The Podcast.....
Thank you for all of your comments. Due to time contraints we were not able to address each question that was asked. if you feel that you have questions that still need answers, feel free to leave your comments here or contact our ministry:
(801) 938-6763
Or by email...
posted by Eric Hoffman @ 11:41 PM
44 comments
44 Comments:
Eric, is that Chuck Smith, your prophet, preaching?
Allmighty God, he is savior.
Are you refering to the intro? If so, No. It is not Chuck Smith. It's the late Walter Martin who defended the Christian faith for many years. You should check him out! Pretty amazing apologist.
Do you have anything constructive to say or is that it?
In Christ,
-Eric
I have heard that the inner core of Chuck Smith's fellowship actually still believes that Jesus came back to earth in 1981, and that he uses evangelical megachurches such as Calvary Chapel and other ministries to create God's kingdom on Earth before the Final Judgement which is soon to come. Do you belong to this inner core of true believers, Eric?
Thanks for the information,
Jeremy Larsson.
Hey Jeremy, Jason and Eric,
This was really a great and interesting podcast.
I have gained a lot of information concerning the view of salvation in your respective churches.
Personally, I found Jason's arguments much more convincing, he seems to be a very meek and sincere guy, and I have decided to get a copy of the book of Mormon to study it more thoroughly.
Anyway, thanks for this interesting debate.
Eric, you didn't touch on the successes of your ministry. Did you ever convert anyone?
Greets,
Julia.
Hello,
I also appreciated the podcast very much. It was quite interesting, and I found out many new things.
Especially interesting was Eric's personal story. That he was a drug-addict and got strength from his God/Jesus image. Of course, projecting this great success into such figures can give a strong hype of faith. I know many cases in which a drug addiction turned into a great conviction for the group which helped the addicts out.
That is why many religions and organizations have their own detox-program.
Scientology has its own anti-drug website: http://www.notodrugs-yestolife.org
Of course, addicts are instead sucked into this cult.
This proves that not everything which gets you out of drugs is automatically good.
Finally, I understand why you are so fanatic about your Jesus, your bible, your God.
It is a remnant of your drug addiction. Only your "drug" has changed, but your subtle agressions still result from your time of addiction.
Anyway, thanks for letting out such details about your private life. We listeners can now better understand your motives and your behavior.
Thanks also to Jason.
You did a great job in pointing out the LDS doctrine. I have never seen such a cleancut explanation, and it was very convincing, as Julia already pointed out.
My favorite quote was:
"You are preaching a different gospel than that of traditional Christianity", made by Jason when Eric stated that in his view children who are not baptized are not automatically doomed to eternal hell.
I also appreciated this opinion.
Eric, could you please preach this to 90% of Christianity, including Catholics and Lutherans, who hold the exact opposite?
(Infant baptism is done exactly for that reason: to prevent that a child will lose its soul forever in case of an early death.)
By the way, great website, Jason.
Are you a professional webdesigner?
Melanie.
Melanie-
How convenient for you to dismiss Eric's passion for his Lord and Savior with your psychological analysis. I do not have a similar history as Eric, and I am sure that you can find some other, ad hominem mechanism to attribute as the motivation for my passion for Jesus.
The truth is that Jesus changed Eric from the inside out.
Eric has nothing but love for you, even though you chose to use his heart-rendered admission of past vulnerability against him.
Way to show compassion and kick at him when he shared something so personal! Jason would not even answer the question if he was living up to all the commandments because it was "too personal" and you laud him for his web design -- which I only bring up for comparison. Eric bears his soul, you kick him in the gut. Jason avoids a question, you pat him on the back. Hmmm.
May God bless you in your life journey, and we all pray that you will find Jesus on that path.
Eric: Jesus said this, Jesus said that. Jesus Jesus Jesus!
Jason: Joseph Smith said this, Joseph Smith said that. Joe Joe Joe!
I think it's clear who each of these gentlemen understand and have a relationship with.
God Bless!
Melissa,
thank you so much for your qualified commentary.
Oh just one thing:
Could you teach us once again how to write the Buddha's name?
I mean, that was soo funny when you did that. I always have to laugh my bibleoff.
Jane Winsley
Come on Jane!
You are not going to do this again, are you? Why do you post here if you completely disagree with everything I say and do? You want to talk like adults we can, but in the mean time please have some respect and keep your posts to somewhat of a constructive manner.
How about address the fact, or please correct me on issue of you coming here to show how Mormonism was not like Buddhism, but then completely made a very contradictory statement that Mormonism is “Much like Buddhism.”
