It won’t surprise many who know me or know much about my thinking that I’m not an unalloyed fan of the late astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan.  But I like this piece, and I like the principles from Sagan that it sets forth — even if I think that Dr. Sagan himself violated them from time to time on some very big issues:   http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2017/04/20/rethinking_critical_thinking_with_the_help_of_carl_sagan.html   Posted from Park City, Utah     Read more

    Here’s an article from way back in 2012, published in the Jesuit (Catholic) magazine America, that some might find of interest in view of the recurrent claim that Mormons don’t give enough to charity, are too selfish, spend too much on their silly churches and ridiculous temples, are ignoring the teachings of Christ about love and service, and etc. and etc.  It was written by Dr. John J. Dilulio, Jr., who is currently Frederic Fox Leadership Professor of Politics,... Read more

    Referring to certain strands of liberal Protestant theology in his day, the famous Yale Christian ethicist H. Richard Niebuhr (younger brother of the even more famous Protestant theologian, social thinker, and public intellectual Reinhold Niebuhr [1892-1971]) described them this way in his book The Kingdom of God in America:   “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross.”   Posted from Park City, Utah... Read more

    First off, an interesting 1970-1971 speech by Elder Spencer W. Kimball of the Council of the Twelve (who, of course, later went on to serve as president of the Church):   “Peter, My Brother”   Then a note on the story by Blake Osler that was brought to my notice by Robert Boylan:   “Follow up comments on Peter and Easter”   Brother Boylan is inclined to disagree with Brother Ostler on the grounds that “the Greek can be... Read more

    Critics often claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn’t give enough money to charity.   What that typically means is that the Church doesn’t do enough charitable work of the kind that they would approve.  Because, after all, the Church is a charity.  In a sense, their complaint is rather like lamenting that the Sierra Club doesn’t dig water wells in Africa, or that the Red Cross supports no museums or opera companies, or that Médecins... Read more

    “The Unintended Consequences of San Francisco’s Minimum-Wage Hike”   It’s so gratifyingly delicious when one can display one’s noble concern for the poor while, at the same time, getting rid of the riffraff.             Read more

    Perhaps you missed this one.  In any event, it was quite the opener for Sister Bingham, whose announcement as the new general president of the Relief Society was announced in the afternoon session of General Conference on Saturday, 1 April, to speak at the United Nations on 13 April:   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/new-mormon-relief-society-president-speaks-un   I note with some satisfaction that she was accompanied to New York City by Sister Sharon Eubank, a contributor to Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture.... Read more

    Yes, they do exist.   But they’re a silent and rather small minority.   In most academic fields — including mine — the default setting is politically leftist, and it’s simply assumed that all decent and informed people agree on socio-political issues.  Dissent isn’t necessarily well-received.   So I found this article interesting:   http://www.nature.com/news/republican-scientists-negotiate-the-trump-era-1.21846     Read more

    A thoughtful essay on the recent changes in Turkey, by the always-interesting George Friedman:   http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2017/04/17/turkey_secularism_and_religion_112299.html     Read more

    “Men cannot improve a society by setting fire to it: they must seek out its old virtues, and bring them back into the light.”  Russell Kirk (1918-1994)     Read more