“A Saudi Murder Becomes a Gift to Iran: The assassination of a journalist has further hurt the Trump administration’s frail strategy of buddying with Saudi Arabia to restrain Iran’s expanding influence.”   The Middle East is a difficult neighborhood.  And, as any reader of the Bible should already know, it always has been.   It is also, to vary the metaphor, a minefield, an extraordinary difficult place to practice the art of international politics.   We’re seeing that now.... Read more

    We all suspect that crocodiles, much as they may genuinely like us, are not actually our friends.  And there’s reason for the suspicion:  Evidently, they eat roughly a thousand people each year.  (Even taking into account the allegations of my most hostile critics, who like to ascribe to me just about every form of depravity and unethical behavior known to humankind, that’s more than I do.)   Ranking right up there with crocodiles, of course, are sharks.  Scary... Read more

    I’ve long had it in my mind to read the works of the eminent Hungarian-American historian and philosopher of science Stanley Jaki (1924-2009), a priest who held doctorates in both physics and theology.  What little I’ve read from him has been very good.  So I looked for a bibliography of his writings, and this — merely a partial list, apparently — is what I found.  I am, to put it mildly, just a bit intimidated:   (1966) The... Read more

    News about the Middle East and/or the world of Islam:   “Jerusalem mayoral race exposes religious-secular rift”   “The plight of Asia Bibi should have everyone in the West trembling”   “Neighborhood Watch: Will Asian Countries Turn a Blind Eye to Uyghur Issues in China?  Will any of China’s neighbors speak out against its abuses at home? A major UN review offers a sobering assessment.”   “What most Americans get wrong about Islamophobia: An expert explains why it’s more... Read more

    New, in the soon to be renamed Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture:   “‘By Small Means’: Rethinking the Liahona,” by Timothy Gervais and John L. Joyce The Liahona’s faith-based functionality and miraculous appearance have often been viewed as incongruous with natural law. This paper attempts to reconcile the Liahona to scientific law by displaying similarities between its apparent mechanisms and ancient navigation instruments called astrolabes. It further suggests the Liahona may have been a wedding dowry Ishmael provided to... Read more

    Many years ago, there was a period when my speaking engagements on behalf of the old FARMS — the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, predecessor to the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and, organizationally, to BYU’s new-direction Maxwell Institute — got a bit out of hand.  I was being sent out at least once a month, often to one of the coasts and, once or twice, first to one coast and then immediately, on... Read more

    As has been happening for the past several weeks, my biweekly “Defending the Faith” column appeared today in the print edition of the Deseret News and, at the following link, in the online edition of LDS Living:   “The Excommunicated Apostle Who Continued to Share Powerful Witnesses of the Book of Mormon”   One of the Deseret News editors recently explained the rationale for the change in my publishing arrangements to an inquiring reader, who has now passed... Read more

    What follow are verses from the Qur’an that I intend to quote during my remarks at the University of Notre Dame Australia School of Law in Sydney on 27 November.  In order to include them in my speech, I’ve translated them afresh — which has made me acutely aware, as such exercises always do, of how inadequate translations inevitably are:   Say: O unbelievers, I do not worship what you worship, and you are not worshipers of what I... Read more

    I share with you some news from the world of science that’s recently caught my eye:   A pretty dramatic headline:   “The Earth Is Eating Its Own Oceans”   But this one is perhaps even more dramatic.  Nice to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there:   “Naples volcano heading for ‘large volume eruption’: It’s been quiet since 1538 CE, but the Campi Flegrei may be revving up.”   If only all that ice weren’t in... Read more

    The 11 November 2018 edition of the weekly Interpreter Radio Show is now available for listening online, at your convenience:   Interpreter Radio Show — November 11, 2018   In it, Martin Tanner, Terry Hutchinson, and John Gee discuss the historicity of the Book of Abraham as well as certain new books..   ***   Speaking of new books, here are two new Latter-day Saint publications that will be worthy of your attention:   David L. Paulsen and Hal... Read more