One argument that has recently been raised against Senator Mitt Romney’s vote to convict President Donald J. Trump on the the first article of impeachment runs as follows: A majority of Utahns — perhaps in the low to mid-50% range — favored the acquittal of President Trump. Congressional representatives should follow the wishes of those they represent. Mitt Romney failed to comply with (2). Therefore, Mitt Romney failed in his responsibility as a senator. And surely... Read more
A new piece has been posted on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Science & Mormonism Series 1: Cosmos, Earth, and Man: Who Is Adam? Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article by Trent D. Stephens originally appeared in Science & Mormonism Series 1: Cosmos, Earth, and Man (2016). Abstract:Trent Stephens, retired professor at Idaho State University, describes his personal views on pre-Adamic people. After a review of the plan of salvation, he wonders whether the Fall could... Read more
I continue in the spirit of another very recent blog entry: Arthur Brooks, who served for a number of years as the president of the conservative/libertarian American Enterprise Institute and who is now a professor in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, was the keynote speaker at the recent National Prayer Breakfast. He is a particular hero of mine. I’ve met him, briefly, and I’ve written enthusiastically about his work (e.g., here... Read more
The once-famous poem “Thanatopsis” (roughly, “a reflection on death,” from the Greek thanatos (“death”) and opsis (“view,” “sight”), by the American poet William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), concludes as follows: So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan, which moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering... Read more
I continue with thoughts that are more or less in the vein of my immediately previous post (“An apostle makes a political move”): I make a pretty serious effort — largely successful, though not invariably so — to avoid politics on my blog during the Sabbath. I believe that Sundays (or whatever the Sabbath might be where one happens to live) should be reserved for more important things, for a more significant and fundamental loyalty, than partisan... Read more
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is often accused by its critics of unseemly interference in political matters. I’ve seldom if ever been impressed by the accusation. But I did, just once, see a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles consciously and expressly seeking to have a political impact that he deemed to be in the interest of the Church. In view of the current dishearteningly toxic partisanship that I’m observing, to my... Read more
From a recent article by the superb conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg: I have criticized—and defended—Mitt Romney many times. But the effort, admittedly mostly from the worst goons, buffoons, and satraps of Trumpism, to describe him as a person of low character in defense of President Trump is one of the ugliest political spectacles I have ever witnessed. Has Romney at times been calculating? Of course. He’s a politician. But the suggestion that he is not an honest... Read more
Here’s a remarkable little essay by the Dutch computer scientist and philosopher Bernardo Kastrup that merits some serious pondering: “Consciousness Cannot Have Evolved: The sooner we acknowledge it, the sooner we’ll solve the hard problem of consciousness” And here’s another provocative essay by Manuel Berdoy, of the Division of Medical Sciences at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom: “Have Humans Evolved Beyond Nature?” This brief article provides a very interesting opportunity for introspection: “Neurodiversity and... Read more
I continue to share passages that I marked while reading a book written by Marvin J. Besteman with the assistance of Lorilee Craker: My Journey to Heaven: What I Saw and How It Changed My Life (Grand Rapids: Revell, 2012). Mr. Besteman, who died (for the last time) in 2012, had a career as a banker in the area of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Here are some further passages describing what he claimed to have seen during his near-death experience,... Read more
Of course, nobody really expected graciousness from President Trump: “Trump Hits Romney as ‘Democrat'” And, quite predictably, many infuriated Trumpists have been denouncing Senator Romney as a “RINO,” a “Repubican in Name Only.” This is flat nonsense. It is either ignorant or dishonest or some blend of the two. My friend and neighbor Tom L. Pittman VII posted a refreshing bit of sanity on Facebook the other day and has kindly given me permission... Read more
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