A Great Mystery

[Daniel Peterson]

Some here will want to be aware of the newly-published book A Great Mystery: The Secret of the Jerusalem Temple: The Embracing Cherubim and At-One-Ment with the Divine (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2008).

Written by the late Dr. Eugene Seaich of Salt Lake City, whom some of us knew, the book argues that, in the view of those who built the ancient Jerusalem temple, humans become divine through spiritual union with God -- a union that was represented by what he contends was the marital embrace of the cherubim in Solomon's sanctuary, which itself represented a sacred marriage. The book has been kicking about in manuscript form for quite some time, but, thanks to the efforts of my friend Bryan Thomas, of Denver, has finally seen the light of day in print.

The book is endorsed on the back cover by Margaret Barker and the late Raphael Patai, and it features a foreword by Steve Wiggins, whom I especially appreciate because of his important work on the goddess Asherah: A Reassessment of 'Asherah': A Study according to the Textual Sources of the First Two Millennia B.C.E (Neukirchen-Fluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1993).

Unfortunately, it's very pricey. I got mine for 50% off at an academic symposium in Boston last month.

[Notquitewetyet]

Some here will want to be aware of the newly-published book A Great Mystery: The Secret of the Jerusalem Temple: The Embracing Cherubim and At-One-Ment with the Divine (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2008).

Written by the late Dr. Eugene Seaich of Salt Lake City, whom some of us knew, the book argues that, in the view of those who built the ancient Jerusalem temple, humans become divine through spiritual union with God -- a union that was represented by what he contends was the marital embrace of the cherubim in Solomon's sanctuary, which itself represented a sacred marriage. The book has been kicking about in manuscript form for quite some time, but, thanks to the efforts of my friend Bryan Thomas, of Denver, has finally seen the light of day in print.

The book is endorsed on the back cover by Margaret Barker and the late Raphael Patai, and it features a foreword by Steve Wiggins, whom I especially appreciate because of his important work on the goddess Asherah: A Reassessment of 'Asherah': A Study according to the Textual Sources of the First Two Millennia B.C.E (Neukirchen-Fluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1993).

Unfortunately, it's very pricey. I got mine for 50% off at an academic symposium in Boston last month.

Dr. Peterson,

This sounds interesting, and I guess next semester I'll have to see if I can get a copy to read through inter-library loan. Does Dr. Seiach try to argue that the temple/worship/union with God was for royal kings alone--which would seem to me to be non-controversial, considering sacred kingship (such as pharaohs and divinization of rulers) was common in the ancient Near East, or does it make the case that this was for the population at large (which would really be interesting in light of modern revelation and Joseph Smith's teachings)?

[e=mc2]

I posted several series of my YouTube videos discussing this magnificent volume of Seaich's. One of the very best reads of my entire lifetime.

[Bernard Gui]

Could you give a brief bio of Dr. Seaich?

Thanks.

Bernard

[urroner]

Could you give a brief bio of Dr. Seaich?

Thanks.

Bernard

Here is his obit: http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/106...ene-Seaich.html

[DispensatorMysteriorum]

Some here will want to be aware of the newly-published book A Great Mystery: The Secret of the Jerusalem Temple: The Embracing Cherubim and At-One-Ment with the Divine (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2008).

Written by the late Dr. Eugene Seaich of Salt Lake City, whom some of us knew, the book argues that, in the view of those who built the ancient Jerusalem temple, humans become divine through spiritual union with God -- a union that was represented by what he contends was the marital embrace of the cherubim in Solomon's sanctuary, which itself represented a sacred marriage. The book has been kicking about in manuscript form for quite some time, but, thanks to the efforts of my friend Bryan Thomas, of Denver, has finally seen the light of day in print.

The book is endorsed on the back cover by Margaret Barker and the late Raphael Patai, and it features a foreword by Steve Wiggins, whom I especially appreciate because of his important work on the goddess Asherah: A Reassessment of 'Asherah': A Study according to the Textual Sources of the First Two Millennia B.C.E (Neukirchen-Fluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1993).

Unfortunately, it's very pricey. I got mine for 50% off at an academic symposium in Boston last month.

How can one book cost so much?

