Gotcha. Its title notwithstanding, this is not an autobiographical essay. In the writing project for which these preliminary notes are intended, I need to do a fair amount of “setting up,” which, in this portion of the project, means that I need to lay out some general background on certain issues of physics, astronomy, cell biology, paleontology, and the like. Therefore, not being a scientist myself, I’ll be drawing for those general discussions on actual scientists and... Read more
Today, 1 January 2023, is a Sunday — and that fact seems wholly appropriate to me as those of us who attended sacrament meeting today were able to renew our covenants in the ordinance of the Lord’s supper. It also seemed exceptionally appropriate that our opening hymn, the very first hymn of this new year, was “Rejoice, the Lord is King!” by the prolific eighteenth-century Methodist hymn writer Charles Wesley, who was the younger brother of the great... Read more
He’s been out of view for quite a while now, but this is still a big story in the world of religion and beyond: Deseret News: “The former pope has died. What will happen next? Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died Saturday at age 95” And here are some short items from a politically conservative and conservative Catholic point of view: “Pope Benedict XVI Dies at 95” “Benedict’s Legacy: Dominus Ieusus” “Benedict’s Legacy: Jesus of Nazareth” “Benedict’s Legacy: Introduction to Christianity”... Read more
The Interpreter Foundation has published its last articles for 2022; absolutely no more new 2022 articles will ever appear. I expect, therefore, that some of the Foundation’s critics will stay up late tomorrow night, partying in celebration. Here are the two articles that finish out the year: “Stained Swords: A Psalm of Redemption,” written by Loren Blake Spendlove Abstract: The author proposes a novel idea for understanding the stained swords of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies that involves repetition, parallelism, and metaphoric... Read more
A recording of this lecture and its text were posted yesterday on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Conference Talks: “The Outer Solar System: A Window to the Creative Breadth of Divinity,” originally presented in November 2013 by Professor Jani Radebaugh In this article, planetary scientist Jani Radebaugh explores the creative side of our Creator with a breathtaking photographic tour of the unusual planets and moons in the outer solar system. Emerging discoveries have helped open our minds... Read more
I’ve just returned with two of my sons from watching Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans. (My wife chose, instead, to spend the time with our visiting three-year-old granddaughter, who is, I readily admit, irresistibly adorable.) Although Indiana Jones doesn’t appear in the film and although it’s somewhat different from Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park, we enjoyed it quite a bit. Earlier in the day, my wife and I drove up... Read more
But, first, these three new items went up today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Nibley Lectures: Time Vindicates the Prophets — “Prophets and Ritual” Between 7 March 1954 and 17 October 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of thirty weekly lectures on KSL Radio that were also published as pamphlets. The series, which was called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of... Read more
I now return briefly to writing up some notes that are inspired by and/or are based upon Michael Guillen’s Believing is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism and Revealed the Necessity of Faith (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Refresh, 2021). They are, as I’ve previously explained, an initial hasty and unpolished pass on the topic that they address. I’ve been getting a kick, by the way, out of the overeager attempts by some on the Peterson... Read more
“Opinion: The true power of Christmas in a world filled with violence and hate: For people in Ukraine and other war-torn nations, Christmas may offer little joy this year, and yet the true power of Christmas remains the world’s great hope” “Zelensky rallies Ukrainians with defiant Christmas message after deadly Russian barrage in Kherson”: By the way, I have no patience for anybody who tries to tell me — as a dwindling number of people have tried to do... Read more
Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. (3 Nephi 1:13) Sic et Non is absolutely rolling in the Christmas spirit. It’s difficult not to be,... Read more
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