Todd:  Heiser writes this about the Trinity: (more…)

Five Page Discussion

Todd: After briefly touching on the coining of such terms as monotheism, inclusive monotheism, tolerant monolatry, incipient monotheism, and henotheism, Heiser urges the unusual language for evangelicals to describe Israel’s religion,

The proposal offered here is that scholars should stop trying to define Israel’s religion with singular, imprecise modern terms and instead stick to describing what Israel believed. Monotheism as it is currently understood means that no other gods exist. This term is inadequate for describing Israelite religion, but suggesting it be done away with would no doubt cause considerable consternation among certain parts of the academic community, not to mention the interested laity. Henotheism and monolatry, while perhaps better, are inadequate because they do not say enough about what the canonical writer believed. Israel was certainly monolatrous, but that term comments only on what Israel believed about the proper object of worship, not what it believed about Yahweh’s nature and attributes with respect to the other gods (239).

Undergirding this would be the persuasion of Heiser calling for greater exactness on the use of elohim in Scripture.

We have fortunately become accustomed to talking and writing about the word elohim with imprecision. Since the word is often used as proper noun in the Hebrew Bible, and since we have used a modern term like monotheism to define what Israelites believed, letting the text say what it plainly says—that there are multiple elohim—has become a painful, fearful experience for evangelicals. This phobia can be (and should be) cured by letting the text of the Hebrew Bible hold sway over our theology (240).

Within the spiritual plane of elohim, Heiser includes (Israelite) YHWH-EL (Deut. 4:35), sons of God (Ps. 82:1, 6), demons (Deut. 32:17), and human disembodied dead (I Sam. 28:13). Of course, Heiser distinguishes the unbridgeable, ontological chasm between YHWH and other elohim. “Yahweh is an elohim, but no other elohim are Yahweh. Yahweh is haelohim.”

In looking at what Heiser is suggesting, should we consider this as a radically new outlook? I don’t particularly see this as painful or fearful, especially with our current church family book studies and what we have been learning in John’s Gospel on Sunday morning, Genesis on Sunday evening, and Isaiah on Wednesday evening. (more…)

In an age of fast action, I am sure that the middling non-religious American would lump both of these new DVD releases as boring drivel.  But many Baptist families have been watching Flywheel (2007 Sherwood Baptist Church of Albany, Georgia), whereas many LDS families have been enjoying Turn Around (2007 Candlelight Media Group).

John Bytheway speaks of Turn Around as “a nice story of repentance, forgiveness and perseverance!”

And yet so is Flywheel.

I have watched them both.  And though the LDS flick involves conversion change in a teen while the evangelical flick centers on the conversion change in a father, I would be interested in the responses of my LDS friends who have viewed them both. (more…)

Todd:  Michael Heiser writes,

Even the fact that elohim in Exodus 22:8 agrees with a plural predicator does not force us to interpret haelohim in that verse as referring to a group.  The noun elohim plus plural predication occurs in one of nine instances of which I am aware in the Hebrew Bible [8].  For now, it should be noted that only one of them might indicate divine beings, but that is shaky at best and would only serve to argue in my favor here [9] (229). (more…)

Even though the Rexburg temple is about ready to open to the thousands in a month, this story is just plain awful in our local news.  I pray for this.

This is interesting:  The Problem of Mormon Christianity.

Intro to my readers:  I am on an email list where I have been introducing to my good brethren (living around the country) the scholarly exchange between Michael S. Heiser and David Bokovoy in The FARMS Review (Vol. 19, No. 1, 2007).  This is the first of many posts where I am pressing for an informal discussion.  Feel free to jump in. (For quotes, I have omitted the proper language markings on Hebrew words.  Please consult the original source material.)

Todd:  Let me start out with a quote from Michael Heiser on how fundamental this topic is for both evangelicals and LDS.

I feel more strongly than ever that there is not a single doctrine that is untouched by the subject.  The reason is simple:  the divine council is all about the nature of God, his creation and rulership of all that is, his heavenly and earthly family, and the destiny of the earth and the larger cosmos (222). (more…)

During the 58th annual meeting (November 16, 2006) of the Evangelical Theological Society in Washington DC, Michael S. Heiser presented a paper, “You’ve Seen One Elohim, You’ve Seen Them All?  A Critique of Mormonism’s Apologetic Use of Psalm 82.”  He critiqued some of Daniel C. Peterson’s lengthy discourse, “‘Ye Are Gods’: Psalm 82 and John 10 as Witnesses to the Divine Nature of Humankind.” (Which evidently, the authors of The New Mormon Challenge briefly challenged.  Also, James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries has put in his two cents on the topic.)  

In return, David E. Bokovoy responded to Michael Heiser’s paper, and it ended up as a scholarly exchange in The FARMS Review (Vol. 19, No. 1, 2007).

On Bloggernacle, back in March, Nitsav at Faith Promoting Rumor introduces this exchange between Heiser and Bokovoy, and then follows up with another post in August.  (You will find the blog name, Nitsav, in Psalm 82.  Of course, my real name, Elon, is semitic.  Fun stuff.)

In August, David Bokovoy places a provocative statement on the Mormon Apologetics and Discussion Board: (more…)

Even though Mr. Hitchens is not happy, I am.  The Lord makes my heart glad this week (Psalm 16:11)

These words are fitting.

“Praise ye the LORD.  Praise ye the LORD from the heavens:  praise him in the heights.  Praise ye him, all his angels:  praise ye him, all his hosts.  Praise ye him, sun and moon:  praise him, all ye stars of light.  Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.  Let them praise the name of the LORD:  for he commanded, and they were created.  He hath also stablished them for ever and ever:  he hath made a decree which shall not pass.  Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:  Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:  Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:  Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:  Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:  Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:  Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.  He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him.  Praise ye the LORD.”

Drive to Rigby, Idaho.  Philo T. Farnsworth, the brilliant inventor of modern television, grew up there.

He is all over the front page of today’s Post Register in Idaho Falls. (more…)