Has Jesus Returned?

"In the matter of a difficult question it is more likely that the truth should have been discovered by the few than by the many." – Rene Descartes

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." – Martin Luther King Jr.

Introduction

Show 43 418: Has Jesus Returned – Part XII
October 28th, 2014

Live from the Mecca of Mormonism, this is HEART OF THE MATTERTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology. where…

Institutionalized Religion Meets Jesus Christ Face to Face.

And I’m your host, Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion.

Too much to cover to mess around with anything else right now so let’s pray and get to it.

PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER
PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER

Exploring Biblical Expectations of Jesus' Return

Last show on exploring the question of “When does the Bible say Jesus would return?” Quite honestly we could do seven or eight more where we would delve a bit deeper into the minutia, but we’ve probably already done enough after tonight. So I thought I’d try and hit on some of the major points provided by the apostles that support the idea of that the Bible says Jesus was going to return within forty years of His deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. and resurrection.

Whether you realize it or not, all the New Testament writers fully expected, taught, and encouraged the believers who trusted them IN THAT DAY to believe His return – His second comingChrist’s return, fulfilled in 70 A.D., ending the old covenant—not the world. – was on its way and would happen within forty years or so of His death and resurrection. We cannot get around this, and I am going to prove it through scripture tonight in a rapid-fire succession of examples.

If you are convinced that this is true, we have to then honestly ask ourselves why? What made them think and teach this? I mean even most Bible scholars agree – “Jesus disciples were under the impression that He was coming back soon!” “Who gave them this impression?” Jesus Himself. Then we have to ask: “If the apostles were wrong in their estimation of when Jesus would return, and they misunderstood Jesus and His teachings on the subject, how can we trust anything else they said, wrote, or taught?” I would go so far as to say that if they were wrong about the time of Jesus' return, we can’t trust a word they say about anything else!

But they weren’t wrong. They were dead right. So let’s start with words of James, the writer of Hebrews, then John, then Peter, and finally Paul.

Scriptural Evidence

James

There are five James’ in the Bible, and this one was believed to be the half-brother of the Lord who was martyred in 62 AD, so his words have to have been written before. Let’s let his own words do the talking. Remember, this was a letter written to believers AT THAT TIME. Emphasis mine:

James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receives the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

That line "draweth nigh" in the King James is translated: “Is at hand” in the ESV and the New King James, and “Is near” in the NASB. James was either leading them in truth, and they ought to have trusted his words, or he was deceiving them, and His return was not at hand.

The Writer of Hebrews

Forgetting the dogma, we don’t know who wrote Hebrews. But scholars think it was written 67-69 AD. The whole thing was written to encourage Jewish converts to hang on to faith in Christ and to get them to realize He was faithful to His promises, promises that were better than anything they had under the Law. Perhaps the whole point and purpose of the writer can be summarized in chapter 10 verses 22-39. Here the writer is instructing them on what to do in the face of persecution and failing faith, and what to look forward to in the future – their FUTURE. So let’s read it.

Hebrews 10:22-39 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25…

Encouragement in Times of Tribulation

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (this is the same day that Jesus spoke of not knowing in Matthew 24.)

26 For if we sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (phraseology which pictures the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD)

28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; 33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. 34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. 35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

Patience and Faith

36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. (Did you hear the promise the writer of Hebrews made to those saints in that day? Reread it Shawn) (The Greek for “little” as in a little while is micron – a very little while is better the translation. In fact the NASB translates this passage as: “For in a VERY little while,” which is consistent with the Greek word Micron.)

38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

The Message of John

In 1st John 2:17-18 the Beloved, WHO ALSO WROTE REVELATION AND THE GOSPEL OF JOHN SAYS:

“And the world passeth away, (the age of their world, the whole Jewish system under the law) and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (and what is the will of the Father? John 6 – to believe on the Son whom He has sent, right?) Little children, it is the last time: (Here he appeals to all the signs and prophesies of the Anti-Christ that had been provided to them) and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”

This is completely fitting to THAT time, to THAT age, to Nero and his numerological identifier 666.

