{"id":97872,"date":"2022-12-12T20:40:29","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T03:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=97872"},"modified":"2022-12-12T21:47:05","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T04:47:05","slug":"big-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2022\/12\/big-news.html","title":{"rendered":"Big News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"St.Francis<\/a>
At Greccio, Italy, in 1223, St. Francis of Assisi starts the tradition of creating Christmas nativity scenes
Giotto (d. 1337); Wikimedia Commons public domain image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t yet watched this eighteen-minute video from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, I encourage you to do so between now and the end of Christmas day.\u00a0 If you already have, but not recently, it would probably be worth seeing it again.\u00a0 And it would be very good if you were to share it with family and friends, in and out of the Church.\u00a0 I think that it\u2019s one of the best official Latter-day Saint films ever produced:\u00a0 The Christ Child: A Nativity Story<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Nativity<\/a>
Inside Bethlehem\u2019s Church of the Nativity (Wikimedia CC public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I received a note earlier this evening from my long-time friend\u00a0Charles Randall Paul, Ph.D.<\/a>, who is the\u00a0President of the\u00a0Foundation for Religious Diplomacy<\/a>.\u00a0 Some of you, I think, may find it interesting.\u00a0 I plan to tune in to the podcast, if I\u2019m able to do so:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

RE: The Hopeful Last Words of William James: Living Better Together with Earth Quakes. \u00a0 <\/i>A free podcast\u00a0TOMORROW NIGHT Tuesday the 13th of Dec. at 6:30 PM Mountain Time<\/u> in the USA<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Hello my friends,<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
You are invited to listen (with Q&A included) to an hour conversation between Randall Paul and Nate Nielsen (the host of Books and Bridges<\/i> podcasts) based on A Pluralistic Universe<\/b><\/i>, William James\u2019 eloquent summation of his life\u2019s study of psychology, pragmatic philosophy and religious experiences. \u00a0James died in 1910 a year after the book\u2019s publication, but his hearty out-of-the-box thinking seems original 112 years later. \u00a0If you have not read A Pluralist Universe<\/i><\/b> (or if you have and would like to revisit its excellence), you will likely find the hour we spend in its pages exciting. \u00a0Trying to avoid thinking that never had legs on the ground, James always aimed his work to make a positive practical difference in human lives. \u00a0Come and see if you find his unusual way of thinking about a radically pluralistic reality helpful to you in practical ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I have never been more happy to talk about a book than I am this one. \u00a0James and this book have influenced my life deeply.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I have launched this very short notice so you could easily excuse yourselves from attending without making up awkward excuses. \u00a0Know that you have received this invitation because you have already influenced me for good, and I hope to reciprocate tomorrow a little.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Yours truly,<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Randy (for old friends). Randall (for new ones)<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
HERE ARE THE LINKS on Zoom or Facebook<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
The Zoom link for viewers only:\u00a0https:\/\/us02web.zoom.us\/webinar\/register\/WN_EuedC957TmGZ6EQD_7oxjg<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Facebook link for viewers only:\u00a0https:\/\/fb.me\/e\/2G6YG9119<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lewis<\/a>
A thought for Christmas (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, while I\u2019m recommending things for you to watch and hear, I\u2019ll mention a couple of podcasts to which I hope to listen:<\/p>\n

\u201cTerryl Givens and Nathaniel Givens On Faith \u2013 Into The Headwinds, Part 1\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPart 2, Terryl and Nathaniel Givens On Faith \u2013 Into The Headwinds\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Moreover, since I was just there a few days ago, this particularly caught my eye:<\/p>\n

