Monday, August 10, 2009

Kerry Shirts, C.S. Lewis, and Mormon Deification in the Context of Historic Christianty (Or) How Low Will Mormon Apologists Go?

There are times to make a response to certain issues, and there are times to simply keep silent and let the issue pass because in reality it just isn't worth responding to. However, in this case, I felt a response should be made regarding Kerry Shirts, aka, the Backyard Professor, on a little issue regarding C.S. Lewis and Mormon deification. Now for those of you who are unaware, I've had past confrontations with Mr. Shirts regarding Mormon deification, which you can read in entirety here. The links to my videos (found in the same article) will contain a further link to the actual Facebook discussion which you can also read in entirety. In this article and my videos, I proved from various sources Mr. Shirt's obvious distortions of history, biblical texts, and the holy fathers. But funnily enough, right after I posted my videos to the actual Facebook discussion, Mr. Shirts quickly dismissed them as "worthless" and made no attempt whatsoever to answer any of the documentation I had provided. That said, a woman by the name of Carol entered the discussion and posted the following:

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The Mormon Church claims to be Christian, but a cursory examination of its teachings indicate it is far from Christianity. The Mormon church is polytheistic, teaching that there a many gods, but that they only worship one god who they have named Elohim. They say that Jesus was the first born spirit baby of Elohim and one of his celestial wives - all people on earth are spirit children of Elohim, Jesus just happened to be the first. All people on earth have the potential to become gods and goddesses, just like Elohim, however they must do so through the secret temple rituals of the Mormon Church and by obedience to that sect. Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the Mormon church was originally a Sabellian/Trinitarian in terms of his teaching on the godhead, but as he sunk deeper and deeper into his own self-deception, he began to teach that there were many gods, and that he could become a god (reminds me of Lucifer). Smith was a charlatan, he defrauded his own people of their money in the Kirtland anti-banking scandal and also claimed that his god ordered him to marry the wives of other men. For those who doubt this, I suggest you read "In Sacred Loneliness" by Compton, who is a Mormon researcher. Smith had himself crowned King of the world shortly before he was killed by a mob who he had enraged by his claims and his treasonous acts (invading Missouri with a private army, for starters). Brigham Young saved the cult by leading it West. Mormons would like to forget their history, and the stuff the missionaries tell you is a total whitewash of Mormonism. It is cultic to the core with different gods, a works salvation that mocks Christ's atoning sacrifice as sufficient for salvation, and its claims to a priesthood. The cult was based on Campbellite theology at first, which was introduced by Sidney Rigdon, an early apostate Campbellite who joined the Mormons (Rigdon's grandson states that Rigdon and Smith devised the Book of Mormon, by the way).

Don't be deceived by Mormonism - it is, and always has been, a giant scam. It will seduce you with all kinds of claims to authority, and eventually get you involved and forking over money to the brethren (who use it to build their temples and parking lots). Most people are not very knowledgeable about Mormonism (including many Mormons). They don't tell you the truth about their more esoteric doctrines, and even their former prophet, Hinckley, said he didn't know much about their doctrine that god was once a man (speaking of Elohim - who they believe was a man on another planet and evolved to godhood, and became Jesus' father and ours).

Stay away from it. If you want to know more about Mormonism and other groups, a good place to start is to go to this site, an apologetics discussion site: http://www.christiandiscussionforums.org/v/index.php

If you want more information on Mormonism specifically, the best site on the net is Utah Lighthouse Ministry: http://www.utlm.org/

or Sean McCraney's: "Heart of the Matter" TV show - many segments on Youtube.

I have written and taught on Mormonism for many years, and will be glad to answer any questions. Carol Meng Hogan

Source

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Mr Shirt's promptly replied with a dosage of ad hominem and a few other remarks which really didn't even touch upon the subject at hand. However later on he posted the following:

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Carol claims to be an expert on Mormonism and she argues against the idea that mankind can become like God. She disparages this teaching. She is wrong against it since it is Biblical, enough Biblical that even C.S. Lewis understood it to mean what we Mormons understand it to mean.

I get this from the FAIR Wiki, a source Carol obviously is ignorant of, or willing to ignore, which will be her complete dismantling as I will show you the truth which she refuses to present. And then I will present a link to show you what *real* scholarship on this issue is all about, as opposed to her snivvling. The link is by a real scholar of the scriptures, not a snivvling angry and obviously distraught woman who shows she is completely confused on the scriptures.

