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Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons
Have the Mormons ever left you unsure of what to say? Their arguments are convincing, their teachings seem indisputable, and their stand on what they believe is firm. How can you effectively communicate to the Mormons that their gospel does not match up with the Bible? One of the best ways is to ask penetrating questions. Cult experts Ron Rhodes and Marian Bodine will help you understand the main points of Mormonism and discover where it falls short of God’s truth. They then equip you to ask strategic questions that challenge… You’ll find Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons a valuable guide to responding to Mormons with confidence!
432 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 22, 2018
This is a remarkably comprehensive introduction not only to the various interesting aspects of Mormon belief, but to the various ways in which Christians can reason with and witness to members of that group. As a read, this was a bit of a slog with lots of difficult lists and things that could require a decent amount of memorization (which the authors advocate for in the introduction). As a resource it is invaluable, and really it should be memorized and worked with so that when opportunities arise to witness, we are ready. If you think you'd be in a situation where you are likely to encounter Mormons on even a somewhat irregular basis, this is a very helpful resource for faithfully dealing with that conversation.
June 8, 2010
This is a great book I re-read from time to time to keep this information fresh in my head as there are a lot of mormons in my area.
I had two Elders come to my house one night and I was by myself but I handled them with relative ease because this book prepared me for not only their theology, but also their evangelistic methods. I was blown away at how close to the script this book was, I definetly recommend this if you like to witness to those in the LDS Church.
I had two Elders come to my house one night and I was by myself but I handled them with relative ease because this book prepared me for not only their theology, but also their evangelistic methods. I was blown away at how close to the script this book was, I definetly recommend this if you like to witness to those in the LDS Church.
October 13, 2024
…it is my opinion that Rhodes’ books on reasoning with Muslims/JWs/Mormons/Catholics are necessary because the average Christian has not been taught the basics of Biblical Christianity by their churches.
As with Rhodes’ other books in the series, this one has excellent info on the reliability of the Biblical text. This is especially important because Catholics, Mormons, and Muslims criticize the Bible whenever it conflicts with their doctrines. (which is often. JWs revere the Bible as the inspired word of God. They just revere their leadership more, if not in word, in practice. A prime example is the recent reversal in JW men growing beards. Only a spiritual eunuch would let a religious leader tell him if he could grow a beard, especially when men in Bible times obviously wore them, including Jesus.)
Nevertheless, the Trinity is discussed in this book because Mormons have some strange ideas about the identity of Almighty God, Yahweh. I’ve dealt with this in reviews of Rhodes’ other books, but I’ll touch on it here.
The Jews are God’s chosen people. They didn’t believe the Trinity 1000s of years ago, and they don’t now. In fact, it’s a major stumbling block for them in accepting mainstream Christian orthodoxy. (and rightly so)
Because of this, we would expect to find Jesus and the Apostles “revealing” this doctrine to Jewish converts over and over again in the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles.
But we don’t.
As an example, the last few chapters of 1st Chronicles detail David organizing temple worship around music and musicians. The sons of the prophets in the OT prophesied with instruments. BUT, the Church of Christ would have us believe that Christians should only sing hymns of praise with acapella arrangements…no instruments.
Since offering praise with instrumental accompaniment was common in the OT, if it became wrong in Jesus’ day, shouldn’t there be explicit statements to that effect, like there are with salvation by faith, not works of Law?
There aren’t.
And there aren’t any explicit statements on the co-eternal, co-equal Triune Godhead dogma, either.
Rhodes cites a few texts (see my other reviews), but I’ll tackle two here.
1. John 20:28. Thomas exclaims, “My Lord and My God!” when he sees the resurrected Jesus. As Rhodes correctly points out, context is everything. Here is John 20:17, where Jesus appears to Mary Magdelene. According to the NIV, Jesus tells her, “…I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (in the next verse, Mary calls Jesus “Lord”)
Jesus says he worships God the Father as does Mary. It seems self-evident that eleven vss later, Thomas worships the same God as Jesus and Mary. And the same Lord as Mary, too, Jesus. When Thomas said, “My Lord and my God”, he was referring to the Son and the Father. Easy-peezy.
