christian

The Doctrine of Exaltation, Godhood or Deification

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Some criticize the Church because of one doctrine we hold most dear, which is exaltation.  This has also been referred to at different times and places as godhood, deification, divinization, taking upon the divine nature, making divine, or theosis (also theiosis, theopoiesis, theōsis; from the Greek Θέωσις).  It is, in its most basic description, that man may become like God.  Many of our fellow Christians see this as the ultimate blasphemy and heresy.  How could man ever become like God?  Why would he want to do so?  Doesn’t this go against everything God has taught through his holy word?  The reality is that this concept has been a fundamental part of Christian thought since early Christianity, found throughout the Bible and in early Christian writings.  Unfortunately, this Christian teaching has been largely lost over the ages.

God restored the doctrine of exaltation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, as part of the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ.  Some have thought that Joseph’s teaching of this concept was a rather late invention of the prophet, near the end of his life.  However, the doctrine can be found even in the Book of Mormon, which was published before the church was formally organized.

I recently came across two great articles that were published that discuss this topic.

  • Daniel C. Peterson, “Defending the Faith: Exaltation isn’t a new doctrine,” Deseret News, 8 November 2012.  Peterson shows in this article how the doctrine of exaltation, or theosis, was not a late revelation in the restoration of the Church, but is found throughout the teachings of Joseph Smith.
  • Elder Tad R. Callister, Presidency of the Seventy, “Our Identity and Our Destiny,” BYU Devotional Address, Campus Education Week, 14 August 2012.  Elder Callister fantastically presents five witnesses of the truth of the doctrine of deification: the testimony of the scriptures, the witness of the early Christian writers, the wisdom of poets and authors, the power of logic, and the voice of history.

I highly recommend these two articles.  If you want even further in-depth study, then I also suggest William J. Hamblin’s excellent recent publication in the Interpreter journal, “‘I Have Revealed Your Name’: The Hidden Temple in John 17,” where Hamblin discusses the chapter of John 17 in fine detail, revealing the strong temple concepts embedded in the text, including theosis.  He also includes an appendix with a bibliography of twenty-three recent scholars’ books on the subject of deification, published just in the last decade, all of them Christian, that you may dive into to learn more about this very Christian teaching.

Praying Couple Curtain from 5th-6th Century Christianity

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The following is a photo of a linen and wool screen curtain (velum) that comes from a monastery at Antinoë (Antinopolis), Egypt, and dates from the 5th-6th century.  It is likely an artifact of the early Coptic Christians.  It depicts a praying couple beneath an apse in a church or temple, with a Coptic inscription written in Greek script underneath.  The apse of a church building is near the east end, where the altar is located.  There are columns on the left and right, perhaps symbolizing Boaz and Jachin, pillars that flanked the entrance in the porch of Solomon’s Temple, and have come to symbolize the temple ever since.  The figures are dressed in liturgical clothing, including what appears to be a mitre, a veil, and robes, and in the traditional early Christian attitude of prayer with uplifted hands.  Size: 1.05 x 0.86 m.  It is located at the Benaki Museum, Athens. (Thanks Chad!)

Praying Couple Curtain, 5th-6th century Antinoë, Egypt

Praying Couple Curtain, 5th-6th century Antinoë, Egypt

The Future State of Kings and Priests of the Order of Melchizedek

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Cover page of Levi Rightmyer's book The Light of Truth as Revealed in the Holy Scriptures

Cover page of Levi Rightmyer’s book The Light of Truth as Revealed in the Holy Scriptures

I again return to a former post I wrote in 2008 about an obscure book I stumbled across entitled The Light of Truth as Revealed in the Holy Scriptures, published in 1916 by one Levi Rightmyer, a hefty book at 967 pages, and freely downloadable from Google.  I have still been unable to find any more information more about this author Levi Rightmyer, unfortunately, and would be interested to know more about his background if anyone is aware.  Although not LDS (although he does mention the Mormons once in the book), he came very close to approximating many of the more esoteric LDS beliefs regarding Melchizedek, the priesthood, the temple, the judgement, theosis or deification, and the afterlife.  It seems that Levi had an experience similar to Joseph Smith, which caused him to turn to the scriptures to find the truth, this from the preface:

Familiar with many of the conflicting religious beliefs of these and former days, Mr. Rightmyer was early filled with an earnest determination to search the Scriptures for himself, and if possible to find out the truth contained therein. (Preface)

Here are some of the more interesting points that Rightmyer notes in his section on Melchizedek (my commentary added in brackets):   [Read more…]

Ancient Sealed Metal Plates with Perhaps Secret Temple Texts discovered in Middle East?

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UPDATE: See the latest updates about this discovery at Jordanian Lead Plates: Authentic or Forgery?
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David Larsen at HeavenlyAscents.com has pointed out an interesting recent discovery (see his posts here and here).  A collection of dozens of books made from metal plates have been found in Jordan that initial tests show date from the first century AD. [Read more…]

Margaret Barker on The Holy Anointing Oil

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Samuel anointing David. Stained glass.

Samuel anointing David. Stained glass.

My friend David Larsen has some great notes at Heavenly Ascents on the presentation given by Dr. Margaret Barker at the Temple Studies Symposium III in London this past weekend.  Her words were an introduction to the symposium which focused on the topic of “The Holy Anointing Oil”:

Anointing with myrrh oil was the most holy mystery of the Jerusalem temple. It passed into Christianity and gave the faith its name. This symposium will explore the temple rite and its meaning, and then look at some of the ways in which Christians preserved the ancient tradition. ((TempleStudiesGroup.com))

David’s notes on Barker’s presentation include some interesting facets of anointing:

  • The Messiah, the Christ, was the Anointed One, and so the holy anointing oil is central to Christian identity. It gives the Christians their name.
  • Christian teaching concerning anointing is a conscious continuation of the ancient temple teaching.
  • The oil was understood to impart holiness… It was part of the secret teaching of the high priesthood.
  • The anointing with oil was a part of the “secret teaching” passed on to Christianity from Christ through the apostles.
  • The high priests were “christs” — they represented Yahweh by being anointed and wearing name “YHWH” on forehead.

See the Heavenly Ascents blog for David’s full notes on Barker’s presentation.  Hopefully her presentation will also become available on TempleStudiesGroup.com.  Other speakers included Dr. John F. Hall (Professor from BYU), Archimandrite Ephrem, The Rev. Dr Richard Price, Dr Sebastian Brock, and Rev. Dr Laurence Hemming.  David has some notes on their presentations here, and will post more notes about their presentations soon.