John is saying, look around, they are present, here! And the last time, the last hour is upon us.

Encouragement from John

Later in this same chapter John writes:

1st John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”

As stated before, we always have to ask, when we read scripture the W’s – Who was the writer speaking to FIRST, what was he trying to impart to them and Why, and where and when was this taking place?

Again, Christians today love to read the passages and assign them to our day all the while ignoring these W questions which clearly teach us context.

So obviously John was writing to encourage the believers in that day to “abide in Him” so that “when He appears” they would have “confidence” and not be ashamed at his coming.”

All based in and around their standing with the Lord when He was expected to return at any moment.

Finally, we have evidence of John instilling hope and expectation into the hearts of the readers of his epistles AT THAT TIME that they would be there to witness His return.

Consider 1st John 3:2 where he

The Sons of God and the Glory to Come

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Was John blowing smoke . . . or was he correct in his encouragement? I would suggest he was totally correct and if he was wrong we can toss the Bible aside.

We’ll begin with a passage that is a little vague but from it we discover an interesting support.

1st Peter 5:4 says

“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

From this passage I think that we can see that Peter believed that many of the people reading his words would be alive when “the chief Shepherd would appear.” The Bible often speaks of believers receiving glory at Christ’s return and here, at his appearing, Peter tells those who were reading his words that they would receive a crown of glory at His appearing.

What didn’t he say? He didn’t say they would be resurrected (which is often tied to Jesus return). Therefore, not speaking of their resurrection infers that they would be alive, and therefore his coming was eminent.

Peter's Message to the Elders

Peter actually opens this chapter up by saying the following:

“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.”

Again, the Greek word translated shall be revealed is “mello,” and means is about to be revealed. This word could not be used (unless John and God were wrong) if applied to our day and age. It means ABOUT to, not will happen 2000 years later.

With judgment being tied to Jesus return, Peter also wrote, speaking of Christ

1st Peter 4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

Peter knew from the signs around him that the Lord was “ready” to judge. Which is why he used this term.

Of course 1st Peter 4:7 says:

“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”

Obviously, the end of “all things” does not relate to the natural, material world as the frenetic futurists froth on about. The end of all things relative to the Nation of Israel, typified by the coming judgment and destruction of Jerusalem.

The End of All Things

Remember now, Peter didn’t always teach that the “end of all things was at hand.” In the book of Acts, right after Jesus ascended into the heavens Peter is preaching to a crowd that had gathered after he healed a lame man at the gate called Beautiful.

This is what he said to those Jews gathered around:

Acts 3:19-21

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

There is great debate as to what the restitution of all things spoken of the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began is talking about and when (or if) it occurred. For instance the LDS say the restitution (or restoration of all things) occurred when Joseph Smith restored all things to the earth.

Here Peter tells us that the heavens would receive (or retain) Christ until this restoration was fulfilled. We can debate the “restitution of all things” phrase here until the cows come home. But when we take all the other explainable evidence I am of the opinion that the restitution of all things Peter says has to happen BEFORE Jesus leaves heaven to return HAD TO occur prior to 70 AD because now in 1st Peter Peter is suggesting the end is near, at hand, and on its way.

Therefore the restitution of all things had to have occurred and I suspect it has something to do with the Law of Moses and justice for failing it, and possibly the Garden of Eden state being restored to the hearts of Men by and through the Holy Spirit.

One final note on this passage from Peter where He was assuring his listeners that the time was NOT at hand –

Remember this is what he said AT THAT TIME, speaking of Jesus.

