I caught the last few minutes of your show Saturday. I am an avid listener of Glenn Beck. I believe he is saved. So either he is 1) a deceiver and I am being deceived; or he is 2) a believer; or he is 3) a Morman (non believer) that is very careful in his God talk.

I believe he is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. I think most of the people that attack him don't really listen to his program - they are going on the hearsay of other people who have jumped to conclusions and who also don't watch his program.

My biggest problem with Glenn Beck has nothing to do with Glenn - its my response. Glenn is teaching the history of our country and the faith, hope, and charity/love associated with our founding fathers. He is revealing the underhanded often socialistic shenanigans of our government. Am I to work to thwart these socialistic leanings or am I to concentrate totally on sharing the gospel believing that God is sovereign (he is!) and is possibly using Mr. Obama's socialistic agenda as a tool to bring the U.S. to its demise so that our Great God can usher in the end of the age where the U.S. doesn't have a dominant role.

To answer my own question, Yes, I am to share the gospel!

I am drawn to Glenn's message and am often prompted to get involved in uncovering the unbelievable deception of the world. My dilemma is knowing whether I should get involved in the cause to do all I can to stop the progressive agenda and prevent Mr. Obama from another term or stand back and do nothing believing all that is happening is God's will and that it is not my job to get in the way of God.

I've was listening to Glenn Beck before Glenn Beck wasn't cool. Why is this a topic? How many people who say Glenn Beck is dangerous, turn around and watch NBC News, The View or Oprah? If Christians can't read past the influence, then they shouldn't be watching or listening to anything. We need to know what is in the Bible ourselves and act accordingly. Glenn Beck is a dangerous man. He is a danger to liberalism and corrupt politicians of both parties. He is a dangerous man to Keith Oberman, Chris Matthews and Katy Couric. He is a dangerous man to the NY Times, Washington Post and every other non-profit American Pravda newspaper. He is no more a danger to Christians than any other outside influence in any media. When he starts 'promoting' Mormonism and selling it like Bill's Khaki's and Goldline, then it might be time to rethink this matter.

The definition of liberalism: a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race ["You know, we all have our inner demons. I, for one – I can't speak for you, but I'm on the verge of moral collapse at any time. It can happen by the end of the show." –"The Glenn Beck Program," Nov. 6, 2006], and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties; specifically: such a philosophy that considers government as a crucial instrument for amelioration of social inequities (as those involving race, gender, or class) ["The only {Katrina victims} we're seeing on television are the scumbags." –"The Glenn Beck Program"]. It’s obvious Glenn Beck hates liberalism and is not a liberal. liberal - broad: showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; a broad political stance; generous and broad sympathies; tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition. No one will ever accuse Glenn Beck or any of his followers of any of THOSE things.

Liberalism is also a theory in economics that emphasizes individual freedom from restraint and is usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market, and the gold standard. It was President Richard Nixon who unilaterally ordered the cancellation of the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold in 1971. So by definition Glenn Beck is a liberal when it comes to economics because he certainly supports those concepts. Ironically Beck’s biggest advertiser is a company that sells gold. Beck claims he invests in gold himself and advises his listeners to do the same. Like most of his advice and ideas a little knowledge is all it takes to see how wrong Beck really is. A dollar invested in gold in 1802 was worth a whopping $1.62 by 2005. A dollar invested in stocks would be worth more than $666,000 today and even in treasury bills during that period $293. Historically gold is just about the worst investment there is. I’m not sure how dangerous Glenn Beck is or isn’t as a Mormon but it might be dangerous to take his financial advice.

I highly disagree that Mormonism is not Christian. The official name of the Mormon Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith explained that Jesus Christ is the central figure in the doctrine of the Mormon Church: "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it" (TPJS, p. 121). Latter-day Saints believe that complete salvation is possible only through the life, death, resurrection, doctrines, and ordinances of Jesus Christ and in no other way. Many Christians will claim that in addition to Mormons, Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and often any sect but the one they happen to belong to are not Christians also. That is until they get in a debate over how popular Christianity is. Then all of a sudden all those sects are deceptively included to arrive at a number that’s greater than the number of Muslims in the world.

