Question about Michael Heiser

[angels4u]

27 minutes ago, GandalfTheWise said:

I've not read any of his work but have read some summaries and have skimmed his web site.  As far as I can tell, he is a Christian and an actual Hebrew and OT scholar who is committing his life to this speciality.   He's not just someone who took a Hebrew course or two at some point and is called a "scholar" because they look stuff up in Strongs and and do a few teachings here and there on this type of topic. 

As far as I can tell, one thrust of his research is to better understand the beliefs and cultures of the peoples and lands surrounding those who were the focus of the OT.  This provides a context for understanding what are similarities and what are differences between the people of Israel (and their forebears) and the general culture and place they lived.   This helps give us a better understanding of how people in the OT saw the world and God's interactions with them.  For example, we can plainly see in a few NT stories that the disciples' world view contained the idea that health and wealth were a sign of God's favor and that Jesus' role was that of a military/political leader.  We can acknowledge that some disciples believed those things without we ourselves believing those things.  Delving into how those in the OT saw the world around them does not change the OT, it gives us better insight into how those living in those times themselves would understand various parts of the OT.

This type of approach necessarily means he has to look at existing literature, languages, and archeological evidence outside the Bible to learn from.  This also means that part of his work will be conjectural in nature (which will require more work from himself or others to delve into in the future to learn more about).  Finally, some of his work will simply show our western and traditional understanding of some parts of the OT will be incomplete or in error.

The main criticisms I've found of his work fit these categories.  Some seem angry that he is looking at literature outside the OT to learn about the surrounding cultures and religions.  Some seem to equate this with adding those things to the OT or replacing the OT with those things.   Others hop onto more conjectural points that differ from traditional views as proving he doesn't know what he is doing and use this to discredit those things he writes that are on a more solid footing.   Then there are those criticisms from those I think of as heresy hunters who look for single out of context sentences and passages to make accusations of heresy about.  

As with many scholars, there are two sides to his work.  There is his detailed academic side and there is his popular/colloquial side where he attempts to summarize his findings in a way that non-specialists can understand.  I'm actually intrigued about his work now and will probably read some of his books in the future.

Thanks for your reply, we're  watching his video “unseen realm” and it's very interesting, it's very long but well worth taking the the time to watch it, I have my Bible open and look for certain passages when he explains it.He talks about the unseen realm , not something we usually hear in church. 

 

 

 

[angels4u]

26 minutes ago, Alive said:

You about nailed it. I would add that he is a pleasant brother to listen too.

He also has a ministry translating bibles into languages without scripture and worked tomdevelop Logos bible software.

He's very easy to listen too...

[angels4u]

10 hours ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

You have to remember Dr. Heiser is both a Hebrew and Greek scholar.  Unseen Realm was his doctoral thesis.  He has ample notes in Unseen Realm but the print is a little small for my 72 year old eyes. But it is so worthwhile, I am 350 pages into it, I will finish it as long as my eyes hold out.  There is a lot of good references in the notes, so they really shouldn't be ignored.  I have seen him on TV on shows like Prophesy Watchers.  He is an Old Earth Creationist, quotes some from 1 Enoch but does not believe it should be in the Biblical Canon.  He is my Number 1 go to writer not in the Bible. 

His video is 4 1/2 hours it's called “unseen realm” I think you would enjoy watching it instead of reading small letters, I don't like those small letters anymore either haha...

[angels4u]

10 hours ago, missmuffet said:

Of course Dr. Charles Stanley has always been one of my favorites. 

We can sure trust his teaching!

[angels4u]

7 hours ago, The_Patriot21 said:

Unfortunately with putting a question like this out there on a public forum your going to get a dozen opposing answers. And the answers may all be informative, but in the end sometimes the only way to find out is to open the book and read it.

That's what I do now , I just listen to his video and found it so far very scriptuel, not something you hear every day...

[Starise]

As others have said, he goes outside of the cannon for some of his answers. This isn't a bad thing, just something to be aware of. So long as views and opinions don't disassociate the canon. Any other scholar would do the same. I think we need to keep in mind that some of what he says is educated opinion.

Several of his key points are:

-The modern church has largely lost touch with the supernatural aspects of the Bible.

