By TT
What if the answer is no? What if the authors who produced the OT have no concept of the Christ that we know? What if the supposed “prophesies” of Christ in the OT are creative interpretations by early followers of Christ to make the book appear to confirm the details of his life (and the details of life massaged to parallel passages in the OT). This happens to be the assumption of most biblical scholars today. Does such a view produce particular problems for LDS readers of the Bible?
Read more »
By Nitsav
Before discussing my 3 Bible suggestions from OTFTW 1, we need to discuss the KJV a bit. Below is a slightly fleshed-out Institute handout I’ve used in my Bible classes. Read more »
By Nitsav
For your post-turkey degustation, I present this list I handed out in Gospel Doctrine recently, with a 5-minute plug for three books in particular (starred below). I wanted to include more commentary on each book, but as is I had to stretch my margins to fit everything onto one front-back piece of paper.
I also trucked in all the paper versions of the books I own on this list, and set up a table near the exit so people could flip through those they were interested in. List below, commentary below that. Read more »
By smallaxe
Before leaving on my mission I spent several evenings teaming up with the missionaries in our ward to see how they taught and to gain a general feel for mission life. I still recall teaching one investigator a lesson on the role of Jesus Christ, part of which included a discussion on the resurrection–how it was a free gift and that we would gain a perfect body, etc. Read more »
By Nitsav
Around here, we love us some Old Testament. And so, as D&C winds down and some of us start hearing the music build in anticipation, I bring you the first part of a series to run for the next 14 months or so, Old Testament For The Win™, or OTFTW.
Among other things, I’m going to provide an annotated list of recommended Old Testament books and resources; discuss individual books on that list; explain how to use some Hebrew resources without knowing much Hebrew, what that’s good for, as well as caveats therein; talk about some computer resources and how to get started with them; discuss the vulgarity of language, and translational/cultural issues; and of course, plenty o’ posts on actual passages, teaching insights and frustrations, sex, death, and other Old Testament topics.
Stay tuned. FPR is not dead yet.
By TT
Many contemporary Christians subscribe to a certain normative fable of a “historic orthodox Christianity.” This view of Christian history relies on a master narrative of a “pure” Christianity which is distinct from heresy. In this view, Christianity is differentiated from heresy in double terms, that it is both “historic” and that is “orthodox.”
Read more »
By Nitsav
I spoke in Sacrament meeting a few weeks ago. My assigned topic was anything to do with Institute. I spent a few weeks mind-mapping, and delivered the following. Then recently, Ardis linked to President Uchtdorf’s talk, which showed me I was thinking along the same lines he was.
Here’s my full outline, which I edited a good bit for time on the fly. (Wordpress doesn’t import nested outlines very well, so I’ve had to futz with the formatting. After the intro, the major principles are bolded.) Read more »
By jupiterschild
It might seem a little mundane to say that a single analogy can be used in contrasting ways to serve the interests of discursive power grabs, but the constant resurfacing of Elder Oaks’ BYUI talk makes me jump, Johnny-Come-Lately, into the fray. The implicit claim in the many vociferous critiques of Elder Oaks’ talk that the Left has a monopoly on Civil Rights analogies strikes me as deeply ironic. As I recall, last year several public media outlets hosted guests that questioned the link supporters of gay marriage were making to civil rights, sans the acerbic attack implicit in the objection. Read more »