Mormonism is simply a purely Americanized version of Christianity much like its American cousin biblical creationism which arose in the United States several decades after Mormonism did. Creationists who want to rewrite history and change the way science is taught and done in the United States are a lot more dangerous than any Mormon spokesmen.

Finally it should be noted that Glenn Beck was raised as a Catholic and converted to Mormonism as a requirement to marry his second wife. Often when people are pressured by family circumstance to change their opinion about an important issue their recantation is likely to be genuine so that they can look at themselves in the mirror. Still, it’s not the same as being raised as a Mormon from birth.

Glenn Beck is a flash in the pan. At best, he'll be remembered as a reactionary curiosity.

I see Glenn Beck as a teacher....and he has done a magnificent job. I thought I knew a lot about our founding fathers and what they stood for, but he has been able to bring things to light that I knew nothing about. I applaud him for the fight he is waging against our country's horific policies and for teaching why we should be against it. Let's just listen and learn and not be concerned about him being dangerous because he's a Mormon. Don't we have enough problems with what is going on in America?

I would like to state the intension of this response is to bring freedom & revelation to all who read it. It is my hope that each person reading this will pray & ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to them. I am a follower of Christ and love Jesus with all my heart. I was brought up in the Baptist Church but over the past 10 years God has being doing a work in me. He has been removing all the religious mindsets (doctrines & traditions of men). My prayer is – Father if there is anything in me that is not from you –please expose it and get rid of it because I want to have a clean heart before you. I hope this is your prayer too.
I believe the missing ingredient for most of us as Christians is LOVE. Most of us have lots of knowledge, training, etc. but the real question is – Is it really benefiting us or others? Jesus gave us 2 Commandments— Love God & love others (as you love yourself). He said all other commandments hang on these two. Paul says in 1 Cor.13 that you can do all these things such as speak in tongues, have the gift of prophesy, have all knowledge, have supernatural faith, sell & give away everything you own to the poor but if you do not LOVE it will profit you NOTHING. He goes on to describe what love is & what it isn't ---a few things that stand out the most to me is --Love does not seek its own ---It does not brag and is not arrogant, it is patient, etc. Jesus said to Simon Peter after he denied him --Do you love me? He asks this 3 times & each time he says Yes Lord I love you & each time Jesus says -Tend my sheep. Translation: If you love me --you will love & take care of my people. Love covers a multitude of sin. Love will change people’s lives...criticizing & judging them only pushes them further from God. Love can be messy. Love requires we humble ourselves and lay down pride. love means we forgive people who don't deserve it. Love means we become the servant instead of demanding to being served. Love means we have to GROW UP & become mature Christians...not stay a baby. Love means we care more about helping others than being right. Love does not get offended by those we think are less spiritual or does not get offended by those who do not believe exactly the same as we do.

