Due to the overwhelming number of responses to my posts about Mormonism I am having to moderate the discussion in several sessions over two days. Please be patient while I work through the comments and respond to some of them.  Today (Sunday, June 14) is a very busy day for me and I will not be able to finish moderation until tomorrow or Tuesday. In the meantime, please be aware of and follow these guidelines: Please do not post more... Read more

I encourage everyone interested in contemporary Mormonism and its relationship with Christianity to read (on line) the following: “President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: ‘The Gift of Grace'” Deseret News/LDS Church News April 5, 2015. Google for it. I take it this sermon is a correction to Mormons who over emphasize works at the expense of grace and salvation as gift–and to critics who think all Mormons believe salvation must be earned. Now, maybe Mormon leaders have always believed what Uchtdorf says... Read more

Is Mormonism Christian? If you expect a simple, black-and-white answer to the question “Is Mormonism Christian?” you’ll be disappointed. I’m not going to offer that here. I will, however, offer my opinion about whether the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints is a Christian church. “Mormonism,” however, is less a clear and distinct idea than “the LDS Church.” The LDS Church is an organization with spokesmen and at least somewhat authoritative statements. Mormonism, however, is a bit... Read more

“Men Adrift” and “The Weaker Sex”—Finally The Economist Agrees with Me! One of the reasons I reluctantly agreed to begin this blog (pushed into it by a good friend) was to have a public space to express my frustrations about the “decline of men” (and especially of boys) in American society and the reluctance of society to acknowledge it and shoulder some responsibility for it—and begin to do something about it. I have for a very long time written letters... Read more

This is an addendum to my immediately preceding post regarding marriage. Many people apparently did not grasp the whole proposal–especially people who said my proposal is already the case. Every church I know fully recognizes as covenant marriage (marriage of two people in God’s sight) what I am calling civil unions performed by government officials (e.g., justices of the peace). Every church I know still requires a civil marriage license to perform covenant marriages. This may not be written into... Read more

Some Thoughts (and a Proposal) about the Religion and Marriage Issue It seems to me the next step in separation of church and state is one religious organizations should take. They should be proactive. Take the proverbial ball into their own court and decide and announce, very publically, that only they will decide for themselves who is and who is not married. This is the natural parallel with religious organizations alone deciding who is and who is not ordained. In... Read more

The Absurdity of “Higher Criticism” of the Gospels as Illustrated in a Novel Before anything else, let me say that I do not reject all “biblical criticism.” In fact, in one sense, “criticism” simply means “scholarly study” of something. “Literary criticism” is the scholarly study of literature. In other words, the very mention of “critical study of Scripture” is signifies nothing bad. There are various types and approaches to biblical criticism; not all of them are negative or destructive of... Read more

Arminius’s Reformed Doctrine of Justification This should be read ONLY in light of my previous post here “Arminian Doctrine of Justification Again Disputed” (May 28, 2015). There I expressed dismay at the continuing Reformed misrepresentation of Arminius’s and classical Arminians’ doctrine of justification—as closer to a Catholic understanding than to a classical Protestant and Reformed doctrine. Some commenters have responded to my blog post by asking whether Arminius himself believed in the “imputation of Christ’s righteousness” or whether he would... Read more

Occasionally I’m asked to look at something on the internet about Arminian theology. It seems that, once again, a conservative Reformed scholar is challenging Arminian theology–as closer to Catholic doctrine than to Reformation doctrine. The issue this time, as often, is “justification.” The accusation is that Arminius and the Remonstrants denied the classical Reformed doctrine of justification and that was the main reason they were criticized and excommunicated by the Reformed. The article in question is by Mark Jones and... Read more

Dear Beloved Grandson, Be afraid. Be very afraid. You shouldn’t have to be, but in today’s America you need to be constantly on your guard. Or maybe “afraid” isn’t the right word. Be vigilant and very careful. Especially around police. Wait. Don’t hate police; not all of them are your enemies. But given the plethora of police attacks, using deadly force, on black boys and men, be vigilant around them. And that means be vigilant whenever you are out in... Read more