The Backyard Professor

The Royal "We" of Genesis 1:26-27

From my dear friend and fellow researcher Edward "Ted" Jones

 

Here is some stuff I put together several years ago, regarding the 'royal we', as well as the meaning of Gen. 1. 26-7:

 

James White refused to deal with the subject of LDS thought and the early Christian concept of deification.  He stated that the Latter-day Saint concept of deity was not remotely similar to that taught in the early Church, and consequently deification could have no resemblance to the LDS concept of exaltation.  Therefore, something needs to be said regarding the nature of deity as it was taught in the early Church.  A good beginning can be had by examining what the Church Fathers had to say about Genesis 1.26 (‘Let us make man in our image’).  Gerald Bray, British evangelical scholar, has recently discussed at some length this statement, suggesting that an “awkward question is raised by [its] use of the plural…implying as it does that man, as the image of God, somehow reflects a plurality in God.  Here, there is no unanimity among interpreters.  All are agreed that the Israelite God is One, and that the use of the plural here cannot imply polytheism.”[1]  He says that it is “more probable…that God is here speaking to the heavenly hosts, though this raises such questions as … whether angels took part in the work of man’s creation.”  After citing Ps 8.5-6 (‘God made man a little lower than the angels’, which is quoted

D&C 77 - Young Earth or Old Earth?

From my good friend Mike Parker, who has analyzed D&C 77 supposedly teaching a mere 7,000 year old earth. As usual and always, Mike has some excellent insights into things that are worth understanding. I post this with his kind permission. Thanks Mike, this deserves to be understood better.

© 2009, Mike Parker For personal use only. Not a Church publication.Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class Doctrine and Covenants Sections 71, 73–75, 77, 86, 91, 113 Week 15, Page 9

 

D&C 77 a) This section is a prophetic explanation some of symbolism in the Revelation of John in the New Testament.

i) This book is an example of a type of Biblical literature known as an apocalypse. This word is borrowed almost directly from Greek (apocalupsis), where it means “revelation” in the sense of uncovering or unveiling something that is hidden.

(1) Other apocalypses in the scriptures include portions of Ezekiel and Daniel, as well as the visions of Lehi and Nephi.

ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν – ‘‘The Kingdom of God is Within You’’ What Does Luke 17:21 Mean?

ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν – ‘‘The Kingdom of God is Within You’’ What Does Luke 17:21 Mean?

 

Kerry A. Shirts MM, 32°, CM, RAM, KT

Eagle Rock Lodge #19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

January 2, 2011

 

After healing the ten lepers, Luke then presents (17:20-21) the Pharisees as questioning Jesus about when the Kingdom of God would come. Jesus’ response is interesting because he tries to show them their expectations are inaccurate in how they perceive what is to happen. The discussion of the meaning of the Greek statement βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν – ‘‘The Kingdom of God is within you,’’ in biblical scholarship circles is fascinating. It is ambiguous and various interpretations give shades of meanings that teach us a very important lesson. Based on syntactical, linguistic, and grammatical considerations, there is simply no one single correct way to interpret this statement. Dogmatism has to be laid aside with the realization that the Bible itself is never clearly one sided and simple in its meaning. Nor is there always a single correct interpretation and meaning. It isn’t the fault of the scholars, it is the very nature of the way Greek is constructed (and recorded as well as written by the ancient authors styles and choices of expression!) and how it can legitimately be translated into various ways, perfectly logic and coherent, and yet sometimes arriving at contradictory readings and meanings. ‘‘Ernst Kasemann argues that such theological variety in the early church is ‘so wide even in the New Testament that we are compelled to admit the existence not merely of significant tensions, but, not infrequently, of irreconciliable theological contradictions.’ Krister Stendahl agrees that such differences cannot and should not be resolved through clever exegesis because ‘when they are overcome by harmonization, the very points intended by the writers are dulled and distorted.’’’[1]

ἐμβριμαομαι αυτω: Was Jesus Really “Snorting Angry,” With the Leper in Mark 1:43-44 After Healing Him?

ἐμβριμαομαι αυτω: Was Jesus Really “Snorting Angry,” With the Leper in Mark 1:43-44 After Healing Him?