Here is what I see: Christians spending too much time tearing each other down instead of proclaiming Jesus & releasing His Kingdom. The enemy has distracted us and gotten us off course. This ends up making us look bad & does damage to God’s Kingdom instead of furthering it.
Worrying about whether Glenn Beck & his faith are destroying America is not the best use of our time. Nor is debating whether woman should be allowed to preach. These things create division and are not glorifying HIM. Why are we insecure about Glenn Beck or women?? Glenn is one of the FEW people with the guts to talk on National TV about his faith in God & Jesus, the principles of our founding fathers (with Barton on his show), etc. I have never once heard him promote being a Mormon. He has only promoted God. I don’t think he cares so much about his church as he does promoting God. Why haven’t other Christians of different denominations on TV spoken out? Could it be fear of man? God tells us to fear Him and NOT men. The Bible says God is looking to & fro looking for someone to use. Do you think maybe God might have wanted to use someone else but no one else was available & Glenn was? Glenn may not be perfect, but as Jesus said-- He who is without sin –cast the first stone. God prophesied out of an ass in the Old Testament so He is really not all that picky about who He uses. In fact, everyone He used in the Bible had major flaws & issues. The one thing God responds to is our faith and our belief in HIM. The Bible says it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God without it. We as humans look at the outward appearance & judge people & criticize them unless they are exactly like us. God is not that way. He looks at the HEART. Thank goodness.
I would also like to state that I do NOT agree with all of the doctrines of the Mormon Church but then again I don’t believe in all of the doctrines of other denominations either. Paul warns us about doctrines & traditions of men & sums it all up when he said –“It is Christ Crucified”. Period –we cannot add anything else to it. Those who call on the name of the LORD shall be saved. It is all about HIM. We have to humble ourselves to HIM and give our life to HIM. No denomination or person is perfect. Different denominations may not believe everything the exact way we do be that does not mean that they do not know Jesus or have a relationship with Him. It does not mean that they are NOT part of the body of Christ. I believe we are stepping into dangerous territory if we start to judge people & what is in their heart instead of edifying & talking about what they do that is right. We should pray for Glenn & for all those in the spotlight. It would be easy to go down the list of all denominations and find fault. We could tear each of them apart over something but what good does this do? Aren't we called to speak life & pray for each other? Are we not all part of the body of Christ with Christ being the head? One day I was praying & asked God about all the different denominations and which one was right. He showed me none of them were right but they were all different parts of the body and being used for different things. Please reference:
1 Corinthians 12: 12-26 For the body is not one member but many. He talks about the foot, hand, ear, eye—If the whole body were an eye where would the hearing be? But God has placed the members, each one of them in the body just as He desired. There should be no division in the church but that the members should have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer—if one member is honored all members rejoice in it. & then right after this 1 Cor.13 he talks about LOVE.
Newsflash: No one has it all right or figured out--we all see in part. Jesus was not threatened by people who disagreed with Him. Why do we let the enemy get us off course? Jesus spoke the harshest words to the Religious Leaders of the day...those who held people back from knowing Him. He talked about their outward display of righteousness but exposed the fact that their hearts were terrible inside.
With regards to women – What do you do with Deborah? (Judge over men in Israel) What about Mary (Jesus mother)?? God talked to her first not her father or Joseph. After resurrection Jesus showed up first to women not the men. He spoke to woman & well & she went & TOLD people/Shared with them about Jesus..lead many to him? How about the prophetess that helped in Paul’s ministry?? and the ones who followed Jesus ministry?? What about Esther was she out of line when she went to king & saved the Jewish people? Hannah - Eli was not walking with God....There is plenty of poor instruction within the church coming from men...wrong doctrine, motives, scandal, etc. Jesus broke down barriers within Jewish people with regards to women. You cannot take one or two scriptures out of context & use them to keep women out of ministry. Many religious people did the same thing to keep blacks as slaves by using specific scriptures. This is very dangerous. We are called to walk in love. When those men turned their chairs & would not listen to Ann Graham –they were NOT walking in love but PRIDE. This is an unteachable spirit. Pride is what got Lucifer cast out of heaven. My point is that we all have to be careful to not read too much into one or two scriptures –it can be twisted & taken out of context. We have to read the whole bible & see what God has done throughout the whole Bible. One thing God has shown me is to read the whole chapter & the one before it & after it to find out what is being said. Also to ask myself who is being addressed? The Jews, Christians, etc –this will make a huge difference & bring much revelation.

In Christ.

First of all...thanks for such a big investment in sharing your thoughts! I'm pressed for time, so my reply will be brief: Glenn Beck sounds Christian but isn't. He makes Mormonism attractive because he's attractive...and that's the rub! He "normalizes" a cult - and that's eternally dangerous. We are called to speak the Truth...in love! I didn't bash him...I cried out for his salvation...BUT - we MUST confront the lies of his religion. On women...I defer to Paul's teaching via the Holy Spirit. God uses women in amazing ways, to be sure...but they also have no place in leadership over men, according to Scripture.

I mean no disrespect either Steve, but I have some degrees I received from a pretty conservative private Christian college that say that I do in fact know what I’m talking about and actually HAVE done my homework on Mormonism. Do you? You know Christians like to tell me I just need to read the Bible too, and then get back to them. Then I point out all sorts of internal inconsistencies and insurmountable problems in the text of the Bible the Christian had no idea even existed. I can easily prove who has done their homework and who has not when it comes to the subject of religion. I’m the former and you people are the latter and as latter day and just as badly misinformed as the Latter Day Saints themselves.