\u201cSee photos of the Oakland California Temple Christmas lights: The display runs through Dec. 31, with free Christmas concerts and events on Oakland\u2019s Temple Hill\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I know that there are a few out there who are eager to see John Gee\u2019s evaluation of The Hypocephalus: An Ancient Egyptian Funerary Amulet<\/em>, by Tam\u00e1s Mekis.\u00a0 It is now available as \u201cThe Effect of Methodological Choices on the Understanding of Hypocephali\u201d in Bibliotheca Orientalis<\/em> 79\/1-2 (January-April 2022): 5-12.\u00a0 I have read it, but the article is not easy of access.\u00a0 So I\u2019m happy to provide links for those who would like to obtain a copy of it:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/poj.peeters-leuven.be\/content.php?url=journal&journal_code=BIOR<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/poj.peeters-leuven.be\/content.php?url=issue&journal_code=BIOR&issue=1&vol=79<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/poj.peeters-leuven.be\/content.php?url=CMS.php&section=prices<\/a><\/p>\n

Here, in the meantime, is the article abstract:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Just as the evidence left from the past often leaves itself open to multiple interpretations, so also multiple methodologies may be used to examine and analyze that evidence. The researcher must make choices about which legitimate methods to use. Different methods sometimes yield different results. Since the ancient Egyptians had no explicit theology, all theological reconstructions are modern. Different methods produce different theologies. The article looks at how different methodologies applied to interpreting hypocephali can result in different interpretations. Thus, recent laudable work on hypocephali might not be definitive. How much modern theological reconstructions might have coincided with the understanding of ancient Egyptians is an open question.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Oakland<\/a>
The Oakland California Temple at Christmas
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Although I\u2019m saddened by the news, I\u2019m grateful to Chris Miasnik for alerting me to the fact that Carma De Jong Anderson<\/a>, the widow of Richard Lloyd Anderson, has passed on.\u00a0 She was and is a remarkable woman, certainly one of the most colorful and vivid characters that I\u2019ve encountered.\u00a0 One story from long ago:\u00a0 Somehow, back when I was an undergraduate, probably a year or so after my mission, I was invited to a party at her house.\u00a0 I don\u2019t recall how or why.\u00a0 It may even have been at Christmas time in December.\u00a0 Anyway, a day or two before the party, somebody told me that Carma had a practice of gathering, umm, well, interesting people in her home.\u00a0 Eccentrics.\u00a0 Outliers.\u00a0 Exceptional folks, you might say.\u00a0 That evening, looking around at the other party guests, I thought to myself, \u201cWow.\u00a0 That report was certainly true!\u00a0 There are some really curious people at this party.\u201d\u00a0 And then the thought suddenly occurred to me:\u00a0 \u201cBut what am I<\/em> doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here is her entry on the website of what is now called Latter-day Saint Scholars Testify<\/em>:\u00a0 Carma Rose de Jong Anderson<\/a>.\u00a0 I miss them.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
After humans destroy themselves in a thermonuclear holocaust, it will be left to beetles, who can survive massive doses of radiation, to carry on the scientific enterprise.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, this is a potentially enormous development \u2014 more important, even, than further details about Kari Lake\u2019s lawsuit to overturn the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, or Sam Bankman-Fried\u2019s arrest, or Elon Musk\u2019s newest tweet, or the most recent antics of the Kardashians, or any episode at all of Harry and Meghan: The Complete Story<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u201cNuclear fusion: How long until this breakthrough discovery can power your house\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA Fusion Breakthrough That Could Change the World\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

If I were an oil shaykh or a Venezuelan dictator or an Iranian theocrat or a tyrannical and murderous Russian imperialist, I think that I would be paying close attention to developments in this story.\u00a0 Commercial applications and domestic use aren\u2019t likely right around the corner.\u00a0 But I\u2019m reminded of part of a scriptural passage from 1 Kings 18 that I always discuss with my tour groups when we\u2019re up on Mount Carmel in northern Israel.\u00a0 As the passage opens, there has been a lengthy and devastating drought in the northern kingdom.\u00a0 But it\u2019s about to come to an abrupt end:<\/p>\n

41\u00a0<\/sup>And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.<\/span><\/p>\n

42\u00a0<\/sup>So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,<\/span><\/p>\n

43\u00a0<\/sup>And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.<\/span><\/p>\n

44\u00a0<\/sup>And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man\u2019s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.<\/span><\/p>\n

45\u00a0<\/sup>And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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