 

Kerry A. Shirts, MM, 32°, CM, RAM, KT

Eagle Rock Lodge #19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

January 1, 2011

 

When we begin reading the Gospel of Mark, we soon run into the story of Jesus healing the leper (after he had healed many at Simon Peter’s Mother-in-law’s house – vss. 30-34), and Jesus says to him after he heals him -  Και εμβριμησαμενος αυτω ευθεως εξεβαλεν αυτον – “And having strictly charge him, immediately he sent him away. ”

 The Greek brings up something that is not grasped at all in the English translations. Kenneth Wuest noted the verb in the phrase “He straightly charged him,” “is embrimaomai (ἐμβριμαομαι) from brimaomai (βριμαομαι) “to be moved with anger.” The word Mark uses means “to snort,” and was used of horses. In the classics it meant “to be very angry, to be moved with indignation.”[1] Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer described this scene, based on the Greek as “After he had been angry at him, wrathfully addressing him… we are to conceive of a vehement begone now! Away hence! With this is connected also the forcible εξεβαλεν (exebalen – [KAS notes – from the verb ἐκβάλλω (ekballō) meaning “to throw out,”

πάντα δὲ δοκιμάζετε, τὸ καλὸν κατέχετε – Prove All Things, Hold Fast That Which is Good

πάντα δὲ δοκιμάζετε, τὸ καλὸν κατέχετε – Prove All Things, Hold Fast That Which is Good: Part 2 - Refutation of a Popular Atheist Credo

 

Kerry A. Shirts. MM, 32°, CM, RAM, KT

Ritualist/Education Officer

Eagle Rock Lodge # 19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

December 28. 2010

 

By doing a little browsing through the Bible, we can find all sorts of ideas which sometimes take us by complete surprise. A popularized Atheist Credo I have been told by atheists is that we Bible believers are taught not to think, but simply accept what we are told. I simply do not find that concept in the Bible. The exact opposite intellectual paradigm is actually presented to us to consider.

 

πάντα δὲ δοκιμάζετε, τὸ καλὸν κατέχετε – Prove All Things, Hold Fast That Which is Good is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:21. This entire discourse is given by Paul to keep the people in readiness and not get caught off guard. The exhortation to be sober in vss. 6 and 8 is the Greek word νήφω nēphō having the sense of sober watchfulness, while at  2 Timothy 4:5 we read: σὺ δὲ νῆφε ἐν πᾶσιν, “you, however, show sound judgment in all things.” Actually, the verb is always found with exhortations. Verse 11 reads, in part, the necessity of “edifying” one another. The Greek verb here is οἰκοδομέω (oikodomeō) which is used of building houses, with the idea of “building up” or “to make more able.” Paul, when talking to the Ephesians declared they were to be δοκιμάζοντες τί ἐστιν εὐάρεστον τῷ κυρίῳ - “proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.” The verb δοκιμάζω (dokimazō) is in the present active meaning there is no assessment of the action’s completion. It means to regard something as genuine or worthy on the basis of testing—to judge to be genuine, to judge as good, to approve. δοκιμάζοντες is the plural because it is spoken to the entire group of the Ephesians. Larkin notes that “the participle could indicate the process of critical examination to determine genuineness, (Philippians 1:10) but more likely points to a response to the result of the investigation” – ‘to draw a conclusion about worth on the basis of testing, prove, approve.’[1]

Διὸ ἀναζωσάμενοι τὰς ὀσφύας τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν : “Gird Up the Loins of Your Mind” - A Refutation of a Popularized Atheist Credo Against Christians

Διὸ ἀναζωσάμενοι τὰς ὀσφύας τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν : “Gird Up the Loins of Your Mind” - A Refutation of a Popularized Atheist Credo Against Christians

 

Kerry A. Shirts, MM, 32°, CM, RAM, KT

Ritualist/Education Officer

Eagle Rock Lodge # 19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

December 23, 2010

 

The texts which I will exercise rigorous hermeneutical, exegetical, historical, and theological analysis are, for the most part, going to be 1 Peter 1:13 (hence the title of my paper) and Philippians 1:9-11. Investigating the Greek grammar, semantic range of meanings for words, exegetical and hermeneutic interpretations shed a great amount of light on the meaning of many biblical verses that are either misunderstood, mistranslated, or simply ignored.

 

The popularized atheist credo which the title of my paper alludes to is the general idea that we Christians are basically too stupid to critically think. Our belief in the Bible is misguided because it teaches us, in a nutshell, to simply sit down, shut up and accept our beliefs with “blind faith”which have no evidence. Never think critically for ourselves, but simply accept what our pastors, bishops or other church leaders teach from the pulpit. We don’t have the intellectual capacity to be “objective,” “scientific,” or even “realistic,” because the Bible proclaims that we are to accept things using “blind faith.” We can’t prove anything we believe in because we are taught not to think, but only believe and be naïve, both intellectually and realistically. The Bible programs us for dumb belief and to live in blind faith, hence we are brain washed stupid.

