“Enter Paradise, you and your spouses: you will be filled with joy.”

Last updated on: November 8, 2019 at 11:21 pm By Dan Peterson

From time to time, I read claims that Islam and Muslims have contributed absolutely nothing to world civilization except terror and oppression. Sometimes such assertions are even sent to me directly. Several years ago, to my considerable astonishment, one poster explained online that the golden or classical age of the Arabs (which extended, arguably, from around 800 AD until the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258 AD, and which was overwhelmingly propelled by Muslim thinkers, scientists, poets, and... Read more

“Memory and Millennials”

Last updated on: November 8, 2019 at 11:26 pm By Dan Peterson

The latest iteration of the bi-weekly column that Professor Dr. William J. Hamblin, Ph.D., and Professor Dr. I, Ph.D., do for the Deseret News has now been published: “Who is the ‘Angelic Doctor’ and what did he write?” You might, of course, be pardoned for imagining from its title that the column is autobiographical and that it’s about me. But, surprisingly, it’s actually not. It’s about St. Thomas Aquinas. Still, he’s a hero of mine. One... Read more

Thoughts on John Lennon’s “Imagine”

Last updated on: November 8, 2019 at 11:26 pm By Dan Peterson

I published the following article in the Deseret News back on 16 August 2012: I was surprised, puzzled and even a bit shocked to see the London Symphony Orchestra and the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir showcase John Lennon’s atheist anthem “Imagine” during the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. And that white death-masklike portrait of Lennon in the center of Olympic Stadium? Pretty ghastly — and especially so when it dissolved (decomposed?) at the end... Read more

“Buried before they died”

Last updated on: November 8, 2019 at 11:28 pm By Dan Peterson

“Title of Liberty Raised in Three-Country Tour of Central America: Latter-day Saints participate in historic religious freedom conference” “The So-Called Media’s War on Religious Freedom” “Conscience Rights Are the Bedrock of All Liberty” *** “Elder Christofferson offered the Asuncion Paraguay Temple rededicatory prayer in Spanish. See the translation here” *** “Sister Eubank, Sister Craven visit mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand” “Sister Eubank shares role of priesthood and covenants in blessing the human... Read more

Theism and Atheism, Islam and Communism

Last updated on: November 8, 2019 at 11:29 pm By Dan Peterson

I’ve been challenged repeatedly over the years by people attempting to equate Islam with Communism and/or Nazism, and by others, from a different perspective, who try to argue that Stalin and Mao and folks like that really weren’t atheists, or that their atheism had nothing to do with their programs of mass murder, and/or that Adolf Hitler was actually a devout Catholic and beloved of the Catholic Church, so that, once again, the Holocaust can be — as it must be!... Read more

Why do Latter-day Saints tend to reject evolution?

Last updated on: November 8, 2019 at 11:32 pm By Dan Peterson

My attention was called some time back to a 2014 blog article titled “So just what do Mormons think about evolution?” According to this article, Latter-day Saints are among the least evolution-friendly religious groups in the United States. I have no reason to reject the article, but I think that I would like to unpack things just a bit. The question from the Religious Landscape Survey on which it is based is formulated as follows: “Evolution is... Read more

“#LightTheWorld Giving Machines Expand to 10 Locations During Christmas Season”

Last updated on: November 8, 2019 at 11:35 pm By Dan Peterson

We’re just back from a fine production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Utah Valley University’s Noorda Center for the Performing Arts. The theater is wonderful, and we’re really, really, really pleased to have it so close to home. On the other hand, I’ve never been a Stephen Sondheim fan, and I’m still not. *** Here are two new items on the Interpreter Foundation website from Hales Swift that are intended for students... Read more

Does Darwinism necessarily entail atheism?

Last updated on: November 8, 2019 at 11:36 pm By Dan Peterson

From my files: Frank Burch Brown, who made a careful study of Darwin’s writings in order to understand his religious views, concluded that they were very complex and variable: His beliefs concerning the possible existence of some sort of God never entirely ceased to ebb and flow, nor did his evaluation of the merit of such beliefs. At low tide, so to speak, he was essentially an undogmatic atheist; at high tide he was a tentative theist;... Read more

“Muslims and Latter-day Saints can be leaders in building tolerance”

Last updated on: November 8, 2019 at 11:37 pm By Dan Peterson

This article, by Dr. Mohammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa, the leader of the Mecca-based Muslim World League, appeared on Sunday in the Deseret News: “Guest opinion: Muslims and Latter-day Saints can be leaders in building tolerance: While the centers of Islam and the Church of Jesus Christ sit on opposite sides of the world, the values that bring our communities together could not be closer” “First Presidency Welcomes Leader of Muslim World League: His Excellency Dr. Mohammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa promotes... Read more

On “Edward Stevenson’s Journal Entry about Martin Harris”

Last updated on: November 13, 2019 at 9:36 pm By Dan Peterson

The Interpreter Foundation continues to grow because it continues to produce. I’m deeply grateful to all those who have made and continue to make this possible. The discussants for the episode of the Interpreter Radio Show that aired on Sunday evening, 3 November 2019, were Neal Rappleye, Jasmine Rappleye, Stephen Smoot, Spencer Marsh, and Hales Swift. Their conversation ranged over the work of Uto-Aztecan linguist Brian Stubbs, the word Shinehah in the Book of Abraham, and the... Read more