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Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the apostle Paul said, but we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her king.
Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.
Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry. It has been months and months since Steve and I have been in the studio. Steve Cooley, welcome. Thanks for filling in while I was gone,.
And double welcome. Well, it's good to be back with you. Good to have you back.
What people don't typically know is I'm in the studio in New York City, 53rd and 3rd, and Steve's in Worcester, and we just tape it through technology.
Yeah, today I'm actually behind the golden EIB microphone in Miami, Florida.
Oh, if you say anything about formerly nicotine-stained fingers, I don't know what he says. I don't listen, but I have listened in the past. Today we are talking about music. Steve was just saying he likes Warren Zevon, and I said, I like the Osmonds.
I asked Steve if there are any other Mormon singers that were popular, and he said... Gladys Knight.
Gladys Knight and the Pips. Well, I don't know anything about the Pips. I know Gladys Knight converted. I don't know if she's still involved in Mormonism or not.
Well, I like your other answer better, Stephen Curtis Osmond. Maybe, I didn't know. Joe Strummer was a Mormon.
I was not aware of that either. I was not. But, wait a minute, is that the phone? Oh, it's London calling, okay.
Well, if you haven't noticed already, today we're weighing in on the topic of Glenn Beck and how the Conservatives, seemingly many Conservatives, have fallen head over heels in love with Glenn Beck. And, of course, we had the Million Man Mormon March.
Million Mormons storming the Capitol.
And so we'd like to talk about this non-political event that was held, quote unquote, and just weigh in. Steve, before we do that, give our listeners a reminder of your background so we can prove to them we'll have informative insight.
You know, I'm just thinking about,.
I grew up in the Mormon church and I think I was actually blessed as an infant, maybe two and a half or so, then baptized when I turned eight on March 2nd. Confirmed a member of the church the next day on March the 3rd.
And was involved, I became a deacon at 12, teacher at 14, priest at 16, served in the church preparing sacrament and all that stuff. Did home teaching, collected fast offerings, eventually joined the army, then later became an elder, baptized my son.
Was very involved. You know, have even been to, you know, made the Hajj, went to Salt Lake City for a general conference.
Did you get a sneak in the back since, you know, the Gentiles, we don't get to go in, but did you get to go in the back area there?
Walked right in, oh, you mean into the temple? Yes. No, no, the only time I was ever in the temple, because I did not have a temple recommend, the only time I was in the temple, I was baptized for the dead.
I think that would be around age 12 or 13.
Which dead people were you baptized for?
You know, I don't recall, but it was a number of them. I mean, they just read off a list of people and it's, you know, reminds me of like a cartoon because I remember one where Bugs Bunny just is clonking some guy in the head over and over again as he dubs him different names, Sir Loin of Beef and all this other stuff.
And, you know, you barely get out of the water and they're, you know, announcing some other name and baptizing you again, you know? And so it's about as close to drowning as you could possibly get during a religious experience.
Now, we're deviating a little bit, but I like this topic. Were you immersed? Do they believe in immersion? Oh, yes, they do. And do they say, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Joseph and the Smith.
And the great pearl of Christ or something? Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Seriously? Yes, and Holy Ghost, not Holy Spirit, but it And it's one word for them, Holy Ghost. And they're amazing baptismal too, because here you are, you know, these humongous oxen and this baptismal font sits on the back of these, I think it was probably 12 oxen and they're gigantic and beautiful and everything in there is just beautiful.
I mean, it's an amazing building.
Did you read about the man who recently is going to sue the Mormon church because he was baptized so many times for dead people he hurt his back? I'm not kidding, I'm not kidding.
I don't think he has a prayer of winning that lawsuit.
Wow, well, what we want to do, thank you for that background. Oh, you know, while we're at it, did you ever wear any special holy underwear? No, I never did. Well, is that a sin or something in Mormonism?
No, but you have to have a temple recommend, and which, you know, I mean, I could go on and on about this. My stepfather had a temple recommend and he was what was known as a 70, which is something they, an office of the priesthood they no longer have, but he was so ungodly.
I mean, you know, it was just, we were Sunday Mormons, and then the rest of the week, our house was just a zoo, violence and craziness, and so not good.
Tell me, Steve, when you first heard about Glenn Beck and his radio show Unleashed so they could get together for this big happening, I don't know what he really wanted to call it. I think he had certain names.
It was some kind of non-political revival or some kind of I think it's the Restoring Honor. Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's a little bit in the news, but we've had, yeah, that's right, Restoring Honor. There's a picture of Lincoln and there's Beck with his glasses and all that.
Are those Rob Bell glasses that he has on? I don't know.
