The Backyard Professor

The ***Incredible*** Prolific Dr. Andrei Orlov

This site of his has MANY links to seriously great articles, as well as access to all his books, and publications he helps edits. Dr. Orlov is a good friend of mine, and a very serious scholar of Old Testament scholarship and Book of Enoch analysis. I have never been disappointed in anything I have ever read of his.

http://www.andreiorlov.com/

Nothing is Right.... Nothing is right! On Kolob

Nothing is Right…. Nothing is Right…. The Anti-Mormon Comments on the Book of Abraham Facsimiles

 

By Kerry A. Shirts

 

John Ankerberg and John Weldon’s book Behind the Mask of Mormonism, contends that Egyptologists have proclaimed that nothing Joseph Smith translated in the Book of Abraham was correct. They quote an archaeologist, a Dr. Richard Fales as saying “Joseph Smith did not get right even one word in this whole translation.” 1 They then use Gleason Archer, a fine Bible scholar, as saying that the facsimiles have also been shown to be incorrect. “Their findings [the Egyptologists of 1912] was that not a single word of Joseph Smith’s alleged translation bore any resemblance to the contents of this document.”2

 

These are fundamentally incorrect conclusions however, especially concerning the Facsimiles in the Book of Abraham. I will concentrate on a couple of particularly interesting correlations with the facsimiles, since they have been attacked mercilessly through the years, always without going into the Egyptian writings and concepts themselves. The key element in criticisms I am responding to in this paper is the principle claim that there is nothing that Joseph Smith said that has been correct or even plausible. James White rather adamantly claimed Joseph Smith “…grossly misidentified each of the items not only in this facsimile, but in the other two as well.”3

Becoming Gods Discussion from a Non-Mormon Source

“Becoming Gods by Becoming God’s: Augustine’s Mystagogy of Identification”, David Vincent Meconi, S.J., Augustinian Studies 39. 1 (2008): 61-74.  [Meconi is associated with Saint Louis University]

 

Meconi argues that the two ways of life for Augustine lead mankind into a position whereby they have to choose.

 

Many of make the wrong choice:  Meconi says that “by settling on the creature, the deceived soul confuses material goods with God.  This type of soul fails to soar upward to the divine but falls under the very bodies over which it is to have dominion, thus confusing these visible creatures with their draftsman” (64)

 

The soul can either strain for that place from which it came or it can settle for visible goods…. In this fallen state, the soul becomes confused with what it is to master (65)

 

When the human soul turns away from God, it becomes confused with lower goods; loving creatures instead of their creator, the soul becomes fused with the world (66)

 

According to Meconi “Augustine’s strategy of being removed from this morass is the Holy Spirit…. ‘It is love which conforms us to God and thus conformed and configured to God and cut off from this world, we are not confounded with the things which ought to be subject to us.  This is done only through the Holy Spirit’” (66)

Living Through is More Powerful Than Learning About

One of the finest stories on the Internet is here:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/11/23/Smith.daughter/index.html?iref=allsearch

More Talking with Critics About Reformed Egyptian - It is Real, It is Really Real!

Here is my response to an answer concerning my videos on Reformed Egyptian that I am "proving too much" in claiming English is also a reformed Egyptian script. No, quite frankly, I am not "proving too much," I am proving that I am not the first one to indicate the archaeological evidence showing precisely this situation, not only with English script, but Latin, Roman, Greek, Etruscan, Hebrew. Paleo-Hebrew, Proto-Sinaitic, all of which came out of the Egyptian hieroglyphic.

See here:

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

Hamblin of Jerusalem New Webpage on You Tube ***** (5 star rating)

Bill Hamblin, professor of ancient history at BYU has a new You Tube video page up where he is showing his videos and pictures of the Holy Land as well as lectures on the Bible, showing the Hebrew and explaining things. He is living there for a year while he is teaching. This is definitely a You Tube page to keep your eyes on!

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

Crowley's Entire series of Articles on reformed Egyptian Anthon "Caractors" Online

I was just informed the article I used in my reformed Egyptian video is entirely online. This is a very powerful piece to look at and see the evidence for ourselves. Thank you to my good friend Stan Barker for posting these articles. See here:

http://www.shields-research.org/Scriptures/BoM/Anthon_Transcript-Crowley/Anthon_Transcript-Crowley.htm

Yet More Proof of Reformed Egyptian, A Book of Mormon Theme

I recently uploaded my second video on this theme. The video response is from my first one to the second one and vice versa. Enjoy! I actually SHOW the physical evidence so there is no mistaking it, reformed Egyptian is for very quite real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DURy5RNjUFc

