From an incomplete manuscript of mine: Is there no reason for hope beyond a vague sentimentality? Shakespeare’s Hamlet spoke of death as “the undiscover’d country from whose bourn no traveler returns.”[1] Yet there have always been stories of contacts with deceased persons. Such accounts are known to every culture in every period. (The play Hamlet itself features such a contact as a prominent element in its plot.) “Six weeks after his death,” reports Carl Jung, “my father... Read more
In case you missed it: “Noel B. Reynolds, The Language of the Spirit in the Book of Mormon” *** Some resources from the Interpreter Foundation for Gospel Doctrine classes: Come, Follow Me New Testament Lesson 35: September 2–8: 1 Corinthians 14–16 “God Is Not the Author of Confusion, but of Peace” An Interpreter Radio (audio) Roundtable for Come, Follow Me New Testament Lesson 36, “Be Ye Reconciled to God,” covering 2 Corinthians 1-7,... Read more
From Thomas Dubay, The Evidential Power of Beauty: Science and Theology Meet (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1999), 32-33. 1. The South American “glass knifefish” has been called “basically a computer with fins.” Why? It uses a kind of biological technology, something like radar, to navigate the rivers and streams in which it lives. Gary Rose and Walter Heiligenberg, who have studied the glass knifefish, explain that “signals bouncing off an object are received by... Read more
This is a really interesting issue, and the little essay below raises it nicely: “Two Kingdoms: Christianity and Islam: How far should we go in restricting freedom in order to promote virtue?” As both a Latter-day Saint and, rather distinctly, as someone with libertarian inclinations, I would prefer that the State’s role in such things be minimal. I believe that I’ve recounted a story here about my experience at a Muslim-Mormon “dialogue” on the campus of Idaho State... Read more
I just received this note from Valerie Hudson regarding the interesting online Latter-day Saint journal Square Two. I don’t imagine that she’ll mind if I pass it on further: Welcome, dear readers, to the Summer 2019 issue of SquareTwo! Click here for the full table of contents for this issue. A reminder to our readers that we will use the terms Church of Jesus Christ (and sometimes the acronym CoJC) and Gospel of Jesus Christ (and sometimes the acronym... Read more
It was a real loss to our Arabic faculty at BYU when my longtime friend and colleague Dil Parkinson retired a couple of years ago. (By the way, he and his wife are now just back from an LDS humanitarian services mission to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan — another item that is simply begging to be included in your already overflowing “Christopher Hitchens Memorial ‘How Religion Poisons Everything’ File.”) But, gathering with most of our faculty this... Read more
It being Friday, a new article has appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. It was written by Noel B. Reynolds: “The Language of the Spirit in the Book of Mormon” Abstract: This study provides students of the Book of Mormon with the first comprehensive analysis of the many ways in which the word “spirit” is used in that volume of scripture. It demonstrates how the titles “Holy Ghost,” “Spirit of God,” “Spirit of the Lord,”... Read more
I have occasionally used the term scientism here on this blog. Some of my critics claim that, by scientism, I mean science that has come to conclusions of which I disapprove, or that conflict with my religious beliefs. This isn’t even remotely accurate. Mistaken science is still science. Unpleasant scientific discoveries are still scientific discoveries. Scientism, as I use the term, isn’t science at all. It’s an ideological position about the scope and ability... Read more
Reductionism, the practice of analyzing and describing complex phenomena in terms of what are regarded as simpler or more fundamental phenomena, can be a contentious matter — especially when those allegedly more “basic” phenomena are said to provide a “sufficient” explanation. For example, can Vincent Van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night be adequately described by counting the daubs of oil on the canvas and explaining their chemistry? Is Michelangelo’s David sufficently accounted for by giving its... Read more
In response to my posting of a photograph, several years ago, that showed Muslim men forming a protective ring around St. George’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Sohag, Egypt, several people wrote in (on Facebook, in the blog comments section, and directly to me) to assure me that such a thing is impossible. All Muslims always want to destroy churches and obliterate Christianity, and no Muslim would ever defend a Christian church. This is flatly false, and I... Read more
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