MORMON 007
      DO THE NAG HAMMADI WRITING AND DEAD SEA SCROLLS 
                     CONFIRM MORMONISM
                            or
               IS EINAR ERICKSON CONFUSED ?
   In recent years, Mormon lecturer, Einar C. Erickson, has 
given numerous talks to Mormon church groups concerning the 
Dead Sea Scrolls,  Nag Hammadi writings,  Mandean Ginza and 
related Middle East finds.  These lectures have been  taped 
and widely distributed for use in converting the uninformed 
to   Mormonism.   Mr  Erickson  states  that  the  writings 
discovered in the vicinity of Nag Hammadi,  Egypt,  are one 
of the greatest confirmations of the "truthfulness" of  the 
Mormon church that anyone would find anywhere. 
   On one of his tapes,  Mr. Erickson boldly declares that: 
"These  documents  and others leave without doubt  evidence 
positive  even  on  the  best rules  of  evidence  that  an 
attorney might be able to assemble,  that this gospel [i.e. 
the  Mormon gospel] is true.  You get no credit  for  faith 
anymore."  Mr.  Erickson attempts to convince his listeners 
that  the  writers  of  the  Nag  Hammadi  were  the   true 
Christians,  (based upon his allegation of their similarity 
to  Mormonism)  and  that all others had slipped  off  into 
apostasy.
  However; the Nag Hammadi writings are of "Gnostic" origin 
which were written during the first to fourth century  A.D. 
The  Gnostic  heretics  did cherish both the  Old  and  New 
testament Scripture,  but re-interpreted them in terms of a 
mythological Gnostic Redeemer.  Gnosticism gave rise to the 
writings of a number of totally spurious apocalyptic books, 
false  gospels  and  epistles that incorporated  their  own 
mysticism.
  Gnosticism was a movement that vigorously contended  with 
Orthodox Christianity for supremacy.  Writings by the early 
Church   Fathers   show  how  widespread  and   influential 
Gnosticism was;  and it was combatted as a lethal threat to 
the proclamation of the Gospel. The bishops pointed out the 
great  gulf between Biblical Christianity  and  Gnosticism, 
even  though the Gnostics made use of Biblical text.  It is 
obvious that Paul,  the Apostle, knew of the false ideas of 
Gnosticism,  and  spoke out against such doctrines  several 
times in the Scriptures.
  The  Gnostics  believed  in  the  supreme  being  as   an 
undescribable God.  He is invisible, incomprehensible, and 
dwells  unbegotten  in eternal peace.  Some names  used  to 
describe  God and to stress His transcendence were  "Father 
of All", "The Unapproachable God", "The Unknowable". Such a 
God  could  not  possibly  have  direct  contact  with  the 
material   world;    therefore,    He   does   so   through 
intermediates,  each  one  answerable to  the  other.  Each 
intermediate  in  descending order is less divine and  more 
earthy as the chain nears the material world.
   Mr. Erickson spellbinds his listeners when he tells them 
that  the Nag Hammadi writings confirm the Mormon  doctrine 
of the Heavenly Mother!  What he fails to tell them is that 
this  Mother God of the Nag Hammadi is the  "Holy  Spirit." 
Certainly  this  is  in  direct conflict  with  the  Mormon 
concept of a Mother God,  because in Mormon  doctrine,  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  a male.  The supreme being has  a  female 
counterpart  which  emanates  from Him.  She  is  known  as 
"Mother of All" or "The Holy Spirit." 
   Other emanations that come forth from the Supreme  Being 
in  pairs are called AEONS;  the lowest Aeon being  "Sophia 
Akhamoth", she was so full of passion to understand or know 
God that she fell and was placed outside the Pleroma, God's 
heavenly  dwelling.  Because  of her  desire,  she  becomes 
fertile with a formless monster.  This monster (Yaldabaoth, 
Samael  or  SATAN)  is  the Demiurge or  inferior  god  who 
created this material world and brought forth man upon it. 
   According to the Gnostic, all matter is evil; therefore, 
only an inferior being could have created it.  Satan is the 
creator-god of this earth and of man,  and is an evil  god. 
To  the  Gnostics,  Satan is Jehovah of the Old  Testament! 
After  Jehovah (Satan) creates man and breathes  life  into 
him,  he creates Eve.  The demonic forces see the beauty of 
Eve,  and  proceed  to  rape her.  Through  this  act,  she 
conceives Cain and Abel.
   Mr.  Erickson  often  refers to the  Hypostasis  of  the 
Archons of the Nag Hammadi and being direct parallel to the 
Garden  of  Eden  scene  of the Mormon  Temple  Ceremony  . 
However,   he  fails  to  inform  his  listeners  that  the 
Hypostasis of the Archeons tells of the demons raping  Eve! 
Nor  does  he point out that the serpent in the  garden  is 
really  the  Holy  Spirit coming to give Adam and  Eve  the 
"true  knowledge." He neglects to mention to his  listeners 
that  the "god"  who comes into the garden to ask Adam  and 
Eve what they have done is not the "Heavenly Father" but is 
Satan the arrogant Archon,  the evil god. In this instance, 
Mr.  Erickson is,  at best,  mistaken about the facts  -- a 
fault which reappears throughout his lectures and tapes.
   The authors of the Nag Hammadi writings taught a form of 
re-incarnation,  and that marriage was evil,  because it is 
of the earth.  They believed the  begetting of children was 
from Satan,  since it merely increases the number subjected 
to the evil angels.  Resurrection of the flesh is denied by 
these Gnostics,  since earthly flesh is in itself evil, and 
can  have  no part in the spiritual scheme of God.  All  of 
these  concepts are not confirmations of  Mormon  doctrine, 
but are direct contradictions  of it!
