Interestingly, a gentleman approached me after my presentation and asked if I was LDS.  I answered in the affirmative, wondering if it was all the talk of Melchizedek and his priesthood that gave me away. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the man’s name, and he hurried on his way, so I don’t know if he was also LDS or not.  It is great, though, how we Latter-day Saints are often so identifiable. We truly are a peculiar people…

So, I’ve had some great things to contemplate lately.  The academic study of religion and the Scriptures is alive and well and it is good to know that so many are still engaging in very strong and serious research in these areas.  And while I consider this type of academic religious research very important and helpful, I always try to remind myself that the most fruitful, useful, and beneficial type of religious study is that which is practically applicable — that which truly motivates us to come unto Christ.   In the end, this is the type of knowledge that is the most satisfying and that will lead us closer to our salvation (John 17:3). For this reason, I was very happy to be introduced recently to a great new blog by Robert and Carol Norman called Contemplations at http://rjnorman.blogspot.com/

Robert Norman is a retired CES employee, having worked for CES  an impressive 39 years. His last assignment was at the Salt Lake City institute that is adjacent to the University of Utah.  He describes his blog as a “spiritual thought for the day type blog” that he hopes will help family, friends, past students and missionaries (he was president of the Manchester, New Hampshire mission of the Church).  The content of Bro. Norman’s site is a great example of the type of knowledge mentioned above — great research that is applicable to our spiritual lives and which helps us draw nearer to God.  Much of what he posts involves identifying important principles in the Scriptures and explaining how they pertain to Christ and how we can apply them in our lives.  He identifies many allegories, types, and parallels that help illuminate the Scriptures in a way that is practical, useful, and inspiring.

Although the blog is fairly new, Bro. Norman has already written many great posts, including a series on how “Malachi Prepares Us for Christ’s Coming“, and the excellent series of “Spiritual Preparation through Sacred Sites” posts that provide some wonderful explanations and reconstructions of ancient sites/events, especially the Mosaic Tabernacle, and illustrates how these relate to, or typify, Christ and the Plan of Salvation.  The emphasis is on how these principles apply to us and to the modern Church.  He includes some wonderful images and videos, such as the following:

Tabernacle of Moses — Court and Linen Fence

I definitely recommend taking a look at this blog, written by good people who have some real experience with teaching and applying the truths found in the Scriptures.  While purely academic/scholarly research has its place and is important, I am always reminding myself that devotional study is of ultimate importance to our lives, both now and in eternity.  Contemplations presents us with both sound research into the scriptural texts and insightful interpretation regarding how we can use them to change our lives.

I recently received an e-mail from my Church Educational System (CES) supervisor, Thomas F. Olmstead–I will soon be starting my second year as a volunteer early-morning seminary teacher–who informed me of a great book that deals with the doctrine of deification as it was passed on in the Greek Orthodox tradition. I have not yet got my hands on a copy, but Bro. Olmstead highly recommended it.

The book is by Norman Russell and is entitled The Doctrine of Deification in Greek Patristic Tradition (Oxford University Press, 2004). He also mentioned that it was reviewed not long ago in BYU Studies, vol. 46, no.1 (2007).  From the back cover:

“The book traces the history of deification from its birth as a second-century metaphor with biblical roots to its maturity as a doctrine central to the spiritual life of the Byzantine Church. It begins with two chapters on the doctrine’s antecedents in Graeco-Roman and Jewish culture which draw attention to the contribution of Rabbinic exegesis, and also to the fact that in speaking of the soul’s ascent to God as deification Christian writers anticipated the pagan Neo-Platonist. Although the first enunciation of deification is in Irenaeus’ celebrated ‘exchange formula’. it was in Alexandria that the doctrine was fully elaborated. Two important chapters discuss and contextualize the different Alexandrian approaches from Clement to Cyril, bringing out the pervasive influence of Origen, who develops the idea of the rational creature’s participation through the Son and the Spirit in a dynamic divinity deriving from the Father. The technical vocabulary of deification becomes problematical for Cyril of Alexandria, who replaces it with references to 2 Peter 1:4 (‘partakers of the divine nature’). It was therefore through Pseudo-Dionysius and Maximus the confessor rather than Cyril that deification entered the Byzantine tradition.
Maximus’ many discussions of deification (or ‘theosis’) are examined in detail, for in his concept of theosis as God’s gift of himself to human beings through participation in the divine energies the patristic doctrine of deification comes to full maturity…. Two appendices review deification in the Syraic and Latin fathers, and present a survey of the Greek vocabulary of deification to the end of the fifth century.”

From the Introduction:

“They crystallized for me something for which I had been searching, a vision of man transfigured by the divine energies” (intro. p.4).

“Appendix 2 summarizes my lexical findings. Briefly, then, Christian usage of deification terms expressing the soul’s ascent to God precedes the pagan usage rather that the other way round, as is often assumed” (intro. p.8).

My thanks to Bro. Olmstead for introducing me to this book!

New Articles by Dr. Andrei Orlov

Dr. Orlov recently sent me the following links to some new articles that he has written. I thought they would be of interest to this audience.

IN THE MIRROR OF THE DIVINE FACE: THE ENOCHIC FEATURES OF THE EXAGOGE OF EZEKIEL THE TRAGEDIAN http://www.marquette.edu/maqom/mosesmetatron.pdf

The Vessels of Light: The Luminous Aeon Traditions in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch http://www.marquette.edu/maqom/vessels.html

Praxis of the Voice: The Divine Name Traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham
http://www.marquette.edu/maqom/jbl.pdf

 I’m sure I will be discussing these articles on this blog at some point in the near future. Until then, please have a look at the links and tell me what you think of these new articles.  Our thanks to Dr. Orlov for the links and for his tireless and excellent research!