Heart of the Matter: Encounter with Mormonism and Biblical Christianity

LIVE! From the “Mecca of Mormonism…” Salt Lake City, Utah – This is “Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology.”… “Where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity Face to Face.”

Show 41 Atheism Part I
October 13th, 2009

And I’m your host, Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion., who, I might also add just may be the greatest home teacher you have ever had? Huh? Huh?

Every Tuesday night right there in your home? If you have family/friends who cannot watch Heart on cable, direct TV, or dish, have them go to www.hotm.tv and click on streaming video and watch the program LIVE from anywhere in the world. We thank and Praise God Almighty for making all this possible.

Project Abandon Ship

There are thousands – if not millions – of people out there whose names are on the records of the LDS church that shouldn’t be. For many of them, having their names on the records serves to tie them to Mormonism and therefore makes genuine Christian progress difficult. In an effort to help people find freedom in Jesus, we started a campaign last year to help people get their names off the records of the Mormon church. We called it “Project Abandon Ship” and many people – being prompted by this campaign – have leapt off the Mormon Titanic and fallen safely into the lifeboat called a “true and living relationship with Jesus.” We invite you to do the same.

How?

On the screen are three websites that will give you instructions on how to proceed.

Reasons to Remove Your Name from LDS Records

Now, some of you feel it won’t make any difference to get your names removed from the LDS records. Naturally, it’s a matter of personal choice. But there are a number of very good reasons why you might make the jump. First of all, you send a message loud and clear to the LDS leadership that you want NOTHING to do with their Christian charade. Maybe they will start making real changes to doctrine and practice instead of just public relation moves.

Second, you’ll send a message to family and friends – if you choose to tell them about it – which might give them the courage to follow your lead. We see entire families and extended families abandon ship because one of their members had the courage to jump first.

Third, many people believe there are spiritual blessings that come from taking the jump. We hear from quite a few people who have “Abandoned Ship,” they all seem to share some very common sentiments among each other, like – “I felt such a weight off my back.” “It was such a relief.” “I felt free – out of bondage – happy.” “It truly made a difference in my life.” “I finally felt like I took action instead of having them act on me.”

And guess what?

Not one of them imploded or fell into a swirling catabasis of doom. They just leaned back and enjoyed the liberty found in a relationship with Jesus.

The Message of True Liberation

Look, Mormonism is another gospel. It is a counterfeit to biblical Christianity. And while some Mormons may be Christians, Mormonism is not and it never has been. Free yourselves. You have nothing to lose but your chains.

www.bornagainmormon.com
www.utlm.org
www.mormonnomore.org

Encounter on the Streets of Salt Lake City

You know life often presents us with a lot of very painful experiences and we usually can’t do anything about it. But tonight maybe in my life I can. Last night, as I stood out on second south and main in Downtown Salt Lake City waiting for a cab, a woman who was wearing a pink feather boa around her neck and stuffed into a dress no bigger than a ten-year-old boy's tank top, approached me all slinky-like and asked me if I was “Interested in a good time?”

I explained that I was not and she replied by sort of slipping up to me and whispering, “well, I am.”

Well, I sort of stepped away – away from the stench of gin, cigarettes, and cheap perfume – and when I began to talk to her about sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace., she got all insulted and turned to run off. I said, “What’s your name?” and she cried, “It’s Millie. And I like what I do.”

Well as she stormed up the street a photograph of herself fell out of a book she was carrying and this is what she looks like. Millie mentioned that she came from a rural area near Ogden and I just want to pass this on: “If you see Millie, tell her Jesus loves her, and she don’t have to put on the

Fruit of Mormonism

Hey, October 31st – Halloween Night – 10:30pm, we are launching our new live call-in program called “the grey generation.” Tell your friends. Here’s a glimpse of the shows opener:

Go to www.thegreygeneration.tv for more information.

RUN OPENER OF GG

PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY

Atheism as a Consequence

Tonight we are going to talk about one of the unfortunate fruits of Mormonism which is never mentioned in the Ensign or at general conference – atheism. And while atheism can become the end-game for any person from any structured religious walk, it is an especially prevalent after-effect among the disaffected LDS. The reasons for this are fairly obvious. When any religion uses methods of totality to indoctrinate its membership, the natural result (once the member learns that they have been deceived by the organization) is to completely distrust any and all religious authority and in many cases, to even renounce the existence of God all together.

Strange as this may sound, I believe that while some people are born atheists, and others slowly corrupt and decay over time to embrace this mindset of misery, there are still those unfortunate souls who, because of the religious lies, abuse, and trauma they have endured, come to hate or even renounce the existence of God. I was one of those people for a period of time in my life. In light of Mormonism’s dogmatic claims to “the whole truth” and to possessing absolute authority relative to God, priesthoods, lifestyle, and the afterworld, atheism can only be expected. Where else can a person turn when they discover that the institution that they trusted and calls itself “the only True Church of Jesus Christ” is a religious fraud?” Certainly not to another religion. Usually not to God.

We maintain that this is one of the unspoken truths of “Mormon fruit.” And it is a direct product of what we call their “scorched earth policy.” It is either all them or it is nothing. They say, “believe everything they say and claim or burn the mother ship down!”

We want to speak to those who have burned the mother-ship down . . . who have walked from Mormonism AND then from God all together, scorching their faith to a crispy state of inert dust and living for the now in a state of nihilism.

