John Edward Decker
Ed Decker
Born1935 (age 88–89)
United States
EducationUtah State University
Occupation(s)evangelist, writer
Known forChristian apologist; author

John Edward "Ed" Decker (born 1935) is an American counterculture apologist, and evangelist known for his expert studies, books, and public presentations, of the negative aspects of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS religion) and Freemasonry. He is a former member of the LDS Church, and prominent early member of a Christian group for ex-Mormons called Saints Alive in Jesus. His most well-known book is The God Makers: A Shocking Expose of What the Mormon Church Really Believes, co-authored by Dave Hunt.

Biography

Decker was born to a Jewish mother and Dutch father of the Reformed Christian faith (Calvinist) but raised an Episcopalian. While attending Utah State University, he married a Latter-day Saint student named Phyllis and converted to Mormonism. They later married in the Presbyterian Church on June 10, 1956.

They were divorced in 1969. Decker married again and has been married for 50 years, and has 8 children, 10 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. He is currently a pastor in Palm Desert, CA.

Writings on Mormonism

Decker has authored and coauthored, books addressing the inner workings and negative aspects of the LDS religion. His book, The God Makers, was followed by The God Makers II.[1] He released a book in November 2007, titled My Kingdom Come: The Mormon Quest for Godhood.

Additional books written in this genre, include Fast Facts on False Teachings, Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism, and Unmasking Mormonism. A fictional work by Decker, entitled The Mormon Dilemma was added to Conversations With The Cults—The Harvest House series, entitled What You Need to Know About Mormons.

He participated in the documentary films The God Makers, The Temple of the God Makers, The Mormon Dilemma, and The God Makers II. His smaller projects include the booklets "And The Word Became Flesh", "To Moroni, With Love!", and "Understanding Islam", which are distributed by his nonprofit organization.

Criticism

Decker's work has attracted criticism not only from Latter-day Saints,[2] but from others outside the faith.[3] Jerald and Sandra Tanner, two prominent critics of the LDS Church, and Robert Passantino have said that Decker's writings grossly misrepresent Mormonism, and thereby dilute his message and offend Mormons without attracting them to evangelical Christianity. The Tanners have noted what they contend are inaccuracies and errors in some of Decker's works.[4]

One of Decker's associates offered to exorcise the Tanners' demons, and expressed great sadness when they refused.[5]

Works

Books
  • The God Makers: A Shocking Expose of What the Mormon Church Really Believes, avec Dave Hunt, Harvest House Publishers, 1997, ISBN 978-1-56507-717-1
  • The God Makers II
  • My Kingdom Come – The Mormon Quest for Godhood, 2007
  • Fast Facts on False Teachings
  • Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism
  • Unmasking Mormonism
  • The Mormon Dilemma
  • What You Need to Know About Mormons
  • What You Need To Know About Masons
  • The Dark Side of Freemasonry, Huntington House Publishers, 1994.
  • Hotel Hope Kindle
  • Crescent Moon Rising: The Islamic Invasion of America
Movies
  • The God Makers
  • The Temple Of The God Makers
  • The Mormon Dilemma
  • The God Makers II
Leaflets
  • And The Word Became Flesh
  • To Moroni, With Love!
  • The Question of Freemasonry

See also

References

  1. ↑ Archived February 2, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ According to Michael Griffith, "Even as anti-Mormon books go, The God Makers is one of the worst, most inaccurate attacks on Mormonism ever written."Michael T. Griffith. "Another Look at The Godmakers". ourworld.cs.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2006. Retrieved September 24, 2006.
  3. ↑ Says Massimo Introvigne, "the second book and film are worse than the first: they include an explicit call to hatred and intolerance that has been denounced as such by a number of Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish organizations." Introvigne, Massimo (1994) "The Devil Makers: Contemporary Evangelical Fundamentalist Anti-Mormonism", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 27 (1), 154.
  4. ↑ Tanner, Jerald and Sandra (1993). Problems in The Godmakers II. Salt Lake City, Utah: UTLM.
  5. ↑ Introvigne, Massimo (1994) "The Devil Makers: Contemporary Evangelical Fundamentalist Anti-Mormonism", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 27 (1), 166–67.
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