There’s been a lot of discussion of late about prioritizing one scriptural text over another. So I thought it might be a nice exercise to think through some scriptures we simply ignore. Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite books relating to violence in the Bible, and one which treats both Old and New Testament texts, is “Must There Be Scapegoats? Violence and Redemption in the Bible,” by Raymond Schwager. Based on our continued fascination with this subject generally, and reading our different ways of looking at scriptural texts, I thought a reframing of the discussion might be useful. Of course this book will say nothing about our uniquely LDS texts, but I do think Schwager’s take on violence and redemption in scripture is valuable, and I thought some of you might like to hear what he has to say.I would do a series of posts like I did on Paul, if people on the list are generally interested. Let me know. 

I want to link up my ridiculous questions about the psychical man with my ridiculous comments about hermeneutical fidelity. And I think I can only do this by taking a look at what it is that gives the psyche. Read the rest of this entry »

Since the recent discussion of the Strippling Warriors keeps referring us back to Doctrine & Covenants 98, perhaps its worth taking a closer look at that section. There has already been some good commentary on it posted at the feast wiki. This section seems to consist of fighting words for Saints, as some take it as a clear denunciation of warfare under all but the most stringent of circumstances, while others see here a clear justification for supporting modern or even recent war efforts. What does this section really say? Is there a clear war doctrine spelled out here? How are we to read this section in conjunction with the rest of our scriptural canon and other authoritative LDS statements? And how are we to apply whatever instructions we think we see here? Read the rest of this entry »

We read that “Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom” (D&C 105:5). On the other hand, according to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, after Zion is established during the Millennium “the earth will be changed to a terrestrial state”. How is it that Zion can only be built up by the law of the celestial kingdom, but the resultant Millennial era will only be a terrestrial state? Or will a celestial Zion not be fully established during the Millennium? Do the Saints have to live a celestial law in order to usher in a terrestrial state for the rest? What am I missing here?

I have heard—and assume others have as well—an argument that goes something like this: prayer is built on faith, and faith relies on a correct understanding of the nature of God. A proponent might say, “You can’t believe in something that you don’t know about, and if your understanding is wrong then your prayers will be misdirected (because what you believe affects how you pray). Joseph Smith’s greatest contribution was correcting our understanding of God, truing our faith and unlocking the power of prayer.”** Read the rest of this entry »

I was called in to substitute in Primary yesterday and ended up with two classes, the 10 and 11 year olds. This lesson focuses on scriptures in James and elsewhere “to help the children learn to control the things they say and think.” Read the rest of this entry »

Lesson 44: 1-3 John Read the rest of this entry »

In 1 Corinthians 2:14, Paul says (my translation): “But the psychical man does not receive the things of God’s Spirit, because they are foolishness for him; and he is powerless to know them, since they are critically regarded according to the Spirit” (psychikos de anthropos ou dechetai ta tou pneumatos tou theou, moria gar auto estin kai ou dynatai gnonai, oti pneumatikos anakrinetai). The mention of moria, foolishness, is important here, because it betrays the context: Paul mentions this question of the spiritual after discussing sophia, the wisdom after which the philosophers seek. The philosophers: as several important thinkers (Patocka most revealingly, I think, but Foucault just as importantly) have revealed, the very heart of Greek thinking, from the very birth of philosophy and onward into the whole history of European/Western civilization, is the care (melete) of the psyche. Paul, it seems to me, must be taken in his first epistle to the Corinthians as making an explicit statement about the relationship and distinction between the soul, mind, or psyche that is at the heart of Western civilization and the Spirit that inhabits Christian preaching. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently there’s been quite a lot of buzz about a document posted on the web: What Women Know. One of the items in this document that has caused the most comment is the following paragraph. Read the rest of this entry »