I’m pleased to announce the publication of yet another new book by the Interpreter Foundation: Donald W. Parry, Gaye Strathearn, and Shon D. Hopkin, eds., Seek Ye Words of Wisdom: Studies of the Book of Mormon, Bible, and Temple in Honor of Stephen D. Ricks (Orem and Provo: The Interpreter Foundation and Religious Education, Brigham Young University, 2020). Stephen D. Ricks, Professor of Hebrew and Cognate Learning at Brigham Young University, is a former companion of... Read more
Here is a lengthy passage that I marked in Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith (Downers Grove: IVP and Nottingham: Apollos, 2011) some time back. It addresses the question of whether it’s simply meaningless to claim that the existence of a universe that is receptive to the emergence of life, and especially of intelligent life, is or was massively improbable and therefore constitutes evidence for design: Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Keith Parsons protest that the... Read more
For this belief [in a physical resurrection] and others, the doubters made fun of the faithful.29 Whenever possible, they would deliberately interrupt the recitation of the Qur’an. Always they would laugh at it as just “old fairy tales.”30 Muhammad was accused of magic. Sometimes he was said to be demon-possessed or merely a crazy poet.31 It is evident from the historical record that such treatment bothered Muhammad deeply. “We know too well that what they say grieves you,”... Read more
Audio Roundtable: Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon Lesson 32 “Preserved by His Marvelous Power” Alma 53-63 The participants in the Interpreter Radio Roundtable for Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon Lesson 32, “Preserved by His Marvelous Power,” on Alma 53-63, were Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and Kevin Christensen. That roundtable has now been extracted from the 12 July 2020 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show. It has been stripped of commercial and other interruptions, and is accessible at no charge. The complete show may be... Read more
It’s time, yet again, to share some of the COVID-19-related links that I’ve gathered together over the last little while. Perhaps some of you will find them interesting. Whether you find them interesting or not, though, I must press forward with my self-appointed mission — a mission of which I was informed by a hostile total stranger a couple of weeks ago — of calling out The Evils of Science: “Coronavirus: How New Zealand went ‘hard and... Read more
Muslims and Western scholars agree upon a division of the suras or chapters of the Qur’an between those received at Mecca and those later received at the oasis town of Medina. There are differences between the two groups that go considerably beyond the mere time of the reception, however, extending to questions of theme, style, and content. I shall examine the two groups in order. The revelations of the earliest (Meccan) period of the Prophet’s career have certain... Read more
First, here’s a fun bit of science news: “This is the first picture of a sunlike star with multiple exoplanets: Unlike our solar system, this one has two massive gas giants with far-out orbits” *** I share a couple of passages from Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith (Downers Grove: IVP and Nottingham: Apollos, 2011) that caught my attention a while back: “[American philosopher Robin] Collins is particularly impressed with the... Read more
The 2020 FairMormon conference begins on Wednesday, 5 August 2020 — as I write, that’s tomorrow (i.e. mañana) — and it will be done virtually. Which isn’t altogether a good thing, obviously, since many of us enjoy the social aspects of it and the sheer power of gathering in a group. But it has this good aspect: You can watch it from anywhere. I encourage you to consider doing so: 2020 FairMormon Conference Those who register for... Read more
Muhammad in Mecca Within a few years of his birth at Mecca in 570 A.D., Muhammad, the future prophet of Islam, became an orphan. He had been born into an important clan of the Quraysh, known as the Banu Hashim. (That is why Jordan, whose king claims descent from the Prophet, is even today officially known as “The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.”) But, though the Banu Hashim were important, by this point they had also fallen on somewhat... Read more
Up today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation, by Ugo A. Perego and Jayne E. Ekins: “Is Decrypting the Genetic Legacy of America’s Indigenous Populations Key to the Historicity of the Book of Mormon?” Abstract: Some critics of the Book of Mormon suppose that the DNA characteristics of modern Native Americans should be compatible with “Israelite” rather than with Asian genetics. The authors point out that while DNA is a valid tool to study ancient and modern... Read more
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