By Aaron Shafovaloff
September 13, 2024

Steve Pynakker is a popular YouTuber from Florida who does interviews with Mormons. He often presents as an evangelical (without qualification) in interfaith dialog with interlocutors of the Latter-day Saint movement. In light of his own words, I submit that Steve is not favorable to nor a faithful representative of evangelicalism.

“The evidence leans towards there not being a god.”

“There is very little about atheism that I actually disagree with. I call myself a pro-atheist evangelical… If we had to weigh all the evidence, we would have to say — just the physicality, the material of the universe, and everything that we know and see — we would have to say that the evidence leans towards there not being a god.” (February 23, 2024)

Creation is “really not that very well designed.”

“I don’t find Intelligent Design to be very compelling… The more complex something is, the less likely that it was created by a Creator… When we look at human biology, it’s a mess in here. It’s not very well designed. If we look at the creation, it’s really not that very well designed.” (February 23, 2024)

2023: “Half of [the churches I attend] are restorationist churches.”

“I’m kind of just doing my own thing. I don’t belong to a church. I do just attend different church services here and there. Half of them are restorationist churches…” (March 2, 2024)

2024: An LGBTQ-affirming church “checked all the boxes what I was looking for.”

“I go to the Harvest Church in Sarasota, Florida. And they’re an evangelical church. And apparently six months ago this church decided — this fairly large evangelical church, well established in the community — decided to become LGBTQ-affirming. But this church kind of checked all the boxes what I was looking for.” (November 27, 2023)

“The evangelical church has to die…”

After his pastor, Dan Minor, describes his journey to becoming LGBTQ-affirming (e.g. “I don’t believe the LGBTQ people are lost“), Steve says,

“This list, this vision I had. if you will, of this church and what it believes and what it stands for — I was, in my mind — thought that I’d have to build that church. But I found out that there that church has already existed. So a lot of what Dan said today resonates with me. The conversations we’ve had — we’ve had a few conversations with each other — I feel like this is kind of the evangelical church that I would like to see.

“You know, what you had mentioned about how the church needs to — like, basically — the evangelical church needs to die. And I tell people — even John Dehlin went to me — so the evangelical church — because I said, you know, the evangelical church is dying. You don’t realize it is dying. But our faith tradition has one key thing — important thing — to it. Is that we also believe in resurrection. So the evangelical church in America has to die in order for it to be resurrected to be actually be, to actually have a prophetic voice.” (February 27, 2024)

A commenter on this video writes, which Steve “hearted”:

“My biggest critics are evangelical apologists.”

“My biggest critics — this is what’s so funny — my biggest critics are evangelical apologists who are going after me. They’ve kind of quieted down because I think they realize that if they mess with me, they’re it may not turn out well for them. Many of them are cowards and bullies. And I have probably spent more time calling out evangelical apologists than anybody.” (February 16, 2024)

“There are followers of Christ in every single religion.”

“There are followers of Christ in every single religion. In my mind, I feel like… there are Christian Mormons. There are Christian Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are Christian Catholics. There are Christian Muslims… and there might even be a few Christian evangelicals… If anybody goes to me and says, ‘I am a Christian’, I’m going to take them at their face value. Okay, you’re a Christian. I don’t care what you are—Orthodox Christian, Jehovah’s Witness—whatever. You you claim to be a Christian. Now, let me just see the fruits.” (March 28, 2024)

Agreeing with John Dehlin’s Pluralism

John Dehlin, a secular non-Christian, claims on Steve’s channel that people should be encouraged to believe in Christianity if it benefits them, even if it is not true:

“Whether or not that’s true, people need those types of feelings, whether in parental or familial form. And if that’s not there I’m glad there’s a theological form of providing that to people. Because people need it. And that’s not in a condescending way, like “this is all fairy tale make-believe, and if it gets you through the day, then fine, believe a fairy tale.” That’s not what I’m saying.

“What I’m saying is, if religion, if Christianity, if a belief in Jesus provides that, I’m glad people have that. I want people to have that. I want people to live their fullest, truest, healthiest, happiest life. Those are core needs.

“For me, the beauty and the power of Christianity is that it provides that for billions of people, and I’m glad because if they don’t have that and they can’t find something else, then things don’t look good for a lot of people. To just feel like, “I’m worthless. Why am I here? Nobody loves me. Nobody cares. There’s no one to help me”—that’s not good.

