• Mormons claim to be the only true church on earth, saying that Jesus Christ restored the Melchizedek priesthood (that was supposedly lost after the death of the apostles) through Joseph Smith. Today, Mormon elders claim to hold the Melchizedek priesthood as the basis for their authority. In response to this claim, you might share the following:
• Ask them to show you where in the New Testament anyone other than Jesus Christ ever held the Melchizedek priesthood? Hebrews 5:5-10 says that only Jesus Christ was ever called to the Melchizedek priesthood.
• Mormons will argue that John 15:16 is where Jesus gave the apostles the priesthood. However, this verse says nothing about priesthood and only that the apostles were appointed by Christ to “bear fruit”.
• Hebrews 7:1-3 & 26 give us the qualifications of the Melchizedek priesthood. Ask the Mormon, “Who is the ‘king of righteousness’ (v. 2) and who is ‘holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens’ (v. 26)?” The answer is obvious, only Jesus Christ fulfills these qualifications.
• Affirm the Bible’s teaching that the believer’s authority comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit (John 1:12-13; Acts 1:8).
• The apostle Peter tells us that all who believe in Jesus Christ are a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:1-10).
• Revelation 1:5-6 says that Christ has made believers “priests” through the forgiveness of sins by his shed blood.

For more information on sharing your faith with Mormons, please check out Dr. Carlson’s chapter on Mormonism in his book, Fast Facts On False Teachings, available in our online store.

• When witnessing to a Mormon, one of the common arguments you will hear is, “Why do you challenge our good works? Don’t you know the Bible says ‘faith without works is dead’?” In response to this argument, try the following:
• Clarify their motivation for doing good works and point out whom they’re really putting their faith in (in other words, define the terminology).
• Show them from the Bible that God is the one who gets the glory for our good works, not us (Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12; Philippians 2:13).
• Point out that Jesus gave us the definition of good works in John 6:28-29. Ask them, “In what/who are you placing your faith for salvation?”

For more information on sharing your faith with Mormons, please check out Dr. Carlson’s DVD lecture titled, Mormonism: Christian or Cult?, available in our online store.

• There is a moral law that is the universal standard by which we judge good and evil. How do we know this moral law exists?
• First, our intrinsic desire to oppose injustice reveals the moral law (note: even those who would deny universal moral values truly value their right to their right to deny them; just try silencing them sometime).
• Second, without the moral law there would be no basis for human rights. Consider the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…”
• Third, without the moral law we couldn’t know justice or injustice. As C.S. Lewis once observed, “(As an Atheist) my argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing the universe with when I called it unjust?”
• Fourth, without the moral law there would be no way to make moral judgments, for example: Hitler was evil (why?); Murder is wrong (says who?); You shouldn’t abuse children (why not?). If the moral law doesn’t exist these statements have no objective meaning. They’re just someone’s opinion.
• The evidence for the reality of the moral law points strongly to reality of a moral lawgiver; and that lawgiver is God.

For more information on the arguments for the existence of God, please check out The Apologetics Study Bible for Students, available in our online store.

• This argument is one of the most historically controversial arguments for God’s existence. As philosopher Bertrand Russell observed, it is much easier to be persuaded that ontological arguments are no good than it is to say exactly what is wrong with them.
• The Ontological argument was originally formulated by Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109 A.D.). His version can be summarized like this…
• God is the Greatest Conceivable Being.
• If God is the Greatest Conceivable Being, nothing greater than God can be imagined.
• There is nothing greater than God that can be imagined.
• If God does not exist then there is something greater than God that can be imagined.
• Therefore, God exists… Think about it!

For more information on the arguments for the existence of God, please check out The Apologetics Study Bible for Students, available in our online store.

• The most famous version of this argument is William Paley’s ‘watchmaker’ analogy. Paley argued that since every watch has a maker; and the universe is far more complex than a watch; the universe must also have a maker. In other words…
• All designs imply a designer.
• The universe displays tremendous design.
• Therefore, the universe must be the product of a designer (God).

For more information on the arguments for the existence of God, please check out The Apologetics Study Bible for Students, available in our online store.

