Tag: jesus
-
One additional scriptural metaphor that reflects and echoes the trinity is that of the Church as the Body of Christ. This metaphor not only teaches us about Christian community, but it also quietly echoes the eternal relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit—three persons united in perfect love and purpose. Paul expands on this metaphor in…
-
In a recent post, I pleaded with my Latter-day Saint friends to defend the Bible—not just parts of it, but the whole of it as God’s Word. Sadly, some current trends in LDS scholarship threaten to do the opposite. Recently I have seen an explosion of popularity among Latter-day Saint apologists of the theory that…
-
Grace is one of the most difficult topics for Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals to talk about. Even though Evangelicals Latter-day Saints use the same terminology, there are some pretty significant differences that are difficult to fully unpack. But often, it’s not our definitions that say the most—it’s our metaphors. Metaphors paint with vivid colors. They…
-
I used to love how well the Book of Mormon seemed to fit into the Biblical narrative. For instance, I delighted in imagining Lehi preaching alongside Jeremiah and warning against the Babylonian captivity. But shortly after I left the Church, I came across an argument that showed how the Book of Mormon actually distorted the…
-
For the introduction to this series go here. A Revealed Relationship: Father and Son One of the best places to begin contemplating the divine mystery of the Trinity is with the most concrete and tangible imagery God gives us: the titles Father and Son, which describe the relationship between the members of the Godhead. This…
-
Posts in this Series Introduction (this post) Echo 1: The Father and Son Echo 2: Marriage Echo 3: The Body of Christ Echo 4: The Angelic Hosts Echo 5: Echoes in Nature Conclusion The Trinity has been at the center of Christian doctrine and Christian worship for centuries. At its heart, the Trinity is a…
-
One of the most compelling reasons I rejected the LDS idea of a Great Apostasy boils down to a simple question: If the apostles died without successors and priesthood authority was lost, why don’t early Christians express alarm or lament? It very much strikes me as a dog that didn’t bark. The phrase “the dog…
-
As an Israeli-American Christian with deep ties to both the land of Israel (including many family members living there now), and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I’ve often found myself caught between two extremes. On one hand, some Christians feel the need to offer unqualified political support for modern Israel as though every government policy…
-
Preface: A few years ago I wrote an article discussing how the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, especially as interpreted by the Broadway musical Hadestown, could help teach about Jesus Christ. At the time I was very much a committed Latter-day Saint and that shows as my original is full of quotes from LDS…
-
As I’ve talked to Latter-day Saint friends or had online conversations with Latter-day Saints, I’ve often said that the biggest difference between the LDS faith and biblical Christianity is how the two understand the nature of God I tell my friends how I came to see that God was far bigger, holier, and more majestic…