Enigmatic Mirror
Terryl and Fiona Gives, The Crucible of Doubt: Reflections on the Quest for Faith, (Deseret, 2014) Read more
Terryl and Fiona Gives, The Crucible of Doubt: Reflections on the Quest for Faith, (Deseret, 2014) Read more
I’m teaching a new class at BYU this fall: History 485 “Mysticism and Esotericism.” I’ve created a blog/web page for course announcements, materials, and notes. http://hamblinhistory485.wordpress.com Anyone can follow the blog. I will also try to post recordings of the class as well, perhaps posting things on Google classroom: http://www.google.com/edu/classroom/ Read more
This is the most famous and elegant of the representations of the primordial bull sacrifice by Mithra (“tauroktonos“). (2nd century AD, Vatican Museum, “Animal Room” Rome) The idea of a primordial sacrifice–often of a god by the gods–is widespread throughout ancient world religions. The idea is generally that an infusion of divine life was necessary to transform chaotic matter into an ordered world. This general concept is reflected in a number of LDS scripture: • Christ “was prepared from before... Read more
The Hamblin Peterson column from Deseret News on “Alexander the God.” Read more
The Brass Sea (Brazen or Bronze Sea) (2 Kgs 25:13-16; 1 Chr 18:8; Jer 52:17-20; cf. Rev 4:6, the celestial version of the bronze sea) was a large purification basin in the courtyard of the temple. This massive first century monolithic porphyry basin gives a sense of the size of the bronze sea of Solomon’s Temple. (From the Domus Aurea; now in the Vatican Museum “Circular Hall”; BG 452) Read more
Larry Hurtado’s interesting comments on the use of the term YHWH/Yahweh/Jehovah in the Greek OT and NT. Read more
Orthodox Rabbis often claim it has been hidden somewhere the Vatican. They are wrong. The Menorah of Herod’s Temple was taken to Rome by Titus after he sacked the temple in AD 70, and placed in the “Temple of Peace” where it remained for centuries. The Vandals took it (or something else they thought was the Menorah) as plunder when they sacked Rome in 455. It seems to have remained in Carthage for over nearly a century, after which it was... Read more
For those who think I spend all of my time thinking of ways to diss the Maxwell Institute, here is a video of my recent (first, and only) skydive. It gets interesting at about 2:00 minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aixAPODH_U I didn’t know I had so much loose skin on my face. (I also passed off my second closed water scuba class tonight.) Read more
It angers me when my friend Dan is harassed and insulted by anti-Mormons. It angers me even more when it is done by purported LDS. And even more when done by his ex-colleagues whose salaries are largely paid by the millions of dollars Dan has been instrumental in raising for the Maxwell Institute. Blair should pause and consider the fact that he wouldn’t have a job if Dan had not spent decades raising money for the Institute that now has... Read more
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