• The law of causality states that every finite thing is caused by something other than itself.
• It is widely accepted by the scientific community today that the universe had a beginning.
• Anything that has a beginning must have been caused by something else.
• Therefore, the universe was caused by something else (a Creator).

For more information on the arguments for the existence of God, please check out the chapter on “Atheism” in Dr. Carlson’s book, Fast Facts on False Teachings, available in our online store.

• In the First Century Paul and the apostles reasoned with the Jews for whom Christ was a stumbling block (Acts 17:1-3); and with the Greeks for whom he was not known (Acts 17:16-19).
• During the Second Century early church apologists defended the faith against charges of atheism, cannibalism, and being a threat to the Roman Empire; as well as the heresy of Gnosticism.
• In the medieval era Christian apologists gave a defense of the faith in response to a resurgent Jewish critique and the rise and expansion of Islam.
• During the Enlightenment apologists respond to the challenge of scientific rationalism: the belief that reality is limited to that which can be objectively and empirically observed and studied.
• In the 20th Century Christian apologetics confronts challenges like liberalism, secularism, naturalism, and the growing influence of cults & other non-Christian religions.
• Thus far, the 21st Century’s primary apologetic challenges have come from the “New Atheists”, the postmodern worldview, and the philosophy of religious pluralism.

For more information on the various apologetic challenges to the Christian faith, please check out The Apologetics Study Bible for Students, available in our online store.

• In the Mayflower Compact the Pilgrims specifically declared their intention of planting a new colony and advancing the Christian faith.
• Not all, but the majority of the Founding Fathers of America were active Christians who represented a variety of Christian denominations.
• Roughly half of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence had received what today would be the equivalent of a seminary education.
• The Aitken Bible of 1782, known as “the Bible of the Revolution”, was the first English language Bible printed in America. It’s printing was officially approved by the U.S. Congress.
• On June 28, 1787, with the constitutional convention at an impasse, Benjamin Franklin gave an impassioned plea asking that each session of the convention be opened in prayer, led by a Christian clergy. Many of the founders and other historians credit that as the turning point in the production of the constitution.
• Beginning in 1800, and through the late 19th century, the U.S. capitol building regularly served as a meeting place for worship, hosting Christian church services attended by presidents, congressman, and other officials.

For more information on the significance of the Christian worldview in America, please check out Dr. Carlson’s lecture, Red vs. Blue: The Real Cultural Divide, available in CD or MP3 in our online store.

• Evolutionists argue that Natural Selection is the driving force behind macroevolution (one species evolving over time into another species).
• However, if macroevolution were true, it would have to account for massive amounts of new and unique genetic information being created as species evolve and become increasingly complex (For example, the simplest organisms known today have roughly a half-million base pairs of DNA. Human beings, however, have three billion base pairs of DNA per cell).
• The reality is that Natural Selection never produces any new and unique genetic information.
• Natural Selection always results in the sorting and overall loss of pre-existing genetic information.
• Natural selection is legitimate, basic science, but all Natural Selection demonstrates is horizontal change within species (cross a red rose with a white rose and you get a pink rose), not macroevolution.

For more information on the fundamental flaws of Darwinian evolution please check out Dr. Carlson’s 2-DVD set titled, Evolution vs. Creation, available in our online store.

• Mormons teach that God, the Father, has a body of flesh and bone. However, the Bible teaches that God is Spirit (John 4:24; Matthew 16:15-17).
• Mormons believe that God evolved from mortal man. However, the Bible says that God has been God from “everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2) and that God is not a man and He does not change (Hosea 11:9; Malachi 3:6). Even the Book of Mormon contradicts official church teaching, saying that God is not a changeable being and is “unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity” (Moroni 8:18).
• Mormons are polytheists, believing in a pantheon of gods. However, the Bible repeatedly denounces the idea of polytheism (for example, see Isaiah chapters 44-46). Also, the Book of Mormon again contradicts official church doctrine on this point, teaching monotheism (Alma 11:22-31).
• Mormons teach that all faithful male Mormons have the ability to become gods themselves, just as God the Father did. However, the Bible says, “Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me” (Isaiah 43:10).

For more information on the beliefs of Mormonism, please check out the documentary DVD titled, The Secret World of Mormonism available in our online store.