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A Reminiscence on a Missionary Christmas

December 25, 2018 /

(Originally posted here.)

When the mission president announced to our small group of greenies that I was going to Strasbourg, I shrugged the resigned shrug of a missionary who knew nothing about anywhere but was willing to go anywhere. One of the sisters expressed jealousy; Strasbourg, she said, was one of the best cities in the mission. She was right, and it would not be a good thing.

Strasbourg is and was beautiful pre-Christmas. Several weeks passed before I fully acclimatized to the major time difference from the MTC, and the schedule of missionary life, but I loved Strasbourg almost instantly. Continue reading

Malachi, by Duccio di Buoninsegna. (Public domain, via wikimedia.)

Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 48: Zechariah, Malachi

December 23, 2018 /
Malachi, by Duccio di Buoninsegna. (Public domain, via wikimedia.)

Malachi, by Duccio di Buoninsegna. (Public domain, via wikimedia.)

Merry Christmas, all.  I hope it’s been a productive year working through the Hebrew Bible, which was the only scripture for the first Christians. With the shift in Sunday meeting organization next year, I have no plans to do anything differently. I’ll continue posting NT lessons and perhaps some other things, on a weekly basis.

Several of the aspects of Zechariah have already been treated, such as water flowing out from the temple and future prophecies in general. All I would add is this wisdom from Elder Maxwell. Continue reading

My updated bookshelf

New Testament Gospel Doctrine Resources (Post 2): The Bible, Text, and Translation

December 6, 2018 /

My updated bookshelf: Mission triple, quad, Jewish Study Bible, Reader’s Hebrew Bible, Reader’s Greek New Testament, Jewish Annotated New Testament, Hart’s New Testament.

(Link to Part 1, the Short List)

I want to emphasize that the absolute best and easiest thing you can do to increase the quality and frequency of your Bible study is to supplement your KJV with a different translation. Continue reading

Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 44: Ezekiel 43, 44, 47

November 24, 2018 /

First, in keeping with NT preparation, note that the Harper-Collins Bible Dictionary is on $1.99 kindle sale.

 

Just as the Book of Ezekiel opened with a cryptic vision (1:1 “the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God…, wheel within wheel”) so too does it close with one. The final eight chapters (40-48) constitute one long vision of a different sort than the first. Ezekiel is now fifty (the prescribed year of retirement for priests, according to Lev 4:3), and has spent half his life in Babylon, among a foreign language, culture, and religion. As a former priest, he is very familiar with temple and cosmological symbolism. He knows that the temple is a virtual mountain that one ascends to meet God, as mountains are the meeting place between heaven and earth, between mortal and immortal. Continue reading

“Absolutist” Revelation and Creation Accounts in Moses, Abraham, and the Temple

November 7, 2018 /

I presented a short paper at the Joseph Smith Papers conference a few weeks ago, a spin-off from my Genesis 1 manuscript. (I presented an expanded version at the 2019 FAIR Conference.)
My basic argument was this. Certain common conceptions of revelation, which I term “absolutist,” cannot account for the major textual, doctrinal, and other differences between Genesis, Moses, Abraham, and the temple; this suggests we need to think and teach about revelation differently and in more depth.  Continue reading

Some thoughts on scripture study for adults and youth

October 29, 2018 /

George Cattermole, “The Scribe” public domain.

 

A friend asked me about teaching youth about scripture study recently. I happened to have some notes I’d collected, so I wrote it up here. These are things I think LDS adults should know and model to the youth. I’ve grouped them under three logical, progressive headings. Now, I think the Church does a great job getting us to read scripture, and to apply scripture in spiritual and practical ways, but not always how to understand or interpret scripture very well. Continue reading

“You either believe the scriptures or you don’t”? Uh, no.

October 27, 2018 /

Ben contemplates his words, at Petra.

“You either believe the scriptures or you don’t.” I have, on occasion, been accused of wresting or disbelieving scripture. More often than not, this accusation has come from well-meaning people of my own faith who don’t understand how interpretation of scripture works. Often, they don’t even understand that interpretation exists.

It is impossible to read scripture without making an implicit claim as to what a passage means, which is “interpretation.” So everyone is interpreting, all the time, consciously or unconsciously. Continue reading

A Short Announcement and a Seattle Fireside on Reclaiming the Literal Interpretation of Genesis

October 22, 2018 /

First, I’ve had a lot of Facebook friend requests from readers. I’m taking a break from Facebook to focus on my preparation for my three qualifying exams in spring: American Religious History, Reformation History, and History of Science. However, I will continue posting things to the Benjamin the Scribe Facebook page. I suggest you both Like and Follow that page. (I put a link to it and my GoFundMe  at the end of every post, but apparently, not everyone makes it that far.)

Second and more exciting, Friday Nov. 2 at 7:30, I’ll be speaking at a home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. My topic, “Reclaiming the Literal Interpretation of Genesis: A Short History of How It Went Wrong,” expands on several of my previous papers, presentations, and podcasts (scroll down). Seating is limited, so you must RSVP to this email address. If there are seats remaining, you’ll receive the home address.

See you there.

Gustav Doré's Destruction of Leviathan

Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 39: Isaiah 50-53

October 18, 2018 /
the-destruction-of-leviathan

Gusave Doré’s The Destruction of Leviathan. Public Domain

One theme throughout these chapters is the redemption and recovery of Israel, specifically from Babylonian exile and previous scattering by the Assyrians. The lesson manual focuses on the messianic foreshadowing of Jesus as redeeming figure. Scholars refer to these as the “Suffering Servant” passages, and the text is well-known to many people through Handel’s Messiah. All of that, I think, will be quite familiar.

I want to focus on a few different passages, though, which invoke certain attributes of God’s power as they relate to creation, chaos, and also (in a roundabout way) redemption and atonement. These topics will appear in my book, as well.  Continue reading