         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 inspiration.
     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 inescapable -- 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.

NOTE: 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.


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