The Concept of Restitution and the Return of Jesus

“Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

Stay with me. According to Peter all the prophets since the world began had spoken of the restitution. At this we have to ask if all the prophecy of the Old Testament have been fulfilled? In Luke 21:22 Jesus, in describing the end of Jerusalem says: “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” If all was fulfilled, then we can say that prophecies of the restitution of all things were fulfilled too. And since Jesus would return when the restitution of all things would occur we can say that His return was at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

I’m sorry, but due to time and the amount of information surrounding Paul’s statements on when he says Jesus would return we have to stretch this out one more week. But before we open the phones, there is one more question that always pops up by futurists on the subject of Jesus return in 70 AD. It comes in connection with the MillenniumA symbolic period of Christ’s reign—fulfilled by 70 A.D., not a future thousand-year timeline. More question we touched on last week but this question is: “If Jesus came in 70 AD is Satan now bound?” We had a caller last week touch on this and I wasn’t sure of the answer.

Understanding the Millennium and the Binding of Satan

This is where my problem lied. I contend that the term millennium does not mean one thousand literal years but that the phrase “a thousand years” in scripture is representative of all years or the whole span of time. I also maintain that Jesus' reign began back at His ascension, was evidenced by judgment falling on Jerusalem, and that the reign continues today – with our King ruling and reigning from on high over a spiritual kingdom and that we are not waiting for any literal one thousand year reign here on earth (as the futurists maintain).

The trouble with my view is that Revelation 20 says: “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:2. If my position is correct people ask then has Satan been bound? It is a great question. My mom used to explain the binding of Satan by telling me the day would come when God would come down and throw Satan in hell, and with a huge chain and lock shut the doors and chain them shut for a thousand years. The imagery was palpable and I took her explanation to heart, looking forward to the day. The trouble is my Mom believed the fulfillment of Revelation 20 was literal and not spiritual.

Exploring the Spiritual Binding of Satan

So to the question – “If the millennium is the whole span of time and not a thousand literal years, and if this span of time began back in 70 AD has Satan been bound? And looking around the world we would have to say, “no, he hasn’t, so therefore, Mr. McCraney, you are incorrect.” But maybe we have not understood what scripture means when it says Satan would be bound? Let me explain.

In Isaiah 25:8 we are blessed with a prophecy that says: "He (meaning Jesus) will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it."

Where did death come from and why? Going back to the garden of Eden there was no sin (partly because there was no law (but one) and there was no disease or death. Right? Was Satan there? Yep. What was He doing? Tempting Adam and Eve. Did Satan have ANY power? None whatsoever. But He was Satan able to certainly tempt, right?

When he was able to get Adam and Eve to fall Satan obtained power and became (for lack of a better term) the author and finisher of physical and spiritual death which reigned until Christ. What did Jesus do on the cross and through resurrection? (Listen) He conquered death – all death, both physical and spiritual. And listen – the power Satan had over death was bound! Since Christ and His victory Satan has absolutely no claim or power on Men. Sin has been utterly abolished except the sin of unbelief and failing to love. So Christ, the second Adam, had utter victory over Satan and His power over all human beings. And he is back to

Understanding Satan's Role in Temptation

Where he started – able to tempt. For this reason, Jesus, well before going to the cross, said in John 12:31: "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out." Suggesting that His power as prince of the world is lost (or bound) as it were.

Paul says in Colossians 2:15: And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

2nd Timothy 1:10: But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Hebrews 2:14: Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.

1st Peter 3:22: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Satan's Temptation Purpose

And yet, we might note Satan continues to tempt. To what end? In the Garden of Eden, Satan was able to tempt. What was he tempting Adam and Eve with? The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil which they were told not to eat.

What did Adam and Eve eating of the fruit symbolize? A number of things: Self-will over God’s will, succumbing to temptation of Satan rather than living by the promises of God. In the end, not believing God, not trusting in God, but trusting the promises or insights of Satan. The fruit was the fruit of unbelief.

So I would suggest that Satan is allowed to continue in this very same work. To unbelievers, it is to keep them in chains, to keep them blinded and in the dark, to cause them to love the darkness more than the light. Are they sinning? Only against the light in unbelief as all other sin has been wiped away.

Satan's Influence on Believers

In other words, Satan’s temptations to not believe is to thwart salvation and to get as many as possible to experience continued separation from God here and after this life in hell and/or the lake of Fire. He also tempts believers, to render us ineffective, to re-direct us, get us off the path of faith, to darken the light around us with the ultimate aim is to stifle fruitfulness (fruits of love).