Most of the epistles open with the phrase, “God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” in their salutations. In 1st Corinthians 8:6, Paul says “…there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ.” See also Revelation 3:2, 12, where Jesus calls The Father “My God” 5x. Nowhere do we read of the Father, or Holy Spirit calling the Son (or each other) “My God”.
Jesus calls Yahweh His Father and God because He’s the “firstborn of all creation” NASB Colossian 1:15, and the “beginning of creation of God” NASB, KJV Revelation 3:14. (consult a Strong’s for meaning of “beginning”)
2. He cites Hebrews 1:8. Referring to Jesus, many Bibles say, “…Your throne O God.” However, translations such as the American Translation and Moffat’s say, “…God is your throne.” Hebrews 1:8 is a quotation from Psalm 45:7, which is either about David or Solomon. Note how the Jewish Tanakh renders that: “…your divine throne is everlasting…”
Compare that with 1st Chronicles 29:23, “…Solomon sat on Yahweh’s throne.” Both Psalm 45:7 and Hebrews 1:8 simply mean the Davidic throne was instituted by and is supported by God. It seems that Moffat’s rendering of Hebrews 1:8 is correct. The verse has no bearing on a Trinity.
As shown above, the majority of proof texts Trinitarians cite to support their dogma only include one or two members. This is akin to claiming Manny, Moe, and Jack are triplets, except you never see all three together. Matthew 28:19, 20, 2nd Corinthians 13:14 say nothing of either Jesus, or Holy Spirit being Almighty God, so they’re irrelevant to the Trinity. It takes eisegesis to arrive at a co-equal, co-eternal Triune Godhead in those verses.
Holy Spirit has the added burden for Trinitarians in needing to be shown as a Person. Holy Spirit never has a back and forth conversation with anyone. Jesus likens Holy Spirit to wind in John 3:8, which is the literal meaning of “Holy Spirit”, “sacred breath/wind”.
One final point…mainstream Christians often puff themselves up regarding Mormons, Catholics, and JWs, as if they were somehow superior. Perhaps they are…to a point. I know members of JWs who left the Baptist church because during Halloween, posters of witches, ghosts, and goblins were hung up all over the church. Plus, the main concerns of its members were politics, bake sales and the NFL. This was in the 70s. it’s a thousandfold worse today.
It's my belief that if evangelicals discarded the Trinity, pagan holidays, and their obsession with politics, members of groups such as JWs would leave their cults in droves to become evangelicals.
Rhodes should pen a book called, “Reasoning From the Scriptures with Evangelicals”, pointing out that their devotion to this world’s political systems is a serious stumbling block to unbelievers. And what’s with their fixation on the NFL? Not a day goes by without a conservative news outlet claiming some coach is bringing Jesus to the locker room. GROAN.
Focus on “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified”. 1st Corinthians 2:2.
Otherwise, a worthwhile book.
As with Rhodes’ other books in the series, this one has excellent info on the reliability of the Biblical text. This is especially important because Catholics, Mormons, and Muslims criticize the Bible whenever it conflicts with their doctrines. (which is often. JWs revere the Bible as the inspired word of God. They just revere their leadership more, if not in word, in practice. A prime example is the recent reversal in JW men growing beards. Only a spiritual eunuch would let a religious leader tell him if he could grow a beard, especially when men in Bible times obviously wore them, including Jesus.)
Nevertheless, the Trinity is discussed in this book because Mormons have some strange ideas about the identity of Almighty God, Yahweh. I’ve dealt with this in reviews of Rhodes’ other books, but I’ll touch on it here.
The Jews are God’s chosen people. They didn’t believe the Trinity 1000s of years ago, and they don’t now. In fact, it’s a major stumbling block for them in accepting mainstream Christian orthodoxy. (and rightly so)
Because of this, we would expect to find Jesus and the Apostles “revealing” this doctrine to Jewish converts over and over again in the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles.
But we don’t.
As an example, the last few chapters of 1st Chronicles detail David organizing temple worship around music and musicians. The sons of the prophets in the OT prophesied with instruments. BUT, the Church of Christ would have us believe that Christians should only sing hymns of praise with acapella arrangements…no instruments.
Since offering praise with instrumental accompaniment was common in the OT, if it became wrong in Jesus’ day, shouldn’t there be explicit statements to that effect, like there are with salvation by faith, not works of Law?
There aren’t.
