I was teaching a class in a small Bible School. This school is in a small country in Africa where Christianity is a minority religion.
A couple of students brought up interesting questions that I did not realize were related. One of the questions was about doing missionary work in reaching out to Mormons (or the “LDS”). In my view, Mormons are sincere people as a whole who take their faith seriously, but their religion has little doctrinal commonality with historical Christianity. As such, conversation between a historical (Nicene) Christian to a Mormon I hold to be interreligious dialogue. One can certainly interact with Mormons seeking to lead them to change their faith. I did note that it is important to take the time to understand their faith. One challenge is that Mormons use a lot of the same theological language as historical Christians, but commonly use very different definitions for those terms. Therefore, some familiarity is definitely needed. They also have other Scriptures (Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants) as well as a view of progressive revelation. It is worthwhile to familiarize oneself with these— certainly more valuable than learning from the “debate bros” who often take on a stereotyped view of Mormon teachings, and a combative stance for interaction.
The second question that came up was, Can Christians use other religious writings than the Bible? The Apocrypha was specifically noted. I have no problem with the use of the Apocrypha, or the writings of the early church fathers. I don’t have problem with using modern Christian writings. They can often be helpful. However, as we were talking, it was revealed that The Book of Mormon was part of these “other religious Scriptures” being discussed.
That was where I had to back up a little bit to make a distinction. Some books are meant to support the Holy Bible and some were meant to supplant or subvert. The Book of Mormon was first published in 1830 based on what Joseph Smith claimed was revelation from God via an angelic messenger. While often marketed as “another testament” of Jesus Christ, in practice, where there is a conflict between Mormon Scripture and the Holy Bible, the latter is deemed as corrupted by adherents to that faith. Thus, in practice, trust is meant to be shifted from the Holy Bible to other Mormon Scriptures. The same sort of thing happens with Islam where Al Qur’an is seen as being direct revelation from Allah while the Holy Bible is corrupted; and so disagreements are supposed to be resolved by rejection the Bible in favor of the Qur’an.
On the other hand, consider the Apocrypha… the Books of the Maccabees, Tobit, Sirach, and so forth. Some traditions in Christianity see them as being authoritative— Biblical canon. I do not. But even those that do, they do not see those works as subverting the Holy Bible, or replacing it, or undermining it. And those that don’t see any books of the Apocrypha as canon would normally see these books as… helpful. They support the Holy Bible. The same can be said of the writings of the early Church Fathers. They see their writings as supporting the Holy Bible, not replacing it or undermining it.
For me, the Holy Bible is canon. It, along with Jesus, are the two primary forms of special revelation from God. Other writings are human constructs. That does not necessarily make them bad, but certainly in terms of religious instruction, the Bible is the standard by which they are judged. If they teach in contradiction to the Bible, those works, not the Bible are to be considered faulty. And if they make claims to be superior or replacing the Bible in terms of authority, they must be judged faulty.
Does that mean that, as a Christian, one should ignore those other works? No. I have read the Book of Mormon. I have tried to read Doctrine and Covenants. To me, their power is in their mystery. They claim to be Scripture, but it is not known by Christians. As such, it has a bit of an allure. I feel it is pretty safe to say, from my experience at least, if you try to read either of those, the allure will be gone fast. I haven’t read Pearl of Great Price, but someday I should. I have read bits and pieces of the Qur’an. As a Christian, it is good to know the works of other faiths. I should read more. I used to have a copy of the Bhavad Gita. Sadly, I started reading it and stopped. Again, Christians should, I believe, read those books. But they should be understood through the lens of the Holy Bible being canon.
For those of other religions who place much greater value of writings that I, as a (Nicene Trinitarian if one must be technical) Christian, do not— I am not seeking to disrespect. I am simply noting that as a Christian, one must ground one’s faith on a different foundation than that used by other faiths. Hebrews 11:1-3 speaks of our foundation:
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Our foundation is Jesus Christ, and the testimony of the prophets who prepared the way for him, and those that witness of him. That is why we place our confidence in the Holy Bible and not in competing scriptures.