I believe he is correct in this view. While I can't speak for all churches, I think many have drifted away from many of those earlier ideas on the supernatural. Churches that don't deny the bible but omit certain teachings based on false assumptions. Michael reintroduces us to these older earlier ideas on the supernatural in the bible.

-The hierarchy in heaven. The angelic realm, the way Yahweh has His order set up  which in Michael's view is more reliant on a circle of leaders than some would have thought.

-The idea that Yahweh can use others to project Himself. There's a word for it that's not coming to me.

These ideas are not exhaustive of everything he writes and teaches about, but as I see it, this is the primary focus.

Michael's approach is to look at ancient Hebrew history and culture as others have said, to try and get a better glimpse into some scriptures that commonly raise questions among some believers.

My advice would be to read him if you want to and form the best balanced view you can justify.

God knows we need good teachers because there are many out there who are not totally grasping what the bible says, including me at times.

What I find with many of the "Christian Personalities" out there is when I dig deep into their teachings I see they are following a party line. The Chuck Swindols and the Charles Stanleys and similar have all adopted very traditional ideas that come from very traditional schools which isn't always a good thing. In their radio and TV shows they often cover day to day life matters and very seldom even attempt to scrape the surface of some of these deeper issues. In other words, they stay in a safe neutral zone. It helps new believers and maintains a good environment for fostering the kinds of things most Christians are facing day to day. What they don't do is ever talk about some of the things Michael Hieser dares to address.

Michael started out in Theological no man's land and makes a grand attempt at answering some of these deeper questions others won't dare to touch.

-Tim

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by Starise

[Alive]

Yup--what He essentially looks for is the 'context' in which the writers lived and wrote. This is hugely valid.

[LearningToLetGo]

33 minutes ago, Starise said:

-The idea that Yahweh can use others to project Himself. There's a word for it that's not coming to me.

Something like "ambassador?" The Ambassador is not the King/President/Prime Minister etc. but is authorised to speak and negotiate on his behalf.

[angels4u]

35 minutes ago, Starise said:

As others have said, he goes outside of the cannon for some of his answers. This isn't a bad thing, just something to be aware of. So long as views and opinions don't disassociate the canon. Any other scholar would do the same. I think we need to keep in mind that some of what he says is educated opinion.

Several of his key points are:

-The modern church has largely lost touch with the supernatural aspects of the Bible.

I believe he is correct in this view. While I can't speak for all churches, I think many have drifted away from many of those earlier ideas on the supernatural. Churches that don't deny the bible but omit certain teachings based on false assumptions. Michael reintroduces us to these older earlier ideas on the supernatural in the bible.

-The hierarchy in heaven. The angelic realm, the way Yahweh has His order set up  which in Michael's view is more reliant on a circle of leaders than some would have thought.

-The idea that Yahweh can use others to project Himself. There's a word for it that's not coming to me.

These ideas are not exhaustive of everything he writes and teaches about, but as I see it, this is the primary focus.

Michael's approach is to look at ancient Hebrew history and culture as others have said, to try and get a better glimpse into some scriptures that commonly raise questions among some believers.

My advice would be to read him if you want to and form the best balanced view you can justify.

God knows we need good teachers because there are many out there who are not totally grasping what the bible says, including me at times.

What I find with many of the "Christian Personalities" out there is when I dig deep into their teachings I see they are following a party line. The Chuck Swindols and the Charles Stanleys and similar have all adopted very traditional ideas that come from very traditional schools which isn't always a good thing. In their radio and TV shows they often cover day to day life matters and very seldom even attempt to scrape the surface of some of these deeper issues. In other words, they stay in a safe neutral zone. It helps new believers and maintains a good environment for fostering the kinds of things most Christians are facing day to day. What they don't do is ever talk about some of the things Michael Hieser dares to address.

Michael started out in Theological no man's land and makes a grand attempt at answering some of these deeper questions others won't dare to touch.

-Tim

 

It gives a better understanding of the Bible,thanks for your reply!

Did you watch "Unseen realm" ?

[Starise]

1 minute ago, angels4u said:

It gives a better understanding of the Bible,thanks for your reply!

Did you watch "Unseen realm" ?

No I have the book. I think it's one of those books that probably demands a second reading. He makes the material digestible. I am just the type of person who looks things over again to make sure I got all of it

If it took him, let's say, two years to write the book and I am interested in the subject, his work deserves more than a 1st read or cursory scan.