From the manuscript to which I’m devoting the majority of my attention right now:   The Qur’an clearly and repeatedly teaches a dispensational view of the earth’s religious history, in which there have been repeated reve­lations of God’s truth and repeated human apostasies from that truth that required it to be restored again. There was a time, it says, when men followed a single religion. But then discord arose.[1] God tried to remedy this situation. Every nation has... Read more

    On Monday night, my wife and I went to see Darkest Hour, the new movie about Winston Churchill’s first weeks as the prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.   Gary Oldman — previously known as the terrorist Egor Korshunov in Air Force One, Commissioner Gordon in the Batman films, and Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies — was superb as Churchill, and I thoroughly enjoyed the film.  Of course, I’m deeply interested in the Second World War, so... Read more

    I published this column in the Deseret News on 1 January 2015:   January, the first month of the calendar year, most likely takes its name from the ancient Roman deity Janus, who was believed to be the gatekeeper of heaven. More generally, he was the god of doors, gateways (including city gates) and boundaries, and thus of beginnings and transitions, as well as a patron deity of traveling, trading and shipping. Jan. 1 was New Year’s Day... Read more

    Continuing with a manuscript-in-progress:   But there is a deeper theological reason for the claim that the Qur’an cannot truly be translated, that what results from the pro­cess of translation is something related to the Qur’an but cannot properly be said to be identical with it. I have said that Muslims believe the Qur’an to be the word of God. We hear such a phrase— “the word of God”—and think we know what it means. But Mus­lims take... Read more

    We have belonged, for many years now, to a remarkable monthly reading group, officially known as the Gadianton Polysophical Marching and Chowder Society, that began decades ago in Santa Barbara — where some of its original members were either on the faculty at the University of California (e.g., Davis Bitton) or affiliated with a local think tank (John Sorenson) and at least one other was pursuing a doctorate in mathematics.  It’s a remarkable group, including some very portentous... Read more

    More notes from my reading.   A couple of passages from Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, taken from his book How It Began: A Time-Traveler’s Guide to the Universe (New York and London: W. W. Norton and Company, 2012):   It’s a dark family tale.  Gaia is born on cue and emerges shrieking into the night.  Her twin sister Luna is born slightly later, after having... Read more

    My wife and I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol this afternoon.  Honest.  We did.   In that connection, I call your attention to an interesting article to which my friend and Interpreter Foundation colleague Craig Foster alerted me the other day:   “The Story Behind the Music of The Muppet Christmas Carol”   ***   I was really pleased to read about this:   “Kirtland Nativity event with nearly 1,000 creches draws Christmas lovers”   ***   But this... Read more

    I hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas season and that you’re having a joyous and satisfying Christmas Day, filled with warmth and love.   I will candidly report, though, that I have always found Christmas Day itself both happy and sad, even a bit depressing.   The reasons for this have changed over the years:   When I was very young, the wonder of the approaching holiday thrilled me.  And, of course, there was always the... Read more

    First of all, something fun, called to my attention by Steven Glover.  It makes my own house’s Christmas decorations seem very, very pedestrian:     ***   “Thousands Honor the Birth of Christ Through Unique Acts of Service: The Light the World initiative encourages people to follow Christ’s example”   ***   This is a bracing non-Mormon reflection on the story of Christmas:   “‘He Himself Carried the Fire’”   ***   I know.  I know.  My performance on... Read more

    Bill Hamblin and I published this column in the Deseret News on 11 December 2015:   When we think about the Nativity of Jesus, we tend to harmonize what the Gospels have to say. We often assume that the shepherds and the wise men all came on the night of Jesus’ birth, though it’s quite possible they came at different times days or even weeks after the birth. Generally, we create a unified narrative something like this: Birth... Read more