As far as the weird beliefs about an afterlife, the Bible really never gives any indication that there even is an afterlife for humans and certainly doesn’t describe what such an existence after death would be like. Belief in an afterlife isn’t biblical anyway, so who cares what some Christian sect believes about it? I mean show me a Bible passage that guarantees believers a one-way ticket to an eternal magic happy land. Anyone who thinks they are going to live forever in some disembodied state is in deep denial of their own humanity and instead fancies them self as a god or god-man of some sort. And they haven’t read the Bible carefully either.

The Christian Trinity was formulated by councils of men, amid hot debate centuries after the canonization of the Bible. The doctrine of the trinity is defined in a variety of creeds and statements such as the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed. The doctrine of the trinity is an invention of the Church and can in no way be supported by anything in the text of the Bible. So again who cares what Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unitarians, the Pope or any other Christian thinks about the trinity? Mormons are Christian because they look to Christ for salvation and worship Him and the Father. They do not believe they are saved by their works, but through the grace of Christ alone. That’s what it takes to be defined as a Christian. What ever else they believe is beside the point. I’ve met a lot of Christians who swear their dead relatives, former residents of their houses, spirits from the local graveyard or whatever, are haunting them. Are they not Christians because they believe in ghosts? I mean for many Christians their religious beliefs are just the tip of iceberg when it comes to superstitions.

So unless you can show how someone who accepts Jesus as their only source of salvation and relies on the grace of God alone for it, is not a Christian, you have no case. Once you do that the concept of being Christian is meaningless. Ironically you creationists have the nerve to call yourselves Christian while denying that Mormons are. Your cult is much newer than theirs. I don’t see a bunch of lies and propaganda made up to mislead people and get them to disbelieve the facts of science coming from the Mormons. It certainly isn’t very Christian to spread lies and distortions about science, the history of our nation or anything else for that matter. Or is it?

Now for the anonymous posters who think Glenn Beck is some kind of teacher all I can say is ROFL! You need to learn the difference between a teacher and a lying Christian right wing propagandist.

Steve,
According to “scripture” the earth is flat, motionless, sits on a foundation supported by pillars and is orbited by the sun every day. Where is your scriptural evidence that supports a belief that the earth actually moves? There isn’t any and so Christians must misinterpret what the Bible says in order to believe it. So the Bible says women should not have authority over men. Is that in church or under any circumstances?

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/39452/

Steve, I respect you as a brother in Christ, and I hear your concerns. It's important that Christians keep their focus on Christ and not be misled into believing Mormonism is a Christian faith. I appreciate your bringing this out into the open. That said, I need to share a different perspective:

1. Contrary to pushing his Mormon faith, Glenn Beck appears to be promoting Christianity by continually giving ample air time for Christians like David Barton (www.wallbuilders.com) to share Christian tenets as related to civic duties. Barton has been on his program at least 3 times and if I'm not mistaken almost an entire program was devoted to giving Barton air time. Barton as you know is a very strong and outspoken Christian.

2. Beck allowed Barton to highlight the Black Regiment's role in the formation of our nation. That Black Regiment was comprised not of Mormons, but of Christians. Unfortunately, too many Christian pastors today leave it up to "para-church" ministries to do the job that our founding pastors felt was their own duty before God. If anything, Beck's standing for what is right is an indictment against many Christian pastors who could be doing more.

3. It could be we sell God short if we assume that God is not working to touch Beck's heart through these Christian associations. If indeed this is God's plan, then Christians focusing on Beck's Mormon faith, as opposed to the good he is trying to accomplish in working alongside Christians - could potentially hinder rather than help.

4. Not long ago Beck read from the Bible and quoted scriptures pleading for people to repent and turn from their sins. As a Christian, how can I fault Beck for doing this? The people I fault are the Christian pastors who, through lack of fulfilling their mandate, have left a gaping black hole that someone must fill. Like it or not, a Mormon happens to have been given some level of discernment in terms of what is happening in our nation and world, and God is evidently using him to speak out in the absence of Christians who are for the most part snoozing and misapplying Romans 13.

