Historian of Religion, Science, and Biblical Interpretation
The Ten Words, from the 1638 Amsterdam Esnoga synagogue. Public domain.
Insert here my usual gripe about how we’re trying to cover so much ground in so little time, but let’s talk about The Ten Commandments. It’s a common-knowledge topic, and everyone’s seen the film, so we all know everything about them, right? Continue reading
Joseph in Egypt, by Tissot. Public domain, via wikiart.
These chapters carry on the novella of Joseph in Egypt. It’s over 10 chapters, which is a lot of time and space to devote to one story about one person; creation occupies 3 chapters, by contrast. Why so much space? What makes this story so significant that it was told and retold, and eventually merited being written down? Is there anything of doctrinal value, from an LDS perspective? What, then, from the Israelite perspective?I don’t have a good concise answer for that, but it’s a good question to think about. Continue reading
Ben contemplates his words, at Petra.
Regardless of what you think about evolution, it poses a problem. In the past, the issue might have been framed as “since we know scripture is true, the science behind evolution must be false. How do we make sense of this?”
Today, the hypothetical teenager might wrestle with this question from the other side. “Since we know human evolution is true, and God knows all truth, why don’t God’s earthly proxies like scripture and prophets seem to know it?” Continue reading
I suspect this lesson will be somewhat charged and sensitive, given the variety of experiences and views among LDS. And be aware, due to the nature of the text, some of the discussion below could be traumatic to people who have been sexually assaulted. Note also that I do not consider what I write in these posts to be “how I would teach the lesson” as much as useful background, details, and resources; I don’t think I would use language this blunt in a class unless I was certain no one would be traumatized by it.
I expect many people will approach the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from one of three perspectives. Continue reading
Original mudbrick gate at Tel Dan, dating to the Patriarchal period
First, here’s a Spotify playlist of mine to put you in mind to read the Old Testament. It’s Middle Eastern, foreign, archaic, a little mystical and mysterious. It’s probably not anything like actual Israelite music, but it fits my preconceptions.
Second, let’s establish some basic facts. Continue reading
Reading: Moses 8:19-30; Genesis 6:5-22; 7:1-10
Since I first wrote this four years ago, it has been one of the most-popular, most-read posts, and one I refer people to often, because it was where I laid out my longest argument introducing people to the idea of genre in scripture. Continue reading
Since we’re going to be talking about this topic a lot, I thought I’d throw up a post with some resources and thoughts.
First, let’s get our vocabulary clear. The weekly shabbat or sabbath of Judaism meant a “ceasing” of certain activities and encouragement of others. This weekly sabbath was Saturdays. Continue reading
Text: Moses 5:16-41; 6:26-63; 7:13, 17-47, 68-69
Adam and Eve Mourn the Death of Abel. Bouguereau, The First Mourning, Public Domain, via wikipedia.
As always, time compels us to be selective in what we focus on. Today, it’s all about Cain.
First off, we need to understand that Cain has nothing to do with Canaan. That association is an accident of English transliteration and pronunciation. They sound similar in English, but in Hebrew Cain/qayin (accent on first syllable) has no relation at all with Canaan/kena’an (kuh-nah-ahn, accent on middle syllable.) If there’s any descent of Cain in the Bible, it’s… Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, who is a Kenite. Or rather, a Cain-ite, if we’re being more consistent. As the intro paragraph of the Anchor Bible Dictionary article on Kenites says, “The Kenites—or more correctly the Qenites—were a community or clan whose ancestry was traced to an eponym, biblical Cain (Heb qayin ). The Kenites constituted a non-Israelite group, frequenting the wilderness near Sinai…” The text thus portrays Moses marrying Jethro’s daughter Zipporah, a non-Israelite who is the namesake of Cain, if not a descendant.
If Cain has nothing to do with Canaan, he does have something in common with Cainan/qeynan who appears in Genesis 5:9-12. (See the genealogy discussion below.)
Cain and Master Mahan- I think this is a great opportunity to bring a human-centric and Christ-centric focus to the lesson. Continue reading
Adam and Eve, by Michaelangelo.
Let’s talk about origins. We seem to think origins are important; “where we came from” forms a part of our our identity, helps us understand ourselves. This is pretty deeply embedded and reinforced in our culture in a number of ways. Superhero movies tend to begin with an origin story. Even Batman movies, as often as we’ve seen it and as much as we know it, typically begin by retelling the trauma of young Bruce seeing his parents shot. Jennifer Lopez sang, “Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got; I’m still Jenny from the block; Used to have a little, now I have a lot; No matter where I go, I know where I came from.” Or look at arguments about the importance of Rey’s parentage in the recent Star Wars film (SPOILERS!) Continue reading
This is the first of my Old Testament Gospel Doctrine posts. (Yes, it’s Lesson 3. Mea Culpa.) I’ll be updating my old posts and changing the date on them so they reapper.
Inigo Montoya sums this lesson almost perfectly.
Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
Actually, I don’t feel we can even sum up here. Continue reading
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