You know, I've seen a little bit of his, his television program just gets a little too weird for me because it's all chalkboards and, you know, implications and eventually, you know, you're looking for the Rothschilds and, you know, all kinds of conspiracy theories.
I mean, it's, it's very unnerving, but, you know, for more than a year, he's been talking about faith, hope, and charity. And if I recall correctly, Ben Franklin is charity. I don't know where, how he decided who these different people are, but just talking about the, kind of the biblical foundations of this country.
And it's very odd for someone who belongs to a church where they say, you know, the Bible isn't so bad to really be focused on the Bible.
And for Beck, do you think as an ex-Mormon that Beck is really holding the company line for Mormonism? Or do you think he's got some hybrid syncretic, not syncretic, what's the word? Syncretistic? Yeah, syncretistic, that's exactly right.
View of Mormonism slash evangelicalism. I mean, even in his radio show, he said on August 26th, you're going to see the spirit of God unleashed unlike you have probably never seen before, at least at a public function.
You're going to see the power of God.
You know, I don't really know. Here's what I do know is that over the last 20 years or so, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, has become increasingly, now listen carefully, evangelical in terms of its vocabulary.
In other words, they want to sound like they're Christians, and so they've adopted a lot of the words that we would use. And, you know, for example, when I grew up, and I've said this before, but we never would have called ourselves Christians.
Christians were lesser Mormons, you know? It was okay to be a Christian, but it was much better to be a Mormon. Children of a lesser God. Yeah, and so now, you know, they're Christians, and according to them, and they've really tried to water down what it means to be a Christian.
In other words, they say they follow Christ, therefore they're a Christian, and a lot of people do that these days. But it's unique to Beck that the influence he has, and I think it's because, in part, the political and economic times that we're in, kind of the platform he has in terms of radio, and then TV, as TV shows just taking off.
So I think you put all those things together, and what sounds to be a pseudo-evangelical message, and people are flocking to it right now.
Well, this is kind of a redo almost of D. James Kennedy and his post-millennial machinations, and we've got to get so involved, and we've got to somehow take back the country, and it just seems like evangelicals never learn their lesson.
And in my opinion, Steve, even if I was only pragmatic, it doesn't work. It doesn't work. It doesn't change the country. And we get back to this whole deal of how do we affect real change in America? And I believe it starts with the gospel.
Well, and Beck's answer is different than that. He says, pray. He says, pray to whatever religion you're in. Go to mosque, go to temple, go to church. Basically, be a better person. Listen to God. You've got a still, small voice within you.
I've heard him say these things. You know, he is kind of the mystical, pseudo-evangelical that people want to hear. He makes them feel good politically and religiously, and they love it.
We could start a new denomination, maybe, with Glenn Beck as the leader or bishop. It could be called Fox News Denomination for Religion. Well, and I think there'd be a lot of people.
Who would subscribe to it. I mean, if you looked at the event, and he was real proud of this. He had rabbis and pastors and priests and imams all up there, you know, locking arms with him. And, you know, I mean, they did everything but sing, We Shall Overcome, and they might've done that.
I didn't watch the event, so who knows what happened.
I mean, I was just reading Joseph Smith. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong, that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight, that those professors were all corrupt.
Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith. And you know what that is?
That's when, that's the first vision. In other words, if you take the Mormon missionary lessons, this is the first thing they try to tell you, is that when Joseph Smith was 14, there was a lot of religious hubbub in New York where he lived.
And so he went into this grove of trees to pray, and the father and the son appeared to him. And they both, by the way, in the movies, they look exactly the same, and they both have physical bodies. And the father says, this is my beloved son, hear him.
And so Joseph's saying, you know, which church should I join? And that's what the response is. Don't join any of them, they're all an abomination.
What is that cartoon that the Mormons don't want you to watch? If you watch some kind of, if you type into YouTube anti-Mormon cartoon or Mormonism's background cartoon, have you seen that? It's a spooky kind of Johnny Quest Mormonism deal.
It is weird. If you type in Mormonism Johnny Quest, you'll be there. I haven't seen that.
And you know what, and you know this, I don't want to defend Mormonism at all, but I think that the problem with going after it is it's done a lot of times in a very unloving way. There was a book and a movie called The God Makers many years ago, and you know, just sought to mock Mormonism as if that was, and I was in Mormonism, and somebody, you know, gave me that book, and I'm going, what, is this supposed to make me listen to you?
That's not, you know, it didn't help me at all.
Well, I've got so much to talk about regarding Mormonism, so let's maybe keep on the track of political, social change, how do we affect change, Glenn Beck. Why did so many evangelicals join arms with him, either behind the scenes or on the platform?
