Heart of the Matter: Creation – Part I

Live from Salt Lake City, Utah, this is heart of the Matter where we do all we can to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. I’m Shawn McCraney, your host.

Show 28 505
Creation – Part I
July 19th, 2016

A Moment from the Word

This was brought to my attention by our friend Carlos in Arizona. Nearly two thousand years ago Jesus was on the earth he was teaching in Matthew 13. Who was He teaching? Jews. All Jews and nothing but Jews. And these Jews were living at a time when their age was wrapping up. Why? Because their promised Messiah had come. He was there – they could receive Him or they could reject Him.

John the Baptist came preaching a very, very apocalyptic message. What was it? Freaking, “Repent, now, for the Kingdom of Heaven (for the Jews) is at hand!” Right? Remember he said

10 Matthew 3:10 “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”

So in Matthew 13, with the setting being the end of that age, Jesus said:

47 Mt 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

And then echoing John the Baptist’s message to the Jews of that day Jesus adds (and I’m going to quote a word for word Greek translation):

49 Matthew 13:49 “So shall it be in the full end of the age, the messengers shall come forth and separate the evil out of the midst of the righteous, and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.”

End of an Age

The year was probably around 29-30 AD. Later, after a whole bunch of very descriptive teachings about the temple being leveled etc, Jesus apostles came to Him and asked:

“Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus, in his description, said that all he had predicted would happen within forty years time. Forty years later Jerusalem was leveled. A million plus Jews lost their lives, as if God picked up the axe laid at the root of the tree of their age and chopped that mother down. Blood ran. And Jesus words, about the ultimate and absolute end of THEIR AGE . . . absolutely came true.

Teaching and Misinterpretation

For nearly 2000 years all the way out to this very day pastors and preachers and popes and priests pick up the Bible, and read the following from the King James version of the Bible:

And GEEZUS SAID

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: That’s what’s happening this very day, folks. It’s the gleaning of the fields likened to fishes in a net.

48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good (the believers in Jesus Christ) into vessels, but cast the bad away.

Now, now, now catch this! Listen! Listen to what GEEZUS says next…

49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

And for the people who don’t believe in a burning hell just what does He say next?

50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

What has happened here that should not be? First, the content of the Bible is read and taught as if Jesus was talking to us. Nowhere is this implied. He was not. He was talking to Jews about their day, circumstances and age. Second, Jesus DID NOT, NOT NOT say “so shall it be at the end of the world.” He did NOT. He said, so shall be the end of this age of the Jew. The axe was laid at the root of the Jewish tree, it was coming down, John told them to get prepared by repenting and was making way for the Messiah who had come to save them. From what? Physical obliteration.

Dual Application of Biblical Passages

That there is a duel application in these passages. In other words, the Bible doesn’t say: These words Jesus spoke to the Jews but they will also have direct and literal application to the world thousands of years later. This is the crazy thinking of religious zealots who seek for the end of the world because they both hate the life they live and they can’t wait for God to pour a fictional wrath upon those who are different than them.

Finally, the fiery judgement Jesus describes for the bad fish when He said: “So shall it be at the end of the age: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” I believe this is very emblematic speech of God’s judgement upon those who rejected His Son, that it took place in the Lake of Fire, but now, according to 1st Corinthians 15, Jesus has had the victory over all death (including what was called the second death) and God is now all in all.

To assign Jesus' words to an afterlife eternal future of all who die without Him here is non-contextual, unbiblical, and takes liberties and license where none has been given.

The Question of Equal Chance to Know God

Within the Atheist community (on out to the naysayers and critics of the faith) there is often conversation about how people around the world do not have an equal chance to know God by Jesus Christ. The suggestion is a person born to orthodox parents in Afghanistan does NOT have the same chance to know Jesus as a kid born in a southern Baptist home – so therefore there is a built-in destiny of all people, no free will, and God is therefore not good, not fair, and in the end, many wind up saying that God doesn’t even exist.

As a means to explain why some are born into homes of goodly parents and some are born into homes of radical Islam, zealots of our faith have for centuries said some really limited and limiting things. So from the Godless to the Zealot we have a bunch of explanations that I feel are inferior to potential truth. And while what I am about to illustrate is a theory I think it is superior to the theories promulgated by the other side.

