I actually agree with a statement that Dr. Millet made in his latest book, Holding Fast (Deseret, 2008). (more…)

Blake Ostler writes in his book, Exploring Mormon Thought:  The Attributes of God (2001):

In the Hebrew scripture, a member of El’s court, angels and possibly gods of foreign nations are called gods in this sense.  The various mediating principles and half-personified divine attributes found in the Hebrew writings such as debar or the divine word or Wisdom, would belong to this class.  In the New Testament, “the Word,” and “the Mediator,” are also used in this sense in the Epistles of Paul and the Gospel of John.  In such passages, Christ is viewed as a subordinate being even though he is considered as divine and meriting worship (p. 8).

Ouch.  Ouch.  Ouch.  Great.  We get to worship Jesus, but He is just a derivative or lesser of God.

As I skip over several sentences discussing LDS texts (D&C 121:32, Abraham 4:1) on gods, Blake carries on:

This use of the word “gods” is essentially equivalent to the Old Testament usage that refers to Yahweh or to Yahweh Elohim planning with and ruling over a council of gods who are subordinate to him.  As Hans-Joachim Kraus observed:

In the heavenly world Yahweh, enthroned as God and king, is surrounded by powers who honor, praise and serve him.  Israel borrowed from the Canaanite-Syrian world the well-attested concept of a pantheon of gods and godlike beings who surround the supreme God, the ruler and monarch.  In Psalm 29:1-2 the bene elohim (“sons of God”) give honor to Yahweh.  They are subordinate heavenly beings stripped of their power, who are totally dependent on Yahweh and no longer possess any independent divine nature.  In Job and the Psalter, power of this sort are called bene elohim, elim, or qedushim(“sons of God,” “gods,” and “holy ones,” Job I:6ff; Ps. 58:I; 8:5; 86:8).  But Yahweh alone is the highest God (‘Elyon) and king. . . . In Psalm 82 we have a clear example of the idea of a “council of gods.” . . . “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.”  The “highest god” is the judge.  The gods (elohim) are his attendants.  They are witnesses in the forum which Yahweh rules alone, and in which he possesses judicial authority.  We might term the cheduth-el  “Yahweh’s heavenly court.”  All the gods and powers of the people are in his service.[3] (p. 9)

But wait a minute.  Hold on a second.  Did Blake back in 2001, see Yahweh as the head of the council in Psalm 82?  I am confused.

James Montgomery Boice wrote a few thoughts while preaching on John 10:35:

“In the last two centuries or so the orthodox view of the Bible has been denied by large segments of the church so that for many the Bible has become man’s word about God rather than God’s word to man, and its authority has been lessened.  But this was not always so.  In fact, when we turn to past ages we discover that until recently all who claimed to be Christians, even heretics, acknowledged that the Bible was infallible and authoritative. . . . It was the glory of the church that in its first sixteen or seventeen centuries all Christians in every place, despite their differences of opinion on theology or on questions of church order, exhibited at least a mental allegiance to the Bible as the supreme authority for the Christian in all matters.  It might have been neglected.  There might have been disagreements about what it actually teaches.  It might even have been contradicted.  But it was still the Word of God.  It was the only infallible rule of faith and practice”

What is your attitude on the biblical scriptures?

The song brings out the source of all blessing.

Beautiful.  Surely the MTC must sing this song.  Does anyone know?

Read these samplings.  Pardon me if I have placed copy errors in these interesting quotes.  If pointed out, I will quickly correct any problems.  Once again, I have categorized the thoughts into three themes. (more…)

Have you watched the LDS flick, Passage to Zarahemla, directed by Chris Heimerdinger?

I did have to chuckle over all the one liners that “Sakerra” gives in describing the Mormons to her little brother.

But let me cut to the chase.  Katherine Nelson Thompson sings the song “Whispered Vision” that Heimerdinger wrote.

You may listen to the song on the MP3 player functioning at the Heimerdinger Music website.

One phrase (maybe not in its exactness) stands out to me:

 . . . the ink is the word and the word is the thought and the thought is the light of the God of my soul . . .

I could copy that very phrase for my Christian context.  The Bible is that powerful in revealing God to my heart.

Thinking of heart issues . . .

et

Coupled with the word, elohim, is this pointed statement:

and the scripture cannot be broken”

How can anyone claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ and not have a high view of Scripture?

Sometime, I need to list all the books donated to our church family, published by Master Books (Answers in Genesis).  Perhaps, I will compile the list and place it in this thread.

The title of this post is taken from chapter 15 in the book, The New Answers Book (2006), general editor, Ken Ham. 

Douglas W. Phillips, president of Vision Forum; John D. Morris, president of Institute for Creation Research; Ray Comfort, Living Waters Publications, and Dennis Rainey, president of FamilyLife provide endorsements on the page before the table of contents.

In chapter 15, Bodie Hodge tackles seven myths: (more…)