I write about social justice, mostly the theory of justice presented by the late philosopher John Rawls. I am not looking to add anything new today. But considering the recent comments by Brother Beck, I want to point out some of the things which I, a Mormon, has had to say about social justice. I have written about the moral justification of liberal justice in two posts (here and a much updated version here). I have looked at the economic... Read more
“We have drifted from having a market economy to have a market society.” Wow. A thoughful and insightful critique by the political philosopher Michael Sandel. Check out the clip. Also, I have written a few thoughts, inspired by Sandel and some conversations I have had lately, over at Radical Moderation. Read more
WhatisGlobalJusticemp3 This podcast was made by two of my students, Jericho Cline and Ethan Blevin, during a senior seminar on global justice. I am sharing this today because I have been thinking a lot about Ethan. He recently got into a great law school. He also just suffered a great loss in his family. He and Jericho are not only great students, but great men. I have some great former and current students. Read more
Tonight, Elder Oaks spoke at Harvard. Just a little more than a week after a Newsweek article accused Harvard of ignoring the importance of the academic study of religion, Elder Oaks visited Harvard Law School as part of a series of bringing high-profile LDS legal figures to speak on Mormonism 101. Such an occasion is interesting because the intended audience (though by no means the actual audience) were non-LDS, so it interesting to see how someone like Oaks packages the... Read more
I know I’ve been AWOL on my OT:FTW posts, but the recent tragic shootings over being denied tenure have sparked a variety of interesting reflections on tenure, academia, publishing, stress, and so on. I thought it merited more than a sidebar. http://chronicle.com/article/Reactions-Is-Tenure-a-Matter/64321/ Thoughts? Read more
How is God infinite and embodied? Are we born in the spirit world or have our spirits existed forever? What is the nature of “intelligence”? What is eternal progression? These are issues that LDSs have different views on. Leaders throughout the history of the Church have also expressed a variety of views in responding to these kinds of questions. The fact that 2 different LDSs can hold opposing views about these issues and both still be considered “faithful” is a... Read more
For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is God’s power for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, as well as the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith(fullness) for faith(fullness), as it has been written, ‘(and) the Righteous One/righteous will live through faith(fullness).’ -Romans 1.16-17 [1] Few passages in the New Testament have elicited more debate throughout the centuries than Romans 1.16-17 and its explanatory corollary passages in Romans... Read more
I have a box of posters, signs, t-shirts, and other junk in my office in Provo that stands as a physical reminder of what was once the College Democrats at BYU-Idaho. I was the last faculty advisor for the club and when I moved to Provo, I could not find anyone to take them. For the first time in four years, I am not an employee of Brigham Young University-Idaho. This post, despite being about the political clubs at BYU-Idaho,... Read more
In this weeks Sunday School lesson we will be discussing Noah. I love this story. My second child is named Shem. It is one of the classics. The class I teach is for high school juniors and seniors. We have a discussion-oriented class. They have had these stories before in seminary and elsewhere. They know the details of the scriptural narrative better than I do. As a result, we have been able to discuss applications and potential meanings of different... Read more
Rabbinic commentators have sought to better understand the nature of God by exploring the implications and origins of his name. Michael Fishbane writes in Rabbinic Myth and Mythmaking (Oxford University Press, 2003): In the context of an explanation of why the ‘dry land’ (yabashah) is called ‘eretz (‘earth’) in Gen 1:10, we are told that the primordial earth was an obedient creation of God’s, and ceased to extend when He ‘said’ so. This compliance is strikingly forumated by an exegetical... Read more
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