Misconceptions Among the Faithful

See, from the believer we often hear other limiting stuff like, “Why if a person don’t say GEEAY-ZUS before they die they is gonna burn in hell forever. It’s true. True, true, true. TRUE DAT” “Well what if they have never even heard of Jesus.” “Burning hell forever.” What if they were born into a community where Buddhism is prominent and . . . “Burning hell forever.”

Could it be that God is in control of all this stuff, and brings people around in ways that are only known to Him – in ways that remain unfathomable to us geniuses?

Considering Divine Justice

I was talking about some possibilities with my daughter Delaney a while ago. I mean what if God, not just here, but even in the great beyond, takes every single person's “life circumstances” into perfect account. He considers their

Parents
Intelligence
Weaknesses
Strengths
Proclivities
Experiences
Trials
Blessings
Geography
Culture
Temperaments
Education
Fears
Mistakes
Sorrows
Injustices
Accidents
Illnesses, even their diet and media influences

And he has some sort of built-in system that is able to assess it all and then God, according to His time, and will, and desires and plan, shines a perfectly just amount of light into the person’s mind where every single person on earth (since the beginning of time) is exposed to the same amount of Him?

It might look something like this:

GOD'S LIGHT

Born Calvinist Raped, drug addicted proud DNA Atheist Parents Born Deformed Born a Seeker

The Concept of Creation in Biblical Context

Let’s start off with a simple discussion that is really not so simple at all – what does the Bible, and then what do the LDS mean, when they each speak of God creating?

Let me introduce to you two key terms: “Creatio ex materia” and “Creatio ex nihilo.” The first means creation out of material and the second means creation out of nothing. The LDS view, as we mentioned a few weeks back, is based on the belief that matter is eternal and can neither be created nor destroyed. In other words they belief that not even God can create something out of nothing, therefore material substance is an eternal principle and it has ALWAYS existed. We also mentioned that this thinking was NOT original to founder Joseph Smith but came directly from the thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment.

In my estimation this view is a step on the slippery slope of Godlessness. I say this because if we can suppose that all material has always existed we are one step away from removing the need for God at all – I mean, all God would be would be a being that takes eternally existing material and forms it rather than creating it out of nothing. The traditionally accepted Christian view is that of “Creatio ex nihilo,” that God created everything out of nothing.

Historical Origins of Creatio Ex Nihilo

What are the historical origins of this Christian view? First of all, it was common in the ancient Near East to speak of creation as a result of creatia ex materia. In fact, many NON-HEBREW accounts of creation most frequently presuppose that matter was in existence when the creation of earth occurred. According to E Lovely (his real name) and H.J. Sorenson, who wrote for the New Catholic Encyclopedia, “Few modern scholars hold that creation ‘out of nothing’ is taught in the Old Testament. The abstract notion of nothing does not seem to have been reached by the Israelite mind at that time.”

Now listen – just because the Old Testament understanding of creation was ex materia (or formed out of substance that existed then) does not in the least mean that

• This view was right, or
• that matter has ALWAYS existed (as the Age of Enlightenment thinkers and Joseph Smith taught)
• or that the material that existed and was used by God to create the universe was itself uncreated too.

In other words just because God used pre-existing material to create the universe does not mean that he couldn’t have created that material from nothing and had it laying around. To say God does not have the capacity to create things from nothing (therefore everything that is material has self-existed) places all of us in the hands of either the LDS explanation of things OR the atheist – which is a total materialistic view void of metaphysical input or power!

Biblical Insights on Creation

Bottom line, the Bible (and I would conclude, therefore that God Himself) doesn’t clearly address the origin of matter. There are allusions (which I will get to) but there’s no reason to dogmatically take stands on things we are not entirely clear on. It wasn’t until when what we might call, “Hellenistic Judaism,” came into being (when the Greek culture had influence on Hebrew Tradition) that creation ex nihilo got legs. In fact, in the apocryphal book of 2nd Maccabees, written about 100 BC reads: “I implore you, my child, observe heaven and earth, consider all that is in them, and acknowledge that God made them out of what did not exist, and that mankind comes into being in the same way.” While being deemed an apocryphal book I am of the opinion that there is truth in them and can’t help but wonder if this is the case here.