"LDS doctrine on this controversial issue is akin to the equally controversial but powerful teaching of C.S. Lewis on this topic. Let me begin with a quote from his book, Mere Christianity (Collier Books, MacMillan Publ. Co., New York, 1943; paperback edition, 1960; p. 160 - the last paragraph of Chapter 9, "Counting the Cost," in Book IV):

"The command Be ye perfect [Matt. 5:48] is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were "gods" and he is going to make good His words. If we let Him - for we can prevent Him, if we choose - He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what he said."

That quote, coupled with Romans 8:14-18, sums up much of my personal beliefs on this issue. Yes, there is a widely denounced LDS concept known as "plurality of gods" which teaches that humans are sons and daughters of God - His offspring (Acts 17:28) - capable of becoming more like Him by accepting the fullness of the Gospel and grace of Christ (see also John 10:34; Matt. 5:48). The possibility of multiple "godlike" beings may be what Paul referred to when he said there are "gods many and lords many, but to us there is but one God, the Father" (1 Cor. 8:5,6) and what David meant in Psalm 8:4,5 when he said that man is "a little lower than the gods" (KJV gives "lower than the angels" but the Hebrew word is "gods" - I guess it was just too painful for the translators to put down the correct word)."

The link showing why Carol is confused, disoriented, and unwilling to respond to.
http://www.backyardprofessor.com/files/ldsdeification.pdf

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After reading that I just couldn't let it go so easily. There have been too many misconceptions about this particular issue, and anyone reading it who does not have a correct understand of Lewis will fall into the Mormon trap of "See? C.S. Lewis believed what we believe!" which is just utterly false all the way through. My response is as follows:

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First, thank you Kerry for continually demonstrating the childish tactics I have always said accompany Mormon apologists. No matter how often I may tell people, they'll never fully understand unless they see one apologist follow through with this kind of behaviour.

Secondly, I'd like to address Mr. Shirt's horrible misuse of the great C.S. Lewis. Folks, if you look back earlier into this dialogue, and watch my videos which I have posted, you will find the issues of 'apotheosis' and 'theosis' already address. If you haven't had a chance to look through them and examine the evidence, here is the link: http://aquinas-martin.blogspot.com/2009/07/discussion-with-backyard-professor.html

As one possessing a copy of Mere Christianity, I can assure you Mr. Shirt's quote of Lewis is correct. However, it is not in the context of Lewis. This is the real issue. Why doesn't Mr. Shirts mention the C.S. Lewis also wrote this:

What God begets is God; just as what man begets is man. What God creates is not God; just as what man makes is not man. That is why men are not Sons of God in the sense that Christ is. They may be like God in certain ways, but they are not things of the same kind. They are more like statues or pictures of God. (Beyond Personality, p. 12-13)

"They may be like God IN CERTAIN WAYS, BUT THEY ARE NOT THINGS OF THE SAME KIND."

Now folks, you have intelligence. Look at the quotes which I specifically lay out from Gospel Principles, the writings of Joseph Smith and Bringham Young (which you can also find earlier in this dialogue) and then compare them with what C.S. Lewis actually said. Do we see a Mormon-theology in Lewis' work? Nah, I didn't think so either. But you see folks Mormon apologists, such as Kerry Shirts, fail to give us this kind of information. Do you still think Lewis believed in Mormon apotheosis?

"FOR WE ARE ONLY CREATURES; our role must always be that of patient to agent, female to male, mirror to light, echo to voice. Our highest activity must be response, not initiative. To experience the love of God in a true, and not an illusory form, is therefore to experience it as our surrender to His demand, our conformity to His desire." (The Problem of Pain, p. 51)

"As our Earth is to all the stars, so doubtless are we men and our concerns to all creation; as all the stars are to space itself, so are all creatures, all thrones and powers and mightiest of the created gods, to the abyss of the self-existing Being, who is to us Father and Redeemer and indwelling Comforter, but of whom no man nor angel can say nor conceive what He is in and for Himself, or what is the work that he “maketh from the beginning to the end.” For they are all derived and unsubstantial things. Their vision fails them and they cover their eyes from the intolerable light of utter actuality, which was and is and shall be, which never could have been otherwise, which has no opposite." (Ibid, 153-154)

Mormon theology in Lewis' writings? Seriouslly? I would ask if Mormon apologists, particularly Kerry Shirts, are aware that the Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican churches are among the most prominent that teach the ancient Christian doctrine of theosis? 'Theosis', as you will discover if you watch my videos, is a monumentous difference from 'apotheosis', which is what Mormonism essentially teaches. With this in mind, it becomes all too clear to us that what Lewis is teaching is theosis. All you need do is read his writings, and I encourage you all to do so WITHIN CONTEXT. Oh, did I also mention that Lewis in those same writings, in agreement with the Church, condemned anthropomorphism, viz., attributing God-like characteristics to humans or animals? Did I also mentioned that he encourages all Christians to defend Christendom as taught by the church fathers, defined in the Creeds (which are abominations to the Mormon God's eyes by the way...) and passed on through Apostolic Succession? Did Kerry mention that? Why no, for this would totally demolish his biased, and consequently, deceptive presentation of C.S. Lewis.

