Sep
08
Sep
03
The Phallic symbol and the Mormon God
I mentioned on today’s podcast that there was a penis in Facsimile No. 2 in the Book of Abraham (I might have said No. 1, if so I apologize for my mis-speaking). I feel that this is not a claim which ought to be made and not demonstrated. In the 1851 Book of Abraham (the first printed edition) we see the following:
The Pearl of Great Price, 1851 Original Edition facsimile no 2
The upside down guy in the bottom right area is zoomed in below:
Notice the Phallic object protruding from him. Who did Joseph Smith associate this figure with? He tells us! “Fig. 7. Represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand Key-words of the Priesthood…”
The pictorial representation of God, which Joseph Smith toted before the world, was with an exposed, erect penis.
Of course the was no secret to the LDS Church. If you were polygamous then that is an important aspect of your life. But then there was a period of time when such an image of God was undesirable. Below are three different versions of Facsimile No. 2 from 1949, 1973, 1974 (the order below)
In each of these versions there is a a penis-less version of the Facsimile. While we are on the subject, if these facsimiles are part of Scripture, and they can be freely changed, what does that say about the LDS view of God’s word? If God spoke through words and facsimiles then why change them? Is what God says important? If you believe it is shouldn’t you not change what he has revealed?
Below are zoomed in images from the above books:
1949 Facsimile No. 2 with no Phallus
1973 Facsimile No. 2 with no Phallus
1974 Facsimile No. 2 with no Phallus
Something amazing must have happened between 1974 and 1981. The Mormon god became erect yet again!
1981 Facsimile No. 2
And when you zoom in to the image of the God worshiped by Mormons you see this:
1981 Facsimile No. 2 WITH Phallus
This is a visual representation of the ever-changing LDS scripture. It is also a visual reminder that Mormons believe that God has a physical body as a necessary part of his nature. The book I am reviewing says as much.
Sep
03
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., The Joseph Smith Translation, and John 1:18
As I was preparing for today’s podcast I came across a page in Religious Truths Defined, by Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. (the 10th LDS prophet). In this section of the chapter on the nature of the Father he is driving home the importance of the (Mormon) concept that God must have a body. To bolster this point JFS criticized the King James rendering and asserts what he considers to be a correct translation (he calls it an “interpretation” but in light of the use of the term “translation” earlier as well as the nature of the Joseph Smith’s “Inspired Version” it is clear that he means “translation”). Is it any surprise that the King James translators missed an exception to the statement that “no man hath seen God at any time”?
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Religious Truths Defined, Page 38
The Greek text of this verse has an interesting variant. Prior to the discoveries of P66 and P75 in 1952 the weight of the manuscripts available indicated that the original author had written about an “only begotten Son.” “Only begotten” is a poor rendering of μονογενὴς, as the term means “one and only,” or “unique.” The real word of interest is whether the term which follows μονογενὴς should be θεὸς or υἱὸς, God or Son. P66 (written about 200 AD) and P75 (175-225 AD) both have θεὸς (God) not υἱὸς (Son). Add to that the weight of Codex Siniaticus (א), Codex Vaticanus (B), Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C), and a handful of other manuscripts and you have a very strong case for “the only God” (ESV, for example) being the correct translation.
While there are a larger number of extant manuscripts which contain υἱὸς (Son) this is no good reason side with that translation. The υἱὸς (Son) reading is a distinctly byzantine reading which is found primarily in this text family with a few (late) exceptions (such as miniscule mss 579, an Alexandrian text from approx 1250). Since these texts have been copied from one another and can be traced back to a ‘parent’ text geographically and by textual features which make it distinct from other text families, the large number of manuscripts does not mean it is a better reading.
Below is the textual apparatus from the UBS Greek New Testament, 4th edition:
UBS Greek NT, John 1:18
When you look at the Greek text it is interesting that, while there is a variant with the word “God” there is no variant which introduces an exception clause to tell the reader who can see God. The words in red below represent words in the Joseph Smith Translation which I can not find any textual support for:
And no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath borne record of the Son; for except it is through him no man can be saved. (Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:19 – The verse numbering is not the same as in normal Bibles)
In light of this evidence, I wonder what manuscripts Joseph Smith was using in his New Testament translation? Why are they nowhere to be found today? Why is JFS citing this faulty translation 170 years later to vindicate the current version of Joseph Smith’s 1st vision? Is he, as the LDS Prophet of that time, validating the Joseph Smith Translation? If so, and I ask this again, WHERE IS THE MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE FOR THE CHANGES IN JOHN 1:18?
Aug
31
Testimony of Earl Erskine (Ex-Mormon, now Christian)
This is a testimony of an Ex-Mormon who discovered the grace of Jesus!
Part 1
Part 2
Aug
31
EVENT: Compassionate Boldness Conference (Oct. 14 & 15, 2011), Salt Lake City, UT
Date
Oct 14 & 15, 2011
Speakers
Plenary Speakers: Rob Bowman (Institute for Religious Research), Sandra Tanner (Utah Lighthouse Ministry), Bill McKeever (Mormonism Research Ministry). Workshop Speakers: Cory Anderson (Shadow Mountain Church, Utah), Marv Cowan (Utah Christian Publications), Mike Ghiglia (Share the Son Ministries), Doris Hanson (Shield and Refuge Ministry), Rauni and Dennis Higley (H.I.S. Ministries), Bryan Hurlbutt (Lifeline Community, Utah), Eric Johnson (Mormonism Research Ministry), Loren Pankratz (The Bridge, Utah), Aaron Shafovaloff, (Mormonism Research Ministry), Chip Thompson (Tri-Grace Ministry)
Website
Aug
30
VIDEO: Witness Lee on the Trinity
Aug
29
Trouble Linking to A Witness Lee Book
Earlier today I created a bit.ly link to a book on Living Stream Ministry’s online books collection. It was to direct my readers to a book by Witness Lee titled Concerning the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The book is a short and glaring display of his confusion on basic aspects of the nature of God.