5. In another state I sat in on pro-life meetings with both Catholics and Protestants in attendance. I heard Christians pridefully stand before the entire group saying they would have nothing to do with witnessing in front of abortion clinics as long as the Catholics were present and praying to Mary. Nevermind the unborn babies being slaughtered day by day. In that particular state, Planned Parenthood capitalized on that division between Protestants and Catholics and successfully built an abortion clinic as a result. Do we want to give Progressives more opportunities to capitalize on our divisions? The many facets of the Left work together in spite of their differences which gives them strength. We Christians on the other hand all too often divide over non-essentials to what we're trying to accomplish. I thank the Lord that He is in charge or we'd never get much done at all.

6. There are far more Christian leaders out there doing damage to the spiritual lives of people, many of whom lead "Christian" cults. Far less has been written about these groups than has been written about the Mormon church. My point is that concerns over the Mormon church are more widely known, whereas many of these "Christian" movements are more deceptive in fleecing the flock. Rick Warren with his Purpose Driven Life "Christian lite fluff" has infiltrated even the most conservative Baptist churches, for example. It is "Christians" like Warren who pose the greatest danger to the spiritual lives of people as they work to bring in a New World system that sees Christ, not as the only way to God, but as one of many ways. People you and I know in local churches are consuming Warren's books like candy.

7. I recommend people check out Brannon Howse's website and daily radio program which gives spiritual insight and discernment into what is happening in our world today. Steve, I would love it if you connected with Howse. I think he would really appreciate the good work you're doing and be supportive in many ways. http://www.brannonhowse.com/radio.php

8. The last thing I will say is that pride comes before a fall. The Christian church as a whole is in need of repentance. We all need to be falling on our knees before God in deep humility and asking for His mercy. The blood of over 50 million unborn children lies at our feet in large part due to our collective apathy and self-righteousness, and America is now under judgment.

Thought I would post -as this kind of fits in to this post.

Ray AshmoreJune 2, 2010 at 10:03am
Subject: OVERHEARD: TWO PHARISEES TALKING
Greetings and salutations, most holy Nicodemus. What thinkest thou of this upstart from Galilee?”

"I don’t know what to think, Caiaphas. He certainly is powerful, but I don’t know what to make of his teachings. His doctrines don’t follow rabbinic law.

“Don’t follow?! Nicodemus, that’s an understatement. I think he’s downright heretical.”

Why do you say that?

“Just look at how he takes liberties with our laws. His interpretations are radically different from every acceptable theologian from centuries past until now.”

Perhaps, Caiaphas, it’s just that we don’t understand the points he’s trying to make.

“Understand Schmunderstand! Nicodemus, he’s teaching children! If they can understand him, we can. And we do! Look at what he’s said to us about working on the Sabbath. He not only violates our principles of biblical interpretation, he violates our clearly stated laws and teaches others to do likewise.”

But he keeps talking about a higher principle. He interprets our laws as if they are based upon love, not just given to restrain sin and turn away wrath. We say the law is the law. We have been trained to leave no room for empathy.

“That's right, Nick. We are ‘strict constuctionists.’ For us it’s the letter of the law, nothing less, nothing more.”

But this Jesus of Nazareth speaks about the spirit of the Law as well. Uh, by the way, I have a confession to make. I went to see him the other night.

“What?! You dare to contaminate yourself by associating with him?”

It was a moment of weakness, but he had some interesting things to say. He talked about the need to be “born again.” He said that the Spirit of God makes us new and enables us to walk according to the spirit of the Law, not just by the letter.

“Nicodemus, you ignoramus, have you been walking barefoot through your barn? That’s just babblings of someone who wants to erode the authority of our writings and destroy our moral order.”

How is he doing that, Caiaphas?

“He’s doing that by introducing a multitude of exceptions to our rules.”

But haven’t we introduced a plethora of rules and regulations that go beyond the Law of our father, Moses?

“Of course we have. After all, we’re just protecting God’s laws with, as it were, a hedge. If we can keep people from braking through an outer perimeter, then we can keep our treasure safe. It’s for their own good.”

Well, I guess you’re right, Caiaphas. But I’ve got to think more about this issue before I make a final judgment.

“I know I’m right. That heretic from Nazareth (what a scumbag town) has got to go. As popular as he is with the people, he’ll be elected High Priest if we don’t do something soon. Then the judgment of God will come down on all of us. Let’s call our caucus together and make plans. Can I borrow your cell phone?”

Not sure how you are putting this into the discussion. Please elaborate...I'd love to dialog with you on this.