Category Archives: Favorite Posts

Full Text of N.T. Wright’s Recent St Andrews Lecture

By David Larsen | Published: October 28, 2010
With permission, it is my great pleasure to give you the full text of Professor N.T. Wright’s first address as professor at the University of St Andrews. My own notes from this lecture were previously posted on this blog, here. St Andrews University: Distance Learning Programme ‘The Bible and the Contemporary World’ Special Lecture by [...]
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The Exodus Narrative as Another Creation Story (for Old Testament Lesson 13)

By David Larsen | Published: March 24, 2010
Please excuse me for not sharing much for the last couple of weeks. I have been working hard on my dissertation. Unfortunately, I missed commenting on a story I really love — the Joseph in Egypt narrative. I won’t take the time to backtrack now and write much on it, but I have always thought [...]
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The Three Men Who Appeared to Abraham: The Godhead, Angels, or Human Beings? (Old Testament Lesson 8)

By David Larsen | Published: February 19, 2010
In Genesis 18, we read that the Lord appeared to Abraham in Mamre, and also, in the same verse, that three “men” visited him.  This has to be one of the most debated passages of all time.  The big question is whether these three were divine beings (and if one of the three was the [...]
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The Incomparable Power of God’s Salvation: Musings on Psalm 18

By David Larsen | Published: January 5, 2010
I wanted to share some comments on Psalm 18. I have been studying the psalms lately and have been especially impressed by their rich theological content.  I have been most specifically looking at the so-called “Royal Psalms”, which scholars have designated as such because of their association with Israelite kingship. Psalm 18 is one of [...]
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Professor John F. Hall: Notes from the Temple Studies Symposium III

By David Larsen | Published: November 7, 2009
The following are my notes from Dr. John F. Hall’s wonderful presentation at the recent Temple Studies Group symposium held 31 October 2009 at the Temple Church in London. Dr. Hall is the Eliza R. Snow Distinguished Professor of Classical Languages and Ancient History at Brigham Young University. The paper Dr. Hall presented is a [...]
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The Orphic Gold Tablets: Arriving in the Afterlife and the Importance of Memory for Salvation

By David Larsen | Published: June 26, 2009
The writing of this post has been delayed a bit, but I’m excited to share more specific details about the Orphic Gold Tablets. Chapter One of Instructions for the Netherworld: The Orphic Gold Tablets, by Bernabé and San Cristóbal is entitled “Arrival in the Subterranean World.” In this chapter, the authors concentrate on four of [...]
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Orson Hyde, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Hierarchy of the Gods

By David Larsen | Published: March 9, 2009
Lately, I have been looking into a very interesting topic in the Dead Sea Scrolls which concerns the idea that there are several levels of heaven and that each level has an appointed chief or guardian who rules over it.  This is actually a fairly common theme in Jewish and Christian apocalyptic and mystical literature [...]
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My Notes from the 2008 SANE Conference on Temples and Ritual in Antiquity

By David Larsen | Published: November 10, 2008
I’d like to share with you the notes I took at the SANE Conference on Temples and Ritual in Antiquity that took place this past Friday at Brigham Young University. As I was truly enthralled in what most of the presenters were saying and also paying great attention to the power-point presentations, my notes are [...]
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