It surprises me that I have told you to not comment here any longer, banned you from the forum, and you’re still here. And if you are going to tell me that I banned you for not agreeing with my beliefs, then you need to let the 50+ LDS posters on my forum who actively disagree and still have full access to the forum. It’s called constructive and mature dialogue….and you lack it!
Where’s my friend “Bob the Anti anti” when I need him. Bob, please explain to Jane that I do not bann people from my forums for not agreeing with me. Bob is an active LDS who totally disagrees with me. But the difference between Bob and you(Jane) is Bob knows how to engage in constructive dialogue while remaining respectful.
In Christ,
-Eric
Jeremy Larsson said...
”I have heard that the inner core of Chuck Smith's fellowship actually still believes that Jesus came back to earth in 1981, and that he uses evangelical megachurches such as Calvary Chapel and other ministries to create God's kingdom on Earth before the Final Judgment which is soon to come. Do you belong to this inner core of true believers, Eric?”
Jeremy, you provide me with some documentation on this. Once I have that, I will review it and give you my insight. But until then, I will say that it’s not true. At least the Calvary Chapel I attend does not sanction this. I know plenty of funky churches (Calvary included) that have become unsound in their teachings and relations with God. So this goes back to the fact that the church of Christianity is not set within certain churches claiming exclusivity, but rather a unified body of believers who fellowship in the worship of an awesome God.
God Bless…
-Eric
Mel g.,
All I can say is that you need prayer. Crack all the jokes and mean spirited things you can conjure up. God still sits on throne!!
May God's mercy be with you...
-Eric
Psalm 18:2
Julia said:
Eric, you didn't touch on the successes of your ministry. Did you ever convert anyone?
The One Living Truth Ministry? None that I know of? But I know the that plenty of seeds have been planted. I know personally know plenty of people that have left the church and come to Christ after listening to me. But, what’s your point?
It’s not a popularity contest. It’s not a number game to me. Maybe this is what attracts you to the LDS church. They are very involved in how well their earthly worldly church is doing.
The October/November Ministry Newsletter covered this topic. Would you like a copy?
Lots of people come to Christ every day. Lots of people turn their back on Him every day. But we keep trying to share the message.
Also Julia, I suggest you sit down with someone who knows the Bible and read the Book of Mormon and the Bible together. Study both faiths. See if what the church claims is indeed the Word of God
1 Thes. 5:21 says “test all things; hold on to that which is good.
Remember also that Mormons teach that God is not the only god in existence. But the Bible says that there is only One God (Isaiah 43:10)
Also keep in mind that the LDS faith denies that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. But the Bible makes this clear in the book of Matthew that He indeed was begotten by the Holy spirit and not by the father.
Feel free to contact us if you want any information on the LDS church.
You are in our prayers.
God Bless...
-Eric
Eric,
I think in your forum there was a whole thread on "Christianity and logic", and the conclusion was that Christianity defies logic.
If I remember correctly, the question was how
1. God knows everything
2. Jesus does not know everything.
3. Jesus is God.
Which are three biblical statements, yet in themselves contradictory.
Therefore, please do not accuse others of making contradictory remarks, cause that's what your church is promoting.
Actually, I liked your quote:
1 Thes. 5:21 says “test all things; hold on to that which is good."
This is perfectly in line with what the Buddha said in his famous speech to the Kalamas:
"Now, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for yourselves that, 'These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness' — then you should enter & remain in them."
Now, if I compare those two concepts, I can state that both teachings are similar.
So are Buddhism and Evangelical Christianity similar in their totality? No.
I can give you an endless list of statements made by the Buddha which were later repeated by Jesus.
This leads to a similarity in many views made by Buddhists and Christians. Does that make both religions identical? No.
But lets stick to your bible verse above.
1 Thes. 5:21 says “test all things; hold on to that which is good."
So lets test the concept of God.
My body has five senses, so lets test God's existence with them:
1. God? I don't see him.
2. "Hello God?" He doesn't answer, I don't hear him.
3. God? How does a god smell?
4. How does a god taste?
5. I don't feel a god touching me.
All five senses fail the test to testify of a God. On the other hand, all concepts in Buddhism can be realized by experience, by meditation.
Is the concept of God good?
I don't think so. Because a belief in God is particular, sectarian, belongs only to a small group of people. The story of Israel told in the bible shows that their concept of a God only led to war, violence, brutality, bloodshed.
Jesus continues in this line with his famous sword-verse.