I believe He also seeks to snatch believers and bring them into captivity to the flesh, hoping to drag some into the dark after this life. To give God as few true children as possible.

Will Satan in his efforts to either keep unbelievers in the dark or render believers unfruitful and ineffective, have victory? NEVER. He has already lost. And his powers over physical or spiritual death are bound by the permanent victory of Christ who will, in the end, have total and utter victory, reconciling all, in the end, over to Himself.

Emails

From: Karl

Subject: Talking to Mormons

Message Body:

Mr. “Hannity???” I guess since both of us are named Shawn it got Karl a bit flustered.

First of all, I'd like to thank you for your insight and knowledge on Mormonism and its points of contention with Christianity; I've been listening to some of your clips on YouTube and they're challenging me to learn more about my faith (Christianity) and how to refute false doctrines. Thank you for your ministry, and your unyielding tenacity for the pursuit of truth.

I was wondering though: I have very limited contact with Mormons, but when I do I feel like at the slightest hint of resistance they pull away from me and move on. Do you have any tips on engaging Mormons in intellectual discourse? It almost seems impossible because of their concreted mentality. Thank you for your time.

From: Landon

Subject: Help needed

Message Body:

Shawn,

My name is Landon and I have a lot of questions that I think you might be able to help me with. Let me explain the position I am in first.

I am married with two young beautiful children. I love my wife with all my heart and soul and want nothing more than for her to be happy, but we have had some struggles as most couples do. We were both raised in…

Challenges in Faith and Family

The church, but my family was far from active. My wife's family though has always been active, her father was released from being a bishop for seven years when we were married 5 years ago. I have always had my questions about the church, and never felt it was right, but I saw that there was a lot of good with it. So I have stuck with it for a long time. As I have been married though and gone through the temple (I also served a mission) I never felt comfortable in the temple. I have expressed that to a lot of people but they always say "That feeling will pass" "Just keep going you will feel it". I have since stopped paying my tithing because I had issues with that. I didn't want to lie when I went to the bishop and told him I had issues and felt it only fair to be honest and I did not get my temple recommend renewed. I missed my step sisters wedding in the temple, but I was there and supported them in every way I could. I took that as a chance to be more open about my feelings with the church to my family.

Struggles Within the Family

Since then my family has said that I am being moved by the devil, my wife has talked about getting a divorce and my father has said I am not there for my family and accused me of being a bad father. I have worked two or three jobs throughout my marriage to make sure that we had enough food on the table and everything my wife needed to be a stay at home mother. I have since gone to working two jobs so I can spend more time with the family. Now it is just a battle every day I am home. I have never belittled my wife for her faith, but actually supported her with her faith. I need help in finding a way to work things out because now my family is being ripped apart. I love my family and want them to be happy. I am an imperfect man and I have made mistakes in the past but I have been trying to make a better future. My wife is a wonderful woman, but holds those mistakes above me each and every day. I can give you a greater understanding of my mistakes if needed, but I need to find a way to get strength from God. Please help me find ways to do this because I have found the flaws with my church, but I know of that God is good and wants my family to be together. I am begging for help because I don't know where else to go. With a heart full of hope,
Landon Ochsenbein

Seeking Guidance and Updates

I told Landon to call me which he did. I told him to be Jesus to his wife and family and do all he could to keep the marriage and family together. Received this yesterday from Landon:

Shawn, I figured I would give you an update. My wife is filling for a legal separation today. She has spoken with her mom and our bishop and that is what she was told would be helpful. I have tried very hard to make things work out with her and I love my wife. I wish that this could work out but "we have different morals" and that is hard for her to accept. I have tried to focus on Jesus, but she already has her mind made up.

