Ed Decker

Infobox Person
name = John Edward Decker


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birth_date = 1935 (72)
birth_place = U.S.
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occupation = evangelist, writer
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parents =
children =

John Edward Decker (born 1935) is an American evangelist and writer.

A former member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (excommunicated), Decker later became a born-again Christian. [ [http://www.saintsalive.com/who.html http://www.saintsalive.com/who.html] ]

Faith

Decker converted to the LDS Church at the age of 20, and was ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is customary for adult LDS males. Decker was excommunicated from the LDS Church and divorced his wife. According to his wife's account, "it was a series of affairs Ed had that led to our divorce". Ed had 5 children with his wife, and according to Phillis' written history of the events, Ed's many affairs were scattered all throughout their relationship. The most damaging was with her best friend. It was so bad that he even "left the hospital after she had his baby to be with his girlfriend". According to his wife's legal Divorce Decree "...the defendant, John [Edward] Decker, Jr. not regarding his marriage vows and obligations, has, since his marriage to the plaintiff, in this manner has been guilty of extreme and repeated cruelty towards the plaintiff, in that he on many occasions had the company and companionship of other women."Many times his wife would consult with her LDS Church leaders about his affairs. In speaking with their leaders, "Ed would repent and apologize and claim he would never do it again", even though it continued. So his wife and the Church would forgive him.

Finally Ed left Phillis for good with their 5 kids (ages 4,5,7,9, and 11) and demanded a divorce settlement in his favor which she agreed to, otherwise he would "disappear and she would have to raise the children herself without ANY help from him". Later he, because of being better-equipped financially, was able to take her children and gain custody. In 1976, Ed was excommunicated from the LDS Church (of which his previous acts made him a candidate multiple times).

In describing his "conversion" to evangelical Christianity, Decker reports that a crisis in his life showed him the "Biblical Jesus" and changed his life forever [ [http://www.eddecker.com/who.html Saints Alive In Jesus & Ed Decker - Who Are We? ] ] . Shortly after, Decker founded Saints Alive in Jesus, a ministry that actively challenges the Latter-day Saint doctrine. Through the Saints Alive Ministry, Decker is active as a public speaker and evangelist. He also volunteers as a pastor at a large evangelical church in Kirkland, Washington.

Publications

Decker has authored and co-authored numerous books. One of his best-known books is "The God Makers", which was followed by "The God Makers II". [ [http://www.eddecker.com/bookshelf.html Saints Alive in Jesus - Ed Decker's bookshelf ] ] Decker released a new book in November 2007 titled "My Kingdom Come - The Mormon Quest for Godhood". Decker claims it to be his final book on the subject of Mormonism. In this book he dedicates an entire chapter to Mitt Romney and the Mormon beliefs about the future of the United States.

Some other titles by Decker include "Fast Facts on False Teachings", "Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism" and "Unmasking Mormonism". A fictional work by Decker is entitled "The Mormon Dilemma", which was added to Conversations With The Cults - the Harvest House series, entitled "What You Need to Know About Mormons".

Decker also speaks out against Freemasonry and has written "What You Need To Know About Masons" and "The Dark Side of Freemasonry".

He also created the documentary films, "The God Makers", "The Temple Of The God Makers", "The Mormon Dilemma" and "The God Makers II".

Decker's smaller projects include booklets which are distributed by his ministry: "And The Word Became Flesh", "To Moroni, With Love!" and "The Question of Freemasonry". The Saints Alive Ministry also has a bi- monthly newsletter publication as well as a regular email newsletter.

Criticism

Decker's work has attracted criticism not only from Latter-day Saints, [According to Michael Griffith, "Even as anti-Mormon books go, THE GODMAKERS is one of the worst, most inaccurate attacks on Mormonism ever written." cite web | author=Michael T. Griffith | title=Another Look at "The Godmakers" | work=ourworld.cs.com | url=http://ourworld.cs.com/mikegriffith1/id114.htm | accessdate = 2006-09-24.] but also from religious scholars of other faiths, [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", ', 27 (1), 154.] as well as other critics of the Mormon faith. [His writings were described by Carl Mosser in "Saints Alive in Jesus: Ed Decker - The Godmakers" as follows:

"Decker is infamous for the mistakes he makes describing Mormon doctrine, the sensationalist claims he has made about Mormon rituals and leaders, and the generally uncharitable attitude with which he conducts his ministry. Most Mormons are inoculated against anything with Decker's name on it. I think it is foolish to give Decker's materials to Mormons and unwise to give them to Christians to read. The Mormon will be repulsed and hardened, the Christian misinformed." cite web | title=Saints Alive in Jesus: Ed Decker - The Godmakers | work=ApologeticsIndex.org | url=http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s29.html | accessdate = 2006-06-01