EXCELLENT New Lectures Series Celebrating Hugh Nibley's Centennial

This lecture series is bound to become a classic! NICE reading from Daniel C. Peterson's points of view and personal knowledge of Hugh Nibley.

http://www.mormontimes.com/studies_doctrine/doctrine_discussion/?id=13189

Linguistic Possibilities for Book of Abraham Name Elkanah

Kevin Barney has become one of my very most favorite authors. He always is coming up with stimulating, well thought out, and enormously researched materials. Here is one of my favorite papers of his well worth the pondering.

http://bycommonconsent.com/2007/04/05/bcc-papers-2-2-barney/

David Bokovoy New Study on Ritual Aspects of Genesis 27 EXCELLENT!!!

See here:

http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/studies/?vol=1&id=28

Bokovoy has ***always*** written stimulating and excellent research. This fine article is no exception.

Stop... No I MEAN STOP!

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007.   The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule. 4 minutes later: the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:  If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... How many other things are we missing?

EXCELLENT Article For Reformed Egyptian Theme of Book of Mormon

This is from my very good friend and fellow LDS scholar, John Tvedtnes. It is a MUST read for an archaeological aspect of confirmation for the Book of Mormon.

http://www.shields-research.org/General/SEHA/SEHA_Newsletter_127-2.PDF

Was Joseph Smith an Arrogant Braggart Claiming he Did More Than Jesus?

Was Joseph Smith Arrogantly Bragging in Saying He has Done More than Jesus?

By Kerry A. Shirts

Can a man boast and yet be a true prophet of God? Critics of the church sometimes quote Joseph Smith in a negative fashion to try and demonstrate he was not a humble man, and hence could not be a true prophet of God. Here is how they usually put it:

Joseph Smith actually bragged that he did more than Jesus.

Well that calls for taking a look at what Joseph Smith actually said.

"A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet . . . " (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 408-409).

It is important to keep in mind the biblical passage that Joseph Smith was commenting on. The passage is Paul’s own boasting in 2 Corinthians 11. And my, what an arrogant cuss Paul appears to be in that chapter! Yet, Paul’s demeanor was

The Anthropomorphic God Dethroned

My dear friend and fellow scholar Andrei Orlov has become one of the world's recognized experts on the Pseudepigrapha, especially with the Books of Enoch (Hebrew, Greek, and Old Slavonic) and recently wrote a very informing article "Praxis of the Voice: The Divine Name Traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham" in the "Journal of Biblical Literature," (JBL 127, no. 1 (2008): 53-70) of which I take just one of his ideas (I shall return for more later), since it has serious implications about the original Jewish understanding of God. Here is an extract from Orlov:

"the seer's vision of the divine throne found in the

Apocalypse of Abraham relies significantly on Ezekiel's account and stands in direct continuity with Merkabah tradition.

Interesting Hebrew Play on Words אָדָם & הָאֲדָמָה & דם & אֲדַמְדָּם

By Kerry A. Shirts
1/13/2010

Hebrew has a fascinating play on words concerning “Adam,” “mankind,” “blood,” and “red,” or “reddish”. It’s not found in the Greek, Latin, German, or English nearly as strong, if at all. This playing on words is what makes reading Biblical Hebrew such a delight.

The first man was named “Adam.” His creation from the ground is a beautiful play on words.הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה The man הָאָדָם (ha-adam) is made from the dust of the ground, the הָאֲדָמָה (ha-adamah)(Genesis 2:7). He is simply called “the man” when he is first created. The definite article הָ means “the” is attached to the word for “man” - אָדָם and it is very interesting that Adam can mean “skin” as well. (˒adamat) skin, as smoothly covering & close-fitting;

The word is used for an individual, as well as for the collective for all of mankind, or groups of men as

Another Look at צלם Meaning of "Image of God" (Gen 1:26-27)

Male and Female as

the Image of God

by August H. Konkel

April 1992

Διοασκαλια (Journal “Didaskalia”)

A primary text for the Biblical doctrine of being in God's image as male and female is Genesis 1:26-27. The starting point for understanding the significance of these verses must be the function of the keywords within an ancient near eastern context. The use of the words likeness (Hebrew dmwt) and image (Hebrew slm) is best illustrated in the oldest known Aramaic inscription, found at the edge of a ruined city now known as Tell Fekherye close to the Syrian-Turkish frontier. The inscription was found in 1979 by a farmer enlarging his field with a bulldozer. The inscription is on a life size basalt statute of a man standing with his hands clasped at the waist and wearing a short sleeved tunic that reaches down to his ankles. The inscription is a dedication of a statue of Hadad-yis'i, ruler of Guzan, to the storm god Hadad. The word dmwt (Aramaic lines 1 & 15) is used in an exact parallel with the word slm (Aramaic lines 12 & 16) to describe the image. This is the same pair of words found in parallel in Genesis 1:26 to describe mankind in the image of God (cf. Gen 5:1,3). It is significant that the words appear to be used interchangeably, and therefore need not occur in a consistent order, just as we find in Genesis (cf. Gen 5:3). It is also notable that likeness (dmwt) does not qualify image (slm) but is a term parallel with it. Both terms are interchangeable as a reference to the statue itself.

