Ryan Mullins – In Defense of Divine Temporality

Dale Tuggy just posted the audio of a recent presentation by Ryan Mullins:

Ryan Mullins – In Defense of Divine Temporality

Mullins is the author of an excellent book on this issue that I highly recommend:

The End of the Timeless God (Oxford University Press, 2016)

Tuggy previously interviewed Mullins before addressing this issue:





Enjoy!

Support this blog:

Paypal

Gofundme

Cover for "Behold the Mother of My Lord" and another book announcement

Happy St. Stephen's Day (or "Boxing Day" for those in the UK).

Two announcements: My book, Behold the Mother of My Lord: Towards a Mormon Mariology is in the final stages of editing and should be sent to the publisher in the next few days. Here is the cover:

I have also edited my notes on the LDS Priesthoods, and that will soon be published as a book, too. The tentative title as of this post is:

"After the Order of the Son of God": The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Latter-day Saint Theology of the Priesthood

In many respects, it will be the follow-up volume to Not by Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura.

Here is the table of contents:

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Biblical Evidence for an Ordained, Ministerial Priesthood in the New Covenant from the Last Supper Accounts

Chapter 2: Are Melchizedek and Jesus the Same Person?

Chapter 3: Hebrews 7:12 and the Aaronic Priesthood

Chapter 4: Does 1 Peter 2:4-10 teach the “Priesthood of All Believers”?

Chapter 5: Insights into John 20:23, Christology, and the Confessing of Sins

Chapter 6: Galatians 1:1 and the Ordination of Paul to the Apostleship

Chapter 7: James 5:14-15 in Early Christianity

Chapter 8: Does Luke 9:49-50 refute the need for a New Covenant Priesthood?

Chapter 9: The Authority of the Church in the New Testament

Chapter 10: Full Refutation of the Protestant Interpretation of John 19:30

Chapter 11: The Rending of the Temple Veil, the Need for a Mediator, and the On-going Importance of Temple Worship After the Crucifixion

Chapter 12: Refuting a Criticism of the Latter-day Saint Interpretation of Malachi 4:5-6

Chapter 13: “Elias” as a “forerunner” in LDS Scripture

Chapter 14: Old Testament Practices and Mormonism

Chapter 15: Revelation 21:14—Evidence against LDS Ecclesiology?

Chapter 16: A Note on the Meaning of “Priest” and "Priesthood" in the Early Restored Church

Chapter 17: Responding to a Critic of Brigham Young being Joseph Smith's Proper Successor

Chapter 18: Joseph Smith seeing God the Father Before the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood

Support this blog:

Paypal

Gofundme

Update on my book on Mariology

I hope those who read my blog are having a wonderful Christmas!

Just an update for those who are curious. I have (finally) put together my notes on the topic of Mariology. The tentative title is Behold, the Mother of My Lord: Towards a "Mormon Mariology". It is currently 100 pages and 40,000+ words. I hope to see it published in early 2018.

Here is the current table of contents:

Chapter 1: Towards a Mormon Mariology

Chapter 2: The Immaculate Conception: Does the Bible Teach it?

Chapter 3: The Immaculate Conception: Is it found in early Christianity?

Chapter 4: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary

Chapter 5: The Bodily Assumption of Mary

Chapter 6: Devotions and Apparitions

Appendix 1: Latter-day Saints and Religious Images

Appendix 2: The Virginal Conception in Latter-day Saint Theology

Appendix 3: Virgin or Young Lady? An Examination of Isaiah 7:14 and 2 Nephi 17:14

Selected Bibliography on Mariology

Support this blog:

Paypal

Gofundme

Alma 5:50-52 and the Personality of the Holy Spirit

There are a number of places in the Book of Mormon where the Holy Spirit is presented, in non-poetical contexts, as being a person (I stress “non-poetical” as many try to relegate possible texts affirming the personality of the Spirit in the New Testament as a result of poetical personification). One such text is Alma 5:50-52:

Yea, thus saith the Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Spirit saith: Behold the glory of the King of all the earth; and also the King of heaven shall very soon shine forth among all the children of men. And also the Spirit saith unto me, yea, crieth unto me with a mighty voice, saying: Go forth and say unto this people-- Repent, for except ye repent ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith: Behold, the ax is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire, yea, a fire which cannot be consumed, even an unquenchable fire. Behold, and remember, the Holy One hath spoken it.

In these texts, personality is ascribed to the Holy Spirit (how can a non-person or a mere personification speak?) Such is reminiscent of Acts 13:1-2 in the New Testament (discussed here) wherein Luke clearly presents the Holy Spirit, not as being personal merely, but a personality.

Of course, the most explicit witness of the personality of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Mormon is that of 1 Nephi 11 (see David Bokovoy, “Thou Knowest That I Believe”: Invoking The Spirit of the Lord as Council Witness in 1 Nephi 11), but Alma 5:50-52 further strengthens the case that Joseph Smith's theology was not binitarian from the beginnings of "Mormonism" and that the personality of the Holy Spirit is part-and-parcel of early Latter-day Saint theology.

Support this blog:

Paypal

Gofundme

Happy Christmas!

"Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:6-11 | NRSV).

Happy Christmas to all my readers!

Support this blog:

Paypal

Gofundme

Mark E. Koltko-Rivera, The Mysteries of Freemasonry

Today I read a collection of essays by Mark E. Koltko-Rivera, a Latter-day Saint and Freemason:

The Mysteries of Freemasonry: Essays on Masonic History, Symbolism, the Esoteric, and the Future of Freemasonry (The School of Freemasonry Books, 2017).

It was an interesting collection of essays on Masonry addressing various issues (e.g., the Morgan affair in 1826 New York; the purported relationship between the LDS Endowment and Freemasonry; Freemasonic symbols, etc).

Kolkto-Rivera has a number of presentations on youtube addressing Masonry, too, including:

Masonic Initiation Rituals and Mormon Temple Ceremonies by Mark Koltko Rivera

The Resurgence of Freemasonry: A Lecture with Grand Historian R.W. Mark E. Koltko-Rivera, Ph.D.

Enjoy!

Support this blog:

Paypal

Gofundme

Thomas Oord and Gregory Boyd Interviewed on Creation Ex Nihilo and Open Theism

The following interviews with Thomas Oord and Gregory Boyd, two leading proponents of Open Theism, are rather informative. Latter-day Saints will enjoy the discussion of the importance of free-will in God's plan, as well as Oord's rejection of creatio ex nihilo (cf. my review of Oord's book, Creation Made Free: Creation Made Free and Blake Ostler's article A History of Creation ex Nihilo in Early Christian Thought):

EP171 Oord on Essential Kenosis and Creation Ex Nihilo

EP207 Greg Boyd on Open Theism

Support this blog:

Paypal

Gofundme