You know, we haven't talked about this, but I think in part it's because they see a kindred spirit in Beck that they don't see in the president. The president says he's a Christian. They don't think he is a Christian, but they're willing to kind of just gloss over the theological differences with Beck because they like his politics, and what a terrible standard.
I mean, whether Beck is conservative or liberal or whatever, whether the president's conservative, liberal, or whatever, the gospel is the gospel, and it's unchanging, and to link arms and to think that somehow we should focus on changing the political system or changing, turning everybody back, because that's what that Restoring Honor rally was about, turning everybody back to their own idea of God, that that's gonna make this a better country.
That's unbiblical, it's sick.
Steve, when you were in the rehab 12-step, I don't know what exactly you were in when you were going through your crisis before you were a Christian, and it dawned on you that people were so, their idea of God was so skewed.
What was that one lady? My idea of God is what?
What would you say to that one person? She said, we're having a 12-step meeting, and she says, my higher power that I've turned my life over to is part of my brain. So imagine she was at that Restoring Honor rally, and she's like, oh, I need to turn back to my God.
Oh, yeah, that part of my brain I've set aside to worship.
Come on. We can go on the record here at No Compromise Radio that we like evangelical cooperation. There are Presbyterian brothers and sisters, Baptist brothers and sisters, born-again Methodist, et cetera, who can get together for cooperative programs that make further progress with the gospel that Jesus alone saves.
We're not some kind of fundamentalist, independent, we-can't-join-arms-with-anybody, second-degree separationist. We're not that, but we're against what Beck did with these evangelicals. And I don't even blame Beck.
No. Beck's an unbeliever. He doesn't have any kind of resources to go through. And he says, how do you get power? How do you get might? It's by numbers. It's by TV exposure. It's by promoting things on his radio show so lots of people see it.
So I don't blame Beck. I blame others because, Steve, tell me if you think these words are true or not. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?
Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
Well, I'd have to say, hmm, let me think. I agree with that.
He is not talking, Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6, I was just quoting verses 14 and 15, is not talking about, oh, well, you better not marry an unbeliever. Better not have a business together with an unbeliever.
Although those are good implications. I'm having a hard time talking today. What is he saying? He's saying for things exactly like this, if you want to affect and infect the culture, you don't need unbelievers to do that.
It strikes against the power of God and it makes Christ wed with Belial. And we have no portion with unbelievers when it comes to evangelical outreaches and ways to try to affect the community. This is the Manhattan Declaration, part two.
Well, I mean, just imagine, let's just go back in time,.
You know, a couple thousand years. Can you imagine Jesus getting together with the local religious leaders, you know, of all different denominations, locking arms and saying, you know what, here's what we need.
We need everybody to worship the God of his or her own conscience. And in that way, we will so affect the social structure that we'll live in a better country.
Study history and you can just see this over and over and over again and just like, what was the latest thing a bunch of evangelicals signed. That was, was that Manhattan? Yeah, it was Manhattan.
Did it work? Did it do any good? Instead of Manhattan Declaration, I wish they would have called it the Manhattan Project.
Well, it would have been a big explosion of nothingness is what it would have been. I think we could have some kind of theme song. I'm sure they sang some songs or hymns or Amazing Grace or something.
How about put your hand in the hand of the father who once was a man and then progressed to the godhood. That just doesn't seem to rhyme though.
Are we going back to the 60s? Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee. I mean, can I tell you something? The Mormons, I can remember, obviously I was still a Mormon, but I guess I wouldn't have been in the 70s.
I can remember my best buddy playing that on the guitar and singing it.
Give us some other Mormon songs. You had Mormon hymns, of course, but did you sing any evangelical songs? Yes, we did. Like? Well, I've...
Kumbaya. Well, some of them now, I mean, I can't even think of all of them, but some of the ones, I actually like some of their tunes better, but I'll never forget one song. It was called Praise to the Man Who Communed with Jehovah, and it's about Joseph Smith.
Wow, I thought it was about Warren Zevon. No, and let's see. What were some other songs? Come, come, ye saints, no toil or labor fear. You know, we used to sing, come, come, ye saints, no toil or labor here.
We were a bunch of knuckleheads.
Doctrine and Covenants 130, page 22. The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's, the Son also.
Well, like I said, that gets back to the first vision. You know, Joseph Smith says he saw the Father and the Son, and when they show them in these films, they are both physical beings, and they look like identical twins, quite frankly, yeah.
Man was born of woman, Christ the Savior was born of woman, and God the Father was born of woman, Joseph Fielding Smith, Desiree News, September 19th, 1936.
Yeah, and the idea, and it has been since the beginning, they don't talk much about this, but that God once was a man, that he went through the things that we did, and he perfected himself and was eventually awarded with his own worlds.
And then he created spiritual children, and we are now here, and someday we can become gods. We can have the same opportunity as the God of this world.