[Notquitewetyet]

Here's a synopsis from Gorgias Press:

In this thoroughly provocative book, the late Eugene Seaich made a detailed study of the intractable mystery of the Jerusalem temple. Using historical sources and ingenious detective work, Seaich suggested that the cherubim in Solomonâ??s temple were portrayed in a copulatory embrace. Aware that this thesis was not entirely novel, the author built a substantial case in its favor and traced the influence of the atonement (at-one-ment) theology behind the concept through the periods of Israelâ??s wisdom school, into the New Testament and Gnostic sources, up through the Middle Ages. Seaich marshaled new evidence for his controversial interpretation at every stage and has offered his readers influential and profound conclusions to ponder when reflecting on the pregnant silence of Scripture regarding the secret places of the temple in Jerusalem.

"Seaich explores the world of the original temple in Jerusalem, showing how human beings became divine through spiritual union with God, a sacred marriage. He draws first on basic biblical and early Jewish materials, and then develops his theory with a vast range of supporting material ranging from the Ancient Near East to Kabbalah to mediaeval Christian mystics. He proposes new ways of reading familiar texts which have important implications for understanding the history of Christian theology and liturgy and the traditions underlying Islam. This book illuminates Marian studies, Wisdom studies, Jewish studies, and the intellectual heritage of mediaeval Europe; and it challenges the more violent theories of atonement and penal substitution. It is a feast of well digested learning that will be an essential work of reference for specialists, as well as a fascinating exploration for general readers." â?? Margaret Barker

"[An] important scholarly contribution to the history of Judaism, Christianity, and other religions." â?? Raphael Patai

Eugene Seaich (1925-2006) earned his Ph.D. in Musicology and German Literature at the University of Utah. In addition to the present book, he was the author of three other books in the area of Religious Studies.

http://www.gorgiaspress.com/bookshop/showp...27f97e2d2a2e646

Listed price there is $125.

[maklelan]

Some here will want to be aware of the newly-published book A Great Mystery: The Secret of the Jerusalem Temple: The Embracing Cherubim and At-One-Ment with the Divine (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2008).

Written by the late Dr. Eugene Seaich of Salt Lake City, whom some of us knew, the book argues that, in the view of those who built the ancient Jerusalem temple, humans become divine through spiritual union with God -- a union that was represented by what he contends was the marital embrace of the cherubim in Solomon's sanctuary, which itself represented a sacred marriage. The book has been kicking about in manuscript form for quite some time, but, thanks to the efforts of my friend Bryan Thomas, of Denver, has finally seen the light of day in print.

The book is endorsed on the back cover by Margaret Barker and the late Raphael Patai, and it features a foreword by Steve Wiggins, whom I especially appreciate because of his important work on the goddess Asherah: A Reassessment of 'Asherah': A Study according to the Textual Sources of the First Two Millennia B.C.E (Neukirchen-Fluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1993).

I was about to say, it sounds an awful lot like Raphael Patai's Hebrew Goddess.

Unfortunately, it's very pricey. I got mine for 50% off at an academic symposium in Boston last month.

Anyone manning the Signature Books booth this time?

[maklelan]

How can one book cost so much?

You must be new to this game. I have two books on my shelf that cost $275 a piece. A professor gave them to me, though.

Brill is one of the most exorbitant publishers on the planet. Peeters is number one though. They charge an arm and a leg and they don't even give authors a free copy.

[kamenraider]

I tried the interlibrary loan thing already, but the library I usually use makes you wait a year after the publication date before they do interlibrary loans.

Does anyone know how to pronounce Bro. Seaich's last name? I corresponded with him via email for awhile, but never had to pronounce his name.

I was going to have him run off a copy of the large version of his Ancient Texts & Mormonism book (I already had the small earlier version), but it was gonna be like $60 so I procrastinated and never got around to it.

[e=mc2]

I tried the interlibrary loan thing already, but the library I usually use makes you wait a year after the publication date before they do interlibrary loans.

Does anyone know how to pronounce Bro. Seaich's last name? I corresponded with him via email for awhile, but never had to pronounce his name.

I was going to have him run off a copy of the large version of his Ancient Texts & Mormonism book (I already had the small earlier version), but it was gonna be like $60 so I procrastinated and never got around to it.

Oh KAMEN! *THOU FOOL*!!!!!

I bought it, and have never been so amazed at the details. 1,100 pages, 3 inches thick. WHEW! It's too bad he couldn't get that one printed. Even retypsetting it would produce a whopping 700 pager. It is an utterly incredible read! Utterly. Did I mention utterly?

[Hick Preacher]

I corresponded with Eugene Seaich back in the 1980s when he did the â??Mormonism and Ancient Textsâ??.