So, is it a good concept? No.
God would be a good concept if it was universal. But it isnn't. It only partains to those people who believe in him/her/it.
The same holds true for Jesus. In your evangelical view, Jesus saved only those who believe in him.
Hence, he is not a universal savior.
On the other hand, take the law of Gravity. It is universal. Everyone is affected by it. There is no Christian gravity, no Buddhist gravity, no Muslim gravity. All beings on earth are affected by it alike.
Like the law of Gravity, the Buddha discovered another law, the law of Karma, which is the law of cause and effect. If there is a cause, an effect will follow.
If you take a hammer and hit it in your window hard, you will get the expected result of smashing the window.
Again, the law of cause and effect is universal. There is no Christian physics, no Buddhist physics.
So, if you do a harmful action, the result will be harmful.
If you kill, steal, lie, indulge in sexual misconduct or take intoxicants, the results will be bad:
1. a dead being
2. a person losing his belonging
3. false information spread
4. people's feelings hurt
5. losing of self-control
Accepting that there are laws in nature is a testable and good thing to do.
It would be stupid to ignore gravity. In the same way, it would be stupid to ignore the law of Karma.
It is universal, its recognition is a wise thing.
Monotheistic religions are not universal but particular, they lead to much harm because there is no rational underpinning, there is no way to test them on the basis of our senses.
Eric, was that more constructive?
Greetings,
Jane Winsley.
Yes Jane,
That was more constructive than past dialogues with you.
Does this mean you are going to continue to post your comments here?
Well Eric,
as you have banned me from the forum, there is no other way to leave my comments than in this section, except for printing out pamphlets and handing them to people visiting Calvary Chapel services, but that's not my kind of proselytizing ;-)
(Cf. your friends at
http://www.fairlds.org/Anti-Mormons/Why_We_Should_Love_the_Street_Preachers.html)
But when I make a constructive statement, how about a constructive answer? Wouldn't that be a fair thing?
Greets,
Jane Winsley.
Jane I will not continue to answer anything you post here. You wanna talk you can call me at the number provided. You are not sincere in wanting answers but only wanting to prove Christianity wrong. That is your one motive. You do it here, you did it on the forum and I personally have found you to be fruitless to dialogue within the comment section of this blog. If you truly were looking for answers you would call me and quit this back and forth game of comments.
Jane would not agree that we can converse better over the phone?
Eric, to rephrase your statement:
You are not sincere in wanting answers but only wanting to prove Mormonism wrong. That is your one motive. You do it here, you did it on the forum...
So where is the difference? Why do all other people have to be sincere in wanting answers, but only you are allowed to ignore truth and press your personal opinion on everybody? Are you sincere in wanting answers, or are you just promoting your beliefs everybody has to accept?
That is why you banned so many people, because they don't follow the rule "I, Eric preach, you, listener accept". People like Bob only stay on the forum because you have the hope that you might convert him. Other people where you don't have that hope (including me)get kicked, and their number is over a dozen by now.
Eric, what makes you so special that you think you can be the exception to all rules you put up yourself? Do you think you are God? Do you think you are Jesus reincarnate?
I come to the impression you do!
Greets,
Jane.
Hello Mr. Hoffman,
the authority of the Roman Catholic Church can be dated back to the first century when Jesus gave St. Peter the order to rule over his church.
What authority do Chuck Smith and his Calvary Chapel have? I do not see that they have such a lineage of authority. Instead, I see only a lost pastor who misinterprets the bible in many ways, applying verses in Revelation to actual events to stir up anxiety in people, while admitting after some time that his prophecies have not become true.
Eric, isn't it dangerous to stand on such a weak foundation? How can you try to convert Mormons who are unsure about their church, when your standing is on such a weak foundation as the Calvary Chapel church and its pastor Chuck Smith who lost lots of his authority when his predictions did not come true.
He still continues to make predictions and interpreting prophecies.
I do not want to call him a false prophet, Mr. Hoffman, but the case is clear that he abuses his authority to preach the gospel to create personal revelations not backed up by the Scriptures.
I hope you do a more thorough study on the authority of the Roman Catholic Church as well as about the history of Calvary Chapel and Chuck Smith. It is worth the effort, for you will see on what strong foundation our church stands, whereas the foundation of Calvary Chapel is as strong as the testimony of Joseph Smith who went into the woods and came back with the authority to preach.
The same holds true for Chuck Smith. No authority, no lineage, pure self-boasting.
John McMillan.
Jane,
What did I ask of you? The number for you to call is on the blog. Until then, you are wasting your time.