 

Granted the charges against us are emotionally laden, however, a close look at what the Bible actually does teach demonstrates that the atheist paradigm concerning our Christian intellect is itself terribly naïve and subjective, and worse still, completely wrong. Lets take a more careful look at what the Bible actually does say and teach, not relying merely on English translations, which miss the force of the Greek, but exploring the Greek meaning itself. The question is, just what does the Bible teach us about how to use our brains? Are we truly to simply shut up, sit down, and accept everything that is told without ever thinking for ourselves? Are we taught in the Bible to ignore the intellect and simply believe? This is what I will investigate in this paper.

My Word I’m “Bad”! No, Really… MY Word Can Make Me “Bad”

 

Kerry A. Shirts, MM, 32°, RAM CM, RAM

Ritualist/Education Officer of Eagle Rock Lodge # 19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

December 18, 2010

 

I owe the entire impetus to this exegetical research paper to a nifty book I own by George H. Guthrie, J. Scott Duvall, Biblical Greek Exegesis, Zondervan Publishing, 1998. Their idea and research is simplified in order to teach a student how to use a concordance, lexicon, and Bible dictionaries and commentaries, so their research is not meant to be as in-depth as I am going to go into. Their approach was delightful and I will expand on it. It is a message for all of us, no matter what our stations in life, Freemasons, Jews, Christians, etc. I have especially Freemasons in mind, but the application of this practical and interesting advice from one of the volumes of our Sacred Law, the Bible, is useable and seriously necessary for everyone of any walk in life to “get in your gut,” so to speak.

 

It is important to realize that words change meaning through time. Words also can have both a central meaning as well as peripheral meanings.[1] Kenneth Wuest put it quite accurately:

The Zietgiest: Film Destroying Christianity?

My good friend and fellow LDS researcher/scholar Ben McGuire has yet again written a profound response to a very good question which we Christians run across from time to time. McGuire's response is seriously thoughtful, and powerfully discussed. Well worth the reading! Thanks Ben for allowing me to post this!

The Question is:

I recently came across a video presentation courtesy of my ex  wife 

called zietgiest (one and two) which talks// shows parallels of  saviour figures 

thru mythology and biblical parallels...quite convincing  figures that predate 

Ideas on the Gates of Hell

The Gates of Hell

In Baptism for the Dead in Ancient Times

Hugh W. Nibley

Reprinted by permission from Mormonism and Early Christianity, vol. 4 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and F.A.R.M.S., 1987), 100–67. It also appeared in the Improvement Era 51 (December 1948): 786–88, 836–38; 52 (January 1949): 90–91, 109–10, 112; 52 (March 1949): 146–48,180; 52 (April 1949):212–14.

 

Pages 105-109

To the Jews "the gates of hell" meant something very specific. Both Jews and Christians thought of the world of the dead as a prison—carcer, phylake, phroura—in which the dead were detained but not necessarily

What Does ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν Mean Anyway?

What Does ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν Mean Anyway?

Kerry A. Shirts MM, 32, RAM CM, KT
Nov 25, 2010
Eagle Rock Lodge #19
Idaho Falls, Idaho

UPDATED already! In just 2 hours, I thought of something else that ties in well with this Logos theme from the Old Testament... I include the update at the end of the article. I suspect there is an enormous amount of parallels, themes, and commonalities everywhere if one looks. I will do so as I can.
In reading through several of my Greek lexicons for pure pleasure, I am finding an absolute wealth of information that I shall share as I can. For now here is something on the Logos of John 1:1 and the idea of the Greek word πρὸς (pros) meaning in general "with" someone or something.

1. The Meaning. It is the same as προτί (proti) and ποτί (poti). The root-idea is ‘near,’ ‘near by,’ according to Delbrück, though Brugmann inclines to the meaning ‘towards.’ In Homer πρός has an

"Blessed are the Peacemakers" - Greek Lexical, Exegetical Analysis of Jesus' Statement

I emphasize the research is for Freemasons, because so many of them don't have access to this kind of information, but in reality it is for everyone. Here is a new paper I have compiled concerning the Greek lexical and exegetic analysis of Jesus' statement in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the Peacemakers."

http://www.backyardprofessor.com/the_masonic_scholar/2010/11/biblical-exegesis-for-freemasons-blessed-are-the-peacemakers.html#more

Best,

Kerry

New Videos on Freemasonry & Mormonism Problems of Matt Brown's Book

I have a 5 part series on the subject. I tried to number them, but just Titled the first video in this series. Many more to come. ENJOY!

