{"id":115027,"date":"2026-02-25T16:08:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T23:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=115027"},"modified":"2026-02-25T16:08:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T23:08:36","slug":"politics-commandments-opposition-and-abrahamic-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2026\/02\/politics-commandments-opposition-and-abrahamic-tests.html","title":{"rendered":"Politics, Commandments, Opposition, and Abrahamic Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Richard L. Bushman in the 2016 film By Study and Also by Faith<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Materials from our \u201cchapter reprint series\u201d are now appearing each week on Wednesdays rather than on Thursdays. \u00a0This may prove both distressing and confusing to at least one member of our audience, who experienced a psychological crisis on a previous occasion when he became disoriented, accusing us of trying to trick him, so I want to make the fact unmistakably clear that we aren\u2019t claiming these to be new articles. \u00a0They are republications, online, of chapters that had previously appeared in print. \u00a0New<\/em> articles appear on Fridays, as they have always<\/em> done. \u00a0The chapter reprint for this week is\u00a0Steadfast in Defense of Faith<\/em>: \u201cThe Book of Commandments as Literature,\u201d<\/a> written by Richard L. Bushman<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Steadfast in Defense of Faith: Essays in Honor of Daniel C. Peterson<\/em>, edited by Shirley Ricks, Stephen D. Ricks, and Louis Midgley. For more information, go to https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/books\/steadfast-in-defense-of-faith\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome years ago, I began reading scriptures in a new way. Instead of reading for doctrine or for the story, I became aware of scriptures as literary creations. I sensed that like science fiction, romance novels, and histories, scriptures invite us to enter alternative worlds. They imagine places quite different from the humdrum world where we live every day. In scripture, miracles occur, God and angels come to earth, voices from heaven speak to people, and God controls events. One way the scriptures influence us is by inviting us to inhabit a world where God reigns and where pleasing Him brings great rewards. The effectiveness of scripture in shaping our lives depends partly on its effectiveness as a literary creation.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Brueghel<\/a>
Pieter Brueghel the Younger, \u201cA Country Brawl\u201d (1610), a Wikimedia Commons public domain image. \u00a0This isn\u2019t perhaps the ideal form that a civil political or religious discussion should take.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I really like this article by Steve Densley, Jr., and strongly endorse what he has to say. \u00a0Steve happens, by the way, to be the executive vice president of the Interpreter Foundation: \u00a0\u201cHonest and Wise: Seeking Unity in a Divided Political World.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"the<\/a>
The Paris France Temple by night (LDS Media Library). \u00a0The temple is located within easy walking distance \u2014 I\u2019ve walked it myself \u2014 of the famous Parc de Versailles.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/blockquote>\n

In France? \u00a0France? \u00a0Really?<\/em> \u00a0\u201cElder Causs\u00e9 Says Church Growth Is Surging in France:\u00a0The Bordeaux native ministers in his homeland in first trip abroad as an Apostle\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

But then there\u2019s this item, not specific to Latter-day Saints, from the BBC: \u00a0\u201cWe thought Gen Z had started going to church in droves. But the truth is more complicated\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOpinion: Why many religious \u2018nones\u2019 are more open than they appear:\u00a0New research suggests skepticism often softens when faith is encountered through service\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Yet another view of the Paris France Temple (LDS.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis so-called \u2018Mormon moment\u2019 isn\u2019t actually about religion: Plus, Ten Commandments posters get a green light in Louisiana public schools\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tide Has Turned \u2014 Why LDS Content Is Winning Online\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

As part of the latter story, I suppose, the fifth installment in the Becoming Brigham<\/em> series<\/a> is now up online. \u00a0As are all of the previous episodes, at becomingbrigham.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s a current film project that some of you might find of interest: \u00a0\u201cTwo Heartbeats.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 On it, see also \u201cMeridian Editor, Mariah Proctor, Creates Award-Winning Film.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Professor<\/a>
Truman G. Madsen (1926-2009). He would have celebrated his hundredth birthday late this year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mortality can be painful. \u00a0It brings losses. \u00a0I mention two of them here:<\/p>\n

Tim Guymon<\/a>, who served for many years as the typesetter for Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>, passed away last month. \u00a0He lived in Florida, and I never met him. \u00a0But Allen Wyatt did, and here\u2019s a brief tribute that Allen wrote for our website:\u00a0\u201cA Note of Passing.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

The independent Latter-day Saint historian Ardis Parshall also died, just the other day. \u00a0I had some slight contact with her \u2014 I find two emails from her, both from several years ago \u2014 and may or may not have actually met her once. \u00a0I knew her mainly by reputation. \u00a0We were co-signatories in 2018 to an amici curiae<\/em> brief<\/a> that was filed with the Supreme Count of the United States regarding President Trump\u2019s proposed \u201cMuslim travel ban.\u201d \u00a0Here is a tribute to her by Sam Brunson: \u00a0\u201cIn Memory of Ardis Parshall.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve commented here on several occasions that Truman Madsen<\/a> was a major influence on me at a pivotal time in my life, and that he continued to be an influence on me and ended up as a friend. \u00a0I still feel his loss, and I miss him. \u00a0Meridian Magazine<\/em> has republished one of his essays in connection with this year\u2019s \u201cCome, Follow Me\u201d curriculum of study in the Old Testament. \u00a0I recommend it to you: \u201cPower from Abrahamic Tests\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dust<\/a>
America\u2019s elites once viewed the country\u2019s Christians as silly but essentially harmless, and the territories in which they were dominant as mere cultural and intellectual wastelands. But that benign view, represented by the photo above, has now been replaced in some quarters by a more ominous perspective that regards them as a dangerous threat. \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I close with a trio of abominations, one quite localized, the other global, and the third \u201cmusical\u201d (if you\u2019re willing to call it \u201cmusic\u201d), from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122:<\/p>\n