Eric, I am really confused.
Have I past the judgement day without knowing it?
According to Chuck Smith, Jesus came back in 1981. But I am still living, and I have not recognized that I have been judged.
Eric, could you clarify this to me and clear up my confusion?
Did I pass the judgement, am I saved forever?
Or was Chuck Smith a false prophet?
In this case, why are you still promoting Calvary Chapel on this blog, you know that promoting false prophets will lead to eternal condemnation, and everlasting hellfire will be reserved personally for you if you continue to do so. Do you want to risk this despite all of your efforts to promote Christianity?
A concerned Christian.
Concerned Christian,
A relationship with Jesus does not rely on Chuck Smith. If you are what you claim to be then I don’t need to tell you this. I could walk away from Calvary fellowship and still find believers to worship God with. What church are you attending? Maybe I could come join you and we could meet? What do you say?
Hello Eric,
A relationship with Jesus does not rely on Chuck Smith.
I believe this, but do you truly believe it? If so, why do you still take the risk to follow and even promote a false prophet. I think this is a dangerous thing to do.
What church are you attending? Maybe I could come join you and we could meet? What do you say?
I attend an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
As I don't live in Utah, it would be difficult to join to attend a worship service, but you could have a look at www.elca.org and look for the nearest congregation in your area.
What unites us as Christians is a focus on Jesus, what distinguishes us is that the ELCA does not make prophecies about Jesus' second coming. And you know that this is a biblical standpoint, for noone knows the hour...
Your concerned Christian.
Concerned Christian,
I just contacted the ministry you linked to in the title of your username. The group stated that they had no affiliation to Calvary but that Calvary was a very solid Christian church and that they agreed with the style of expogetical teaching from the Bible. So why would you link yourself to a group that agrees that the Calvary fellowship is a “solid church” as they said very confidently? I don’t think you are being honest my friend. What’s your real name? What’s your real motive? I notice you have not said one thing regarding the beliefs of the LDS church. What’s your view on the LDS faith? Give us a call when you are ready to be honest…
Grace be with you….
-Eric
Hi Eric Hoffman,
Your last podcast where you shared some of your personal experience with God and Jesus was very interesting for me. However, it was also disturbing.
Here is the reason:
I knew your story, because one of my neighbors told me a very similar story about himself.
He was drug addict, then he came to Christ and due to the strength thus gained, he could get free from his addiction.
Where is the point, what was the difference. Well, the difference was that my neighbor is a Jehova's Witness (and witnessing he did!)
Eric, why could this JV abandon drugs with the help of his Jesus, and you could also abandon drugs with the help of your Jesus?
Three possible answers come to my mind:
Scenario A:
Your version of bible interpretation is correct. But then, your Jesus must cured him inspite of his wrong beliefs about church doctrine. In this case, Jesus would be much more tolerant about theological erracies than you.
Scenario B:
The JVs are right, and Jesus (aka Gabriel) cured you, although you promote the trinitarian heresy.
In this case, the JV Jesus would be very tolerant than both you and the JVs present him to be.
Scenario C:
Neigther you nor my neighbor got help from Jesus, but through your strength in faith, you both helped yourself. Believing in a loving and caring principle, both of you could gain the energy and strength to get free from drugs.
I think, all scenarios do not fit to your theology, and in any case, there need to be adjustments made, don't you think?
And I don't think that Satan actually cures people from their addictions, for the bible teaches that Satan wouldn't do good, he doesn't drive out daemons, for that would lead to the destruction of his very dominion.
Thoughtful greetings,
Darron.
Hey Darren,
Your comments deserve answer. God said that his word would not return void. People sometimes think this is only referring to salvation through His word. But more so it speaks of theistic moral values inspired and created by God Himself. God blesses even the non believer. AA, CA, NA, whatever “A”, all stick to moral code that ultimately is given credit to God. Now the groups have taken a stand to not determine which God that was, but in Bill W.’s (Founder of AA and the first type of program besides electric shock therapy) book he clearly was talking about the God of the Bible. But AA has changed a ton in order to except the pluralism of our secular society.
So your neighbor probably has a great zeal about God but is not based on truth if he thinks that Jesus is Michael the Arch Angel.
A passage in Romans says,
“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and prayer to God is that the Jewish people might be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don't understand God's way of making people right with himself. Instead they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. They won't go along with God's way. For Christ has accomplished the whole purpose of the law. All who believe in Him are made right with God."(Romans 10:1-4)
So Paul made it clear that a zeal for God can be present with the absence of wisdom and knowledge of who God is. Notice Paul says that his prayer is the Jew might be “saved.” Obviously these Jews were not saved according to scripture.
