I’ve made no attempt at even so systematic a survey as Jana Riess has, here in this article, but I too have noticed the fading away of the old classic Evangelical anti-Mormon publishing machine.   When the FARMS Review began back in 1989 (under the then title of Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, or, as it was also affectionately known, ROBOTBOM) it often responded to the emissions of Evangelical anti-Mormonism.  Gradually, though, as the years... Read more

    “A man who won’t believe in God,” G. K. Chesterton is supposed to have said, “will believe in anything.”   That statement has never actually been found in any of his works, although it certainly sounds like something he might say.   And, sometimes, it surely seems to be true.   See, for example, this article.   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    A lot of people labor under — and suffer from — severe misunderstandings of the concept of shari‘a.   In many cases, these misconcepions derive from rumors, hearsay, and truly awful media discussions of the topic.  And these, in turn, are often based upon distorted and propagandistic websites.   But not all online sources are pernicious and misleading.  This discussion, for example, is both accurate and potentially helpful:   http://www.snopes.com/2017/06/19/what-is-sharia-law/   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/07/yes-ancient-civilizations-on-mars-sounds-crazy-and-yet/   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    “What happens when a Mormon, a Catholic and a Seventh-day Adventist walk into an apartment complex?”     It’s pretty obvious that something violent or at least harmful to society is likely to happen when three different kinds of religionists meet.  Right?   “Religion,” insisted the late Christopher Hitchens, “poisons everything.”   Well, maybe not:   “Working across faiths, three churches shift 200 beds for homeless families”   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    “I love Maui so much.  I would rather live one day in Maui than one month in New York.” Charles Lindbergh   “It [Maui] is queer country, hard to describe because it varies so—and all the foliage changes—sometimes grass—sometimes cane—sometimes bamboo—there are many waterfalls—masses of rank trees and bushes—all new to me— . . . always the sea with usually its black rim of lava at the edge.” Georgia O’Keeffe   “Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a... Read more

    Many tourists in Hawaii zip right past this place.  If there’s time, though, it’s certainly worth a peek:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865685306/Encountering-a-landmark-of-Japanese-Buddhism-in-Hawaii.html   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    It’s Friday, so another article has appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/a-lengthening-shadow-is-quality-of-thought-deteriorating-in-lds-scholarly-discourse-regarding-prophets-and-revelation-part-one/   We hope that you’ll enjoy it and that you’ll find it stimulating.  Have a great weekend!   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    An interesting interview with Noel Reynolds, available through the website of the Interpreter Foundation:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/lds-perspectives-podcast-the-lectures-on-faith-with-noel-reynolds/   Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii     Read more

    I’m very proud of Senator Jeff Flake (R), the (Latter-day Saint) junior senator from Arizona.   He never endorsed Donald Trump, for example.   He’s a principled conservative.   And he gave a very good talk not long ago to an audience (including me) at a meeting of BYU’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies:   https://www.iclrs.org/index.php?blurbId=75031&table=Blurb   In the following link, there’s a video interview with him at the annual Congressional baseball game, back on 14... Read more