] Decker's former associate, Dick Baer said that, "Ed has a penchant to sensationalize, embellish on facts and center on bizarre issues to try to shock people."(February 25 1993, Salt Lake Tribune). Jerald and Sandra Tanner and Bob Passantino have said that his writings grossly misrepresent Mormonism, and thereby dilute his message and offend Mormons without attracting them to evangelical Christianity. The Tanners, themselves prominent critics of the LDS Church, have noted what they contend are inaccuracies and errors in some of Decker's works. [Tanner, Jerald and Sandra (1993). "Problems in The Godmakers II". Salt Lake City, UT: UTLM.] When Decker was denounced by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, he went so far as to accuse them of being in the pay of the LDS Church and even of being "demonized" themselves. Decker and his associates offered to exorcise the Tanners' demons, and expressed great sadness when they refused. [Introvigne, Massimo (1994) "The Devil Makers: Contemporary Evangelical Fundamentalist Anti-Mormonism", ', 27 (1), 166-167.] Ed Decker has also co-written a book with Ron Carlson called 'Fast facts on false teachings' which deals with various 'false systems' of worship including Roman Catholicism, Mormonism and the Word of Faith movement. It contains no footnotes or bibliography with no way of knowing where their information was sourced. It claims that in Latin America, the Catholic Church has Mary rather than Christ on the cross (p227) which is in fact Santa Liberata, a martyr who was crucified.

Many individual members of the LDS Church whom are not related or associated with its highest leadership claim that Decker was excommunicated after years of adultery to his former wife Phillis Ray Decker Danielson, and a series of court counsels. [ [http://www.angelfire.com/ga/kevgram/Edswife.html Phillis Ray Decker Danielson ] ] [ [http://ldsinformationstore.com/Apologists%20Resources/The%20God%20Makers/Ed%20Decker.htm Ed Decker ] ] , however the proceedings from Church courts and excommunications are kept confidential. There is no document available from the LDS church. The only piece of evidence from The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints that exists about Ed Decker's excommunication states he was excommunicated for requesting to have his name removed as a member of the church. The letter states no other reason and addresses no other topic. Members of the LDS Church (but not its leadership) also claim that Decker has stated that it is acceptable to be dishonest about the LDS Church because of what he feels it stands for. [ [http://www.angelfire.com/ga/kevgram/Ed.html Who is Ed Decker? ] ] Public court records from Ed Decker's first marriage state his first wife divorced him on ground of multiple adultery and mental and emotional cruelty. This is in the public divorce records of the Court along with the affidavits. The divorce was granted on those grounds. [Brown, R. L. & Brown, R. (1982) They Lie In Wait To Deceive volume 4. Mesa, Ariz. : Brownsworth Pub] [ [http://www.geocities.com/saintsaliveinjesus/decker.html Ed Decker: Man of God or godless con-man? (Darrick Evenson) ] ]

ee also

*Mormon apologetics
*The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
*Mormonism
*Controversies regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
*Criticism of Mormonism
*Anti-Mormon
*Ex-Mormon

References

External links

*http://www.lightplanet.com/response/decker.htm - Historical Notes
*http://www.angelfire.com/ga/kevgram/Ed.html - Historical Notes
*http://www.angelfire.com/ga/kevgram/Edswife.html - Decker's relationship with Former Wife
* [http://www.sethpayne.com/pdf/revelation.pdf A Response to Ed Decker's Criticism of the LDS Concept of "Additional Scripture"]
* [http://www.stevenrinehart.com/uploads/EdDeckerInterview2.mp3 Radio interview with Decker in which he acknowledges falsehoods in the God Makers II and that Mitt Romney would be a fine President]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/ut2/eddecker/exposed.html Ed Decker: Man of God or godless con-man? A Shocking Exposé of Ed Decker and his closest associates in the "Jesus" Business]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/ga/kevgram/Edswife.html Ed Decker's History prior to leaving the LDS Church (by his wife)]
* [http://www.aros.net/~wenglund/excomm.htm About Ed Deckers Excommunication]
* [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai190.html FAIR] - Mormon Apologetic site index for topics relating to Ed Decker
* [http://www.mazeministry.com The ministry of James Spencer]
* [http://www.ericbarger.com Eric Barger’s Take a Stand Ministries]
* [http://www.lifeafter.org Michelle Grim's Life After Ministries]
* [http://www.waltermartin.org Walter Martin’s Religious InfoNet]
* [http://www.aros.net/~wenglund/tan.htm The Tanners are Critical of Ed Decker's Work]
* [http://www.lds.org The plain truth about Mormons]
* [http://ourworld.cs.com/mikegriffith1/id114.htm A critical review of The Godmakers]
* [http://c.faculty.umkc.edu/cowande/ccp/decker.htm Profile of Ed Decker]
* [http://www.saintsalive.com/ Saints Alive Ministry] - Decker's ministry
* [http://www.mormonagenda.com/ Decker's newest site] - Promoting his latest book "My Kingdom Come". Also discusses Mitt Romney here.