Now, I would like you or your neighbor to point out to me in the bible (Not NWT as JW’s have created) where Jesus is the created being and Arch Angel Michael.
You made a point that Satan would never cleanse someone of their drug habit or cause good things. You are greatly mistaken here. 1 Corinthians 11 explains this exact deception. Satan wants your life to be great here. As long as you deny deity and follow a false Christ he is fine. In fact those who perform great works in the name of false gods are even better. It strengthens the deception.
I hope I answered your question with kindness and clarity. Let me know if you have any other questions.
God Bless you my friend…
-Eric
Now, I would like you or your neighbor to point out to me in the bible (Not NWT as JW’s have created) where Jesus is the created being and Arch Angel Michael.
The main verse which caused this belief to arise is 1.Thess 4:16:
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first..."
According to the context, "Lord" refers to Jesus, and "with the voice of the archangel" is interpreted that the Lord's voice was heard, and voila, you have Jesus the Archangel.
The other scriptures which are used to round up this interpretation can be found somewhere on the net.
But I was not here to debate JVs' doctrines. The problem is that regardless of your beliefs, you came free. You as an evangelical, he as a JV. No distinction, no orthodoxy.
You made a point that Satan would never cleanse someone of their drug habit or cause good things.
I was refering to the scripture
Mt 12:24-27
"But when the Pharisees heard [it], they said, This [fellow] doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast [them] out? therefore they shall be your judges."
If Satan can cause good things to happen, he could also cast out daemons, and in this case, Jesus' argument would be made void.
Hence, are you questioning Jesus himself?
Greets,
Darron.
Darren,
The expression "with an archangels voice" simply means that the archangel, like Gods trumpet, will herald the coming of the Lord, not that the Lord is an archangel. Let me point out to you and your neighbor that none of the verses used by the Watch Tower as proof-texts even comes close to stating that Jesus Christ is Michael the archangel. In fact, Scripture clearly teaches the opposite: namely, that the Son of God is superior to the angels. The entire first chapter of Hebrews is devoted to this theme. Have you read Hebrews chapter one? There is a very sharp contrast between angels and the Son of God. "For to what angel did God ever say, Thou are my Son...? And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."
But Darren before I go on, I must ask you the question. Are you here for answers or to debate me hoping to come out victorious with me looking as a fool? If your motive is the latter I will gladly except your challenge in love. I always love a good theological debate/dialogue. But here is not the place for it. You can call me or come to the forum. But if you are much like the other commenter’s here you will not even answer the question and continue with the your own questions. I hope your intentions are wrapped in truth.
God Bless you....
-Eric
Hi Eric,
I have prayed to God and asked him if Calvary Chapel was a part of the body of Christ.
Randy.
Hey Randy,
I dont know if you are serious, but if you are, you need to do more than just prayer about. Study your bible and see if what Calvary is teaching is biblical. Go to a Calvary chapel and if the pastor is not teaching biblical doctrine then find a different church. There are Calvary chapels out there that I would stay away from. It's just like any other church out there. Some claim to be preaching the word of God but are clearly not. All things must be tested. (1 Thes. 5:21)
God Bless...
-Eric
Hello Eric,
you need to do more than just prayer about. Study your bible and see if what Calvary is teaching is biblical. Go to a Calvary chapel and if the pastor is not teaching biblical doctrine then find a different church.
The strange thing about your belief is that it is not about God, not about Jesus, it is only about the bible. If God spoke to you and told you something, and it was contrary to the bible, then you would condemn him and not listen to him.
If Jesus spoke to you and told you something, and it was contrary to the bible, then you would condemn him and not listen to him.
In the same way the Pharisees placed "the letter of the Law"(Mosaic Law) over God and his only Son, so you place the "letter of the Law" (Biblical Law) over anything else.
Hence, you made God and Jesus superfluous. Even if God and Jesus did not exist, it would make no difference, because you only believe in the bible anyway.
Even if God and Jesus DID exist, it would make no difference, because you would not listen to them, but continue to interpret scripture anyway. In either case, God and Jesus do not matter, only your bible interpretation matters.
Is my conclusion from your remark correct, Eric?
Randy.
