Scholarship

God Dwelleth Not in Temples Made with Hands? – Part 1

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Cartoon for St. Paul Preaching in Athens - Raphael. c1513-1514. Mixed media on paper, mounted on canvas. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.

A respectful evangelical protestant reader of TempleStudy.com has asked this question:

Paul tells us in the sermon at Mars Hill that the Lord does not “dwell in houses built by hands” (Acts 17:24-25, Stephen echoes this in ch 7 of the same book) but rather that the Holy Spirit of God dwells in us; that is, that WE are His temples (1 Cor. 3:16-17). Interestingly, not only is this a contradiction to D&C teachings regarding the temple (see D&C 97), but it also appears to be a strong witness to the Trinity, at least in part (demonstrating an equivalency between the Father and the Spirit – “you are a temple of God […] the Spirit of God dwells in you”). I am curious how you interpret these scriptures.

I think this gets to the heart of the doctrinal argument over the necessity/validity of the temple in the post-Messianic age. I know where I stand, but I welcome your counterpoint!

This is an honest question; unfortunately the scriptures in question to support the claim are misunderstood. [Read more…]

Heavenly Ascents – A New Blog by David Larsen

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David J. LarsenOur long-time reader and commenter at TempleStudy, David J. Larsen, has begun a terrific blog – “Heavenly Ascents.” David received his BA from BYU in Near Eastern Studies in 2001, and is a current graduate student in Theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, studying under Dr. Andrei Orlov who is a prominent Enoch scholar. David’s background includes Biblical studies, Sociology, Anthropology, Christian Studies, and Apocalyptic Literature. His language study has included Greek, Hebrew, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. In other words, he is well-qualified to speak on the topic he has chosen (but he’s still a non-authoritarian like the rest of us). The subject matter of his blog looks very interesting:

This blog . . . will cover a wide range of topics that have to do with theological/religious studies, based on what I am studying in school and other ventures into my own related interests. . . . Some of my research interests include Temple studies, Temple roots of early Christian beliefs, apocalyptic writings, intertestamental literature, and pseudepigrapha. . . .

It will focus on insights I learn in my graduate program in Theology at Marquette University and will include my reviews of books by authors such as Margaret Barker and other religious scholars of interest to LDS readers. ((Heavenly Ascents blog, and email communication June 2, 2008.))

Discussions such as these will be very helpful for Latter-day Saints and others to learn more about our religious traditions, and the symbolism and origin of our temple practices.

One of his first posts talks about the insights he’s gained from reading Margaret Barker’s recent book “Temple Themes in Christian Worship.”

To begin her study of “temple themes in Christian worship,” Barker begins by giving evidence that there was, in fact, a “secret tradition” of beliefs/practices that had its roots in the ancient Temple of Solomon. Many of the early Church Fathers knew of “authentic Christian traditions not recorded in the Bible” (p. 1). ((Insights from Margaret Barker’s “Temple Themes in Christian Worship”, Heavenly Ascents.))

Examples are given from early Church Fathers about the a tradition of unwritten, guarded, and secret practices or mysteries in the early Church, handed down from Christ to his apostles.

King Benjamin and the Temple

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King Benjamin's Farewell Address - Minerva Teichert, 1935The other article that impressed me from the latest Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 16/2 (2007), was Donald W. Parry’s “Service and Temple in King Benjamin’s Speech.” Why did it impress me? Because it related subjects in the Book of Mormon to the temple, something that we haven’t seen a lot of yet, but is becoming more common in recent days. Some of our detractors like to criticize the fact that the Book of Mormon appears to have little content related to the temple, while on the other hand the Church emphasizes the importance of the temple and the ordinances that occur therein. It is articles such as this one in the JBMS that clearly show otherwise. The temple plays a central role in the gospel, even in the text of the Book of Mormon, but we must be willing to look for it, and search a little deeper. I can attest that once you have this focus, the temple appears everywhere in this book of scripture as it does in all scripture. [Read more…]

Temple Worship among Post-Exile Jews

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Excavation of Jewish settlement on Elephantine Island, Egypt

First of all I’d like to thank all those who have participated in the TempleStudy feedback that was posted yesterday. I have received a good number of responses, and most were very positive. Some even compared my methodology, albeit detrimentally, as similar to Hugh Nibley’s, for which I could not be more flattered. If I am able, in the least measure, to be compared to Dr. Nibley, I am very grateful. I also received many ideas for topics and directions which will help to continue charting the course here. I’m glad to see that there is so much support for this site, however inadequate my research or conclusions may be. Mostly we are trying to sit at the feet of some of the greatest LDS scholars here, and learn as we go along. And just to quell some uncertainties, I have not entertained any thoughts of quiting TempleStudy anytime soon. We’ve just begun!

I’d like to draw some attention to the great research on the temple that was presented in the latest Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 16/2 (2007). Two articles in particular in this issue have the temple as a major theme, namely, “A Tale of Three Communities: Jerusalem, Elephantine, and Lehi-Nephi” by Jared W. Ludlow, and “Service and Temple in King Benjamin’s Speech” by Donald W. Parry. We’ll review Ludlow’s study today. [Read more…]

Baptism for the Dead: An Erroneous Practice? – Part 2

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Close on Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Ceiling - S. Callisto catacomb. Mid 3rd century A.D.(Continued from Part 1)

Some of the best studies of the early Christian practice of baptism for the dead have come from Hugh Nibley and John A. Tvedtnes. Both of these LDS scholars have written extensively on the topic. I hope to analyze some of their excellent work and provide examples of the practice of baptism for the dead which have been discovered in many different apocryphal and pseudepigraphal texts.

The Shepherd of Hermas

The first text we’ll look at is called the Shepherd of Hermas (also called the Pastor of Hermas). This was a very popular work in early Christianity, and several early Christians considered it scripture with other New Testament texts, combining them into the same canon. It was written in Rome in the second century, and was written in Greek, though a Latin translation was also soon made. Two English translations are now available for reading online at Early Christian Writings, here, and here. If you’re up to it, you can also read the Greek directly. [Read more…]