Fast Facts on False Teachings , livre ebook

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131 pages

English

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World-renown cult experts Ron Carlson and Ed Decker combine their extensive knowledge to give readers quick, clear facts on the major cults and false teachings of today. Short, informative chapters contrast the cults' theologies with the truth found in God's Word. Readers will discover the key facts on--AtheismBuddhismEvolutionHinduismIslamSatanismAnd moreFast Facts(R) on False Teachings is an easy-to-use resource that provides powerful insights for sharing the biblical gospel with people ensnared by false religions and philosophies.

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Comparative religion

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Date de parution	01 juillet 2003
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780736931441
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0554€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society.
Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked P HILLIPS are taken from J.B. Phillips: The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition. J.B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Company.
Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover by Terry Dugan Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota
FAST FACTS is a registered trademark of The Hawkins Children s LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the federally registered trademark FAST FACTS.
FAST FACTS ON FALSE TEACHINGS
Copyright 1994 by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carlson, Ron, 1950-
Fast facts on false teachings / Ron Carlson Ed Decker.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-7369-1214-2
1. Cults-Controversial literature. 2. Christian sects-Controversial literature. 3. Christianity and other religions. I. Decker, Ed. II. Title.
BP603.C36 1994
291.9-dc20
93-43729 CIP
All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America .
04 05 06 07 08 09 / BP-CF / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
C ONTENTS
Why Defend the Faith?
1. Atheism
2. Buddhism
3. The Character of God
4. Evolution: The Incredible Theory
5. Freemasonry and the Masonic Lodge
6. Hinduism, Yoga, and Reincarnation
7. Islam
8. Jehovah s Witnesses: The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
9. Jesus and the Cults
10. The Korean Messiah: Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church
11. Mormonism: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
12. The New Age Movement
13. Prosperity Theology
14. Roman Catholicism
15. Satanism and the Occult Explosion
16. Transcendental Meditation
Contact the Authors
About the Authors
To Dr. Walter Martin, our long-time friend and mentor, who encouraged and inspired us both to always contend for the faith (Jude 3) .
W HY D EFEND THE F AITH ?
T HE PRESENTATION OF APOLOGETICS isn t always popular. A cultist isn t going to be thrilled that you now know things he wishes you never did, and even many of your fellow Christians will frown upon your newfound zeal to defend the faith. In fact, you might be amazed at the number of well-meaning Christians who find the defense of the faith just too embarrassing and negative for them to even try out. They say, It s too unloving. God sees these people s hearts. Who are we to judge? So they stand by and let a lie become the norm because they will not speak out with a defense for the doctrines and purity of our faith.
Let s start right out by defining the world of Christian apologetics and polemics.
Apologetics: Systematic argumentative discourse in defense, as of a doctrine. Defense of the faith.
Polemics: An aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another, as in denouncing heresy.
The Bible tells us in Jude 3:
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
Paul tells us in Philippians 1:7:
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God s grace with me.
In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul says:
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
He says further in 2 Timothy 4:2:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction.
Peter also declares this same message in 1 Peter 3:15:
In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
With these biblical exhortations in mind, we see that it is our Christian duty to fulfill our commission from the Lord . We become defenders of the faith as we witness to those lost in darkness, and especially to those who bring those false teachings to the world that we seek for Christ.
Defending the Faith in Israel
In the biblical account of Elijah s encounter with the prophets of Baal, we find that Baal worship had been introduced into Israel. So Elijah stood before the people and cried out:
How long halt ye between two opinions? if the L ORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him ( KJV ).
He then challenged the prophets of Baal to call down fire from Baal upon the sacrifice that they had prepared. Although they called on Baal from morning to evening, leaping upon the altar and slashing themselves, nothing happened. Elijah derided them by saying:
Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awakened.
Then Elijah called down fire from God, which consumed not only the sacrifice but also the altar stones and the water in the ditch around the altar (1 Kings 18).
What Did Jesus Say?
In Matthew 12:34,39, Jesus said this to the religious leaders of His day:
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign.
In Matthew 13:15, He continued:
For this people s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.
In Matthew 15:7, He called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, and in verse 9, He said:
They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.
In Matthew 21, He connected the parable of wicked husbandmen with the religious leaders of Israel. In Matthew 23:23-25,27,28,33, He said:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
All too many people are willing to hear the words of peace and faith from Jesus but are reticent to hear the Jesus who upbraided those teachers who would lead their followers into darkness (Matthew 15:14).
The Apostles Speak Out
The apostles and disciples of Jesus also boldly rebuked the false teachers of their day. The first of these apologists, Peter in Acts 2:14-41; 3:12-26; 4:8-12 and Stephen in Acts 6:8-10; 7:1-60, spoke forcefully against the unbelieving Jews.
In Acts 13:8-12 Paul condemned sorcery. He spoke against the Jewish leaders in Acts 13:16-46; 14:1-4; 17:1-4 and reasoned with them out of the Scriptures in their synagogues. In Acts 17:16-34 Paul contended with the Jews and then against paganism with the Greeks. Then to the Galatians he defended his apostleship and the teaching of grace against the Judaizers.
The Early Church Fathers
The strong words of correction did not end with Christ and the apostles. After they were gone from the scene, great men of God rose up to defend the church even when to do so was considered illegal.
First, these men had to defend the faith against the Jews, and then later against paganism and later heresies. The first of these were Quadratus, Bishop of Athens, and Aristedes, philosopher of Athens, who wrote a defense of Christianity addressed to Emperor Hadrian about A.D. 117.
Between A.D 117 and 138, Hegesippus wrote about the heresies of Simeon, Cleobus, Gorthoeus, Masbotheus, Menander, Marcion, Carpocrates, Valentinus, Basilides, and Saturnilius, and also the Jewish heresies of the Essenes, Galileans, Hemereobaptists, Samaritans, Sadducees, and Pharisees.
Later Justin Martyr wrote his first apology to Emperor Antonius Pius about A.D. 138. Tatian wrote against the Greeks about A.D. 163. Justin wrote his second apology to the emperors, his dialogue with Trypho (to the Jews), and his hortatory address to the Greeks. At about this time Athenagoras and Tatian wrote their apologies.
Melito of Sardis wrote a discourse to Emperor Antonius around A.D. 166. During the same period Dionysius of Corinth and Philip of Gortyna wrote against Marcion, and Theophilus of Antioch wrote against Marcion and others. Apollinaris, Bishop of Hierapolis, wrote five books against the Greeks, two books against the Jews, and another against the Phrygian heresy and Montanus. Musanus Modestus (disciple of Justin) wrote an elegant work to some of