One Leander Keck, professor of biblical theology at Yale Divinity School says that by the time we enter the New Testament era: “the belief that God created out of nothing was common in Hellenistic Judaism.” Charles Harrell adds: Scholars are doubtful, therefore, that New Testament writers would have held, or at least universally held, a belief in creatia ex materia (or that God created the universe out of something). Keck observes that there are several intimations in scripture that support the view of creation ex nihilo. These passages include:

John 1:3 “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Ephesians 3:9 “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.”

Creation Ex Nihilo

1:16-17 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

And of course the biggie that is hard to refute, Paul in Romans 4:17

Romans 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth into existence those things which be not as though they were.

From the apostolic writings, the idea of creation ex nihilo, according to theological historian Alister McGrath, moved into the minds of many and was well established in the early church fathers and continued on through the middle ages and into the Reformation.

The Westminster Confession of Faith

The 1647 Westminster Confession of Faith says: “It pleased God . . . in the beginning, to create or make of nothing the world, and all things therein.”

And this view has more or less become the standard of all Evangelical Christianity today – it happens to be one of the views that however it came about I am grateful for and a view I think cannot be reasonably challenged without causing great damage to the idea of God and His reign.

Initially, Mormon doctrine went hand in hand with the Christian belief that God created everything by Christ ex nihilo. Early on in the Book of Mormon we read that God brought everything into existence by speaking. (Jacob 4:9)

Even the JST of the book of Genesis has Moses mentioning nothing about preexistent matter in the creation of the world and LDS owned newspaper the Evening and the Morning Star ran articles up until 1832 validating the idea that God created all things out of nothing.

Enlightenment Influence on Doctrine

But as we said a few weeks back, thinkers of the Enlightenment saw material as always having had to exist and Joseph Smith hooked into this, and then adopted it. But he appears to not have been the first Christian thinker to do so.

In a Universalist publication of 1826 we read: “We are not bound to believe that all things were created out of nothing lest we should presuppose that all will return to nothing again in the final end, as we may safely believe that any thing which has a beginning of existence . . . can never have eternity connected with it.” Translated? It has a beginning it has an end but if it has always existed it will always exist.

I believe this lead Smith to teach many years later that everything that can be considered real is material and has therefore always existed and it true and anything that has a beginning must be considered unreal and therefore untrue.

The first time anything appears in LDS writings related to the eternal nature of all things is a revelation Smith had that is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 93:23-33 that speaks of “element” (matter) and spirit being eternal.

In 1839 Parley P Pratt affirmed (as did Theologian Joseph Priestly in 1777 some sixty years earlier) that matter and Spirit are two great principles of all existence. Everything animate and inanimate is composed of one or the other, or both of these eternal principles.

It was in 1842 that Joseph Smith introduced the doctrine that all spirit is simply refined matter. When this came out what it meant, in the long run, is that since spirit has the same properties of physical matter, and physical matter cannot be created nor destroyed, then human beings, composed of body (material) soul (material) and Spirit (material) exist INDEPENDENT from God!

And it is from this very position that Mormondom has come to see things about God, his Nature, His origins, and Jesus, and us as his brother, and progressing on to becoming Gods, took root.

Once this was understood the word create in Genesis and in the Book of Moses became organized in the LDS book of Abraham.

And it was here, at this point, that Smith made clear his agreement with thinkers ahead of his day and age: “The elements are eternal. That which has a beginning will surely have an end.”

And Mormonism tore itself further away from a view that was not taught in Hellenistic Judaism, the Apostolic Church, by the early church fathers, through the middle ages, or in the Reformation. He took his ideas from the Age of Enlightenment, from so-called science, and chose to side with

Materialism Rather Than Scripture

This is the departing signature step than moved Smith from organizing another Christian movement (with the use of his BOM) to the organizing of a non-Christian empire built on matter.

Reader Emails

Hi Shawn. I was flattered that you used my idea on why Mormons are nice people. My name is Judy and I live in Bradford, Ontario, Canada. I would like to tell you why I left the church. Basically, I just got tired of nonsense. The more I knew, the more I wanted to leave. I hope I can enlighten others to see the false concepts that exist. However, I stayed longer than I should have for many reasons. What happened was amazing to me.

