'], "a
mistaken belief" (Science and Health, p. 377). They say that since our physical
bodies do not exist, disease and death are only illusions (Science and Health, pp.
348,386). To the contrary, the Bible teaches that sin, sickness, and evil are not
an illusion, but a result of man’s willful choice to rebel against a Holy God, and
death (both physical and the spiritual eternal separation from God) is the result of
sin (Romans. 3:10, 23; 5:12-14; 1 John 1:8-10). They believe they have restored
Christ's principles of divine healing through their practices of mental healing; i.e.,
the healing performed by Christian Science involves helping a person to deny the
reality of his illness, and thereby, any failure to heal is due to a person's inability
to overcome his belief. Mary Baker Eddy claimed to have this power of healing
(called Divine Science), though she never provided any tangible proof of it.
Whereas the Christian Science approach to healing may help psychosomatic
illnesses, it has been scientifically demonstrated that it is not effective with real
illness. In fact, studies comparing the cumulative death rates of practicing
Christian Scientists with control groups have shown significantly higher death
rates among the Christian Scientists (Journal of American Medical Association,
September 22/29, 1989, pp 1657-58; and Morbidity Weekly Report, August 23,
1991, pp. 579-582).
12. The "Gospel" of Christian Science.
The Lord Jesus Christ, who possessed the Christ consciousness as do all men to
a lesser extent, went to the cross, not to bring about forgiveness of sin, for sin is
an illusion, but rather to demonstrate that death is an illusion. On the morning of
the resurrection, the supposed physical body of The Lord Jesus Christ was
reproduced in its original illusionary form, for all matter is illusion, and thereby
demonstrated to mankind that all could do the same by denying the reality of sin
and death.

The Lord Jesus Christ' "seeming" death on the cross was not intended to pay for
our sins, but to prove the unreality of sin, disease, and death. The Bible is full of
mistakes. The Lord Jesus Christ' words were recorded by "dull disciples ... in a
decaying language," and must be spiritually interpreted through Christian
Science.

To put it another way: "The Lord Jesus Christ was laid down as the result of
apparent death, into a fictitious tomb, in an unreal body, to make an unnecessary
atonement for sins that had never been a reality and had been committed in an
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 imaginary body, and that He saves from non-existing evil those headed toward
an imaginary hell, the false fancy of an erroneous Mortal Mind" (J.K. VanBaalen,
The Chaos of Cults).

Conclusion
Christian Science offers some real enticements -- a "spiritually scientific" method for
healing, victory over life's circumstances, and guaranteed salvation. All one has to do
to receive these blessings is to study Eddy's writings and obey them to the letter.
She was God's messenger to this age and her writings are considered infallible. Just
obey her teaching, and learn to think as she thought, and you will be victorious.

The physical dangers of Christian Science are obvious. Since they are taught that
learning about their bodies is spiritually harmful, Christian Scientists are ill equipped
to understand the symptoms of illness. They often suffer needlessly from treatable
ailments and neglect life-threatening conditions that could be cured if treated in their
early stages.

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