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBackyardProfessor?feature=mhw4#p/u/4/jja1xx3s54A

NEW Backyard Freemason Video Series

http://www.youtube.com/user/Thebackyardfreemason

Here is my introduction to the videos on Freemasonry I will produce over the next several years. I hope they are beneficial, enjoyable, funny, and  informative.
 

TRY THIS! I DARE You, Just TRY IT!

Just for ONE day, I have challenged us to say NOTHING but *NICE* comments to EVERYONE you bump into or see who looks at you. Find something...ANYTHING to say something uplifting, nice, and be sincere. FIND something good in ALL people you interact with in one day. Then do it again and again. After a mere week, watch the MAGIC come alive. I promise. I promise, PROMISE, ***PROMISE*** it will change lives, not just your own.

What if absolutely everyone in our world would do this. Once. Then once more, then once more, for just 3 mere days? What would happen? Yes, I am just one mere person of billions, but I AM ONE, and I CAN BEGIN SOMETHING LIKE THIS......... what if only 10 people take this up? 100? 1,000? 500,000? See what I am leading to?

All Seeing Eye of Freemasonry & Egyptian Horus Eye: Seeing the Light

The Freemason All Seeing Eye & The Egyptian Eye of Horus: Seeing the Light

 

Kerry A. Shirts, 32°

Eagle Rock Lodge #19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

May 16, 2010

 The “All-Seeing Eye” in Freemasonry has the intention, the guided meaning for us that “all the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings; that the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good, and especially upon them that fear him and hope in his mercy.”[1] Sir Lionel Brett claimed that “the concept of an all-seeing deity goes back at least to Euripides, 5^th century B.C.. The phrase was proverbial.”[2] And, of course, as a symbol, not to mention the actual reality, the eye is the most important sense we possess, since it is through the eye we receive light, the most significant goal of Freemasonry. “In the symbolism of Freemasonry, the ‘all-seeing eye’ in the triangle and surrounded by sunbeams appears in many lodges over the master’s chair, a reminder of the wisdom of the Creator, the “Great Master Builder of All Worlds,” penetrates all secrets; the eye is in some contexts also called the ‘eye of providence.’”[3] These ideas resonate in the ancient Egyptian concept of the Wedjat eye, also called “The Eye of Horus.”

 Rather than worrying about tracing the origin of the concept or the actual time the phrase was first used, or when it was adopted into Freemasonry, I will share some themes from the ancient Egyptian concept of the “Eye of Horus,” and it’s meanings, themes, and contents in the ancient Egyptian rites.

The New Intellectually Vacuous Atheism - Atheism Absolutely Disemboweled

http://www.firstthings.com/article/2010/04/believe-it-or-not

The Compass: Freemasonry Symbolism, Mysticism & Monad

The Compass in Freemasonry & Philosophy

 

By Kerry A. Shirts MM

Eagle Rock Lodge # 19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

May 10, 2010

 In the “Transactions” of the Idaho Lodge of Research No. 1965, Vol. 28/2 (Oct. 2006), an article “Compass – Set at 60 Degree Angle” by Jack L. Abrams, PM, (as originally found in the 2006 Trestle Board of Ionic Composite Lodge No. 520, in Fraternal Review of the Southern California Lodge of Research) appeared on pp. 11-12, discussing the compass and its 60 degree angle. Why is it set at 60 degrees?