   Mr.  Erickson,  looking elsewhere in the Middle East for 
"proof,"  tells  his  audiences that the  writings  of  the 
Mandaeans  of  Iraq and Iran are (also) a  confirmation  of 
Mormonism.  His  "evidence" for this is that they speak  of 
baptism for the dead,  baptism by immersion, priesthood and 
baptize  in  the name of the Father,  the Son and the  Holy 
Ghost.  What he fails to mention to them is:  according  to 
the Mandaeans, Jesus was a rebel and a heretic  who led men 
astray  by  betraying secret doctrine and  making  religion 
easier.  The  Mandaean  sacred  book  tells  of  how  Jesus 
perverted the Scriptures, and that Jesus told the Jews that 
He was the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Furthermore, 
the  Mandaean  book  accuses Jesus  perverting  baptism  by 
baptizing  in the name of the Father,  the Son and the Holy 
Ghost.
   The Mandaeans  were baptized many times throughout their 
lives.  They baptized infants; and if an infant died before 
or  during  this baptism,  a clay or dough image  was  made 
which  they then baptized in proxy for that  infant.  Proxy 
baptism was also done for an adult who died before  getting 
his  last minute washings before death.  In this  case,  an 
individual  that looked like the deceased was  baptized  in 
proxy for the dead person. 
  The  Mandaeans  also  had a ceremony of "eating  for  the 
dead"  to give the deceased nourishment for his travels  to 
the  heavenly  spheres.  The Mormon people do  not  baptize 
infants,  do  not eat for the dead,  nor do they have  last 
minute  washing rituals before death as the Mandaeans  did. 
The  Mormon  proxy baptisms have less in  common  with  the 
Mandaean   baptisms  than  they  do  with  Catholic  infant 
baptisms,  last  rites ritual,  and prayers for  the  dead. 
Clearly,  the Mandaean concepts of Jesus and baptism are in 
no way similar to Mormon doctrine.
  Those holding the Mandaean priesthood had to have a clean 
family history for a number of generations, and meet strict 
physical and mental qualifications.  They had to be without 
the  slightest  physical blemish,  and be of pure  Mandaean 
blood.  A man who was circumcised,  impotent,  or a  eunuch 
could not be a priest for the body must be sound, pure, and 
perfect.  If  a man was already a priest and he received an 
injury which destroyed his manhood or robbed him of a limb, 
he could no longer officiate as a priest. There are no such 
restrictions within the Mormon priesthoods. The only things 
in common with the Mormon priesthoods and baptism and  that 
of the Mandaean are the very words themselves! 
  Mr.  Erickson  makes  false  claims about  the  Dead  Sea 
Scrolls community,  as well. He states that those at Qumran 
baptized at the age of eight,  just as the Mormons do. This 
is  just  simply NOT the case.  They trained young men  for 
their  celibate monastic  order for about ten years  before 
they  were baptized into their ranks.  This  baptism  never 
took  place before the age of twenty.  Mr.  Erickson states 
that  the  people  of Qumran  were  essentially  the  first 
"Mormons."  However,  the  people  at  Qumran  didn't  even 
believe in marriage!  Rather they adopted in young men from 
other Essene groups who married only to beget children.  By 
contrast, in Mormonism, marriage is absolutely essential to 
each member's salvation in the Celestial Kingdom of God.
  Mr.  Erickson  claims that the Apocryphal books should be 
used as scripture.  However,  even the Mormon's own "latter 
day"  revelation disagrees with him.  In  the  introductory 
heading  of  Section 91 of the Doctrine and  Covenants,  it 
declares specifically that the apocryphal books are NOT  to 
be   accepted   as   scripture.    Beyond   that   built-in 
contradiction,  lies  the  fact that one need only to  read 
some  of  these apocrypha for himself to  quickly  discover 
their singular lack of in spiration.
  For example,  two "Gospels" portray the life of the young 
Jesus,  allegedly covering the "silent" years skipped  over 
in the Bible. The book, "The First Gospel of the Infancy of 
Jesus"  portrays  Jesus  as  a spoiled  despot  who  curses 
another child for bumping into him,  and a schoolmaster who 
was  going  to  discipline Him for  refusing  to  answer  a 
question.  After  these  two  people are killed  at  Jesus' 
command,  Joseph tells Mary,  "we will not allow him to  go 
out  of  the  house;  for every one who displeases  him  is 
killed."  In  Thomas'  "Gospel  of  the  Infancy  of  Jesus 
Christ",  we  see  Jesus causing the  withering  of  hands, 
blindness,  and again, death. This is clearly not the Jesus 
Christ of the Bible! 
  The  conclusion  is  inexcapable  -- the  claims  by  Mr. 
Erickson  (and consequently other Mormons) that the  Mormon 
doctrine is "exonerated" by the findings in the Middle East 
is  totally  without  foundation.  Mormon doctrine  is  not 
confirmed  by  these  different  religious  sects,   it  is 
contradicted by them!  It is apparent that these claims are 
just   another  chapter  in  the  long  history  of   false 
archeological boasts made by Mormons in the past.
                                          -- Melaine Layton
   A full and completely documented study of Mr. Erickson's 
scholarship regarding the above topics has been written  by 
Mrs.  Melaine Layton entitled: The Truth About the Dead Sea 
Scrolls  and  the  Nag  Hammadi Writings  in  Reference  to 
Mormonism.  For further information,  please write to  the
office of Computers For Christ - San Jose