Podcast post

Last updated on: July 20, 2017 at 6:29 pm By Ben Spackman

I was interviewed last year for the LDS Perspectives podcast, which I recommend. Therein, I allude to a lot of different books and papers, linked below. I also cited John Widtsoe on genre, from his 1930 book In Search of Truth available online here. Widtsoe said, “As in all good books every literary device is used in the Bible that will drive the lesson home. It contains history, poetry and allegory. These are not always distinguishable, now that the centuries have passed away since... Read more

Truth, Scripture, and Interpretation of Genesis: A Conference Preview

Last updated on: March 9, 2018 at 1:16 pm By Ben Spackman

In a little less than a month, I’ll be speaking at the FAIRMormon Conference in Provo. Titled Truth, Scripture, and Interpretation: Some Precursors to Reading Genesis, my paper will be about the importance of recognizing the presuppositions we make when interpretating scripture. We can use various metaphors for this. Each of us (including inspired prophets and apostles) has a Black Box made up of worldview and presuppositions about revelation, prophets, and scripture. The contents of the box differ for every person, time, and culture.... Read more

Listening to History, Science, and Evolution

Last updated on: March 9, 2018 at 1:15 pm By Ben Spackman

I’ve not had a lot of time to write here recently. I have done a lot of driving and listened to some good lecture series about the history and philosophy of science, religion, and evolution, so this post is mostly about cataloguing and sharing. I’ve been impressed again at just how unaware we are of our own modern worldview and assumptions, and the story of how we come to conceptualize the world as we do, post-Enlightenment, post-Scientific Revolution. Much of... Read more

My MHA Presentation and Reconciling Science with Scripture

Last updated on: March 9, 2018 at 1:17 pm By Ben Spackman

Here is a copy of my MHA presentation text, “Early LDS Attempts to Reconcile Scripture with Science: Pre-Mormon Pre-Adamites and Intellectual (In)Dependence.” As the text read at the meeting, it lacks footnotes and citations, but here is some of the bibliography. Adam’s Ancestors: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Human Origins, David N. Livingstone Livingstone has done some pioneering and interesting work in this area. The Scofield Bible: Its History and Impact on the Evangelical Church, Mangum and Sweetnam The Creationists: From Scientific... Read more

10 Things for Understanding the Old Testament

Last updated on: October 14, 2018 at 1:33 pm By Ben Spackman

My semester has ended, and now I enter into a busy summer of reading, writing, travel, research, and some public speaking. I do hope to be writing posts a little more often than I have in the last few months; at least, I have some posts on the back burner I’ve worked on sporadically, to finish off and post. If you’re settling down for a serious study of the Old Testament, what ten topics do you need to know? I... Read more

May 4th is Not Just Star Wars Day…

Last updated on: May 4, 2017 at 6:01 pm By Ben Spackman

Few Mormons, I think, know that May 4 is a significant day in LDS liturgical history. (This is reposted from last year.) (more…) Read more

Announcement: Online Mormon Reading Group of Luke T. Johnson’s Introduction to the New Testament

Last updated on: May 8, 2017 at 5:56 pm By Ben Spackman

It’s paper-writing season for me, not a ton of time to blog anything substantial. However, if you’re on Facebook, over the next year the Mormons Talk: NT Bible Scholarship group will read/post/discuss its way through Luke Timothy Johnson’s The Writings of the New Testament . Currently available for $4.99, this volume is part of the Kindle sale I posted about last week which runs through the end of April. It’s the kind of book that might be used in a college Intro to the New Testament... Read more

Carpe Diem: Two Book Sales

Last updated on: April 9, 2017 at 5:47 pm By Ben Spackman

First, Fortress Press is having a massive ebook/Kindle sale through the end of April. There’s no link to the sale itself at Amazon, rather the 1500 (!) books on sale are listed in a pdf here. My suggestions- (more…) Read more

Free Book! and It’s a Good One!

Last updated on: April 5, 2018 at 11:57 am By Ben Spackman

I’ve often had Misreading Scripture Through Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible on this or that list of books I recommend. It’s April’s Free Book of the Month at Logos (link). If you’ve read my previous posts about Logos (link #1, #2), you know that entry-level Logos is free and like a supercharged Kindle, runs on Mac, PC, ios, and Android. It’s what Infobases or Gospelink could have been. (more…) Read more

A Bit of News

Last updated on: March 22, 2017 at 11:28 pm By Ben Spackman

I’ve got some public speaking coming up, and I’m excited. (more…) Read more