“That’s why I never have called myself an atheist or an agnostic. I’m not here to take away whatever gets someone through the day, and if it gets them through the day and, as a bonus, makes them a good, positive, healthy, serving person, do it. Believe it. Follow it. It’s good. You know what I’m saying? It’s good.”

Steve responds,

“And I agree with you.” (March 10, 2023)

“You can embrace this document.”

“We’re going on 200 years of Evangelical persecution of the Restoration… I like to tell it to those evangelicals who are in my audience — I’d like to tell them that the most — one of the most Christian books ever written on American soil was the Book of Mormon. And I talked about this last time in the last rally — is that it is a thoroughly Christian document. That as a Protestant charismatic Spirit-filled Christian, you can embrace this document.” (June 9, 2023)

“I would feel bad if somebody left the LDS Church because of my channel.”

“I would feel bad if somebody left the LDS Church because of my channel. That’s where I’m at. Because I’m really not trying to proselytize. All I’m trying to do is just talk about my personal faith and also having a personal relationship with Jesus… I don’t care what building you go to on Sunday morning.” (April 22, 2022)

“People who leave Mormonism become atheists… because of evangelicals.”

“I feel that that the main one of the main reasons people who leave Mormonism become atheists is because of evangelicals we need to own that that.” (February 7, 2023)

“Mormonism saved my life.”

“I am a product of the Book of Mormon and I’m a product of the Restoration. And… it’s had a major impact and influence on my life. I’d be a completely different person if it wasn’t for Joseph Smith and Mormonism. Mormonism saved my life. and so… I nobody can take that away from me.” (February 7, 2024)

“We all worship a different Jesus.”

LDS apologist David Snell asks Steve:

“We get a lot of pushback from other Christians saying, ‘Oh, you guys worship a different Jesus.’ What’s your response to that? Would you agree or would you kind of roll your eyes?”

Steve then gives a number arguments for why Christians should not say that Mormons worship a different Jesus.

“I always tell people we all worship a different Jesus. Because everybody has a different relationship with Jesus. He plays a different role in all of our lives. No two Jesus are exactly the same because we all have kind of a different walk, right? Because he’s with us where we’re at; he fulfills the role that we need from him.” (March 21, 2023)

Concluding remarks

Unity in one Jesus vs. religious pluralism

Christians do not each have their own different Jesus. Precisely because Christians have the same Jesus, we are called to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3). Paul explains:

“There is one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

This common Lord that Christians worship is the ground of the (c)atholic (i.e. universal) faith. This is why Christians can say with the Nicene Creed:

“We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.” (Nicene Creed)

This creed which Mormonism says is “abominable” is instead a balm of unity for Christians. It reminds Christians of our common confession and our common Christ. Whereas Mormonism says we can’t have the gift of the Holy Ghost apart from belonging to LDS Church, Christians are instead comforted with the indwelling gift of the same Spirit. The Trinity that Joseph Smith said is a “monster” is instead for Christians an adorable mystery, and the source of all our joy and common fellowship.

Mormonism has divorced itself from Christianity, its creeds, and the Trinity. Gordon B. Hinckley was once asked about those outside the LDS Church who say Mormons “do not believe in the traditional Christ.” He answered: “No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak.” I couldn’t agree more.

Genuine interfaith dialog vs. pluralistic confusion

Fascination with the Mormon community has a limited place. But it is inappropriate apart from an explicit desire to see Mormons repent of Mormonism. Christians pray for Mormons to be saved out of Mormonism, and to be rescued into a relationship with the Biblical Jesus.

Gentle video interviews with Mormons also have their place. But the way we guide the conversation and our choice of questions should make it obvious that our ultimate agenda is contrastive and evangelistic, not ecumenical (2 Corinthians 4:1-2).

Religious pluralism finds a more common home in progressive LGBTQ-affirming churches like Harvest Church of Sarasota, Florida (Steve’s church). But such pluralism is off the table for Christians. We serve one Lord Jesus. “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

See also

• An Appeal for Authentic Evangelical-Mormon Dialogue, by Ronald V. Huggins
• Is Steven Pynakker Legitimately an Evangelical Christian?, by Fred W. Anson
• “I am a Gay Evangelical… This Sunday my deconstructed evangelical pastor interviewed me.” (Steve’s April 9, 2024 post on reddit.com/r/Exvangelical)