New Testament Notes 80-82

March 4, 2019 By Dan Peterson

Luke 6:27-36 Compare Matthew 5:38-48 The differences between the Matthean text (the Sermon on the Mount) and the Lukan text (the Sermon on the Plain) are considerable at this point; each includes material that the other doesn’t. I’ll concentrate on just one comparison here, though: Whereas Matthew 5:48, much beloved of Latter-day Saints, reads “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” the Lukan parallel (6:36) says “Be merciful, even as your Father... Read more

David Whitmer’s Testimony in Verse

March 4, 2019 By Dan Peterson

First, I call your attention to a couple of new items from the website of the Interpreter Foundation: You can now listen to or download the 24 February broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show. Steve Densley, Craig Foster, and Matthew Bowen discussed Come, Follow Me lesson 9, “He Taught Them as One Having Authority” (Matthew chapters 6 and 7), as well as Joseph Smith and polygamy: https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-february-24-2019/ Martin Tanner discusses Come, Follow Me New Testament Lesson 10, “Thy Faith Hath... Read more

Of super-intellects and a super-intellect

March 4, 2019 By Dan Peterson

It reads like a detective story from the television screen. The very human side of a once-prominent scientist: http://mentalfloss.com/article/65139/harvard-chemistry-professor-who-was-also-murderer *** Does sexism explain underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? Does such “underrepresentation” really even exist? It’s refreshing to see a discussion of this topic that is actually based upon facts: “Lies, Damned Lies, and STEM Statistics” *** New evidence regarding hominin evolution? “First Confirmed Denisovan Skull... Read more

“Was Pontius Pilate’s Ring Discovered at Herodium?”

March 4, 2019 By Dan Peterson

I recently received my copy of Biblical Archaeology Review (March/April 2019) 45/2. In it, on page 6, there’s a fascinating little report by the magazine’s editor, Robert Cargill, entitled “Was Pontius Pilate’s Ring Discovered at Herodium?” I offer a few summary comments on it here below: On 29 November 2018, a report surfaced from Jerusalem that a simple copper-alloy ring had been found at the Herodium (from the Latin) or Herodion (from the Greek Ἡρώδειον, the Arabic هيروديون‎,... Read more

New Testament Notes 76-79

March 4, 2019 By Dan Peterson

Matthew 7:28-29 Compare Mark 1:21-22; Luke 4:32; 7:1; John 7:46 His audience’s perception that Jesus “taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes,” has always struck me powerfully. And it’s clear that he does precisely that. When he performs a miracle, he doesn’t perform it “in the name of” someone else — that is, by borrowed authority. His authority is innate. It’s his. When he goes up onto the mount, it’s to proclaim his law —... Read more

Recommendation: “The Biology of the Second Reich: Social Darwinism and the Origins of World War 1”

March 4, 2019 By Dan Peterson

I highly recommend a look at this fourteen-minute film, available for free on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n900e80R30 I first saw it back in the summer of 2015 at FreedomFest in Las Vegas. It’s a fascinating venture into an aspect of intellectual history with which I was unfamiliar. I’ve long been aware, of course, that Social Darwinism was a major tributary feeding into National Socialism (see below), but I hadn’t realized how important it was as a factor... Read more

Looking toward the “Book of Mormon Musical”

March 3, 2019 By Dan Peterson

On 20 January 2011, I published the column below in the Deseret News, under the title “Anti-Mormon mockery can actually lead to teaching moments.” So far as I’m aware, one of the plays that are mentioned in the column seems to have disappeared almost immediately. The other, a musical entitled The Book of Mormon, didn’t exactly disappear: Two plays about Mormonism are scheduled to premiere shortly in the northeastern United States. According to advance publicity, one of... Read more

An historical appreciation of Christianity

March 3, 2019 By Dan Peterson

From Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2018), 186-187. Christianity achieved the well-nigh impossible. The Christian doctrine elevated the individual soul, placing slave and master and commoner and nobleman alike on the same metaphysical footing, rendering them equal before God and the law. Christianity insisted that even the king was only one among many. For something so contrary to all apparent evidence to find its footing, the idea that worldly... Read more

New Testament Note 75

March 2, 2019 By Dan Peterson

Matthew 7:24-27 Compare Luke 6:47-49 The image of the house built upon a rock is a memorable one, and clearly understandable. The fundamental point, obviously, is that we should found our lives upon the truth about God. It can be extended, though, to illustrate (among other things) the idea that, even if your reasoning is otherwise sound, if you’re basing your argument on faulty premises it’s not going to be very solid or reliable. Thus,... Read more

Variations on a theme from Jordan Peterson

March 2, 2019 By Dan Peterson

As should be evident, I’ve been reading Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2018). Thus far, the chapter in the book that has resonated most with me has been “Rule 5: Do Not Let Your Children Do Anything That Makes You Dislike Them.” I share a passage from that chapter that struck me, although it isn’t necessarily representative of the chapter’s thesis: It’s . . . not for the best... Read more