Questions on Biblical Teachings

COMMENT

Doctrine/Families/God

From: Geraldine Williams

Subject: Messages

Message Body:

Hi Shawn: I was brought up to believe that the Bible said what it meant and meant what it said, now I find out that that is not the case. I don't think many people reading the Bible would read in it the meanings you are giving it. How do you decide what is spiritual and what isn't? Who has the right to change the interpretations of the Bible? In Revelations when did the Kings of the East come with the huge army that is mentioned? Why are the first few chapters addressed to the Church and the Church is left out after John is caught up in the Spirit to heaven? What about God's promises to bring back his chosen people to their

Promised Land in Latter Days

promised land in the latter days? Hosea 3: 4,5. and many more places.

Why don't you just rewrite the Bible and put these changes in as Joseph Smith did?

RESPONSE

Acknowledgment of Joseph Smith's Polygamous Practices

Mormon founder had teen bride during polygamy days By BRADY McCOMBS Published in: News

SALT LAKE CITY The Mormon church acknowledges in a new essay that founder Joseph Smith had a teenage bride and was married to other men's wives during the faith's early polygamous days, a recognition of an unflattering part of its roots that historians have chronicled for years. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says most of Smith's wives were between 20 and 40 years old. One of them, however, was a 14-year-old girl who was the daughter of Smith's close friends.

The essay posted this week on the church's website marked the first time the Salt Lake City-based religion has officially acknowledged those facts, though it also has not denied them. The article is part of a recent push by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to open up about sensitive issues within the faith, many of which are uncomfortable to discuss. Other writings posted in the past couple of years have addressed sacred undergarments worn by devout members; a past ban on black men in the lay clergy; and the misconception that Mormons are taught they'll get their own planet in the afterlife.

The new article about Smith's wives during the 1830s and 1840s in Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo, Illinois, comes about 10 months after the church acknowledged polygamy was widely practiced among its members in the late 19th century. "As a collection, these are remarkably revealing articles, continuing the new open and transparent philosophy of historical writing," said Armand Mauss, a retired professor of sociology and religious studies at Washington State University. The information will be surprising to many Latter-day Saints who either didn't know or were encouraged to dismiss speculation as anti-Mormon propaganda, Mauss said.

Mormons don't practice polygamy today. Splinter groups who call themselves fundamentalist Mormons still practice plural marriage, including Warren Jeffs' sect on the Utah-Arizona border. Latter-day Saints began practicing polygamy after Smith received a revelation from God. He took his first plural wife in 1830 in Ohio, three years after he married his first wife, Emma, the article shows. He and his first plural wife separated, but he renewed the practice a decade later in Illinois. That's where he married the teenager.

Controversial Marriage Practices

The essay noted that while inappropriate by today's standards, marriage among teen girls was legal and somewhat common during that time. The article acknowledges that many details about polygamy in early Mormonism are hazy because members were taught to keep their actions confidential. But, research has indicated that Smith's marriage to the young girl might not have involved sex. Some plural marriages were designed to seal the man to the woman for eternity only, and not life and eternity as Mormons believe, the article says. Those types of marriages didn't seem to involve sex. Little is known about Smith's marriages to the already-married women, the article says. They also might have been the type of unions that didn't involve sex.

Historical Context of Polygamy

Plural marriage was an "excruciating ordeal" for Emma Smith and confounding for some men, too, the article says. Some people left the faith, and others refused to take multiple wives while remaining Latter-day Saints. When Latter-day Saints trekked cross-country to Utah in 1847, nearly 200 men and more than 500 women were in plural marriage, it says. "Difficult as it was, the introduction of plural marriage in Nauvoo did indeed 'raise up seed' unto God," the article says. "A substantial number of today's members descend through faithful Latter-day Saints who practiced plural marriage."

RESPONSE

Perspectives on Leaving the Mormon Church

Shawn,

I've watched a couple of your programs and you mentioned in one of them that people who leave the Mormon church tend to gravitate towards atheism. I think I can give you a few reasons why from my perspective. I think numbers 1 and 5 will be more universal while 2, 3, and 4 come specifically out of my own experience.

