Summary: God as a Close Personal Father For me personally, one of the most powerful concepts taught by Joseph Smith concerns the relationship between God and man - the concept resulting in the Primary song, "I am a child of God." For me personally, one of the most powerful concepts taught by Joseph Smith concerns the relationship between God and man - the concept resulting in the Primary song, "I am a child of God." Jesus encountered a Jewish society wherein the current views of God, the result of several centuries of evolution, placed a giant gulf between God and man. To first century Jews, God was transcendent. In theology this term refers to the degree of difference between God and the physical world and mankind. The higher the concept of transcendence, the greater the gulf between God and man. Many have, and do, believe God's transcendence is such that, to man, God is beyond all comprehension; completely unknowable; that he is "wholly other;" he is the Creator, and we are the creation. Jesus eradicated this gulf by declaring a close relationship between God and man unheard of in ancient Israel. Jesus spoke of God as even more anthropomorphic than that found in the most ancient Israelite belief before the several centuries just preceding the Chrisitan era when the concept of a transcendent God developed. During his ministry Jesus introduced God as his personal Father, and the personal Father of his disciples. His view was not just that God is our personal Father, but that he is our close personal Father to be addressed with a term no Jew would have considered using for God. Along the way, the early Christian church discarded Jesus' view and restored the concept of transcendence, even to what may well be the ultimate degree. During Joseph Smith's efforts to restore primitive Christianity, he re-introduced, with great clarity, the concept taught by Jesus, including a new dimension. The research of highly respected modern non-Mormon New Testament scholars, and modern translations of the New Testament have provided considerable insight into Jesus' unique view of man's relationship to God. I discuss the research published about 50 years ago which uncovered this lost concept of Jesus and startled many modern Christian scholars. I also present a number of striking sources including a number of modern renderings of relevant New Testament passages from some of the modern translations. Creator / creation relationship between man and God. Father / son relationship between man and God. Potential to transcend the position of a creation to be a son with the potential to become like our Father - God. Jesus's use of the Aramaic word "Abba" for God, his Father and our Father. Anthropomorphic concept of God. Callers and Email: Is not Book of Mormon theology trinitarian; discussion of different interpretations of the trinity and several Book of Mormon passages. This caller is moved more by the idea of our relationship to God as a Father than as God as a Creator, like the relationship of a painter to his painting. More on the theology of God in the Book of Mormon. How is Christ the Creator. Talk Show host: Van Hale, LDS Official website: http://www.mormonmiscellaneous.com/ Podcast address: http://www.mormonmisc.podbean.com/ Talk Show Blog: mormonmiscellaneous.com/radioprogramblog This is the 21 October 2007 episode of the Mormon Miscellaneous Worldwide Talk Show, now in its 28th year. To listen to future Talk Shows live, go to http://www.k-talk.com/ Sunday evenings 5:00 - 7:00 pm MST. If you have a question or comment, your participation is invited, regardless of your point of view. Your voice will be heard around the world. Click to visit my eStore Catalog of Digital Articles related to some of my Podcast Episodes To make a comment, click on “Comment” below.
