I continue to point out the fairly well established fact that — on this planet, anyway — science is largely done by humans.  And that there are, among humans, pressures to conform.  Which, to some of my more fevered critics, reveals me to be anti-science and, even worse, a religious fundamentalist.  Here’s a nice little piece on how the human element might affect some science — and particularly so, I think, in the so-called social sciences:   “The... Read more

    This is great:   “Dodger Dogs, Mormons and Muslims: One couple’s moral authority builds interfaith bridges”   Back in the days when I was still permitted association with the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative that I conceived and founded at BYU and when I was, thus, also involved on a regular basis in outreach to Muslims around the world, I had occasional contact with Steve and Judy Gilliland.  I admire the work that they’re doing.  I’m glad that it’s being recognized.   I... Read more

    It’s been a busy day, and I’m a bit late.  But here’s the column that I wrote for Thursday’s Deseret News:   “Introducing ‘An Introduction to the Book of Abraham'”   ***   I encourage you to participate in the 2017 “Light the World” campaign sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You can do it in one or more languages; the materials have been prepared in a variety of different tongues:   https://www.mormon.org/download  ... Read more

    Some have written to me, wondering (in connection with the horrific recent massacre at that Egyptian mosque in the Sinai) why Islamist terrorists would murder devout Muslims — and especially when the victims were actually gathered in a mosque for the major weekly Muslim worship service, the Friday noon prayer.  (In Arabic, Friday is called yawm al-jum‘a — or, in the dialect of Cairo and northern Egypt, yawm al-gum‘a — “the day of meeting.”)   Unfortunately, the hatred of... Read more

    I first read the famous Meditations of the Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180; reigned 161-180) when I was a teenager, and the volume has been one of my very favorite books ever since.  Here’s one of many quotable passages from it:   Say to yourself in the early morning: I shall meet today ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, uncharitable men. All of these things have come upon them through ignorance of real good and ill.... Read more

    At the specific request of the Deseret News, I wrote this column back in December 2010.  I include the editors’ introductory note:   LDS Church history sites that dot the eastern half of the United States all prepare for Christmas with lights, Nativity displays and other decorations. This week Mormon Times highlights Christmas at LDS Church historic sites from Sharon, Vt., to Nauvoo, Ill. Also, BYU professor Dan Peterson helps give insight to what the holiday season is like... Read more

    Several people have called my attention to this story, which is quite appropriate for the Christmas season (and will be even more appropriate for Easter):   “Age of Jesus Christ’s Purported Tomb Revealed”   “Age of ‘Christ’s tomb’ is revealed: Mortar used in the complex dates to Rome’s first Christian emperor suggesting it really IS where ‘Jesus was buried and resurrected'”   I posted the following blog entry slightly more than a month ago, but it seems worth reposting... Read more

    I’ve just come across a 1991 New York Times article about the great astronomer Allan Sandage, who died in 2010:   “Sizing Up the Cosmos: An Astronomer’s Quest”   Here’s how it opens:   “PASADENA, Calif.— In the mornings before smog dims the sky like a dirty nebula, Dr. Allan R. Sandage can stand at his office window and see, if not the beginning of the universe, or its end, at least the summit where astronomers first came to... Read more

    Continuing with my draft manuscript:   Abu Bakr was the first man to bear the title of “caliph,” to serve as the political successor of the Prophet.[1] He lived for only two more years beyond the death of Muhammad, but it was during his rule that a series of small campaigns known as the “Wars of the Ridda” reestablished the control of the new Islamic “state” over the Arabian peninsula. Just before his death in 634 A.D., Abu... Read more