1. Mormonism has historical problems–so does Evangelical Christianity. It's not just doctrines that were dreamed up decades or centuries after Jesus' ministry, but the New Testament itself has historical problems. This is not something you're going to pick up in your average Evangelical seminary either. I could go into a lot more detail, but to be honest, given what a tailspin just this realization put me into, I'm hesitant to say anything more because I do not want to be the cause of destroying someone

Women's Roles in Mormonism and Evangelical Christianity

2. Mormonism doesn't know what to do with women–neither does Evangelical Christianity (or a lot of mainstream, or Orthodox or other churches as well). As a woman, I don't see wanting to spend my time with people who think because Even ate the apple women are somehow weaker and more easily tempted. I frankly find this view of women to be obnoxious and it is pervasive among Evangelicals. I don't need that in my life.

3. Mormonism and Evangelical Christianity have the same vision of a woman's life: that it's supposed to be all about marriage and raising children. It's weird–Evangelical Christians come unglued about eternal marriage and how that's the Mormon woman's goal in life, but in reality it's also the goal of Evangelical Christian women. What's the difference, I ask? At least married Mormon women are promised the Celestial Kingdom as a reward for faithfulness in this life. Married Evangelical Christian women might get a crown in heaven but they're definitely second class.

The Issue of Unmarried Women

4. Mormonism and Evangelical Christianity also don't know what to do with women who fail in the prime directive to marry and have kids. Women like me, who either weren't interested in marriage and children, who realized they just wouldn't be good mothers or simply who determined it wasn't good to inflict their own serious social, emotional or physical problems on children. I'm middle aged, I have a job, I have a house, I pay taxes, but because I'm not married and never married, I'm somehow looked upon by both Mormons and Evangelicals as incomplete.

Financial Expectations in Religious Institutions

5. Mormons and Evangelical Christians really want your money. Your 10 percent. Your tithe. Bring it into the storehouse. Now. Off the top, on the gross. NOW. Where's MAH MONEY?! Sorry, if it's going to build the latest and greatest in megachurches, going so the pastor can build an even fancier million-dollar house or put up an insanely expensive shopping mall in Salt Lake City, I'm not interested in funding it. I'd rather give my hard-earned bucks to people I know who need it and for whom it will make a definite, tangible difference in their lives. But that's not acceptable to the Titans of Tithing.

I'd also note that even if these things were changed, I'd not go back to church. When I figured out that the Jesus being taught in the churches wasn't exactly the same Jesus who lived 2,000 years ago, I started questioning some foundational ideas about the Christian faith. Like: why the God of the universe simply couldn't forgive our sins, rather than requiring a blood human sacrifice to do that for him. And yes, I'm well aware that penal substitutionary atonement is a relatively new theological idea (just over 900 years old), but the notion of human sacrifice in general skeeves me out. Or: the language used to refer to God is exclusively male, and male theologians and pastors come stark staring unglued over the suggestion that perhaps using female imagery at least occasionally to reflect a God who is neither male nor female might not be such a bad idea.

So there you go. Reasons why one woman might go over to atheism–except that atheism is full of obnoxious sexist jerks as well and so I didn't go there either. I'll stick with informed agnostic skepticism, while reserving the right to change my mind.

Regards,

Dee H. Mesa, AZ USA

RESPONSE

From: Jeani Wade

Subject: Wavering Faith

Message Body:

Dear Shawn,

I have been a member of the LDS church my entire life. Throughout my time in the church, however, there has been some lingering doubt about a lot of the teachings. I've had these doubts since I can remember but pushed through them believing my "Enduring to the End" would make them go away. I have even served a mission for the church, putting these doubts on the back burner. My mission was extremely difficult and opened my eyes to the politics that go on that members don't normally see. Despite all of these doubts I have had and the increasing disenchantment I have felt, I still married in the temple and have started a family. I don't know what to do as my faith in this church continues to decrease. My husband is very devoted to the church and I've tried to discuss this with him but he feels that we need to study the Book of Mormon more to

Seeking Guidance

I'm getting frustrated because I really only have other church members to talk to and they all give the same advice as my husband. So I'm contacting you to see what advice you can give me.

Thank you for your time,

Jeani