If I’m not mistaken, we were repeatedly reassured during the ultimate successful campaign for the redefinition of marriage that, once same-sex marriage had triumphed and become the law of the land, there would be no crackdown against people and institutions that adhered to the traditional view of marriage as a joining together of the two sexes, male and female. In the end, marriage was in fact redefined by a one-vote majority on the Supreme Court of the... Read more
I published this article, on “Reconsidering the emotions of God” in the 30 January 2014 edition of the Deseret News: The scripture John 11:35 (“Jesus wept”) is well known as the shortest verse in the King James Bible. It’s less known, however, as one of the Bible’s most significant passages. But it is precisely that. Why? Because it demonstrates the Savior’s personal care for humanity and shows him, though divine, to be emotionally involved with us. But, in that... Read more
It’s just a hunch, but I’m guessing that, when most Americans think of religious charities, they don’t immediately think of Islam and Muslims. Nevertheless, Islamic Relief USA (aka IRUSA), which was founded in 1993, is a significant religiously motivated charitable organization with a worldwide reach. And IRUSA’s first interfaith partner was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a while, at least, 20% of IRUSA’s annual budget came from the Church. I share here some links... Read more
New on the website of the Interpreter Foundation, from David H. Bailey (Ph.D. Stanford University), a Latter-day Saint mathematician and computer scientist who is now retired from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California: “Science & Mormonism Series 1: Cosmos, Earth, and Man: Twenty Questions about Science and Religion” Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article by David H. Bailey originally appeared in Science & Mormonism Series 1: Cosmos, Earth, and Man (2016). Abstract: This chapter... Read more
I’m told that two spots have unexpectedly opened up on the Cruise Lady tour that I’ll be leading next June to the Oberammergau Passion Play and to several beautiful and historic spots in Germany and Austria. (See “Four centuries of Christian devotion in a small Bavarian town.”) I’m looking forward to this tour very, very much, and I invite you to consider joining us. If you’re at all interested, though, you had better sign up quickly. Once the... Read more
Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), who earned his doctorate in physics at the University of Munich in 1923 and his Dr. Phil. Habil. at the University of Göttingen in 1924, went on to serve as a professor of physics at the universities of Copenhagen, Leipzig, Berlin, Göttingen, and Munich. Along the way, in 1927, he formulated the famous principle of “indeterminacy” (Ungenauigkeit, or, as I myself might have been tempted to render it, “imprecision”), as he tended to call it,... Read more
I spoke at a small “cottage meeting” on Saturday night, along with the Interpreter Foundation’s fundraiser, Ed Snow, and Mark Goodman, the director of the Foundation’s current Witnesses film project. It was a real treat for me to see two brand new clips from the principal dramatic movie, which is now taking shape. This was the first time that they’ve been shown. The first depicted Joseph Smith, played by Paul Wuthrich, being chased by money diggers while... Read more
Bill Hamblin and I published the column below on 10 February 2013 in the Deseret News: In a very famous story from the history of science, Galileo climbed to the top of the leaning bell tower at Pisa in order to refute Aristotle’s teaching that bodies of different mass fall at different speeds. This story (which may or may not be authentic) illustrates the image of Aristotle with which many of us grew up — that of... Read more
I offer a few words about Arabic/Islamic names. There are certain basic elements. For instance, there is the kunya, an honorific given to married parents that includes the name of their eldest son. The father of Yusuf (“Joseph”) would thus be known as Abu Yusuf, from the Arabic Ab/Abu (“father”), while the mother would be called Umm Yusuf. Yusuf’s father and mother will, of course, have their own personal names. The masculine parental unit might be... Read more
A few notes from Karl W. Giberson, Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution (New York: HarperOne, 2008): First, Professor Giberson quotes a book by Michael Ruse, a philosopher who is emphatically not a religious believer but who answers Yes to the title of his own book, Can a Darwinian Be a Christian? If you are a Darwinian or a Christian or both, remember that we are mere humans and not God. We... Read more
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