A Call to Seek God

Before I address atheism, I want to say something to those of you who live a scorched spiritual life. God is calling to you. He has never stopped calling to you. He sent His son especially for you. I know the personal void that is within you. And I also know your wish to believe – and your inability to respond to that wish. It is like you have been brutally mind-raped for the whole of your life and then you flip on the television only to hear me suggest that you expose yourself to more. I’m not. But I am asking you to go to the source itself. Go to Him.

Now, certainly, there is an acquiescence of the will. What would be the point of questioning God if you weren’t willing to hear what He has to say? So you do have to be open to hearing what He has to say to you. And when you are open and genuinely willing, you CAN – on your own and separate from all men and their influences – discover Him. Don’t let the scorched-earth actions of some religious zealots who do not comprehend the meaning of true grace and unconditioned love forever altar your spiritual lives! Go to Him. Ask Him to reveal Himself. Ask for a new heart.

HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG WITH THIS CHALLENGE?

You can’t.

Examining Faith in Atheism

So let me speak for a minute with you about your “faith in no God.” That’s a funny way to put it, isn’t it? “Your faith in no God.” But Atheism is a faith, my friends. It is as ardent of a belief as Christianity – maybe even more. And like any faith good or bad, Atheism must be fed to remain alive and thriving. Atheism is fueled by the fodder of skepticism, of doubt, of a dark cynicism bred in the chambers of the will, of intellectualism, and a CONSTANT vigil to renounce rather than embrace, to refuse rather than see, to proudly stand with head unbowed rather than humble bend before His call. And call He does.

I am going to touch on two aspects of atheism this week, the rest next. I hope you will consider them.

Alister McGrath notes

Challenges from Atheism

In his article, Challenges from Atheism, (pg 25) that, one of the first idea atheists maintain is that believing in God does not lead to a “morality that is clearly superior to that offered by secular culture.” He then goes on to point out that no real growth of atheism ever really occurred until the 18th Century, when the French Revolution propelled atheism to center stage.

One of the reasons atheism got legs at this time was because the French church was seen as being central to the “establishment,” which those supporting the French revolution were revolting against. No wonder, when churches are more interested in their own growth and status over the needs of the people, they ought to burn. Unfortunately, along with the churches in the French Revolution, faith in God was also take to the stake and torched. And atheism took its real first breath from the atmosphere of a civilized nation.

Historical Perceptions of Religion and Atheism

Unfortunately, many people in early modern Europe made a very bad conclusion. It said: “Religion is an oppressor, Atheism is a liberator.” Going back to the verified and ancient book of Isaiah, Jesus the Messiah was prophesied of and described in very different terms than that of an oppressor. The prophet wrote:

(Isa 61:1) “. . . the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”

What a clarion call this could have been for the French Revolutionaries. When Jesus Himself was alive – which has been historically attested too by a number of non-Christian writers – He Himself said: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Comparing Theistic and Atheistic Governance

So, what actually happened when Atheism actually did gain power for the first time historically? And what have been the results when it has been in control in other countries since? Love? Kindness? Beauty? Do theistic attitudes and atheistic attitudes play out the same when they each have power over the people?

One of the biggest complaints modern atheists have against Christianity and other theistic religions is that they grew from soil hydrated by blood; that violence is the result of believing in God. HA! Compare and contrast countries and states lead by leaders God-fearing and God less. Now, I would be a fool to try and deny the fact that many very bad things have occurred at the hands of men and women who were considered God-fearing (whether they really were is still a matter of debate in my mind). Certainly some theistic rulers have committed their fair share of atrocities over the course of history.

We can’t forget the “Spanish Inquisition” or how the Roman Catholic Church behaved toward the French when they were in cahoots with Bourbon Monarchy? What about that Mountain Meadows Massacre? Duty to God, right? Shed children’s blood. But then, how do atheistic regimes fair when they find themselves in a position to govern countries? Any better? In every case, atheist states, if given the opportunity to flourish, end up oppressing the people . . . often, with blood and horror. But in every case. Remember Stalin? The Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe after the second world war? The German Democratic Republic? Cuba? Communist China? North Korea?

Here is the point: The question is NOT “which form of governance is superior – theistic or atheistic – though I would argue that statistically atheism fails miserably by comparison. The real question is can man and his institutionalized ideologies EVER be trustworthy? In the hands of mortals, does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Absolutely. The point is our world solutions have NEVER been realized in institutionalized ideologies anymore than our spiritual solutions will ever been realized by institutionalized religions.

Men, women, and even children (read Lord of the Flies) are fallen. The governments of man, the religions of man, the institutions of Man, fallen – and all subject, whatever their position – to being corrupt or becoming corrupt.

But here is the point for all of you tonight: YOU CANNOT EVER GO WRONG IN YOUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP TO TRUE AND LIVING GOD. Herein lies the rub for the atheists. Their social solutions are not one bit superior to the social solutions of theists or deists. In fact, they are more often than not, far worse. Consider Him. Just you and Him. He commands two things: To have faith in Him and to love others in His name. Go to Him.

Next week, we will continue to make an argument against atheistic ideology – a natural

LDS Scorched Earth Policy

fruit of the LDS scorched earth policy – by comparing the theist world view against the atheist.