{"id":83352,"date":"2020-03-05T15:46:09","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T22:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=83352"},"modified":"2020-03-05T22:14:08","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T05:14:08","slug":"on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html","title":{"rendered":"On a current controversy involving BYU (1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
A south-looking view of part of the campus of Brigham Young University, from the BYU website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Several have urged me to comment on the Honor Code revisions at Brigham Young University with regard to homosexuality, and I suppose it\u2019s time that I say at least something. \u00a0Herewith, therefore, several propositions. \u00a0They are neither exhaustive nor systematic, and I offer them here in no particular order:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0Although this topic has obviously inspired controversy in some circles, until today (when a student mentioned it to me and I heard news of a demonstration elsewhere on campus) nobody at BYU has so much as alluded to the topic in my hearing, except for one passing conversational reference to it from the chairman of my department (Asian and Near Eastern Languages). \u00a0Not only hasn\u2019t it loomed large, it just hasn\u2019t been on my radar screen. \u00a0That radar screen has been occupied by teaching, committee meetings, midterms, student papers, and the like.<\/li>\n
  2. Some hope and expect, reasoning by analogy from the cessation of plural marriage in 1890 and the lifting of the black priesthood restriction in 1978, that same-sex marriages will ultimately receive approval from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> and be solemnized for all eternity in the temples of the Church. \u00a0However, although God is free and sovereign and entirely capable of surprise \u2014 as C. S. Lewis liked to say, Aslan is not a tame lion \u2014 I have no such expectation. \u00a0This for at least two reasons, one much stronger and more serious than the other:<\/li>\n
  3. First, from a purely secular perspective: None of the living apostles seem at all inclined to make such a change, and, actuarially speaking, they are likely to be in charge of the Church for decades to come.<\/li>\n
  4. Second, from a doctrinal perspective: \u00a0The removal of the priesthood ban for blacks was, theologically speaking, a small matter. \u00a0It altered little if anything of substance beyond itself. \u00a0So, too, the granting of priesthood to women \u2014 which I don\u2019t expect, but which is conceivable \u2014 would not fundamentally change our doctrine. \u00a0By contrast, regarding homosexual marriages as the functional equivalent of heterosexual marriages in the eternities would not only be contrary to fact \u2014 they are, for purposes of generating posterity, simply not<\/em> functionally equivalent \u2014 but would require a virtually complete transformation of our understanding of the purpose of life, the plan of salvation, and the nature of the eternities.<\/li>\n
  5. Brigham Young University is an integral part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is likely to remain such. \u00a0In that light, it exists not only to be a university \u2014 in the manner of UCLA, Colorado State, Princeton, and Cal State Fullerton \u2014 but to assist in the formation of committed young Latter-day Saints. \u00a0Its general direction is, therefore, tightly controlled by the leadership of the Church, and should<\/em> be.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    To be continued.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

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

    \u00a0 \u00a0 Several have urged me to comment on the Honor Code revisions at Brigham Young University with regard to homosexuality, and I suppose it\u2019s time that I say at least something. \u00a0Herewith, therefore, several propositions. \u00a0They are neither exhaustive nor systematic, and I offer them here in no particular order: \u00a0 \u00a0Although this topic […]<\/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":[1152,1149,2752,8889,3811,2740,6000,2722],"class_list":["post-83352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-brigham-young-university","tag-byu","tag-gay","tag-gays","tag-homosexual","tag-homosexuality","tag-homosexuals","tag-honor-code"],"yoast_head":"\nOn a current controversy involving BYU (1)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Several have urged me to comment on the Honor Code revisions at Brigham Young University with regard to homosexuality, and I suppose it's\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On a current controversy involving BYU (1)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Several have urged me to comment on the Honor Code revisions at Brigham Young University with regard to homosexuality, and I suppose it's\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-05T22:46:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-06T05:14:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2019\/10\/brightspotcdn.byu_.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html\",\"name\":\"On a current controversy involving BYU (1)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-05T22:46:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-06T05:14:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    Several have urged me to comment on the Honor Code revisions at Brigham Young University with regard to homosexuality, and I suppose it's\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"On a current controversy involving BYU (1)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On a current controversy involving BYU (1)","description":"    Several have urged me to comment on the Honor Code revisions at Brigham Young University with regard to homosexuality, and I suppose it's","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"On a current controversy involving BYU (1)","og_description":"    Several have urged me to comment on the Honor Code revisions at Brigham Young University with regard to homosexuality, and I suppose it's","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2020-03-05T22:46:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-06T05:14:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2019\/10\/brightspotcdn.byu_.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html","name":"On a current controversy involving BYU (1)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-03-05T22:46:09+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-06T05:14:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    Several have urged me to comment on the Honor Code revisions at Brigham Young University with regard to homosexuality, and I suppose it's","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/03\/on-a-current-controversy-involving-byu-1.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"On a current controversy involving BYU (1)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83352\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}