From the beginning of human history Satan has cleverly tricked a people in all ages with the greatest lie ever told. Generation after generation he was successful in subtly changing the wrapper of this lie and constantly deceiving people with his seductive hiss “You will be like God”. Of course we all know that eating the forbidden fruit did not make man God, but throughout human history many individuals preached and proclaimed that they are God. There are many religious gurus, Yogis, witches and also some cultic leaders who crossed the line and claimed that they are God, and the weird truth is that millions of people believe them and follow them.
Notorious cult leader Rajneesh who lived in Pune, India once said “When you call Jesus, really you have called me. When you call me, really you have called Jesus”. Not only that he also took on the title ‘Bhagwan Shree’ (meaning “Sir God”), well he is not just God, but ‘Sir God’. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the man who made Transcendental meditation famous in his book “Science of being and art of living” wrote “The impersonal God is that Being which dwells in the heart of everyone. Each individual in his true nature is the impersonal God.” (p. 271). He also twisted the Bible when he said “Be still and know that you are God when you know that you are God, YOU WILL BEGIN TO LIVE GODHOOD…”
Generation after generation Satan was successful in subtly changing the wrapper of this lie and constantly deceiving people with his seductive hiss “You will be like God”.
Mormonism teaches that “The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like himself” (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 3, p. 93). Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith said “…we will have the privilege of becoming like him. To become like him we must have all the powers of godhood”. Mormon Apostle Dr. John Widtsoe writes “God and man are of the same race, differing only in their degree of advancement” (Gospel through the Ages, pg. 107). Jim Jones who was the primary cause of the death of many men, women and children in Jonestown once said “It is written that you are gods. I’m a god and you’re a god. And I’m a god, and I’m gonna stay a god until you recognize that you’re a god…But until I see all of you knowing who you are, I’m gonna be very much what I am – God, almighty God.”
It is definitely a great blunder when we humans claim or imagine that we are God
Sung Muyng Moon of the Moonies says “God and man are one. Man is incarnate God.” Kenneth Copeland in his sermon “The force of Love” says “Every Christian is a god. … “You don’t have a God in you; you are one.” It’s not just the non-Christian gurus and Yogis who are making this blunder of deifying man, but unfortunately some of the TV evangelists also make some statements that give the wrong impression that ‘maybe we are gods if not God with a capital ‘G’.
A twisted interpretation of Genesis one which says man was created in God’s own image and likeness has caused many to believe that ‘maybe we are identical to God’. In his book “Christianity in Crisis”, Hank Hanegraaff writes a chapter entitled “The deification of man” in which he mentions some of the quotes given above. Hank writes “The Hebrew word for likeness simply means similarity or resemblance, not identity. The assertion that we are exact duplicates of God is not only deceptive, but it destroys all distinction between the Creator and His creation…Far from being a reproduction of God, humanity is more correctly portrayed as a reflection of God. That humans are created in God’s image simply mean that they share, in a finite and imperfect way, the communicable attributes of God like personality, spirituality, morality, rationality…etc.”
Everybody loves power. It may not be a terrible mistake if some little kid dreams of becoming a Superman, Spiderman, Batman or He-man, but it is definitely a great blunder when we humans claim or imagine that we are God. As humans we are honored to be created in God’s own image, we can personally relate to the almighty God and reflect some of his characteristics. But that is where our similarities end. We are finite while God is infinite, we are creatures of time while God is eternal, we are sinful while God is holy, and we are creatures while God is the creator. Never mistake the distinction between the creator and the creation, we are not gods neither will we ever become gods. There is only one God who is eternally seated on His throne. Oh by the way God’s seat is not a vacant position for any of us to apply and fill, it’s taken for ever. A wise man once said “I only know two things for certain about God, there is a God and I am not He”.
“I only know two things for certain about God, there is a God and I am not He”.
– – Author: Rev. Francis Burgula – –