And there aren’t any explicit statements on the co-eternal, co-equal Triune Godhead dogma, either.
Rhodes cites a few texts (see my other reviews), but I’ll tackle two here.
1. John 20:28. Thomas exclaims, “My Lord and My God!” when he sees the resurrected Jesus. As Rhodes correctly points out, context is everything. Here is John 20:17, where Jesus appears to Mary Magdelene. According to the NIV, Jesus tells her, “…I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (in the next verse, Mary calls Jesus “Lord”)
Jesus says he worships God the Father as does Mary. It seems self-evident that eleven vss later, Thomas worships the same God as Jesus and Mary. And the same Lord as Mary, too, Jesus. When Thomas said, “My Lord and my God”, he was referring to the Son and the Father. Easy-peezy.
Most of the epistles open with the phrase, “God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” in their salutations. In 1st Corinthians 8:6, Paul says “…there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ.” See also Revelation 3:2, 12, where Jesus calls The Father “My God” 5x. Nowhere do we read of the Father, or Holy Spirit calling the Son (or each other) “My God”.
Jesus calls Yahweh His Father and God because He’s the “firstborn of all creation” NASB Colossian 1:15, and the “beginning of creation of God” NASB, KJV Revelation 3:14. (consult a Strong’s for meaning of “beginning”)
2. He cites Hebrews 1:8. Referring to Jesus, many Bibles say, “…Your throne O God.” However, translations such as the American Translation and Moffat’s say, “…God is your throne.” Hebrews 1:8 is a quotation from Psalm 45:7, which is either about David or Solomon. Note how the Jewish Tanakh renders that: “…your divine throne is everlasting…”
Compare that with 1st Chronicles 29:23, “…Solomon sat on Yahweh’s throne.” Both Psalm 45:7 and Hebrews 1:8 simply mean the Davidic throne was instituted by and is supported by God. It seems that Moffat’s rendering of Hebrews 1:8 is correct. The verse has no bearing on a Trinity.
As shown above, the majority of proof texts Trinitarians cite to support their dogma only include one or two members. This is akin to claiming Manny, Moe, and Jack are triplets, except you never see all three together. Matthew 28:19, 20, 2nd Corinthians 13:14 say nothing of either Jesus, or Holy Spirit being Almighty God, so they’re irrelevant to the Trinity. It takes eisegesis to arrive at a co-equal, co-eternal Triune Godhead in those verses.
Holy Spirit has the added burden for Trinitarians in needing to be shown as a Person. Holy Spirit never has a back and forth conversation with anyone. Jesus likens Holy Spirit to wind in John 3:8, which is the literal meaning of “Holy Spirit”, “sacred breath/wind”.
One final point…mainstream Christians often puff themselves up regarding Mormons, Catholics, and JWs, as if they were somehow superior. Perhaps they are…to a point. I know members of JWs who left the Baptist church because during Halloween, posters of witches, ghosts, and goblins were hung up all over the church. Plus, the main concerns of its members were politics, bake sales and the NFL. This was in the 70s. it’s a thousandfold worse today.
It's my belief that if evangelicals discarded the Trinity, pagan holidays, and their obsession with politics, members of groups such as JWs would leave their cults in droves to become evangelicals.
Rhodes should pen a book called, “Reasoning From the Scriptures with Evangelicals”, pointing out that their devotion to this world’s political systems is a serious stumbling block to unbelievers. And what’s with their fixation on the NFL? Not a day goes by without a conservative news outlet claiming some coach is bringing Jesus to the locker room. GROAN.
Focus on “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified”. 1st Corinthians 2:2.
Otherwise, a worthwhile book.
December 9, 2019
Understanding the differences between LDS and orthodox Christian beliefs. Tips for discussing biblical truths with a Mormon.
October 18, 2019
Highly recommend. This guy does his research.you will have a much greater understanding of Mormons.its a book to keep and reference often.
May 26, 2014
A great apologetic resource to have if you want to converse with Mormons regarding what the Scripture says. Rhodes includes verses from the Book of Mormon and matches them up with verses from the Bible.
September 6, 2009
One of the best books on the subject available.
May 23, 2011
This book is awesome!!! It really has just about all a beginner needs to know on the subject. It is also very easy to read and comprehend.
Read
April 27, 2013good
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews