This is a talk I gave many years ago, slightly modified. I have had a lot of time to think about the scriptures, what they mean and how they mean. I have read the history of the times in which these texts were produced, and learned all sorts of theories about their development. Clearly, I think that these things are not only interesting, but also extremely useful for making the scriptures real, seeing in them both the humanity and divinity,... Read more
If you haven’t yet voted in this year’s Niblets, stroll on over to Mormon Matters to check out the many amazing nominations. It is real treat to read or reread so many of the excellent content produced in the bloggernacle in 2008! Of course, FPR and many FPR posts are nominated, but we encourage you to vote your conscience for what you think is the best. Good luck to all! Read more
Ken Brown at the blog C. Orthodoxy started a meme asking bloggers involved in biblical studies what are the top 5 books or scholars which have influenced them the most. Here’s FPR’s contribution, organized by author: (more…) Read more
I recently turned 25 and realized that there are a lot of things that I don’t know about that I would like to know more about. One of them is fiction. I rarely, rarely read fiction. Part of the reason is that I feel guilty reading fiction, like I am cheating on my non-fiction partner. I say to myself, “If I am going to be reading, I should be reading non-fiction.” However, like any good 19th c. Mormon knows, there is... Read more
In previous posts in this series I have danced around the historicity question. In this post I will tackle this head on. The best advice I can give believers who are beginning to judge what is historical in scripture and what is not is the following (and yes I mean to yell this). YOU ARE TOO BIASED TO BE A GOOD JUDGE OF WHAT IS HISTORICAL AND WHAT IS NOT. You would do much better to focus on finding the... Read more
In kosher law, wine is only kosher when it has been produced and handled by Jews. In this way this kosher law is distinctive from the LDS “Word of Wisdom” in that it is not about the substance of the drink, but how it is handled. There is one exception to this rule, however. If the wine produced by Gentiles is boiled, it becomes kosher. On its face, there is no logical principle why boiling the wine would render it... Read more
What follows is my review of the film <a href="http://www.untoldstoryofblackmormons.com/"Nobody Knows, The Untold Story of Black Mormons. I have divided it into three sections. The first section, “Review,” is just that, my review of the movie. I think it is important to separate reviewing the movie that was actually made, as opposed to one I expected or hoped for. The only critiques that matter are the ones in the “Review” section. The other two sections, “What I was expecting” and... Read more
Like many Christians I like to read and re-read Romans 5-8. Paul uses very vivid imagery to portray both sin and grace as powers that can exercise dominion over human life. Death and the law are likewise rendered in apocalyptic terms. These chapters come to something of a climax in Rom 8:3 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to... Read more
I like to think of FPR and FMH as the polar opposites of the bloggernacle. (more…) Read more
Did Adam or God Create Eve? Perhaps no text has influenced current gender roles and concepts of sexuality in Western culture more than the biblical Yahwist (J) account of creation found in Genesis 2-3. [1] (more…) Read more
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