Randy,
It is clear you were not honest about praying to see if Calvary was a part of Christ’s church. Which seemed to be an odd thing to do anyway, which why I was skeptic to your question. But I answered anyway in hope of sincerity from you. I was deceived. But you are right. If Jesus came down and spoke to me and told me something that contradicted scripture then I would reject it. It is impossible for God to lie. Your reference to the law is incorrect. Jesus came to fulfill the law and prophets not to abolish it. But I am wasting my time with you. You can call me with the number provided and we can talk like grown men and you can share your concerns with me, if that’s even the reason you posted here. Or you can throw a couple more straw man arguments and ignore the fact that I requested to dialogue with you. Seems to be the popular thing with most of the posters here.
In Him,
-Eric
Eric,
it is a funny thing how you treat your visitors.
Why do you keep a blog with a comment section anyway, if almost every poster gets frowned upon by you if you don't agree to their opinion?
If I was that arrogant about my own religious beliefs which are of course right and everyone else in the world is wrong, I would not keep a blog to bother with all those ignorant people and "waste my time" there.
I don't know if I can speak for all posters, but personally I found your comments about us to be offensive, and I suppose that most of the other people who read your blog and write comments here will agree with me.
It is no wonder that you haven't converted anyone since the creation of your ministry. If LDS missionaries were that arrogant and self-centered, they wouldn't get one single person into the baptismal font. But who am I to judge, LORD Eric Hoffman hath spoken, the thinking has been done.
Good luck for you Eric, but do not think that your method of arrogant preaching will bring you any success in life. You seem to be bound to learn it the hard way, and what is even more problematic, you will waste LOTS of time to learn that your snotnosed approach to other peole will lead you to isolation without any propagation of your Calvary Chapel beliefs.
And in the end, the Lord will ask you how much success you had converting other people to Calvary, and you will say that you converted none, and the Lord will call you an
wicked and slothful servant
(Mt 25:26-28) and throw you into outer darkness.
"But I have created this website".
LORD: "Yeah, cheap design, no effect after all..."
"But I went to the Lord's church every week, and preached your second coming next year!"
LORD: "I will get that false prophet Chuck!"
....
(This was only my personal opinion. I do not promote false prophecies like other pastors like to do...)
Greets,
Randy
Randy,
Disagree with me all you want. I’m not saying you don’t have the right to debate or disagree with me. But have the common decency to be honest in your approach. The first thing you opened with was the statement that you were going to pray about Calvary. This was dishonest and disingenuous from the get go. You brought the antagonism to me, not the other way around. I am willing to talk with you over the phone. Its not that I don’t appreciate the feedback on this blog. It’s more so I don’t like the contentious attitude in where people call themselves “Chucky Chuck” or refer to me as “Eric/God hath spoken.” Do you see me belittling people with personal attacks about their character? Or do you see me addressing theological problems within Mormon doctrine. I don’t say things like “Mormons are idiots” or other ridiculous things for the simple reason that I care for these people. In fact some of the most intelligent people I have come in contact with happen to be Mormon. So please Randy…. Comment all you want. If you have questions that you truly seek answers for, then ask. If you want to debate make a phone call and we can talk, or come to the forum.
God Bless you my friend…. (This is sincere, not out of sarcasm)
-Eric
The first thing you opened with was the statement that you were going to pray about Calvary. This was dishonest and disingenuous from the get go.
Eric, do you call people who pray to God dishonest and disingenuous?
Is it, because praying to God actually shows a belief in God outside the bible? Don't you pray, but instead, read the bible, figure out your personal interpretation, and take this interpretation to be God?
If people who pray to God are dishonest, what is an honest attitude? Are atheists more honest than Christians?
Randy.
Randy,
Were you being honest about praying to God about Calvary?
Randy,
Are you going to call me?
Of course I was honest.
I live near a Calvary Chapel congregation. So I prayed to God and asked him if I could go there.
But God did not answer my prayers.
Anyway, as people who pray to the Lord are not favored here, I wonder which clientele this website actually is for.
Mormons? They pray to God!
Christians? They pray to God!
Muslims? They pray to God/Allah!
Hindus? They pray to many Gods!
Buddhists? You gross them out as well.
Atheists? Bingo. Well, but atheists base their arguments on science.
Hoffman:"You always revert to science, but the bible says..."
So, whom to you want to address with your website, when you actually gross out everyone?
Maybe only your wife Melissa, or Joe McCormick.
I don't know Eric, and I don't care anymore.
It is interesting that you accuse the whole world to be dishonest.
Maybe you just lost your sense of reality which brought you to that conclusion. Which drugs did you happen to take before becoming a bible-addict? Maybe they had some secondary effects on your brain functions?
