It’s been quite a semester. Continue reading
Author: benspackman
“Acting as a Man” and Other Less-than-Useful Frameworks for Talking About Prophets
I tend not to use the words “fallible” or “speaking as a man” or “prophets aren’t perfect” when talking about the nature of prophethood.
April 19 Lecture, Henry Eyring Sr. vs. Melvin Cook: Chemistry, Creationism, and Competition for the Authority of Science at the University of Utah
On April 19th at 7pm, I’ll deliver a lecture, “Henry Eyring Sr. vs. Melvin Cook: Chemistry, Creationism, and Competition for the Authority of Science at the University of Utah.”
“But I Have Better Grounds”: Joseph Fielding Smith and Creationist Claims to Scientific Authority (video and notes)
I’ve linked below to the video of my recent talk at the University of Utah, and further reading for those interested.
Tales from the Archive: Edwin S. Hinckley and the Cross
I’ve been devoting the vast majority of my time to the dissertation, and haven’t posted much. But here’s a fun little tidbit.
Oftentimes in the archive, something grabs your attention. And as you acquire more and more of these things that have grabbed, you start making connections between them.
Edwin S. Hinckley was a BYU science professor at the turn of the 19th century, back when BYU was very small. He was also the favorite uncle of a young boy named Gordon B. Hinckley.
Come Follow Me: Genealogies in Matthew and Luke
Arvo Pärt’s magnificent Magnificat, one of many songs based on the Latin translation of Mary’s “my soul doth magnify (magnificat) the Lord” in Luke 1:46ff. (Here’s a small ensemble version)
Genealogies
Both Matthew and Luke give us genealogies, and read through modern eyes, we’re inclined to skip over them, or misunderstand them; the one thing they are NOT telling us is the one thing we assume they are telling us: genetic genealogical descent. And this is one reason why we get confused as to why Luke and Matthew’s genealogies differ. Continue reading
Studying the New Testament: Cross-cultural Contexts
As we begin our year in the New Testament, we naturally start with the Gospels… which is a problem, funny enough. Continue reading
Studying the Bible: On Strong’s Concordance and Biblical Languages
Let’s talk about languages, particularly, Biblical languages: Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. These are very different from English. Greek has five grammatical cases, for example, and Biblical Hebrew doesn’t have tenses, strictly speaking.1Modern Hebrew has reworked its verbal system on the basis of European languages so that it does have tenses. Many people are interested in looking at the underlying languages of the translation they’re reading. Frankly, to paraphrase King Benjamin,
I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit linguistic sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.
Even people with a semester or two can make serious errors.
So… what about Strong’s Concordance?
Studying the New Testament: Top 5 Books
This is the first of several posts talking about studying the NT and resources to do so.
It’s that time of year when sales happen, Christmas money appears in your stocking, and January is coming and bringing changes. We’ll study the New Testament again, and I suspect this will be an interesting year for many; Church-oriented Gospel Doctrine experience now happens half as often, and most of our study and learning will take place at home, by ourselves or with family (as it should be.) Continue reading
Covenants and Kinship: Jesus as the Father?
I chat with a lot of missionaries, and have heard this question repeatedly recently. I also heard a lesson from a recent RM who expressed puzzlement as a sidebar to his lesson. So, let’s talk about Jesus-as-the-Father.
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