In their online conversation about Book of Mormon historicity, Professor Phillip Jenkins has repeatedly demanded “evidence” from Professor William Hamblin, while Professor Hamblin has sought to first establish some methodological parameters for evaluating such evidence and what it means — plainly because he regards Professor Jenkins’s position as profoundly flawed, methodologically speaking.  (Which, for the record, I also do.)   Here, in a very interesting blog entry, Neal Rappleye looks at a closely parallel issue connected with the... Read more

    It begins.   Panic before the tsunami.   Corporate America continues its craven retreat before the irresistible juggernaut of the all-powerful forces of Love and Tolerance:   http://www.nationalreview.com/article/420928/churches-gay-marriage-insurance?tsrvqUZ2WLkiLuwx.01   Thankfully, though, it’s all just my paranoid imagination.   Nothing like this is really going to happen.  Not ever.   And, anyway, those who opposed gay marriage deserve what they’re going to get!   Posted from Las Vegas, Nevada     Read more

    “Las Vegas is sort of like how God would do it if he had money.” (Steve Wynn)   It’s appropriate, I think, that a huge libertarian conference like FreedomFest should meet in Las Vegas.  This is not, by a long shot, a conservative city.  But it’s a libertarian one.  Everything goes.   That’s one of the reasons I’m not quite a libertarian in the full sense.   We had a fun day here, though.  As I had hoped,... Read more

    A nice bit of background on President Boyd K. Packer of the Council of the Twelve:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865632097/President-Packer-was-working-on-upcoming-conference-talk-when-he-died.html?pg=1   Posted from Las Vegas, Nevada     Read more

    Tom Stringham has posted a very thoughtful (and thought-provoking) short essay on his blog:   http://virtuoussociety.com/2015/07/08/are-religious-schools-like-byu-at-risk-of-losing-accreditation-over-same-sex-marriage/   Posted from Salt Lake City, Utah Read more

    http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/04/us/texas-alligator-attack/index.html   This isn’t really funny.  Not at all.   But it is.   Sadly.   It will be a serious contender in the Darwin Awards competition, and attitudes parallel to this man’s may explain many American election results:  “Man disregards warnings, votes for Senator Bloviation T. Taxandspend, and reaps the obvious consequences.”   Posted from Salt  Lake City, Utah     Read more

    We can always hope that nothing serious will come of such things.   But the Founding Fathers didn’t intend us to merely hope that freedoms wouldn’t be lost.  They wanted us to be watchful.  Even suspicious   So I’m watching.  Rather suspiciously.   Here are three items worth reading in that light:   “The New Totalitarians are Here”   “The Ignorant Freakout over Clarence Thomas”   “Do Christians Even Have a Chance against Oregon’s Bureaucracy?”   Posted from... Read more

    Luke 12:11-12 Compare Matthew 10:19-20; Mark 13:11; Luke 21:14-15; John 14:26   Jesus teaches his disciples that they’re to rely upon the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when they speak.   This does not, however, mean that they shouldn’t be trying to learn and to understand in the interim.  Later, he would tell them that “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring... Read more

    From time to time, I like to remind readers of Robert Boylan’s excellent blog, Scriptural Mormonism:   http://scripturalmormonism.blogspot.ie/2015/07/1995-cure-debate-on-sola-scriptura.html   He’s just posted a video of a 1995 debate in which three Catholic apologists debate three Protestant apologists with respect to the claim that Christianity is based upon written scripture alone — which, of course, for the Protestants who advocate the claim, means “on the Bible alone.”   I expect that there are few Latter-day Saint missionaries who haven’t encountered... Read more

    It’s not as crazy a question as you probably imagine:   https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/edgar-allen-poe-s-eureka-and-the-big-bang-f6c1a19e85ce   Posted from Carlsbad, California     Read more