Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 1080

“American train attack heroes awarded France’s highest honor”

    This is a great and inspiring story:   http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/08/...   Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall standBetween their loved home and the war’s desolation!   Posted from Erfurt, Germany    

Two items from the blog of the Interpreter Foundation

    Did you miss this item on the blog of the Interpreter Foundation?   “What You Will Read About in the New Institute Manual on Church History”   I confess, to my shame, that I did.  So it’s not inconceivable that you might have, as well.   And I don’t think that I ever [Read More...]

Evening in Erfurt

    After figuring out where the Universität Erfurt is located (and hence where the XXI. Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions will be taking place), we spent last evening strolling around the Altstadt, the medieval core of Erfurt.   The most spectacular and iconic sight in the city is the [Read More...]

“Ten Things You Didn’t Know Were Racist”

    http://www.nationalreview.com/article...   And, of course, you’re a racist.   But that pretty much goes without saying.   Unless, obviously, you belong to a group that lacks the capacity to be racist.   Note:  Saying that an entire group lacks a human capacity common to another group isn’t racist.   Unless, maybe, it is. [Read More...]

A visit to a historic place of religious and spiritual refuge

    Driving from the Frankfurt airport to Erfurt today, we passed by the former Huguenot village of Friedrichsdorf.  So, naturally, we stopped off for a quick visit to the grounds of the Frankfurt Germany Temple.   After about two weeks, it will be closed for renovations for roughly eighteen months.   My wonderful mission [Read More...]

On saying “grace” (and, of course, much more)

    And the word grace, in this sense, is obviously cognate with Spanish gracias, Italian grazie, and English gratitude.   If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.  (Meister Eckhart, great German mystic, born roughly 1260 near Erfurt) Posted from Erfurt, Germany  

“Examining the Heartland Hypothesis as Geography”

    A new entry, by Brant Gardner, on the blog of the Interpreter Foundation:   http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/exam...   Posted from Erfurt, Germany    

The wonders of living modern

    Just flew in from Salt Lake City.  Less than four hours.   I spent the time reading a book by the philosopher Alvin Plantinga and, mainly, listening to a recording of Bach’s Partitas.   What would the pioneers have made of that?   Gotta run now, too.  Plane to catch.   Posted from [Read More...]

Three interesting (and perhaps surprising) studies

    More Americans would be willing to elect a Mormon president than an Evangelical.   Governor Romney may have had an impact, after all.   In a new “Human Freedom Index,” the United States ranks . . . twentieth.   We beat North Korea, though!   European statistics indicate that larger families are happier [Read More...]

News from the “Islamic State”

      Nobody seems able or willing to interfere with their barbarism and their destruction of irreplaceable cultural treasures.   “ISIS demolishes ancient monastery in central Syria with bulldozers”   And here’s a potentially nice new development:   “Military official: Early tests show traces of mustard gas agent in ISIS attack”   Posted from [Read More...]