I was concerned about my temple recommend which needed to be renewed. My granddaughter was planning to get married and I wanted to attend the temple ceremony. While I was trying to figure out how I was going to get to church and pay my tithing, a still voice asked me if going to the temple was necessary to follow Jesus. I was surprised by this because I was not thinking along that line. But I went through the ritual in my head and discovered that Jesus was not the centre of the rite; in fact, He was not mentioned. It was about God and man…the Mormon god… Again the voice said if it's not necessary then it is not true.

At that time, I was Molly Mormon tried and true. So I set out to prove the church was true. I studied D&C for six months. While doing that I was prompted to write down any name I came across. When I finished I had found no proof of the truth and instead, I found that the doctrines fell into three categories: 1. How to run a church and govern the people. 2. Reprimands for those who were disobedient. 3. Just off the top of his head…Joseph Smith's explanations of things…like sermons. I was disappointed.

When I looked at the list of names I discovered I had 60 names. I took out those who had died and those who had left the church. I had 47 names. I went to Wikipedia and found that all 47 were leaders or future leaders in the church. And it stands to reason that all 47 went to the Salt Lake basin with Brigham Young. Forty-six of those men practiced polygamy. That answered a lot of questions. The main ones being…why did the saints leave Kirkland and Nauvoo. I was always told it was because of religious persecution. This did not seem right because in the United States it's against the law to do that. The real reason was…it was against the law to practice polygamy. They were fugitives from justice. Criminals.

Discovering Truth

While I was studying, there was a TV program about the Knights Templar. It went to the masonry and the masonic rites. I almost fell off the couch. The similarities to the temple rites were undeniable. I left the church. Truth is revealed if you look for it. I went back to my gospel roots and I enjoy your scripture teaching. I don't always agree but what you say makes sense. The only concern I have is that my son is in the bishopric and loves helping people. He does believe that people need to be told what to do. He's a good man but doesn't see the truth. Please say a prayer for him. Thank you for all you do.

From: Mark Gunderson
Subject: Advice
Message Body: Dear Shawn, I'm 16 years old and have a question for you. My mother is a true believer in the LDS church in Provo. My father is a born-again Christian in Cedar City. I recently told my mother that I do not believe in the LDS church anymore and I don't want to go on a mission. For the past month, I have been receiving massive pressure with some religious threats. If I don't do this, this will happen to me, for example. I've told her the quote from President Hinckley about Mormons not believing in the traditional Christ and many other things I have learned on your show and on utlm.org. But, she won't believe or research a word of it. My question is what can I do or say to keep peace with my mom, friends, and family, and to also help them see the truth. My Dad and I enjoy your show very much. Any advice you can think of will be greatly appreciated.

Journey From LDS to Christianity

righteousness to gain salvation. I have gained a understanding of love that I never had before. I use to ask, why does God's church have no need for me? Why does God not like me? I must have messed up really bad. I was so upset at myself for being so imperfect. That I was fat, or bad at things because I could not seem to do anything right. I hated myself. I don't hate myself anymore. I feel loved. I feel that even though I am heavy, and imperfect, GOD loves me and accepts me and is helping me not only feel his love, but I also am beginning to love myself and seeing life through different eyes. I have been set free from worry of worrying if my husband's spiritual flaws, are not going to keep me from being saved. I love my Husband and I don't feel like it is my job to change him. I cannot express how this new expression of Love has begun to heal my heart, make me a LOT less judgmental, and more sympathetic.

Struggles and Fears in Embracing Christianity

But then comes the problem. I tried to wear the cross, but could not stand up and be strong and tell people. Jesus is my Savior. I stopped wearing it because of what some have said to me. I stay silent and don't speak about what I am feeling. I refuse to talk to those around me because I am afraid. I don't want my husband to be upset because he feels like I don't want to be with him for eternity any more. I LOVE him, and I don't know how to explain to him, that we will still be together, it just won't be the same or as he thought it would be? I hear the Bible verses that tell me NOT TO FEAR False Prophets… but I fear those around me. I am alone and feel like they don't understand me. I should be strong with Jesus, but I am weak! I want to be strong… but I don't know how to be? What would you suggest? Anyway. I appreciate your show. Thanks

