For most Muslim scholars (certainly in the Sunni world), the “gate of ijtihad” closed somewhere around the beginning of the 900s AD.   What does this mean?  Ijtihad — from the same Arabic triliteral root as jihad — means, roughly, “independent interpretation.”  So what is meant is that the fundamental questions of Islamic jurisprudence had been settled by the dawning of the tenth century.   I’ve never approved of this.  (As if my opinion about such things, I being a non-Muslim, matters or should matter!)... Read more

    A quite unpleasant and belligerent fellow — apparently an ex-Latter-day Saint who seems to have far too much time on his hands — contacted me a few days ago and, among other (even more nasty) things brought up a public attack that was launched against my BYU colleague Dr. Kerry Muhlestein some years back.   So, with that in mind, I was interested just today to see Robert Boylan quite independently or even coincidentally calling to our attention... Read more

    I offer a few links for those of you who might want to try to keep up with President Russell M. Nelson’s latest travels to meet with the Latter-day Saints worldwide.  It obviously shouldn’t be very difficult.  After all, he’s ninety-four years old.  How hard can it be?   Anyhow, there’s some good information here, accompanied by short videos:   “President Nelson Launches South America Ministry Tour in Peru:  Peruvian Latter-day Saints greet global Church leaders in Lima”... Read more

    This blog’s resident scientistic ideologue, who comments pseudonymously, posted a remark a few hours ago that caught my attention:   “Creationism,” he opined, “is not scientifically valid because it is an unfalsifiable idea.”   Now, this fellow operates on the basis of a very broad definition of creationism.  For most folks, the term typically but rather sloppily refers to “young-earth creationism.”   Some extend it to refer to “intelligent design.”  He, on the other hand, effectively uses it... Read more

    “Scientific progress is the discovery of a more and more comprehensive simplicity. . . .  The previous successes give us confidence in the future of science: we become more and more conscious of the fact that the universe is cognizable.” (Father Georges Lemaître [1894-1966], Belgian astronomer, physicist, and priest, and, arguably, originator of the theory of the “Big Bang”)   “The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.”  (Albert Einstein, German-American physicist [1879-1955])   “The idea of... Read more

    I was in Alberta, Canada, from Friday afternoon through Monday afternoon — that is, from 19 October through 22 October — and, in response to absolutely deafening demand from literally millions of devoted groupies on every continent, I will now briefly explain why I was there.   A province-wide conference for Latter-day Saint “Young Single Adults” (YSAs) took place on Friday evening and all day Saturday.  It began with a get-acquainted reception and a “battle of the bands,”... Read more

    Why did I decide to study Arabic?  Nobody in particular is asking that question, but one of the functions of this blog for me is to serve as a sort of respository for autobiographical fragments.  Someday, for example, my kids may find such things interesting.  Or, at least, some psychiatrist might care.   So, again, why did I decide to study Arabic?   Well, for one thing I was fascinated by the Middle East, throughout its history —... Read more

    I’m intending to use this blog (more than I have to this point, anyway) as a place to post notes that I’ve extracted from books that I’ve read and marked up and, therefore, as an incentive to extract those notes.  Again, this is an attempt to make my blog serve a specific function for my other work, for the less ephemeral writing that I intend to publish elsewhere.  I certainly hope, though, that at least some of you... Read more

    Still parceling out little bits and pieces, mostly unshaped and raw notes, from my manuscripts:   Daniel Dennett’s trademark slogan is that Darwinism is a “universal acid” that “eats through just about every traditional concept” in religion and morality, and puts our views of the social order in an entirely different light.[1]  And yet, as philosopher Mary Midgley observes, “This is . . .  evidently a selective acid, trained to eat only other people’s views while leaving Dennett’s... Read more

    More notes from an unfinished manuscript:   Joseph Smith’s sincerity also appears in the incidental glimpses of him that we obtain from many of his contemporaries.  Here, for example, is the account given by Joseph’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, of the baptism of her husband: On the morning of the sixth day of [April], my husband and Martin Harris were baptized. When Mr. Smith came out of the water, Joseph stood upon the shore, and taking his father... Read more