Responses to the critique by Gerhard Pfandl

Since the appearance of John Peters’s manuscript The Mystery of the Daily, it has gotten the attention of the Biblical Research Institute (BRI). Dr. Gerhard Pfandl, associate director of BRI, in July 2005 wrote a critique to Peters’s manuscript, concluding that Peters’s thesis that “the daily” represented the self-exalting character of paganism was “exegetically and contextually not viable.”

A month later, Peters wrote a response to Pfandl’s critique, concluding that Pfandl “selectively cited some evidence from the manuscript but he omitted an abundance of stronger evidence.” After receiving Peters’s response, Pfandl has been unable to provide a further rebuttal to Peters’s response.

In July 2009 I became involved in the exchange between Pfandl and Peters. I also provided a response to Pfandl’s critique. However rather than producing my own personal response separately, I simply added my input to Peters’s response. After examining Pfandl’s critique, Peters’s presentation of Daniel 8:9-14 still stands as the best exegesis to date.

I have provided each of the three responses below:

Gerhard Pfandl’s July 2005 critique of John Peters

John Peters’s August 2005 response to Gerhard Pfandl

Jeffrey Ho’s July 2009 response to Gerhard Pfandl

4 thoughts on “Responses to the critique by Gerhard Pfandl”

  1. I have read John Peter’s “Mystery of the Daily” from the 90’s and am overjoyed by the clarity. Do you have any background information about him or how to correspond with him. How has the SDA church reacted to his thesis? Other than Pfandl’s response.

  2. Thanks for posting this info. I have been promoting this view for many years… see my website. Your version of the Bible has been greatly beneficial is receiving the most light from Daniel. A great blessing!!!

  3. Just wanted you to know that my family and I were firm believers in the “daily” being Paganism.

    After much prayer and research, we have now officially converted over to the “daily” representing Christ’s High Priestly ministration in the Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary.

    What persuaded us was after reading Heidi Heik’s new book entitled “The ‘Daily’ Source Book”, which can be purchased at TeachServices.com … more about his “The ‘Daily’ Source Book” can be found at TheSourceHH.org.

    This book is the most thorough exegesis ever produced on the subject of the Daily to date, using exegetical word studies from the Bible, a plethora of Ellen White statements, and history of what the pioneers wrote, what they believed, and why they believed it, and what the issues really were.

    I just thought I’d inform you. Also, this book goes WAY beyond Pfandl’s work.

    Blessings,

    Marcos

    1. Just wanted you to know that i am a believer in the “daily” being paganism and was grounded in the believe even more so after reading Heidi Heiks series of articles on his view of the daily in a SDA magazine before he wrote the book that you mentioned. It was a very long and confusing article that i had ever read on the topic. And also not accurate. It was several years ago, and do not remember all that i saw wrong with it, but it was plenty. It also goes against what our pioneers taught.

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