Dale Morgan on Objectivity in Mormon History

 Dale Morgan, 1914-1971. Lowell Dale Morgan (who commonly went by simply Dale Morgan) was an American historian (and former Mormon) who influenced such authors as Juanita Brooks and Fawn Brodie. Morgan left behind an interesting collection of personal letters and correspondences that has been published by Signature Books. In reading through his letters, I was struck … Read more

On Judgement and Theistic Science

This quote from Andrew Steane is insightful. Atheists fear that theism is oppressive because it sets an all-powerful judge over us. Obviously, all good things can be abused, but theism is not oppressive when it connects God profoundly to weakness, not power when it comes to personal relationships. It does include judgement, because caring about … Read more

The 2014 “Mormon Exodus”: An Update

As reported by Allen Wyatt, the ex-Mormon “mass resignation” event this morning seems to have been a flop. It appears that a whopping . . . 34 people resigned their membership. By contrast, 2013 saw 282,945 convert baptisms. (Link) This is not to make light of these individuals’ unfortunate decision to leave the Church. I hope … Read more

“Witnesses of God” – Elder Oaks on Atheism and Secular Humanism

Elder Dallin H. Oaks (b. 1932). Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently gave a devotional at Brigham Young University–Idaho on the subject of atheism and secular humanism. Elder Oaks’ comments are topical, as many recent polls have noted growing trends of irreligion (especially among those of my own generation) … Read more

Thoughts on a World With No Religion

The Creation of Adam (1512) by Michelangelo. In an episode of Family Guy (“Road to the Multiverse”), Stewie and Brian go into a parallel universe where Christianity never existed. Because Christianity and its attending superstitions never existed in this alternate universe, the gag runs, civilization was able to progress more rapidly, so when Stewie and Brian … Read more

Mind and Cosmos

Thomas Nagel (b. 1937). I have not yet had a chance to read Thomas Nagel’s recent book Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False (Oxford University Press, 2012). However, given the negative reaction of some outspoken atheistic materialists to the book, as chronicled by Andrew Ferguson at The … Read more