Aristotle's God

Mainsteam Christianity doesn't consider members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be Christian because we don't subscribe to the Trinitarian conception of God. However. the Trinity in many aspects sounds a lot like Aristotle's and the Greek Hellenistic conception of diety. Must LDS be Greek to be Christian? Aristotle's god sounds a lot like the god of Thomas Aquinas. 

Aristotle conceived of God as the Unmoved Mover, the ultimate final cause of all motion and change in the universe. This "God" is not a personal, intervening deity but rather the source of order and purpose in the cosmos, a purely intellectual and immaterial being engaged in perfect contemplation of itself. 

Unmoved Mover:

Aristotle argued that everything in the universe is in motion, and each movement must be caused by something else. This chain of causes can't go on infinitely, so there must be a first mover that is itself unmoved, the Unmoved Mover. 

Final Cause:

This Unmoved Mover is the ultimate purpose or end toward which all things in nature are striving. It is not a causal force in the way that a person might move an object, but rather it is the motivating force that gives things direction and purpose. 

Divine Nous:

Aristotle also described God as Divine Nous, meaning "divine intellect." This Nous is the perfect actuality of thought thinking itself, the most perfect form of being. 

Immaterial and Eternal:

God is not a material being but rather a pure spirit, incorporeal and without any physical attributes. God is also eternal, meaning that God has always existed and will always exist, as there would be no time without change and God is the cause of all change.

 

Contemplation:

God's activity is primarily one of contemplation, reflecting on itself in a state of perfect self-knowledge. 

Not a Personal God:

It's important to note that Aristotle's God is not a personal, anthropomorphic deity in the way that God is often conceived in the Abrahamic religions. God is not concerned with the affairs of the world or with human beings' actions. 

A Source of Order:

Aristotle believed that God's existence and nature explain the order and intelligibility of the natural world. All things in nature are ordered and strive towards a specific goal, and this order is ultimately traceable to the influence of the Unmoved Mover. 

Microcosms of Creation

The Bible reveals divine patterns that are reflected in creation as well as all throughout scripture. Symbolic elements in Creation can be seen in the biblical feasts, prophetic history, as well as pointing to and prophesying details of the coming of Messiah, the Son of God.

Day 1, light/dark, sin/death,

Dispensation: Adam.

Exodus: Plagues of Egypt

Tabernacle: Altar of Sacrifice

Ministry: Temptation of Christ

Passion: Christ enters Jerusalem

Gospel: Faith

Feast: Passover (Pesach)

Day 2, sky/water, flood.

Dispensation: Noah,

Exodus: Isrsel passes through Red Sea

Tabernacle: Bronze Laver

Ministry: Christ changes water to wine

Passion: Christ purifies the temple and curses the fig tree.

Gospel: Repentance

Feast: Firstfruits

Day 3, water/land, plants/seed, covenant.

Dispensation: Abraham

Exodus: manna given

Tabernacle: Table of Showbread

Ministry: Christ gives the Sermon on the Mount

Passion: Christ teaches the Parable of the Tenants and the Olivet Discourse

Gospel: Baptism

Feast: Unleavened Bread

Day 4, sun, moon, stars appear, scripture, Dispensation: Moses.

Exodus: Israel given 10 Commandments

Tabernacle: Golden Lampstand (menorah)

Ministry: Christ heals the sick, blind and deaf.

Passion: Christ is anointed at Bethany.

Gospel: Gift of Holy Ghost

Feast: Pentacost

Day 5, fish/birds. Disciples spread gospel and bestow the Holy Ghost.

Dispensation: Peter

Exodus: Israel given the Tabernacle

Tabernacle: Insense Altar

Ministry: Christ multiplies the loaves and fishes

Passion: Christ celebrates the Last Supper, washes feet, suffers at Gethsemane

Gospel: Initiatory

Feast: Trumpets

Day 6, Man created from dust, apostasy and restoration,

Dispensation: Joseph Smith.