That, as well as Mr. Shirt's disgusting verbal abuse to Carol, truly makes one wonder just what kind of Christian love Mormon apologists actually have, if any? I mean, he dogmatically asserts that the information he provides in his link will just terrify her so much she won't respond. Really? Goodness, we can just imagine the countless errors in his article, but I do enourage you the readers to read it, and make a comparison with the sources he cites. It's quite amazing to see how far Mormon apologists will go to make their claims presentable. Classic deception. But hey, why should that bother Kerry Shirts? After all, if it takes a little lieing, twisting of the facts, and ad hominem to get the *gospel* across, then so be it. Well, we wouldn't want to detain Mr. Shirts from doing the "work". So instead of bothering him about the subject, why not take a little time and do some researching and seriously scrutinize the "arguments", just for fun :-). You will find evidence quite to the contrary of Mormon claims, as I have just demonstrated with the case of C.S. Lewis, a true Christian warrior.

***

I really do hope this proves useful and educational to anyone reading. Remember folks, when one is in such spiritual darkness, as Mormons are, they will go even this low to defend their outrageous claims. It's a sad thing to watch, it truly is. This is why the Christian Church should be on the offensive against such vicious attacks, and present the true Gospel of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ with a spirit of meekness and love; meekness, I said, not weakness, as so many are prone to do nowadays.

The peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always. Amen.

13 comments:

  1. Thanks for warning us about Mormonism. I'll make sure that my daughter never dates one!

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  2. Mormon apologists continually misuse statements by C.S. Lewis in their pitiful quest to support their belief that they will one days be gods and goddesses, equal with their "heavenly father," Elohim. Frankly, they are dishonest in doing so. C.S. Lewis was a Trinitarian and recited the Nicene Creed every Sunday in the Church of England, and used a Book of Common Prayer containing the Athanasian Creed, which he, as a confirmed member of that Church, believed. Now, in case anybody out there has any doubts about this, they can go to this website and see for themselves:

    http://mormoninfo.org/discussion/was-c-s-lewis-crypto-mormon

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  3. thanks Carol for your crusade against false teachings...

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  4. Thanks. I'm immune to Mormon verbal abuse - when you deal with them, that is generally what you'll get! I hate to tell Mr. Shirts that he'll never be a god, and that Isa. 43:10 states:

    10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

    Joseph Smith, the false Mormon prophet stated that "you" must learn to be gods as all the gods before you. Watch this interesting video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6k52Q9qD_0

    I hope nobody gets too disoriented after watching this video! I'll pray for Mr. Shirts - perhaps the Lord will call him to salvation! C. Hogan

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  5. APOSTOLIC & CHURCH FATHERS WHO TAUGHT DEIFICATION:







    Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (ca. 35 or 50-between 98 and 117)

    Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (ca. 35 or 50-between 98 and 117)
    In the early second century, Ignatius of Antioch wrote:

    “For it is not my desire to act towards you as a man-pleaser, but as pleasing God, even as also you please Him. For neither shall I ever have such [another] opportunity of attaining to God...It is good to set from the world unto God, that I may rise again to Him...Suffer me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God.” (Ignatius. Letter to the Romans, Chapters 2,4)

    “He is the door of the Father, by which enter in Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets, and the apostles, and the Church. All these have for their object the attaining to the unity of God.” (Ignatius. Letter to the Romans, Chapter 9)




    Polycarp of Smyrna (ca. 69-ca. 155)



    Polycarp of Smyrna, who knew Ignatius, wrote:

    “But He who raised Him up from the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, falsewitness; "not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing," or blow for blow, or cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord...may He bestow on you a lot and portion among His saints, and on us with you, and on all that are under heaven, who shall believe in our Lord and God Jesus Christ, and in His Father, who raised Him from the dead.” (Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1 as edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Sections 2,12).

