Monthly Archives: March 2010

My God Is Bigger Than Your God–Literally. Part VI

Posted on March 29, 2010 by theyellowdart

Although YHWH clearly was perceived by biblical authors in anthropomorphic terms, YHWH’s body was still different from regular human bodies.  For YHWH, like many other deities of the ancient Near East,[1] possessed massive size.

Posted in Bible, Doctrine, History, Mormon Studies, Scripture, Sexuality, Speculation, Studying Religion, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Mormon Times: Social Justice in the Book of Mormon

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Chris H.

Yesterday, I presented on Rawlsian social justice themes found in the Book of Mormon at the seventh annual meeting of the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology. Mormon Times of the Deseret News did an article about me presentation. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Polytheism and Ancient Israel's Canaanite Heritage. Part V

Posted on March 26, 2010 by theyellowdart

Of course, much of this [i.e., that Israel worshiped El and Asherah alongside YHWH] is really to be expected given that recent syntheses of the archaeological, cultural, and literary data pertaining to the emergence of the nation of Israel in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Doctrine, History, Mormon Studies, Scripture, Speculation, Studying Religion, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Asherah, God's Wife in Ancient Israel. Part IV

Posted on March 24, 2010 by theyellowdart

One of the most important deities that many, if not most, ancient Israelites worshiped was YHWH’s heavenly spouse or consort, the goddess Asherah (the Hebrew linguistic equivalent of Ugaritic Athirat, the wife of El).

Posted in Bible, Doctrine, Feminism, History, Mormon Studies, Scripture, Sexuality, Studying Religion, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

God, Gods, and Sons (and Daughters) of God in the Hebrew Bible. Part III

Posted on March 21, 2010 by theyellowdart

This historical reconstruction [that El was originally Israel's chief deity, and YHWH was originally his son and the patron deity of Israel], in turn, helps to make sense of certain biblical texts which seem to indicate most naturally that El … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Doctrine, History, Mormon Studies, Scripture, Studying Religion, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Productive Missionary Work

Posted on March 20, 2010 by TT

How do we measure our missionary work? Is it in number of invites given? Books of Mormon given? Baptisms? Changed hearts and minds? I recently had the opportunity to follow up on an experience I had sharing the Book of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

When Jehovah Was Not the God of the Old Testament. Part II

Posted on March 19, 2010 by theyellowdart

As the very name Israel might indicate on account of its theophoric element el (אל), it appears that the chief god worshiped in earliest Israel was El, the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon in the Late Bronze Age.  The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Doctrine, History, Mormon Studies, Scripture, Studying Religion, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Does the Old Testament Teach Absolute Monotheism? Part I

Posted on March 16, 2010 by theyellowdart

Introduction: Was Ancient Israel Monotheistic? Western Society is perhaps more indebted to the Hebrew Bible than to any other book, and arguably the most famous teaching associated with the Hebrew Bible is that of absolute monotheism.  This position famously affirms … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Doctrine, History, Mormon Studies, Scripture, Studying Religion, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

A Mormon Perspective on Social Justice

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Chris H.

I write about social justice, mostly the theory of justice presented by the late philosopher John Rawls. I am not looking to add anything new today. But considering the recent comments by Brother Beck, I want to point out some … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 26 Comments

Sandel on Morality and the Free Market

Posted on March 6, 2010 by Chris H.

“We have drifted from having a market economy to have a market society.” Wow. A thoughful and insightful critique by the political philosopher Michael Sandel. Check out the clip. Also, I have written a few thoughts, inspired by Sandel and … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Philosophy | Leave a comment