The bit.ly link was http://bit.ly/pujuwY and it should have sent anyone who clicked it (as I did within seconds of tweeting) to this page:
You would think that a group which considers themselves a ministry would want to make it as easy as possible to access their free online material. Not so with the Local Church’s publishing arm. By the time I got to class about 90 minutes later the bit.ly link was sending folks to the main page with no indication that they should have landed on the first page of a book they offer for free.
Might I suggest one trait of a cult is the willingness to distribute the cult-leader’s literature but an unwillingness to let an outsider cast it in a critical or negative light?
Aug
27
Bank of America fires Dr. Frank Turek for his Religious and Political Views
Frank Turek
I just wanted to pass a word along because this really makes my blood boil. Christian apologist Frank Turek was fired from his job at Bank of America because he had written a book: Correct, Not Politically Correct; How Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone. The blog link I was sent ended up being dead so I did some snooping and found the following:
Dr. Frank Turek was fired as a vendor for his political and religious views, even though those views were never mentioned or expressed during his work at Bank of America….
In late May of this year Dr. Turek was hired to present at a meeting of [Bank of America's] Global Business Management & Analysis Team within Global Wealth and Investment Management. The title of his presentation was called “Why Can’t You Be Normal Just Like Me?” The presentation helps participants adapt to diverse personalities to improve productivity and relationships—the essence of inclusion and diversity. The meeting was scheduled to take place at [Bank of America's] Merrill Lynch facility in Pennington, New Jersey on June 17.
Three days before the event Dr. Turek was abruptly fired by an HR representative. Why? She explained that someone Googled his name and discovered that he had written Correct, Not Politically Correct: How Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone. Marriage was not the topic of his presentation, nor has it ever been in all his years of working with the bank. [source]
Shame on you Bank of America. You are anything but diverse and inclusive. The knife of tolerance slices both ways, and when you discriminate against a Christian for holding to their biblical beliefs you show favor to anti-christian sentiments and contempt for the values and teachings of the Christian Church.
Frank’s website is crossexamined.org and you can follow him on twitter @Frank_Turek
Aug
01
Listen to The Dividing Line (James White) 24/7
They have been doing this for a while, but if you haven’t heard this yet you should check it out. Alpha & Omega Ministries is streaming old episodes of The Dividing Line on a continual basis, 24/7. You can access these episodes at the following link:
http://stream.aomin.org:8000/dl.m3u (This should open in iTunes or your default media player)
The pages for their webcast is available here:
http://aomin.org/articles/webcast.html
Jul
29
7 Ways to Support an Apologetics Website/Blog
There are many ways to show your support for the cause of Christian apologetics.
1. Follow them on social media websites (Facebook, Twitter, etc)
Most apologetics websites/blogs have a facebook page and/or twitter account. They use these to stay in touch with their readers. Likewise, readers will receive their posts/tweets when new content is posted. It is win-win. Even if you don’t read everything that they post, simply following them will encourage them.
2. Share, Re-post, Re-tweet…
When you read an article, blog, or any kind of webpage you find useful or informative, you can post that link to your facebook/twitter and help your friends and followers access the same information. The more people who come into contact with apologetic material the more effective it is. Bloggers and writers in the field of apologetics have a desire to impact peoples lives, you help them make a better impact when you re-post their material.
3. Look out for Ads
When a website has advertisements they receive revenue when someone clicks on an ad. Please be careful to not click on every ad indiscriminately (as this is usually considered abusive), but if you see an interesting ad while visiting a site you want to support you should click it and let the page load. Ads from Google are safe and generally reliable (meaning they screen the sites for viruses and malware). Your click will help financially support the website and could lead you to another interesting site or service!
4. Amazon Associates
Some websites are signed up with Amazon Associates. This also helps generate revenue for the website. The way it works is Amazon gives a special link to the site. When you click through this link and make a purchase Amazon pays a commission to the site that referred you to them.
5. Look for Wishlists
The field of apologetics is by nature an academic field. Enthusiasts who blog and write the articles you enjoy first must read and research. Many will have a link to a wishlist on Amazon or some other website. You can go to their wishlist and show your support for apologetics by purchasing them a book, CD, DVD or anything else you feel like buying for them.
6. Donate Money Directly
This more traditional method of support is also available. Apologetics ministries who have staff, inventory, and equipment usually have a budget filled with financial needs. If you enjoy their apologetic material and want to see them create more then consider donating money. Look for an address to mail a check or you can often donate online. Methods such as PayPal are safe, reliable, and fast ways to show your support. And as with any thing involving money, please be cautious and only donate to ministries and individual apologists who you trust will use your donation wisely.
7. Start your own Apologetics Blog
If you enjoy reading theology and apologetics, if you enjoy discussing theology and apologetics, perhaps it is time to take your interest to the next level and start your own blog! Free blogging services such as Blogger and WordPress are great ways to put your material out there for the world to see. It doesn’t matter if you post once a month or five times a day. You decide what to put on your blog and God will use it! Your blog can also be a way to support other apologetics websites and blogs by posting links to their content.