    Polycarp is teaching that what happened to Jesus will also happen to true Christians.




    Clement I of Rome (C. 92)



    Clement of Rome, also known as Pope Clement I, or Clemens Romanus, was the fourth Pope and Bishop of Rome and is considered the first Apostolic Father of the early Christian church. Clement's letter to the Corinthian church (1 Clement) was widely read and is one of the oldest Christian documents still in existence outside the New Testament.

    Few details are known about Clement's life. While sources vary, it is likely Clement became Pope and Bishop of Rome in the year 88, although it may have been as late as 92. It is somewhat certain that he died in the year 99. The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio (2003) cites a reign from 92 to 99. According to tradition, Clement was imprisoned under the Emperor Trajan and led a miraculous ministry among fellow prisoners. He was then executed by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea.

    Clement writes, “But they who with confidence endured [these things] are now heirs of glory and honour, and have been exalted and made illustrious by God in their memorial forever and ever. Amen.” (Clement, First Epistle of Clement, Ante-Nicene Fathers 1:17.)
    “Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, of His boundless love, became what we are that He might make us what He Himself is...” (Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (London: Oxford University Press, 1956), 106.)

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  6. Justin Martyr (100-165 AD)



    Justin Martyr, also known as Justin the Martyr, Justin of Caesarea or Justin the Philosopher was an early Christian apologist and saint. His works represent the earliest surviving Christian apologies of notable size. Most of what is known about the life of Justin Martyr comes from his own writings. According to church tradition Justin suffered martyrdom at Rome under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius when Rusticus was prefect of the city (between 162 and 168).

    Justin Martyr wrote that the Father teaches us, “by the word to do the same things as Himself.” (Apology 2.9, in Ante-Nicene Fathers 1.366-7.)

    “The two classic biblical texts quoted in support of deification are Psalm 82:6 ('I said, you are gods and all of you sons of the Most High') and 2 Peter 1:4 ('precious and very great promises have been granted to us, that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature'. The first of these texts (also quoted in John 10:34) was never a cause of controversy. There already existed a Jewish exegesis which applied the words, 'you are gods', originally to Adam and Eve, and then to those who kept the Torah, when Justin Martyr -the first Christian Father to quote them- used them as a gloss on the Johannine 'children of God'(1 Jn 3:1).” (Dialogue, 124. Cf. Sifre Deut. 306; Midrash Rabbah on Lev. 11:1 and 3.)

    Justin the Martyr said in 150 A.D. that he wishes “to prove to you that the Holy Ghost reproaches men because they were made like God, free from suffering and death, provided that they kept His commandments, and were deemed deserving of the name of His sons... in the beginning men were made like God, free from suffering and death, and that they are thus deemed worthy of becoming gods and of having power to become sons of the Highest” (Dialogue with Trypho, 124.)

    Also,[By Psalm 82] it is demonstrated that all “men are deemed worthy of becoming “gods,” and even “of having power to become sons of the Highest.” (Dialogue with Trypho, 124.)

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  7. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (ca. AD 115-202)

    Irenaeus was a Bishop of Lyons, formerly Lugdunum in Gaul, France. He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. He was a disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna, who was said to be a disciple of John the Evangelist. Saint Irenaeus, who may justly be called the first Biblical theologian among the ancient Christians, was not considered heretic or unorthodox in traditional Christian circles. He also shared a belief in theosis or deification. Irenaeus considers the doctrine clearly Biblical, just as the LDS do:

    "If the Word was made man, it is that men might become gods" (Against Heresies, Bk. V. Pref. col. 1035).

    St. Irenaeus explained, "the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself."

    “While man gradually advances and mounts towards perfection; that is, he approaches the eternal. The eternal is perfect; and this is God. Man has first to come into being, then to progress, and by progressing come to manhood, and having reached manhood to increase, and thus increasing to persevere, and persevering to be glorified, and thus see his Lord.” (Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (London: Oxford University Press, 1956), 94.)
    “For the Lord is the good man of the house, who rules the entire house of His Father; and who delivers a law suited both for slaves and those who are as yet undisciplined; and gives fitting precepts to those that are free, and have been justified by faith, as well as throws His own inheritance open to those that are sons.” (Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," (book 4, chapter 9) Ante-Nicene Fathers 1:472.)
    “...but man receives advancement and increase towards God. For as God is always the same, so also man, when found in God, shall always go on towards God.” (Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," (book 4, chapter 11) Ante-Nicene Fathers 1:474)
    “...and to whomsoever He shall say, ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you for eternity,’ (Mat. 25:34) these do receive the kingdom forever, and make constant advance in it...” (Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," (book 4, chapter 28.3) Ante-Nicene Fathers 1:501)
    Like the LDS, Irenaeus did not believe that this belief in any way displaced God, Christ, or the Holy Ghost:
    “there is none other called God by the Scriptures except the Father of all, and the Son, and those who possess the adoption....Since, therefore, this is sure and steadfast, that no other God or Lord was announced by the Spirit, except Him who, as God, rules over all, together with His Word, and those who receive the Spirit of adoption.” (Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," Ante-Nicene Fathers 1)