Exodus: Isreal wanders 40 years in desert.

Tabernacle: Veil of the Temple

Ministry: Christ raised Lazarus

Passion: Christ is tried, crucified and dies

Gospel: Endowment

Feast: Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

Day 7, God rests, All enemies subdued.

Dispensation: Jesus Christ

Exodus: Israel enters promised land.

Tabernacle: Ark of the Covenant

Ministry: Christ triumphantly enters Jerusalem and clenses temple.

Passion: Christ rests, preaches to the world of spirits

Gospel: Sealing

Feast: Tabernacles (Sukkot)

Day 8,

Passion: Christ's resurrection

Creation Patterns and Parallels

The Bible reveals divine patterns that are reflected in creation as well as all throughout scripture. Symbolic elements in Creation can be seen in the biblical feasts, prophetic history, as well as pointing to and prophesying details of the coming of Messiah, the Son of God.

Day 1, God divides the light/dark. In the first 1000 years man falls, sin and death is introduced. Dispensation of Adam, Pesach.

Day 2, God divides the sky/waters. In the 2000 years the flood destroys the Earth. Dispensation of Noah. Firstfruits.

Day 3, God divides the water/earth and causes the plants/seed to grow. In the 3000 years, God covenants to bless the seed of Abraham with a promised land. Dispensation of Abraham, Unleavened Bread.

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Day 4, God causes the sun, moon, stars to appear. In the 4000 years, Law of Moses is given. Dispensation of Moses, Shavuot.

Day 5, God createa the fish/birds and causes them to multiply, In the 5000 years Jesus Christ is born as the Messiah and Son of God. Disciples spread the gospel and give the Holy Ghost. Dispensation of Peter, Rosh Hashanah.

Day 6, God creates mankind and commands them to multiply and take dominion, subdue all animals (including serpent), In the 6000 years Israel was to subdued all enemies but failed and were overcome. The Great Apostasy, Day of Atonement.

Day 7, God rests and creates Eve. In the 7000 years, all enemies are subdued, The Earth enjoys its Millennial rest. Israel receives its full promised inheritance.  

Dispensation of Joseph Smith, Sukkot.

Testimony of Christ in Biblical Feasts

The holidays or feasts in the Old Testament look backward and commemorate aspects of the Exodus of Israel from bondage in Egypt while at the same time point forward to the coming of the Messiah; the Son of God.

Most Christians recognize the parallels between the Jewish feasts and the first and promised second coming of Jesus Christ. The Spring feasts corresponds to Christ's first coming in the Meridian of time, while the Fall feasts point to events which are to occur as part of Christ's Second Coming.

Spring Feasts

1. Passover (Pesach) = angel of death passed over the firstborn if lambs blood was placed over the doorway = Faith = Christ's crucifixion

2. Unleavened Bread (Hag ha-Matzot) = Israel left with haste from Egypt eating flat bread = Repentance = Christ's burial

3. Firstfruits (Hag ha-Besht) = giving of manna, barley harvest, Baptism = Christ's resurrection.

4. Pentecost/Weeks (Shavuot) = giving of the 10 commandments, wheat harvest, Gift of Holy Ghost = Coming of Holy Ghost.

Fall Feasts

5. Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Teruah) = trumpets sounded before the fall of Jericho. Initiatory = 50 year tribulation period preceeding fall of Babylon and Christ's Second Coming.

2001 = 9/11 (earth)

2007 = housing crisis (sea)

2014 = crimea (rivers, wormwood)

2020 = covid-19 (darkness)

2027 = ??? (locusts)

2035 = ??? (euphrates)

2042 = ??? (wrath)

2050 = ???

6. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) = Israel punished for worshipping golden calf. Endowment = Moral corruption punished prior to Christ's Second Coming.

7. Tabernacles (Sukkot) = Israel dwelt 40 years in the wilderness. Sealing = Saints will again dwell in tents at Adam-ondi-Ahman before Christ's Second Coming.