This was for permissions to use parts of this work in my LDS Apology. I still have his premission letter on file and copies of his work in my collection.

His passing is news to me- and I am sure he is missed.

I still find all that he wrote to be very much worth reading.

[Daniel Peterson]

Anyone manning the Signature Books booth this time?

Sadly, they didn't seem to be there.

Of course, this was the first year that the SBL and the AAR went their separate ways. I didn't attend AAR, and it's possible that the Signaturi were there, peddling their wares.

[kamenraider]

So is his name pronounced "Saych" -- one syllable? I had thought it might be like SAY-ick or something, but really have no clue.

[David Waltz]

Hi Daniel,

You posted:

>>Dr. Eugene Seaich of Salt Lake City, whom some of us knew, the book argues that, in the view of those who built the ancient Jerusalem temple, humans become divine through spiritual union with God -- a union that was represented by what he contends was the marital embrace of the cherubim in Solomon's sanctuary, which itself represented a sacred marriage. The book has been kicking about in manuscript form for quite some time, but, thanks to the efforts of my friend Bryan Thomas, of Denver, has finally seen the light of day in print.>>

Me: Marriage is a must for deificationâ?¦I must admit up front this is a difficult concept for me. I have a very deep appreciation for so many aspects of the LDS worldview, but the concepts of heavenly marriage and a Mother Goddess in heaven are difficult for me. The notion that God needs a female to create children in His image seems quite void from the Quad; it also seems to contradict common notions of procreationâ??allow me to explainâ?¦

Kind reproduces in kind; my children are what I am, via procreation: I am body, soul, and spirit, and my children are the same. However, the LDS concept of heavenly Parents is quite differentâ??two beings with physical bodies, souls, and spirits, procreate only spirit bodies (the soul/spirt or intelligence is eternal, and the physical body comes later.)

As a long time student of the Quad, I find it more than interesting that Blake Ostler has discerned so many of the theological concepts that I have culled from my numerous readings; and as such, he too has reservations about a Mother Goddess/Goddesses in heaven.

Anyway, such are my late night musings on this issueâ?¦

Grace and peace,

David

[Daniel Peterson]

Me: Marriage is a must for deificationâ?¦I must admit up front this is a difficult concept for me. I have a very deep appreciation for so many aspects of the LDS worldview, but the concepts of heavenly marriage and a Mother Goddess in heaven are difficult for me. The notion that God needs a female to create children in His image seems quite void from the Quad; it also seems to contradict common notions of procreationâ??allow me to explainâ?¦

Kind reproduces in kind; my children are what I am, via procreation: I am body, soul, and spirit, and my children are the same. However, the LDS concept of heavenly Parents is quite differentâ??two beings with physical bodies, souls, and spirits, procreate only spirit bodies (the soul/spirt or intelligence is eternal, and the physical body comes later.)

As a long time student of the Quad, I find it more than interesting that Blake Ostler has discerned so many of the theological concepts that I have culled from my numerous readings; and as such, he too has reservations about a Mother Goddess/Goddesses in heaven.

Blake and I have some fairly substantial disagreements on some of these issues, partly stemming from our differing attitudes toward extracanonical teachings of Joseph Smith. (I'm more accepting of those, I think, than he is.)

I will agree that the doctrine of a Heavenly Mother is not clearly taught in the Standard Works, though, as you're probably aware, I've argued in my Asherah articles that it's not nearly so absent from the Hebrew Bible or even from the Book of Mormon as might appear at first glance.

The notion that the Father has a divine consort, and that temple marriage is a requirement for deification, is, on the whole, an extrapolation from the concept of temple sealings. But it seems to me a pretty good one. And, of course, it can claim a fair amount of support from extracanonical teachings by most if not all of the prophets and apostles of the Restoration, including Joseph Smith.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly_Moth...ter_Day_Saints)

Although the accounts are ambiguous, Joseph Smith, Zebedee Coltrin, and one or two others may even have claimed a vision of the Heavenly Mother in 1834:

http://www.lds.net/forums/123060-post24.html

I'll take a revelation over a theological speculation any day, so, if any actual revelations undergird these accounts, they'll inevitably trump, for me, any and all extrapolations from the canon.

[LifeOnaPlate]

I have been informed of this horrid injustice regarding the discount. Well, here's the thing. Discounts equal favoring. Getting "comped" mopologetic style typically involves academic discounts of up to 50%.

The interesting thing is how DCP was likely the only person who received such treatment, old bean!