    “Do we cast blame on him [God] because we were not made gods from the beginning, but were at first created merely as men, and then later as gods? Although God has adopted this course out of his pure benevolence, that no one may charge him with discrimination or stinginess, he declares, "I have said, ye are gods; and all of you are sons of the Most High." “... For it was necessary at first that nature be exhibited, then after that what was mortal would be conquered and swallowed up in immortality." (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4.38. Cp. 4.11 (2)

    "But man receives progression and increase towards God. For God is always the same, so also man, when found in God, shall always progress toward God." (very LDS)

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  8. "But man receives progression and increase towards God. For God is always the same, so also man, when found in God, shall always progress toward God." (very LDS)

    “We were not made gods at our beginning, but first we were made men, then, in the end, gods.” (Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (London: Oxford University Press, 1956), 94.)
    “How then will any be a god, if he has not first been made a man? How can any be perfect when he has only lately been made man? How immortal, if he has not in his mortal nature obeyed his maker? For one's duty is first to observe the discipline of man and thereafter to share in the glory of God” (Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," Ante-Nicene Fathers 1:419, chapter 6.)
    “Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, of his boundless love, became what we are that he might make us what he himself is.” (Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (London: Oxford University Press, 1956), 95–96.)
    “But of what gods [does he speak]?[Of those] to whom He says, "I have said, Ye are gods, and all sons of the Most High." To those, no doubt, who have received the grace of the "adoption, by which we cry, Abba Father."” (Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (London: Oxford University Press, 1956), 106. Citing Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4.38 cp. 4.11.)

    “For he who holds, without pride and boasting, the true glory (opinion) regarding created things and the Creator, who is the Almighty God of all, and who has granted existence to all; [such an one,] continuing in His love and subjection, and giving of thanks, shall also receive from Him the greater glory of promotion, looking forward to the time when he shall become like Him who died for him, for He, too, "was made in the likeness of sinful flesh," to condemn sin, and to cast it, as now a condemned thing, away beyond the flesh, but that He might call man forth into His own likeness, assigning him as [His own] imitator to God, and imposing on him His Father's law, in order that he may see God, and granting him power to receive the Father; [being] the Word of God who dwelt in man, and became the Son of man, that He might accustom man to receive God, and God to dwell in man, according to the good pleasure of the Father.” (Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," Ante-Nicene Fathers 1:450, chapter 6.)
    Said one Protestant theologian of Irenaeus:
    “Participation in God was carried so far by Irenaeus as to amount to deification. 'We were not made gods in the beginning,' he says, 'but at first men, then at length gods.' This is not to be understood as mere rhetorical exaggeration on Irenaeus' part. He meant the statement to be taken literally.” (Arthur C. McGiffert, A History of Christian Thought, Vol. 1—Early and Eastern: From Jesus to John of Damascus (New York: Scribner's Sons, 1932), 141.)

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  9. Clement of Alexandria (C.150-215)



    Clement of Alexandria, was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen. Clement is counted as one of the early Church Fathers. He also taught the doctrine of deification:

    “Yea, I say, the Word of God became a man so that you might learn from a man how to become a god.” (Protrepticus (Exhortation to the Greeks), 1.)

    “But if thou dost not believe the prophets,... the Lord Himself shall speak to thee, "who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but humbled Himself" ... yea, I say, the Word of God became man, that thou mayest learn from man how man may become God. Is it not then monstrous, my friends, that while God is ceaselessly exhorting us to virtue, we should spurn His kindness and reject salvation?” (Protrepticus (Exhortation to the Greeks), 1.8.4)

    Clement says regarding those who become deified that “’they will be enthroned along with the other gods, who are set first in order under the Savior.’” Note that the “other gods” are clearly subordinate to the Savior, but yet are still entitled to be designated “gods.”(George W. Butterworth, “The Deification of Man in Clement of Alexandria,” Journal of Theological Studies 17 (1916): 157-69, at page 161, quoting Stromateis 3.41.23-5.)