 “The reason is the equilateral triangle has always been sacred.” [1] The sum of all angles of a triangle is of course 180 degrees. Divide by 3 and we get 60 degrees. “The compass thus set at 60 degrees alludes to the equilateral triangle and if the two points were united in a straight line, it would form one.” And, further, a compass set at 60 degrees can exactly make 6 points on a circle, dividing the circle into 6 equal parts. “The points, thus made, with the one in the center, constitute the mystic number seven.”[2]

LDS, Egyptian, Masonic Themes of Rites, Temples, and the Sun

Some Masonic/Egyptian LDS Notes of Interest

 

By Kerry A. Shirts MM

Eagle Rock Lodge #19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

 

We can no more show a direct line of descent from the ancient Egyptian rites than we can those of Eluseus, Mithraism, Judaism, or Early Christianity. In reading the ancient literatures in all their vastness, however, some parallels are just too good not to at least take notice. Not that the meanings scholarship ascribes to many of the ancient mysteries are the meanings which today’s Masonry adapts, interprets, or even accepts, but the parallels are quite striking, in a general sense. Knowing the parallels gives me impetus to command the Masonic literature, the meanings of the rituals and ceremonies, to strive for greater comprehension, understanding, and appreciation for what we do have right now today. That is the spirit in which I share these notes. It is to the LDS scholarship of Hugh W. Nibley whom I read steadily, and have done so through several decades, (19 volumes averaging almost 500 pages each in the Collected Works of Hugh W. Nibley so far) which I use to note the parallels. Masonry was not on Nibley’s mind, the LDS temple and parallels to the Egyptian rites were the context he labored so diligently and wonderfully on. It is a wonderful side benefit that Masonic parallels are also possible to view here. In all three traditions, the temple is core to the rites. Therefore, I make no apology for noting themes of interest to the LDS and Masons, because whatever understanding we may attain to the temple, its philosophy, history, and meaning, is designed to get us into the eternites. I shall leave a few short notes, summations, and themes which I have found, not even pretending to exhaust this amazing information. I will write more on these themes as time permits me.

 

The Egyptian Book of Breathings is at the end of a long Egyptian evolution of literature stretching back 

Jachin & Boaz: Solomon's Pillars and Freemasonic Symbolism

בעז & יכין ‪Jachin & Boaz: Solomon’s Pillars and Freemasonic Symbolism

 

By Kerry A. Shirts MM

Eagle Rock Lodge 19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

May 1, 2010

 No feature of Solomon’s Temple has had more commentary than the two pillars flanking the front entrance of Solomon’s Temple. But what do they mean? I won’t discuss all facets of them in this paper, but will work with the historical and etymological meanings of the names, and some other features in the discussions of the scholarship on the Ancient Near Eastern temples. And in the legends of our Craft, I will touch on a few items of interest to Masons concerning the pillars, the symbolisms as I understand them within Masonry. As always, the interpretations, research, meanings, and understandings I present here, are strictly my own, not to be construed as “the” meaning for the pillars in Masonry. Freemasonry has no dogma, nor any book which all Masons must conform to in order to understand “correct doctrine.”[1]

 But a little background never hurts, so I take a page to show the historical and archaeological discoveries that shed light on the temple.

 One the most recent studies covering an enormous amount of ground on Solomon’s Temple says “Solomon’s Temple is part of a common temple-building tradition in Syria and Canaan, indeed, in terms of form and ornamentation, Solomon’s Temple could be considered quite typical of the region. The closest surviving parallels to Solomon’s Temple are found in northern Syria at the temples of Tell Tayinat and Ain 

NEW BOOK De Hoyos, Morris DESTROY the Anti-Mason Stupidity

Reading a new and very impressive book by Arturo De Hoyos, R. Brent Morris, "Is it True What They Say About Freemasonry?", M. Evans, 2010 (269 pp). This book is stellar research, and devastating refutations of the insipidly inane anti-Masonic arguments, innuendos, and deliberate lying. A very POWERFUL contribution for ALL Masons to read, learn from, and see the *real* truths about Masonry. I am almost half way through it, and already have learned so very much, which I will be reviewing in detail. The authors are to be congratulated for destroying the stupidity of anti-Masonry.

Many topics such as the fraud of Leo Taxil saying Albert Pike taught upper degrees of Masonry teach the worship of Satan, that Masons do not regard the Bible as important, that Masonry is simply pagan, Masonry as anti-religious,  etc. I will bring out the many details in this stunning tour de force of very strong, very logical, and stellar research decimating the anti-Masons, once I complete my reading of it. Simply a MUST OWN, and MUST READ book. I will write up a serious review of this here once I finish it.

The astonishing parallels with anti-Mormonism and Anti-Masonry is something else I am going to write about. Even down to the exact same authors who are both anti Mormon,/Mason, and the exact same strategies, and types of lies. De Hoyos and Morris destroy the anti-Masons. The deliberately stupid ones like Decker, Scnoebelen (sp?, yeah, I really don't care that much whether I get it right or not), etc.