First of all, Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of those out there who have ever been Irish, or thought about being Irish, or know somebody who’s Irish, or have heard of either Ireland or St. Patrick’s Day, or who haven’t. We enjoyed our corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes today, and I hope that you did, or will, also. And, while I’m doling out best wishes, we all need to congratulate Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin on his unforeseen... Read more
Recently, Adam Colvin provided me with copies of two documents from his family history. With his kind permission, I share portions of them here. The first extract comes from a “Life Sketch of Simeon Adams Dunn,” compiled by Nancy Dunn Watson: James Dunn, the brother of Simeon, came to their home in Van Buren [Wayne County, Michigan] as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He preached the gospel in that neighborhood and Simeon and his... Read more
A new article has just been posted on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: “Premortal Life and Mortal Life: A Fearful Symmetry,” written by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw Abstract: Bodily weakness, along with the varied circumstances into which we were born, provide the essential initial and ongoing conditions that shape the challenges and opportunities of our mortal probation. In life, we are not expected merely to preserve our innocence in defiance of worldly tendencies, nor are we compelled to cede... Read more
Last night, I was among a group of people who had been invited to a meeting with Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a member of the Seventy, who currently serves as Commissioner of Education for the Church Educational System; Elder Alvin F. Meredith III, who is also a member of the Seventy and who was relatively recently appointed president of Brigham Young University-Idaho; and C. Shane Reese, the still relatively new president of the main Brigham Young University campus in... Read more
I occasionally use the expression objective public proof. I’ve recently been asked what I mean by it. Let me take the phrase apart just a bit. “Proof,” as the word is typically used and as I am using it here, is a fact or a piece of information that demonstrates the existence of something or, more broadly, the truth of a proposition. In mathematics, which (along with formal logic) probably illustrates the notion of “proof” most clearly, a proof... Read more
The following is basically a close paraphrase or a gloss (for my note-taking purposes) of “A Beginner’s Guide to the ‘Fine-Tuning’ Argument” by Max Baker-Hytch of the University of Oxford. As always with such notes, I make no claim of originality for what follows but share them because, while I’m taking notes for my own eventual use elsewhere, I think others might find them of potential interest. I do not claim entries on this blog as publications of mine:... Read more
I think that apologetics, as such, is inevitable. Stripped of specifically religious elements, it’s merely the defense of a position. Scholars defend positions all the time, as they should. So do all the rest of us. Whenever there is disagreement — e.g., over religion, politics, political candidates, even favorite restaurants or best vacation destinations — there will be affirmative statements and there will negative ones. “The food is wonderful there.” “Maybe, but the service is really, really slow.” “It’s... Read more
For many years now, my most devoted atheist commenter here (never a Latter-day Saint) has repeatedly (and repetitiously) asserted that religious claims can neither be examined, tested, nor investigated. (Which, I’m guessing, is intended to show — in what might perhaps be a kind of folk echo or pop version of once-fashionable logical positivism — that such claims are nonsense. He never actually formulates an argument, so I’m left to speculate. But that seems to be what’s in the... Read more
I agree with this article, which was written by a Roman Catholic: “Does Jesus Have a Sense of Humor? Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is like us in every way except sin. This includes having a sense of humor.” It reminds me of the review of a book from another Catholic thinker that I came across a couple of years ago: “Making God Laugh: A new book makes the case that humor is heavenly.” Alas, though, I... Read more
Cody Quirk has kindly called to my notice an article about an interesting discovery in Central America: “Archaeologists in Panama find ancient tomb filled with gold treasure — and sacrificial victims.” Although the site and the golden artifacts that were found by the archaeologists date to a period that is somewhat after the end of the narrative of the Book of Mormon, and although they were located in an area that, according to the Mesoamerican model that I find... Read more
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