Ed Decker

John Edward Decker
Born 1935
United States
Known for Christian apologist; author
Religion Christianity

John Edward "Ed" Decker (born 1935) is an American counterculture apologist and evangelist known for his studies, books, and public presentations of the perceived negative aspects of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Freemasonry. He is a former member of the LDS Church and prominent early member of a Christian group for ex-Mormons called Saints Alive in Jesus. His most well-known book is The God Makers: A Shocking Expose of What the Mormon Church Really Believes, co-authored by Dave Hunt.

Biography

Decker was born to a Jewish mother and Dutch father of the Reformed Christian faith (Calvinist) but raised an Episcopalian. His mother's family was almost all killed during the Holocaust with only his mother and a few cousins surviving. While attending Utah State University, he married a Latter-day Saints student and converted to Mormonism. In the LDS Church, he served in many roles including Ward Clerk and Counselor to a Bishop.[1] Decker later divorced his first wife and remarried before deciding that the LDS Church was not for him; he became a Christian evangelical during the 1970s. In 1976, he requested that his name be removed from LDS Church records, and as a result he was excommunicated.[2] During an interview with Mormon Expression,[1] Decker stated that the main reason for leaving the LDS Church was disagreement with the Mormon theology, especially beliefs pertaining to the Godhead. He also stated that he felt a calling to become an evangelical minister.

Counterculture apologetics

LDS Church

Decker has authored and co-authored books addressing the inner workings and purported negative aspects of the LDS Church. His book, The God Makers, was followed by The God Makers II.[3] He released a book in November 2007, titled My Kingdom Come: The Mormon Quest for Godhood.

Additional books written in this genre include Fast Facts on False Teachings, Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism, and Unmasking Mormonism. A fictional work by Decker entitled The Mormon Dilemma was added to Conversations With The Cults—The Harvest House series, entitled What You Need to Know About Mormons.

The God Makers, a book about the inner workings of the LDS Church, has been updated and expanded. Attempting to cut through the wholesome image projected by the church, the book purportedly reveals inconvenient aspects of the beliefs and practices of Mormonism. The God Makers aims to prepare evangelical Christians for witnessing to Mormons and makes the case that Mormon Christianity is a departure from what evangelical Christians consider to be "true" or "biblical" Christianity.

Decker participated in the documentary films, The God Makers, The Temple Of The God Makers, The Mormon Dilemma, and The God Makers II. His smaller projects include the booklets "And The Word Became Flesh", "To Moroni, With Love!", and "Understanding Islam", which are distributed by his nonprofit organization.

Decker states that My Kingdom Come: The Mormon Quest for Godhood is his final book to be presented on the subject of Mormonism. In this book, he dedicates an entire chapter to Mitt Romney and the Mormon beliefs about the future of the United States.

Freemasonry and others

Decker also speaks out against Freemasonry and has written What You Need To Know About Masons and The Dark Side of Freemasonry, and the booklet entitled "The Question of Freemasonry". Decker has also co-written a book with Ron Carlson called Fast facts on false teachings, which deals with what he believes to be various false systems of worship, including Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, and the Word of Faith movement.

Criticism

Decker's work has attracted criticism not only from Latter-day Saints,[4] but also from religious scholars of other faiths.[5] Jerald and Sandra Tanner and Robert Passantino have said that Decker's writings grossly misrepresent Mormonism, and thereby dilute his message and offend Mormons without attracting them to evangelical Christianity. The Tanners, themselves prominent critics of the LDS Church, have noted what they contend are inaccuracies and errors in some of Decker's works.[6]

One of Decker's associates offered to exorcise the Tanners's demons, and expressed great sadness when they refused.[7]

Works

Books
Movies
Leaflets

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1
  2. ↑ "Ed Decker Excommunicated? For What?", saintsalive.com, 2009-08-29.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ According to Michael Griffith, "Even as anti-Mormon books go, The God Makers is one of the worst, most inaccurate attacks on Mormonism ever written."Michael T. Griffith. "Another Look at The Godmakers". ourworld.cs.com. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
  5. ↑ Says Massimo Introvigne, "the second book and film are worse than the first: they include an explicit call to hatred and intolerance that has been denounced as such by a number of Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish organizations." Introvigne, Massimo (1994) "The Devil Makers: Contemporary Evangelical Fundamentalist Anti-Mormonism", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 27 (1), 154.
  6. ↑ Tanner, Jerald and Sandra (1993). Problems in The Godmakers II. Salt Lake City, Utah: UTLM.
  7. ↑ Introvigne, Massimo (1994) "The Devil Makers: Contemporary Evangelical Fundamentalist Anti-Mormonism", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 27 (1), 166–67.

External links