Understanding the Trinity and Salvation

is not going to keep me from being saved. I love my Husband and I don't feel like it is my job to change him. I cannot express how this new expression of Love has begun to heal my heart, make me a LOT less judgmental, and more sympathetic.. But then comes the problem. I tried to wear the cross, but could not stand up and be strong and tell people. Jesus is my Savior. I stopped wearing it because of what some have said to me. I stay silent and don't speak about what I am feeling. I refuse to talk to those around me because I am afraid. I don't want my husband to be upset because he feels like I don't want to be with him for eternity any more. I LOVE him, and I don't know how to explain to him, that we will still be together, it just won't be the same or as he thought it would be? I hear the Bible verses that tell me NOT TO FEAR False Prophets… but I fear those around me. I am alone and feel like they don't understand me. I should be strong with Jesus, but I am weak! I want to be strong… but I don't know how to be? What would you suggest? Anyway. I appreciate your show. Thanks

Understanding Love and Faith

righteousness to gain salvation. I have gained an understanding of love that I never had before. I used to ask, why does God's church have no need for me? Why does God not like me? I must have messed up really bad. I was so upset at myself for being so imperfect. That I was fat, or bad at things because I could not seem to do anything right. I hated myself. I don't hate myself anymore. I feel loved. I feel that even though I am heavy, and imperfect, GOD loves me and accepts me and is helping me not only feel his love, but I also am beginning to love myself and seeing life through different eyes. I have been set free from worry of worrying if my husband's spiritual flaws, are not going to keep me from being saved. I love my Husband and I don't feel like it is my job to change him. I cannot express how this new expression of Love has begun to heal my heart, make me a LOT less judgmental, and more sympathetic.

But then comes the problem. I tried to wear the cross, but could not stand up and be strong and tell people. Jesus is my Savior. I stopped wearing it because of what some have said to me. I stay silent and don't speak about what I am feeling. I refuse to talk to those around me because I am afraid. I don't want my husband to be upset because he feels like I don't want to be with him for eternity any more. I LOVE him, and I don't know how to explain to him, that we will still be together, it just won't be the same or as he thought it would be?

I hear the Bible verses that tell me NOT TO FEAR False Prophets… but I fear those around me. I am alone and feel like they don't understand me. I should be strong with Jesus, but I am weak! I want to be strong… but I don't know how to be? What would you suggest? Anyway. I appreciate your show. Thanks.

Questions on Biblical Christianity and Mormonism

From: Thomas
Subject: Bible "Corrupted"
Message Body:
Hi there my name is Thomas and I love the information you share with everyone in regards to Mormonism and how it differs from Biblical Christianity. My question is: What evidence are Mormons standing On to validate their belief that the Bible has been Corrupted (Church fell into Apostasy)? Thank you for responding. God bless you.
– Thomas

Perspectives on Faith and Creation

Hey Shawn, just got your message from 3 days ago. I remember sending that message, do wish I would of recommended a better video, regardless, it's the subject matter that counts. There are literally hundreds of videos now on the reality of the flat earth, like anything, one has to navigate down this road and search out what rings true and what does not. There's a lot out there, some designed to intentionally make it sound foolish. Like the future coming of Christ, many are just not willing to open their minds to the truth…it's a strange thing indeed. I put my trust in God and the bible. When one allows themselves to truly investigate the subject, both historically and spiritually, using the common sense and the abilities to reason that God has given us, to me at least, it becomes crystal clear that God wants us to trust our senses and what we see and experience on this earth. This is God's creation, this is our home, God created this world for us, we were meant to understand it, and learn from it, using our God-given senses.

The simple fact that all of mankind believed (and knew) that the earth was flat all the way up to less than 500 yrs ago…really ought to say something. This included God's chosen people. The bible says that the earth is stationary and that we have the firmament above…and above that is water. The sun, moon and stars move around US. The evidence of a flat earth is everywhere, it is in our bibles, not to mention the countless videos of this truth on the Internet. This is one of man's simplest truths going all the way back to creation, just like the truth that God created the heavens and the earth, and that God created man. The false science of Evolution, and the sphere of the earth are the two biggest lies poisoning the minds of men. This truth is real!, and it's the kind of truth men are proving more and more every day…with "real" science, not brainwashing "theories" by non-believing so-called scientists. Look into it Shawn, unless you are willing to allow yourself to be deceived and to continue to live in denial…I have no doubt that you

The Reality of the World We Live In

You will see that this is indeed truth, and the spirit of God will open your eyes to the reality of the very earth we live on. Myself, I was never into the science of space and NASA, to me it has always seemed like the biggest waste of money imaginable, especially when people are starving to death all over the world. So for me…I've embraced this truth, it has truly confirmed many things for me that otherwise have been pushed away to the background of my heart and mind.

