As always, Cassandra Hedelius has something very worthwhile to say, this time in the wake of the controversial recent policy clarification from Church leadership regarding same-sex couples:   http://blog.fairmormon.org/2015/11/09/the-brethren-are-not-bigots/   And, if you haven’t already read it, you should take a look at the FairMormon piece “A Look at the Church’s New Policy on Children of Gay Couples”:   http://blog.fairmormon.org/2015/11/06/a-look-at-the-churchs-new-policy-on-children-of-gay-couples/     Read more

    Matthew 26:1-5 Mark 14:1-2 Luke 22:1-2 Compare Mark 11:18-19; Luke 19:47; 21:37; John 11:47-53   If the three synoptic gospels are accurate here, the death of Jesus was a pre-planned judicial assassination.  And, quite illegally, the verdict in his “trial” was predetermined.     Read more

    This story is archaeologically and historically fascinating.  But it’s also humanly moving.  There’s been so terribly much pain and sorrow and horror in human history:   http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/selinunte-site-of-ancient-massacre-yields-the-secrets-of-a-lost-greek-city-a6726496.html   Stories such as this make it impossible for me to understand how any thinking, feeling human being can be indifferent to, apathetic about, the idea of God, an afterlife, and an atoning Redeemer.   I can understand thinking such things untrue.  I cannot understand believing that they don’t matter.  ... Read more

    I look forward to reading this book, both because I think its theme looks very interesting — intriguing title! — and because I’ve long admired the writing and thinking of Catherine Thomas:   http://ldsliving.com/God-in-the-Making-How-Science-Supports-that-We-Can-Become-Like-God/s/80483     Read more

    In the Interpreter Foundation’s 141st scripture roundtable, Martin Tanner and Bruce Webster discuss 1 Peter 1-4, 2 Peter 1-3, and Jude, which are the focus of 2015 New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 43:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/scripture-roundtable-141-new-testament-gospel-doctrine-lesson-43-a-chosen-generation/     Read more

    John 12:37-50 Compare Matthew 13:10-17; Mark 4:10-12; 8:17-18; Luke 8:9-10   Failure to follow Jesus can come from various causes.  John here suggests two:  (1) hard-hearted blindness, a failure (or refusal) to see what ought to be plainly evident, and (2) fear of human opinion and/or desire for human approval, which overwhelms belief — “for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”   Neither will hold up well as a defense, come Judgment... Read more

    “Our culture has accepted two huge lies.  “The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them.  “The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do.  “Both are nonsense.  “You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.”   Pastor Rick Warren     Read more

    John 12:20-36 Compare Matthew 3:17; 10:39; 16:24-25; 17:5; 20:28; 26:38-39; Mark 1:11; 8:34-35; 9:7; 10:45; 14:34-36; Luke 3:22; 9:23-24, 35; 10:18; 17:33; 22:41-42.   The prediction of his death given here by Jesus is quite clear.   So is his statement, in John 12:27, of the principal purpose of his life:   Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται, καὶ τί εἴπω; πάτερ, σῶσόν με ἐκ τῆς ὥρας ταύτης. ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον εἰς τὴν ὥραν ταύτην.   “Now my soul... Read more

    Luke 21:37-38  Compare John 8:1-2   Jesus spends a lot of his time teaching in the Temple.  (After his resurrection, so do his apostles.)  One might hypothesize that he went there simply because it was an open space where large crowds could be found.  But his dramatically-illustrated zeal for its purity and his reference to it as “my Father’s house” strongly suggest that he genuinely revered it.   Some have claimed that the idea of a Temple has... Read more

    Matthew 25:31-46 Compare Matthew 16:27; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; John 5:29   Three quick observations and an addendum that will explain my inclusion of the image above:   1.   The notion of an all-accepting, non-judgmental Jesus has no foundation in the New Testament.   2.   The criteria of judgment seem to be largely if not behavioral.  We won’t be asked a lot of theological questions, I think.   3.   And the behavior most central —... Read more