    Clement said, “from faith we rise to God through gnosis. From gnosis we see God face to face, and we are deified: "Being baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated, we become sons (i.e., children or heirs); being made ...(heirs), we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal, as the Scripture says 'Ye are gods...'" (Stromateis, ch. 6).
    “It [the knowledge of the Gospel] leads us to the endless and perfect end, teaching us beforehand the future life that we shall lead, according to God, and with gods; after we are freed from all punishment and penalty which we undergo, in consequence of our sins, for salutary discipline. After which redemption the reward and the honors are assigned to those who have become perfect; when they have got done with perfection, and ceased from all service, though it be holy service, and among saints. They become pure in heart, and near to the Lord, there awaits their restoration to everlasting contemplation; and they are called by the appellation of gods, being destined to sit on thrones with the other gods that have been first put in their places by the Savior.” (Stromata 7:10)
    “Those who have been perfected are given their reward and their honors. They have done with their purification, they have done with the rest of their service, though it be a holy service, with the holy; now they become pure in heart, and because of their close intimacy with the Lord there awaits them a restoration to eternal contemplation; and they have received the title of "gods" since they are destined to be enthroned with the other "gods" who are ranked next below the savior.” (Henry Bettenson, The Early Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Clement of Rome to St. Athanasius (London: Oxford University Press, 1956), 243–244. Stromata 7:10 (55–56).)

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  10. continued:
    “And:...if one knows himself, he will know God, and knowing God will become like God...His is beauty, true beauty, for it is God, and that man becomes god, since God wills it. So Heraclitus was right when he said, "Men are gods, and gods are men." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, 3.1 see also Clement, Stromateis, 23.)


    Concerning Bible tampering, Clement of Alexandria also cites from a passage, which he called "scripture," but of which can't now be found in modern Bibles. The scripture talked about how the deified saints would inherit God's power and glory.

    One finds in Clement's work citations of all the books of the New Testament with the exception of: Philemon, James, II Peter, II John, and III John.

    On the other hand he considered these writings, not in the present New Testament, of value: Gospel of the Egyptians, Gospel of the Hebrews, Traditions of Matthias, Preaching of Peter, I Clement, Epistle of Barnabas, Didache, Shepherd of Hermas, Apocalypse of Peter.

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  11. Hippolytus (AD 170-236)



    Hippolytus of Rome, in the early third century, wrote:

    "Now in all these acts He offered up, as the first-fruits, His own manhood, in order that thou, when thou art in tribulation, mayest not be disheartened, but, confessing thyself to be a man (of like nature with the Redeemer,) mayest dwell in expectation of also receiving what the Father has granted unto this Son...The Deity (by condescension) does not diminish anything of the dignity of His divine perfection having made you even God unto his glory." (Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies 10:29-30, in Ante-Nicene Fathers 5:152.)

    “And you shall receive the kingdom of heaven, you who, while you sojourned in this life, knew the Celestial King. And you shall be a companion of the Deity, and a co-heir with Christ, no longer enslaved by lusts or passions, and never again wasted by disease. For you have become God...”

    “And God called man His likeness from the beginning, and has evinced in a figure His love towards you. And provided you obey His solemn injunctions, and becomest a faithful follower of Him who is good, you shall resemble Him, inasmuch as you shall have honour conferred upon you by Him. For the Deity, (by condescension,) does not diminish anything of the divinity of His divine perfection; having made you even God unto His glory!” (Hippolytus. Refutation of All Heresies (Book X, Chapter 30) Copyright © 2007 by Kevin Knight).

    “The Father of immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into the world, who came to man in order to wash him with water and the Spirit; and He, begetting us again to incorruption of soul and body, breathed into us the breath (spirit) of life, and endued us with an incorruptible panoply. If, therefore, man has become immortal, he will also be God. And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit after the regeneration of the layer he is found to be also joint-heir with Christ after the resurrection from the dead.” (Hippolytus. The Discourse on the Holy Theophany, Chapter 8. Copyright © 2007 by Kevin Knight).

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  12. Please see the rest of the Church Father's saying on Deification (Men Becoming God) at http://manbecomegod.blogspot.com/
    They are listed on the right sidebar. Be sure to see the other posts that deal with Christians losing this ancient belief.
    I'm just curious if you will delete all of this information because it may not go with your agenda. I'll check back from time to time to see.
    Thank you

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