Please consider consulting a psychologist. Of course, he may not be a bible-abiding person (else, he would drive our your daemons!), but he may help you out of the misery you obviously are in.
Randy
Randy,
Is there something I did to personally offend you so much, that caused you to personally attack me and now bringing my past and my family into this?
Let's talk. Call the number provided.
Hello Jason, hello Eric,
yesterday, the missionaries came to my home and taught me the first lesson. As I said in my last post, your discussion made me interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, so I ordered a copy of the Book of Mormon.
The lesson was very interesting. What I like about the restored gospel is that God has not left us alone 2000 years ago, but continues to care for us and our families.
The missionaries have encouraged me to pray about the bible and the book of Mormon, a thing Eric seems to discourage, if I understand his comments to Randy correctly.
If there was no connection to God in prayer, I would not want to know this God who does not care for us at all. Only if we can have communion and contact with God, he does really care about us.
Anyway, I will start reading more portions of the Book of Mormon this week, and next week I will meet the missionaries again.
So good health for both of you.
julie.
Julie,
The missionaries have encouraged me to pray about the bible and the book of Mormon, a thing Eric seems to discourage, if I understand his comments to Randy correctly.
The problem about the LDS faith is that besides the bible, they use the book of mormon. Eric's belief is defined by the bible.
God is nothing but his interpretation of the God described in the bible. If God was one jot different from the bible, he would not trust HIM, because he rather trusts his interpretation of the bible than God.
Moreover, praying to God might lead to answers. You might get answers from God if you pray sincerely. This happens seldomly, but it happened in the past, and it may happen in the present days as well.
However, Eric cannot accept answers to prayers, because it would destroy his concept of knowing God, which is solely through bible interpretation. He doesn't need God, because he can extract his God from the bible, no matter what God said or didn't say in reality.
Although I do not agree with many doctrines of the Mormon Church, at least they pray to God and try to be Christlike. Eric is very arrogant in that he thinks HIS bibleinterpretation is God. Thus he is belittling God as a free person.
He makes God and Jesus the slaves of his religious beliefs.
God and Jesus have to obey to his bible interpretation, or, whats even more, they must not act at all, because that would again disturb his concepts.
God: "Eric, do this and that!"
Eric: "God, quote me a bible verse which supports that!"
Thus, Eric mocks God.
Well, enough said, Julie,
continue your investigation, but try to get an objective view by seeing more than one side. The internet is full of articles about the LDS church, and many sites point out the historical problems of the BoM and other things.
But this holds true for the bible as well.
Randy.
Thanks Randy for that comment.
Actually, I do some research on the internet, and I read some articles about church history of the LDS.
There are some disturbing aspects which I do not fully understand now, but I will bring that up in future lessons.
These aspects include e.g. polygamy, which I am totally against.
But doesn't every church have problems with her history?
Consider the Christian church as a whole. Both the catholic and protestant church took part in witch hunting. Martin Luther, founder of the protestant denomination, believed in witches as well. Both the catholic and the protestant church had little effort to resist the Nazi dictatorship.
The Catholic church only published a watered-down encyclica which was much less than the internal paper written by two Jesuits. The protestant church at least split into a pro-Nazi and a contra-Nazi church, so at least half of it did not support Adolf Hitler.
Eric's church, inspite of being quite young, also had several scandals, with regard to pastors misusing money and of course Chuck Smith's famous predictions of Jesus return, which never came true.
There were racists in all churches, not only the LDS church, and many churches preached that colored people are cursed with Cain's Sign.
I think all churches should be honest with their respective histories and their past mistakes.
I know for example that some protestant churches worked on Martin Luther's antisemitism, which was very severe, also preceding in history the holocaust.
So if one would blame current churches for their past deeds, I suppose most, if not all, churches in the whole world would not be spotless, including all world religions. I think Melissa pointed out that there is even abuse in Buddhism, a religion which is regarded to be utmost peaceful in our western society.
But we are all humans, and thus all apt to err.
By the way, what I found funny in Eric's podcast is that he uses the phrase "without further ado", a phrase which he copied from John Dehlin's "Mormon stories" podcast.
It is funny how people can influence each other, be it in the way we talk, the way we think, the way we act. The world is nothing but a network of dots with many interrelated connections, and without recognizing, we influence each other, to the good as well as to the bad.
Julie.
Julie,
I would be more than happy to share some things with you about the LDS faith and historical Christianity.
If you would like me to send you some FACTS on both Christian history and LDS history I can.