This truth will completely change the way you see the world. Most are living in a bubble and simply refuse to have that bubble burst…their trapped in a false reality created by the evil wickedness of men. People are not seeking truth in the spirit, nor do they even seem to care, this is the very world our Lord is asking us to come out of. Their spiritually disconnected from the spirit and glued to the tv, media and movies instead. Ya know they say the earths spinning at 1000mph…huh, wonder why I can't feel it? Did God create a spinning ball with no up and no down, no foundation…not only for the earth, but for our very minds?

Misunderstanding the Natural World

My mind is not capable of understanding the spinning ball "theory"…my mind is not capable of understanding the big bang…nor is it capable of understanding evolution? And I'm most certainly not capable of understanding the trinity! I believe this inability is because it is not of God…they are lies that fight against the spirit of man…and it's all by design, even to the point of separation, where one loses the ability to connect with the spirit and even to the reality of God all together. Evil lies to separate man from creation and even God himself…this is the "world" our Lord speaks of…to not be deceived by the minds of men.

Where I ask is the fruit of the spirit in this nonsensical pursuit of outer space? In the technology of money hungry tyrants of war…who seem to think they can penetrate the firmament of God and rocket their way to the heavenly realm…it cannot be done! And they know it!, they've known it for possible thousands of years…so what do they do? They lie and deceive, they are of their father the Devil..you could say.

Seeking Truth Beyond Deception

Anyway Shawn, I'm glad you got back with me and I hope you find the time to look into this stuff, I realize it's the kind of thing that demands time, but it is time well spent. All the people looking into this all have something in common..we've all been deceived, the indoctrination into this man-made belief system is worldwide. The world is waking up on many different levels, most all the honest material on the subject is from honest people who are tired of all the deceptions and lies and just want to know the truth.

They started out trying their best to debunk the whole idea, but soon come to the realization..that it's not that easy, in fact, it cannot be done! Truth will simply not allow it. The truth sets us free, the reality of the very earth we walk on…it's a big one no doubt, but it truly sets you free from the biggest lie ever told to the human race…it will blow your mind…in a good way. At the same time, it is extremely difficult to face the reality of the magnitude evil men and rulers have gone to deceive us, to line their pockets with trillions and to have power over us!, we as a people, as Christians, have been put under bondage due to our unbelief.

Our ancestors second guessed the word of God and even their very senses and willfully chose to believe in the man made fables of scientists. We on part, traded our God for science. It is truly sad. Again, thanks for listening Shawn, I know you're busy, but it would be nice to establish some sort of communication with you, I'm a month or two behind on the heart of the matter, but I'll catch up…I like what you're doing as a brother, you do a great job of keeping it real….

Lord, if only we had more that would focus on the heart, and the truth. Awhile back I sent you an email recommending "the trinity delusion" website, I'd be interested to hear what you think about his understanding. If you haven't got around to it yet…check it out!, if ya Google it "the trinity delusion website" it comes right up, it's www.angelfire….something? God bless Shawn, take good care, Chad.

Ps, you grew up on the west coast didn't you, were you ever able to see the water of the sea bend over the curve?

Understanding the Melchizedek Priesthood

Water does not bend!…Food for thought…? Take it easy, hope to hear from you soon. Chad.

Hey there buddy,

Really quick I know you're busy, I was listening to a podcast yesterday from a while back and it was about the Melchizedek priesthood and I heard you say something that I found fascinating!! It was about Melchizedek being Jesus?? I thought that was extremely interesting and really want to hear more about it… If you are ever taking requests for show topics I think that may be a good one!

God bless brother-

Clint

Euthanasia in Spiritual Context

From: Dallas
Subject: Suicide
Message Body:
I have been wondering why euthanasia clinics are being promoted to let people die with some dignity when it is considered a serious sin and what your opinion is concerning the spiritual state of those who choose to go out that way?