Reports have come to FPR that currently there is a massive exodus from the church underway on account of members discovering that their leaders have been shielding them from critical biblical scholarship on the Pentateuch. The realization that the ancient literature that constitutes the first five books of the Old Testament is not history in the modern sense of the word and that the various documents and sources that make up its individual components were written to promote certain ideological... Read more

I do not go as far as the late Richard Rorty when it comes to “truth.” I do believe that their is such a thing as truth, I just find almost all claims to such truth to be utter rubbish. It is largely because of Rorty that I have come to this point. I personally think that we are rarely interested in truth. Instead, we are merely deeply committed to defended certain narratives about “truth.” Like Rorty, I feel that... Read more

I met Cornel West last year in San Francisco at the American Academy of Religion. I am looking forward to attending AAR in Chicago this weekend, Preach it, Brother West! ; Read more

I’m totally disappointed that learned, waggish friends on social media are not talking more about Marcus Petreius. I mean the dude’s name and his “career” suicide along with his proven military chops against insurgents and his open sympathies with the (lost) Republican cause are begging to be snark-mined. Facebook is just so hoi polloi these days. Sigh. As a concession to the masses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Petreius Those who don’t learn history are bound to blah, blah, blah, and all that. Read more

I had originally intended to start a series of posts on Hugh Nibley I have been a bit busy…and I have given up on Mormon Studies. So while I will continue to find inspiration from Nibley, it will not be a focus of my writings or research. Nor will I have time to do the project justice. Do not despair! Over the last few months, the Nibley family has been bringing us some deep and personal insights into the real... Read more

Kristine is a my hero. UPDATE: I should thank Sunstone for this video. For more videos from Sunstone Symposium, check out their YouTube page. Read more

Here’s the other post in the series so far and where you’ll also find a link to the series announcement. “What is your philosophy of Religious Education and what should be the proper balance between the intellectual and the spiritual in BYU Religion classes?” This is a very important question that I wish could be discussed more, and more openly, throughout the church at all levels. Because it does not just concern students in religious education classes at church schools.... Read more

It is academic job application season and for the last little while Church History and Docrine at BYU has been including an interesting and thought-provoking question as part of the application process. In addition to traditional application materials, the job advertisement asks for: …a statement (no more than 500 words) regarding your philosophy of integration of faith and reason in your scholarship and teaching. President Spencer W. Kimball charged BYU professors to “become ‘bilingual’ in speaking the language of scholarship... Read more