One of the first exercises I was given when I began learning Greek was to practice my pronunciation by reading aloud the opening lines of Plato’s Apology of Socrates. How you, O Athenians, have been affected by my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that they almost made me forget who I was—so persuasively … Read more
Reza Aslan (1972–). There are those who will call [No god but God] an apology [for Islam], but that is hardly a bad thing. An apology is a defense, and there is no higher calling than to defend one’s faith, especially from ignorance and hate, and thus help shape the story of that faith. (Reza … Read more
Michael Conway, writing for The Atlantic, has some excellent observations on “[s]ingle-perspective narratives” in historiography, which he claims “do students a gross disservice.” Conway, using the recent controversy over the movie Selma‘s portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson and other films on historical figures as his catalyst, explains the perils of boiling down history into reductionistic … Read more
I continue to enjoy Andrew Steane’s new book Faithful to Science: The Role of Science in Religion. Below is another part of his book that I found particularly insightful. Faith is also central to science. This is not only in the obvious (and important) sense that scientists have to talk to and trust one another, but … Read more
The British physicist Andrew Steane has this to say about questions. Questions should not be dismissed or discouraged, but sometimes answers have to be postponed, because the student has to first acquire the necessary conceptual apparatus in order to understand the very language of the answer. . . . [O]ne wants the student to . … Read more
I know I need to stop doing this . . . You will recall that Richard Dawkins believes the Book of Mormon is a fraud because of its archaic English. Specifically, Mr. Dawkins believes, “[The Book of Mormon is] a 19th century book written in 16th century English. That’s not the way people talked in … Read more
When Jeremy Runnells accused Brian C. Hales of being an “amateur,” he assured me that “[t]he real scholars in the field of polygamy have issues with many of Hales’ conclusions and interpretations.” I asked Runnels who exactly these “real scholars” were, and also specifically asked where they had published their rebuttals of Brian’s work. Remember, before … Read more
1. From J. N. Washburn (sent to me by my friend Neal Rappleye): I have no fears for the future of the Book of Mormon. While I may agree with those who say, “If it is man-made, the sooner we find it out the better,” I am convinced that it will stand up under all … Read more
Pictured: Brian C. Hales, a rank amateur who doesn’t know the first thing about Joseph Smith’s plural marriage. Jeremy Runnells, author of the popular anti-Mormon tract “Letter to a CES Director,” is upset. He’s upset that Brian Hales, one of the foremost authorities on Joseph Smith’s plural marriage, would dare challenge him and his accusations … Read more
[Cross posted from the FairMormon Blog.] An anonymous author* writing at the MorningStar Post blog “had an awful time putting [a] story together” on “the number of Latter Day Saints [sic] that are actually considered active,” and that Mormons are, per the title of the post, allegedly “leaving their religion in record numbers around the world.” (Link) … Read more
I’ve been working as a student intern with the Joseph Smith Papers for a few weeks. It’s been a fantastic experience, and I’ve come to learn and appreciate, from personal experience, the amount of time and energy those working on the project put into ensuring that each volume of the Joseph Smith Papers is done … Read more
There’s a dark secret about this book that the Mormon Church doesn’t want you to know! This evening I bought a new set of scriptures. I have normally just been using the Gospel Library app on my phone, but I felt prompted during General Conference to start using a printed set of scriptures. I was … Read more
Abimelech Rebuking Abraham by Wenceslaus Hollar. Dan Peterson, over at his blog, has a post on the falsehood that Mormons are encouraged to engage in what critics derisively call “lying for the Lord.” Dan’s post reminded me of an article published by Yael Shemesh of Bar-Ilan University titled “Lies by Prophets and Other Lies in the … Read more