The statue represents the dedicator, the king of Guzan, whose name is Hadad-yis'i, meaning "Hadad is my salvation." Hadad, equivalent to the biblical Baal, was the name of the storm God of Syria and Mesopotamia, and other sources prove he was a leading deity at Guzan. This statue, dedicated to him, is indicative of his standing. The statue is the image of the king who offers his obeisance to the god and who seeks prosperity from him in return. The image is either a slm or a dmwt, indicating that the use of the latter term in Genesis 1:26 is not a theologically motivated qualification of the more concrete slm as is frequently asserted. The Genesis text is unequivocally asserting that man as a physical being represents God, just as a statute would represent a king or a god. There seems to have been a fluidity in terminology between living, visible images and their static representations in stone, wood, or metal.

 

Kerry's note - I thought it interesting that the words are used of a physical likeness and image of what that statue was to represent, and that physically. In other words, as this ancient construct of the Aramaic and Hebrew is used, we are to understand the composers of the Bible understood that it is our physicality which represented God, who also has arms, legs, mouth, head, etc. It is a physical likeness, not an ephemeral "moral" likeness as some commentators wish it to mean.

μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι – “Blessed are the poor in Spirit”

μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι makarioi oi ptochos to pneumati – “Blessed are the poor in Spirit”

Quick Notes by Kerry A. Shirts

Jan 5, 2010

The Sermon on the Mount has Jesus teaching “Blessed are the poor in Spirit…” Just what on earth does that mean? When we read “poor” we almost automatically take it as the opposite of being rich in wealth. Poor verses rich. However, though the Greek can present us with this allusion, it is an illusion. A better translation is available rather than the rather wooden literal translation as we are used to reading it.

However, first some very interesting exegesis on the grammatical aspects of the Greek show us surprise after surprise in getting to a better translation, which we will now explore. ptochos (πτωχός), to be sure, is “an adjective describing “one who crouches and cowers,” is used as a noun, “a beggar” (from ptosso, “to cower down or hide oneself for fear”), Luke 14:13, 21 (“poor”); 16:20, 22; as an adjective, “beggarly” in Gal. 4:9, i.e., poverty-stricken, powerless to enrich, metaphorically descriptive of the religion of the Jews. While prosaites is descriptive of a “beggar,” and stresses his “begging,” ptochos stresses his poverty-stricken condition.” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)

Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer demonstrated that the Greek οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι correlates with the עָנָו (ʿā∙nāw – “afflicted”) of Isaiah 61:1 (“…good news to the afflicted – עָנָו) which is the quality of humbleness, humility, unpretentiousness, i.e., a quality of sincere and straightforward behavior, suggesting a lack of arrogance and pride, of whom Moses was a prime example when we read that he was a “meek” man, (Numbers 12:3) the Hebrew being עָנָו  (ʿanaw), the Greek Septuagint giving us the adjective πρᾶος (praos), meaning “gentle, meek.”  The point of Jesus teaching is that he “transports the idea of the poor from the politico-theocratic realm (the members of the oppressed people of God, sunk into poverty and external wretchedness) into the purely moral sphere by means of the dative of more precise definition, τῷ πνεύματι, the poor in reference to their spirit, the spiritually poor, that is, those who feel, as a matter of consciousness, that they are in a miserable unhappy condition. He then notes that Chrysostom essentially gives the correct idea here of “the lowly and broken-hearted.” [Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Handbook of the Gospel of Matthew, Alpha Publications, reprint, 1979: 112, and note 4.] Isaiah 57:15 says the contrite and lowly of spirit וְאֶת־דַּכָּא וּשְׁפַל־רוּחַ The word דַּכָּה dakkāh, means “crushing” while לשָׁפָ can mean “modest” and  it has the sense of a humble, despondent, meek, or contrite spirit. It has nothing to do with vows of voluntary poverty as some early Christian church fathers taught. (Meyer, p. 113).