I was reading irishcalvinist .com with my friend Eric Raymond, and he said this. Many American evangelicals were outraged over the plans for a mosque to be built near the site of Ground Zero in New York City.
However, we are not so outraged about building a tower of morality on the sacred side of the church. This rallying pull of morals, God, and country is a lot like the old city's motto, to reach the heavens with their hands and building, Genesis 11.
In so doing, this new construction of a monument to moral-anity is obscuring the cross, which is the gospel monument to Christ and his Christianity.
You know what Beck's actually calling for right now is a third awakening, a third great awakening. I heard he is quoting Whitefield. Yeah, oh, he loves George Whitefield. And I'm like, he loves everything about George Whitefield except for the gospel that George Whitefield preached, because it was not Mormonism.
It was not, you know, become better, work on stopping sinning, perfect yourself so that you can become God.
It was nothing like that. Since this is no compromise radio, we probably should say this. If you're an evangelical, especially one of those pastors who got on board and wanted to promote this and had some prayer vigil or were on the stage up there and restoring honor, I just have three words for you in typical no compromise style.
Shame on you. And the gospel doesn't need unequally yoking procedures to go forward. We just ought to preach the gospel. This is more like a shame to the gospel, and it doesn't have the real power. So let's figure out through organization, through TV ratings, through mass media, how we can make it go forward.
And the gospel wasn't preached. This is what sin is. This is what sin does. Here's who the savior was. If Beck got up and actually preached the gospel, of course I'd be happy, but he wouldn't preach the gospel because he hasn't been known by God.
I mean, what was the message of that, you know, big rally? The message was that Catholicism, Islam, Judaism, however many other religions were there, Mormonism certainly, are all equally valid. And certainly Christianity, you know, on the same kind of platform.
And those things are kind of subservient or they're not as important as what? Restoring our national honor, getting back to first principles of faith, hope, and charity, small government. Yeah, I mean, think about it.
We're gonna worship the state, you know, and shrinking the size of it, as opposed to worshiping the God of the universe.
Well, as much as I liked Ronald Reagan, and I think I voted for him. I think I voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980, in my kind of punk rock days. And then in 84, I voted for Ronald Reagan, drove my bike down to Mile Square Park just to see him.
But what happened to America then? I mean, we're gonna, let's just say there's a house cleaning November 4th. Okay, there's gonna be a house cleaning, but it won't be a sin house cleaning. It will be, get rid of the Democrats.
So some other more, so some other compromising politicians will come in, and then where are we gonna be in another eight years? Then they'll want to vote out all the Republicans and get all the Democrats.
And God doesn't need the government to save souls. He saves in spite of those governmental institutions.
Well, and that's why we've got to find representatives who believe in the first principles of faith, hope, and charity. They're like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. The Holy Trinity of restoring honor.
How about when the government's really bad, like in China and North Korea, when it comes to rights, personal rights, the church flourishes, and the church grows, and the church does wonderful things because it never relies on that.
I can just imagine Jesus and Pilate, and, you know, a nice discussion. It's just so ridiculous. People just will not read their Bibles. They won't do it God's way. God has ordained the ends and the means, and Jesus will build a church, and he tells us how to build the church.
And for those of you that want to build a church on something else, it's a free country, but you're not going to be restoring honor. So, A, it's not gonna work, and B, it's dishonoring to God.
But wait a minute, didn't Jesus say that my kingdom is the United States, or my kingdom is this country, or my kingdom?
Well, on Ezekiel 37, it talks about the Americans.
Well, you know, and Beck has even called, you know, for example, the Constitution an inspired document, which only goes to show that he doesn't understand the Greek concept of inspired. I mean, imagine, breathed out by God, the Constitution.
Was God in control of it? Yes. Did he breathe it out in the same sense of the Bible? No.
One minute to go. How about preaching the gospel to Mormons who are listening, or maybe give some evangelical insights? If you've got a Mormon loved one, what do you tell them?
I have many Mormon loved ones, and here's what I would say, that you think you can become good, and the truth is there's no one good but God. You were infected by sin from the moment you were born. You weren't born neutral out of some spiritual world.
You were born infected with sin. You are a sinner by nature and by inclination, and that alienates you from God. Jesus Christ came. He was always existent. He always existed as a second person of the Trinity.
He was not a created being. He came, took on a second nature, that of a human being. He lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, not so that you might perfect yourself, but so that you might be forgiven of every sin ever committed by believing on him and his resurrection on the third day.
Amen, preach it. Repent and believe.
This is No Compromise Radio. Mike Abendroth with Steve Cooley. Info at nocompromiseradio .com.
No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.
Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at six. We're right on route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.