If you ask the missionaries about the history of the LDS church you will not get an honest answer or you will be sharing information that they have heard for the first time.
I pray that you make the right chooses in your relationship with God.
God Bless
-Eric
Galatians 4:16
Hello Eric,
I have read your blog for quite a while, and regularly, people come up with question about Calvary Chapel and Chuck Smith.
You often only address those questions very quickly.
I would suggest that you do a podcast or a general blog entry about Calvary Chapel and Chuck Smith.
Subtopics in this podcast could include:
- The relationship between Calvary Chapel and other christian churches, and in particular
- What does it mean to be non-denominational ? How can one be non-denominational and on the other hand hold particular beliefs, e.g. that the protestant canon of the bible is the correct one?
- Do scandals within Calvary Chapel harm the authority of the church?
(e.g. financial scandals, moral scandals of pastors, etc. There are several scandals which happened)
Are pastors exempt from sin, so they do not need to be controlled by the congregation?
- Chuck Smith's concept of theocracy. This concept is similar to the Jehova's witnesses concept, which of course makes traditional christians sceptical about Smith.
E.g. if this concept holds true, you have not the authority to preach the gospel, because you are not a pastor but only a simple member of the congregation. As such, you cannot be trusted
(cf. Calvary Chapel distinctives)
- Chuck Smith Jr. has shown to be much more liberal than his father. If he will administrate the church, will you leave it?
I think it would be valuable if you did a podcast on this topic, because obviosly many listeners and readers are interested in this topic, but you never answered with more than a short, often cynical comment to questions.
God bless you,
Thomas.
Hello Mr. Hoffman,
I would agree to the last post by Mr. Lonsdale. There defenitely are several points you should make clear.
And I would like to add one point:
all Christians, including Mormons, would agree that the bible is God's word. What differs is their interpretation of Scripture. You know that the JVs take exactly the same scripture, but they end up with a totally different theology.
So you see, not scripture alone
("sola scriptura"), but also its interpretation is what matters.
Every person reading scripture inevitably starts interpreting it. Now my question with regard to Chuck Smith is:
In the case of the 1981 prophecy, Chuck Smith interpreted scripture in a certain way. I quote an open letter to Chuck Smith written by Mike Sullivan:
Mat 24:34 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
Chuck Smith’s False Interpretation of “This Generation” Plan A
“The generation that sees Israel bud (He took to be 1948 + 40yrs = 1988 - 7 yrs. [for pre-trib. Rapture = 1981) forth and become a nation again is the generation mentioned here.” (Chuck Smith, Commentary on the Bible) "From my understanding of biblical prophecies, I’m convinced that the Lord is coming for His Church before the end of 1981"ii
Chuck Smith’s Revised - False Interpretation of “This Generation” Plan B
“This generation the Greek word genea usually refers to a national kind of an ethnic group - so Jesus is prophesying that the Jews would not pass till all be fulfilled.” (Chuck Smith)
Not only is Pastor Chuck Smith incorrect in giving this definition without citing Biblical passages to back up his interpretation, but even Strong’s seems to only rely on one text so Chuck's "usually" statement isn't even correct:
"This generation the Greek word genea usually refers to a national kind of an ethnic group…" (Chuck Smith)
If Chuck Smith made several bible interpretations which were obviously wrong, how can we trust him in the rest of his theological opinion. This includes all of the topics Mr. Lonsdale has risen in his post:
- Theocracy
- No responsibility to the congregation
etc.
Link to the open letter:
http://www.preteristarchive.com/Preterism/sullivan-mike_p_06_02.html
Please read the whole letter and understand the faults in Chuck Smith's bible interpretation many posters here blame to be a "false prophecy". I wouldn't go so far, but simply call them gross misinterpretations of the bible.
However, misinterpreting the bible is a very problematic sin, for how can we be saved "through Scripture alone", if we misinterpret it?
Although I am not Mormon, I would agree to the phrase:
"We believe the bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly".
And would add :
"We believe the bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated and interpreted correctly."
Please address both Mr. Lonsdale's as well as my concerns in a podcast.
May you abide in the truth of Scripture,
Jeremy Wales.
To commenters Jeremy and Thomas...
Before I address any issues with regards to Calvary and Chuck Smith, may I ask you to gentlemen what church you attend?
Secondly, would either of you two like to come on the podcast and we could dicuss this together. You guys could ask me all the questions you like.
Grace and Peace,
-Eric
Galatians 4:16
Post a Comment
<< Home