The TDNT assesses Matthews “poor in spirit” thusly - It refers to those who know themselves to be completely dependent on God’s mercy. Matthew thereby takes the edge off Jesus’ blessing, but at the same time secures it against the misinterpretation that external poverty by itself guarantees salvation. Matthew’s interpretation articulates precisely the attitude already indirectly addressed in the saying of Jesus taken up in 11:5.

 The exhortation in Mark 10:21 expands the demand Jesus makes of some of those called to follow him to leave their possessions; it now demands that they sell their possessions and give the proceeds to the poor (alluding to the traditional Jewish idea that alms secure a treasure in heaven). The goal here is to clarify paradigmatically (following or imitatio becomes a paradigm for faith in the post-Easter community) just how radically and definitively one’s decision of faith in Jesus will tear one away from other commitments and to show what one must be prepared to do in a given concrete case, or just how difficult it is for a rich person to realize such an exclusive commitment to Jesus.

The Greek μακάριος (makarios) translated as “blessed” according to W. Robertson Nicoll “represents the new concept of felicity.” He also notes that to be ‘poor in spirit’ “is not to be taken objectively, as if spirit indicated the element in which the poverty is manifest – poor intellect, but subjectively poor in their own esteem. Self-estimate is the essence of the matter and is comparable to real wealth. Only the noble think meanly of themselves. The soul of goodness is in the man who is really humble. Poverty laid to heart passes into riches.” {Kerry says – “I would also propose saying that lack of arrogance in one’s heart passes into riches – not necessarily monetary either}[ W. Robertson Nicoll, editor, The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, reprint, 1976, quotes in Vol. 1: 97.]

 This leads us finally to a remarkably excellent source for scriptural understanding and exegetical insight, and a more wonderful translation, namely the Lowe Nida Greek-English Lexicon πτωχὸς τῷ πνεύματι: (an idiom, literally ‘poor in spirit’) pertaining to one who is humble with regard to his own capacities (in the one New Testament occurrence, namely, Matt 5.3, this humility is in relationship to God)—‘to be humble.’ μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι ‘happy are those who are humble before God’ Mt 5.3. A literal translation of πτωχὸς τῷ πνεύματι may lead to serious misunderstanding, since ‘poor in spirit’ is likely to mean either ‘lacking in the Holy Spirit’ or ‘lacking in ambition or drive.’ In order to indicate clearly that this poverty or need is related in some way to spiritual realities, one may translate ‘happy are those who recognize their need of God.'

Further Reflections on the Masonic Letter "G" as γνῶσις - gnōsis

On the Masonic Letter “G” as γνῶσις - gnōsis

By Kerry A. Shirts

Dec 26, 2009

 It is a given that Masonic teaching declares “G” is for “God.” It also stands for the science of “Geometry.” I believe this letter “G” can also represent “Gematria” the sacred analysis of the letters of Hebrew and Greek showing numerical relations among words possessing the same value, which in turn actually demonstrate geometrical shapes of significance, based on scriptural words, phrase, and whole paragraphs; “Greek (the language of the scriptures, the Holy Bible being one of the three great lights of Masonry), and “Gnosis” one of the most significant words in the Bible (even though it’s not mentioned all that much as such), as well as one of the most fascinating movements among Early Christianity. What I wish to do in this paper is analyze the Gnosis, using Greek and historical literature dealing with the subject. It is precisely the acquisition of “Knowledge” (γνῶσις - gnōsis) that Masonry is all about. Not for

Oh Gee! Exploring the "G" of Freemasonry

Oh Gee! Exploring the “G” of Freemasonry

Kerry A. Shirts, F.C. Dec. 13, 2009

 

I just recently received my Fellow Craft Degree in Free Masonry this last week and was duly impressed with the whole ritual, initiation, and instruction. Twice now I have been hoodwinked, once as an Entered Apprentice, and the 2^nd time as a Fellow Craft, and twice when the blindfold was lifted from my eyes, the first thing I saw was that bright shining letter “G” piercing the darkness as the first form of light in the East above the Worshipful Master’s chair. We are instructed that it stands for “God.” In the Fellow Craft, we are also taught that it stands for “Geometry.” Geometry is by far one of the most important of the 7 Liberal Arts which we are importuned to sincerely begin paying attention to, studying, practicing, and teaching. There simply could be no architecture, whether on earth, or in heaven, without the science, the art, the wonder, that is Geometry.

 

In my readings through the years of various ancient authors and of sundry subjects, it occurred to me that the instruction that ”G” is for “God and “Geometry” is probably intended to tease our minds into recognizing, if not downright establishing, more connections, themes, ideas, and ideals than these two words alone, magnificent as they are. Right off the top of my head it quickly dawns on a Fellow Craft