FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Revision as of 22:35, 20 September 2006
This article is a draft. FairMormon editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.
Contents
Criticism
Critics claim that the Bible teaches that God cannot be seen by mortals, and so claims by Joseph Smith and others to have seen God the Father or Jesus Christ must be false.
Source(s) of the criticism
Response
The most commonly used Biblical citation invoked by the critics is probably John 1꞉18, which reads “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
Early Christian author Irenaeus wrote in A.D. 180 that this scripture should be read “For "no man," he says, "hath seen God at any time," unless "the only-begotten Son of God, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared [Him]."[1]
Interestingly, Joseph Smith's revision of the Bible agrees with Irenaeus' reading:
- No man hath seen God at any time except he hath borne record of the Son . . .(italics represent changes in JST)
Irenaeus' "unless" (or Joseph's "except") makes all the difference. Irenaeus knew that righteous men had seen God in the past (see Acts 7꞉55-56, Genesis 32꞉30, Genesis 17꞉1, Genesis 18꞉1, Acts 7꞉2, Exodus 3꞉6, Exodus 19꞉11, Exodus 33꞉11, Numbers 12꞉7-8, 1 Kings 9꞉2, 1 Kings 11꞉9, Isaiah 6꞉1,5, Exodus 24꞉10-11, Deuteronomy 34꞉10, Deuteronomy 5꞉4, Judges 13꞉22, Genesis 3 , Hebrews 11꞉27, Job 42꞉5, Job 33꞉26, Job 19꞉26, Ezekiel 1꞉1, Ezekiel 8꞉1-4, Joshua 5꞉12-15, Revelation 22꞉4).
Furthermore, by adopting this approach, Irenaeus' interpretation of John 1꞉18 harmonized with the rest of the Bible and the qualifications which the Bible provides for those who may see God. The requirements are:
- Must be "of God" “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.” (John 6꞉46.)
- Must have "peace and holiness" within you "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which, no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12꞉14.)
- Must be pure in heart "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5꞉8.)
As the numerous Biblical references demonstrate, the idea of seeing God is hardly foreign to Hebrew or early Christian thought. There are also non-scriptural examples: Philo the Jew taught that the name Israel was compounded of 3 words “ish” “rah” “El”, which means “man seeing God”. [citation needed] And, an early Christian document called the Clementine Homilies portrays the apostle Peter as agreeing with Irenaeus' view:
- For I maintain that the eyes of mortals cannot see the incorporeal form of the Father or Son, because it is illumined by exceeding great light. . . . For he who sees God cannot live. For the excess of light dissolves the flesh of him who sees; unless by the secret power of God the flesh be changed into the nature of light, so that it can see light.[2]
Joseph Smith revealed the same essential truth (DC 67꞉11, DC 84꞉22).
It is the critics' view of John 1:18 that is novel and at odds with the earliest Christian understanding of the scripture, not Joseph Smith's.
Conclusion
Numerous Biblical vereses attest that God has been seen by select humans. John 1:18, which the critics use to argue otherwise, has been interpreted differently by early Christians to avoid the self-contradiction which the critics' reading creates for the Bible.
If God can say "I change not," (Malachi 3꞉6) and he has appeared to mortals in the past, as the Bible bears record, why would he change his tactics and refuse to appear to modern prophets?
Endnotes
- [note] Irenaeus, "Against Heresies," in Chapter 6) Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaff (Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886)1:427. ANF ToC off-site This volume
- [note] Apostle Peter (claimed), "Clementine Homilies," in 17:16 Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaff (Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886)8:322–323. ANF ToC off-site This volume
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
FAIR web site
- FAIR Topical Guide:
- Barry R. Bickmore, "The Doctrine of God and the Nature of Man," in Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity (Redding, CA: Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 1999).