I have pondered about the idea of a messiah.  It seemed to me that all cultures and religions have a savior.  It seems to me quite possible that God sent His son, or Himself, or the third iteration of Himself (however one interprets the messiah) to all different peoples to lead them around the same time, essentially.  And presently, Satan exploits this to make humans fight each other because we all worship the same god.  So any theism works… that is what I’m trying to say and what I think.

Is Jesus Christ special, or was Isus the Egyptian messiah, or Allah, or Krishnu, or Jehovah just as good?

Sincerely,
Open Minded

Dear Open Minded,

Jesus is special, and He left no room for other gods.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jhn 14:6).  Jesus was either the one and only Messiah – or He was a crazy lunatic.  Jesus teaches that we can only have one Master (Matt 23:10) and that serving anyone else is a sin.  Jesus taught that we either confess Him as the Christ, or we will be denied before God (Lk 12:8-9).  Jesus cannot coexist with other gods.  The Bible is clear – there can be only one (Eph 4:4-6).  Isus, Allah, Krishnu, etc. are all false gods.

Does the Bible say anything about caffeine?

Sincerely,
Wired

Dear Wired,

Nope.  Much to the joy and relief of those of us in the Pacific Northwest, the Bible never says anything about caffeine, and it certainly never says it is a sin.  The Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormon church, strictly forbids the use of caffeine… but the Bible never does.

The Bible tells us to take care of our bodies (1 Cor 6:19).  God also warns against gluttony (Pr 23:21).  There is much debate over the effects of caffeine upon the body, but no studies are conclusive enough that one could condemn all use of caffeine.  Caffeine, like all other consumables, should be used with moderation and balance… but it isn’t wrong.

The Bible says that Jesus said, “No one gets to the Father except through me”, which I have been taught means if you don’t believe God is the Father and Jesus is His Son, you don’t/won’t go to heaven.

My question is: does this mean that three quarters of the world’s population (non-christians, Jews, Mormons, the Dalai Lama, etc.) who don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God aren’t going to heaven?  It doesn’t seem to me that the God I believe in would let this happen.

Sincerely,
Sympathy For The Masses

Dear Sympathy For The Masses,

The verse you are referring to is Jhn 14:6.  Here is a great example of a fork in the road for christians.  Will we take the Bible at face value and accept what God says, or will we ignore certain verses in order to mold God into an image that is more suitable for us?  You are absolutely right; there is no mistaking the implications of Jhn 14:6.  All that do not follow Christ will not be saved.  In fact, there are other verses that re-emphasize this message.  Jesus said that the way to salvation was narrow, and the way to destruction was wide (Matt 7:13).  He also says that many people will erroneously claim to have served God and will be turned away on the Judgment Day (Matt 7:22-23).

These verses do exclude large swaths of mankind from heaven.  However, if we believe the Bible to be God’s infallible Word (and we here at AYP do – read “Who Wrote The Bible” to see why we are so convinced), then we must accept that the same loving God who would send His own Son to die for our sins has a very good reason for being so picky about who goes to heaven.  Remember, God doesn’t condemn people to hell; it is our sinful choices that does that (Rom 6:23).  Jehovah offers us salvation through His Son, even though we deserve death (Jhn 3:16).

I’ve heard that Mormons wear magic underwear… is that really true?!

Sincerely,
BVDon’t

Dear BVDon’t,

Indeed, Mormons do have “magic underwear”, although we are pretty sure that they aren’t very fond of that terminology.  Mormons prefer to call them ‘garments’.  These ‘garments’ are special underwear worn by Mormons that have passed through their endowment ceremony (a ritual where a Mormon pledges to lead a righteous life), and even though it sounds entirely ridiculous, many devout Mormons take their sacred underwear very seriously.

Mormon underwear/garments is a perfect example of what happens when you stop following the authority of the Bible.  Mormon ceremonies, traditions, and rituals are not found in the Bible.  The Mormons says that they got all of their teachings from the angel Moroni.  It is ironic that the apostle Paul says that if even an angel teaches you something other than the Bible message, they are accursed (Gal 1:8).

I was studying the Bible with my friend (she is a Mormon), and she showed me a verse that talks about baptizing dead people (1 Cor 15:29).  What is that all about?

Sincerely,
Coffin Dunker

Dear Coffin Dunker,

God does command baptism for the dead… but not how the Mormons teach it.  Baptism for the dead is a Mormon practice where they baptize a living family member on behalf of a dead relative.  The Mormons then profess that “proxy-baptism” saves the soul of the dead relative, turning them into a Mormon.  There is nothing in the Bible that teaches this doctrine, and they misuse 1 Cor 15:29 when they refer to it.

1 Cor 15:29 is in the middle of a discussion Paul is having with the Corinthian church about life after death.  Paul just got done explaining that Jesus died and lived again (1 Cor 15:15-18).  Paul will then later explain that he is willing to be persecuted even to death in order to preach the gospel (1 Cor 15:30-32).  The statement about baptism for the dead is smack-dab right in the middle of that context.  Therefore, whatever “baptism for the dead” is referring to must have something to do with life after death and the willingness to die for the gospel because you have such a hope.

Baptism removes our sin (Acts 2:38).  Baptism saves us (1 Pet 3:21, Mk 16:16).  When we are baptized, we move from a state of spiritual death to spiritual life (Eph 2:1-5).  That spiritual death (i.e. eternity in hell) is what Paul is referring to in 1 Cor 15:29.  People are baptized for death, to remove spiritual death, and live in the hope of eternal life (Tit 3:7).  Jesus came and preached to those living in the “shadow of death” (Lk 1:79).  When we obey the gospel, we have passed out of death and into life (Jhn 5:24).  Jesus even went so far as to say that we will never see death if we keep His word (Jhn 8:51).  In the context of first Corinthians chapter 15, Paul is talking about this eternal death.  When people are baptized, they are baptized to avoid the eternal death that awaits all who are outside of Christ.

My son is in the military, and one of his platoon mates is a Mormon.  My son was told by this young man that he was fasting.  When my son asked him why he was fasting, the other soldier said the Bible says to fast every first Sunday of the month.  He said it is a sin not to fast.  What verse is he using?  Is this a verse out of the Mormon Bible?  Is it a sin not to fast?  When is an appropriate time to fast?

Sincerely,
MREs For Me

Dear MREs For Me,

Your son’s platoon mate is referring to a verse in a Mormon book called ‘Doctrine and Covenants’ (D&C), specifically D&C 59:12-13.  D&C is one of the Mormon religion’s major holy books and is most definitely NOT part of God’s Word.  God condemns any book other than the Bible.  Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, said that he was a prophet that was guided by the angel Moroni.  It is ironic that the apostle Paul says that even if an angel says something different than what is in the Bible, they are to be condemned (Gal 1:8).

Fasting is a Biblical practice, but there are no specific guidelines for when to do it.  Fasting is the practice of not eating for a designated period of time.  Jesus once fasted for forty days (Matt 4:2).  Fasting is often associated with times of grief and difficult decisions (Joel 2:12).  Jesus’ disciples were noted for not fasting as often as the rest of the Jewish community (Matt 9:14).  There is a time for fasting, but it is purely up to personal discretion.