{"id":69523,"date":"2019-01-23T15:10:10","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T22:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=69523"},"modified":"2019-01-23T17:22:44","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T00:22:44","slug":"in-the-beginning-were-the-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/01\/in-the-beginning-were-the-words.html","title":{"rendered":"“In the beginning were the words”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The interior of BYU\u2019s Marriott Center, where Elder Corbridge delivered his remarks.
(Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019re told from time to time that Christianity is dying, and that atheism and agnosticism are on the rise.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is this true? \u00a0It\u2019s undeniable that Europe is adrift, spiritually speaking, and that, in the United States, the number of religiously unaffiliated \u201cnones\u201d has grown dramatically in recent years. \u00a0But Europe and North America aren\u2019t the whole story, and it\u2019s ethnocentric to imagine that they\u2019re more important than other areas of the globe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a Protestant voice:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.relevantmagazine.com\/god\/america-not-future-church<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I might note, by the way, that China has experienced the unchained and sunny uplands of atheism for generations now, and Christianity may now be undergoing historically unprecedented growth in that country:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.mormoninterpreter.com\/christian-faith-in-contemporary-china\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t quite able to listen to all of Tuesday\u2019s BYU devotional address by Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the Seventy, but I heard most of it, and I liked what I heard very much:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBYU Devotional: Stand forever with faith\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hope that the video and transcript are made available soon. \u00a0(I\u2019ll try to remember to let you know.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

More news from Rome:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDonny Osmond Posts Video of Rome Temple and Shares Testimony of Temples as \u2018Intersection Between Heaven and Earth'\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For various reasons, it seems that I may not be able to attend this conference, though I would very much like to be there. \u00a0And, if I\u2019m able to come, it may be for only a short time. \u00a0You, however, have no excuse:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBYU NTC Conference Saturday, January 26, 2019: \u201cIn the Beginning Were the Words: A Closer Look at Key New Testament Terms\u201d\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGladys Knight Offers \u201cClassy\u201d Response to Criticism About Singing at the Super Bowl\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was delighted, a while back, to discover that the British ITV mystery\/detective series Midsomer Murders<\/em> (1997-) has, at least in the past, featured a character named Dr. Dan Peterson<\/em>. \u00a0My wife and I are avid consumers of English mysteries.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who, I wondered, could they have hired to portray a person bearing so solemn \u2014 so august, respectable, and important \u2014 a name?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This would surely have been a decision fraught with cultural significance, entered into after long and serious deliberation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Several actors came immediately to my mind.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mr.<\/a>
One obvious possibility<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

All would, no doubt, be clamoring for the coveted role. \u00a0Still, although many are called, only one of them can be chosen.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Daniel<\/a>
Another pretty obvious option<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Viggo<\/a>
Thinking of him as Aragorn, of course. The true King of Gondor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But no. \u00a0They selected an actor who surprised me. \u00a0Frankly, I wouldn\u2019t have thought of him:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tobias \"Toby\" Jones<\/a>
Toby Jones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plainly, we live in a fallen world.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The problem of evil is one of the most serious challenges faced by theologians and theistic philosophers, and a case such as this illustrates (pretty well beyond dispute) why that is so.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 We\u2019re told from time to time that Christianity is dying, and that atheism and agnosticism are on the rise. \u00a0 Is this true? \u00a0It\u2019s undeniable that Europe is adrift, spiritually speaking, and that, in the United States, the number of religiously unaffiliated \u201cnones\u201d has grown dramatically in recent years. \u00a0But Europe and North […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2842,1014,870,2845,2836,2839,2833,2830,401],"class_list":["post-69523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-agnosticism","tag-atheism","tag-christianity","tag-irreligion","tag-nones","tag-religious-disaffiliation","tag-secularism","tag-secularization","tag-theism"],"yoast_head":"\n"In the beginning were the words"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    We're told from time to time that Christianity is dying, and that atheism and agnosticism are on the rise.   Is this true? 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