Daniel C. Peterson's Blog, page 835

“‘Transformed by the renewing of your mind'”

    It’s Thursday, so the Deseret News, seemingly still without remorse, has published another of my weekly columns:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...    

Some good political reading

    A veritable bouquet of interesting articles about Mr. Donald Trump and the Republican Party:   “The Republican Party’s Trump Infection Spreads”   “More Than Half of Republicans Don’t Want Trump as Nominee”   “Ryan Slams Trump ‘Star’ Tweet”   “Kristol to GOP Establishment: Stop Waiting For Trump to Pivot”   “With Trump, the [Read More...]

“The divinization of all creatures”

    The central idea of the Eastern Fathers was that of theosis, the divinization of all creatures, the transfiguration of the world, the idea of the cosmos and not the idea of personal salvation. . . .  Only later Christian consciousness began to value the idea of hell more than the idea of the [Read More...]

Next-President Hillary Clinton vs. FBI Director James Comey

    Pretty funny, when videos of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Comey are placed side by side:   https://reason.com/reasontv/2016/07/0...   These items, alas, aren’t so funny, but they offer insight from an array of lawyers, former federal prosecutors, a former Congressman and Senator, and so forth:   “Hillary Clinton Lied About Her Email — The FBI [Read More...]

BOM Alma 46

    The story of Amalickiah is among the most gripping in the Book of Mormon, and it begins here, in Alma 46.   But the most famous aspect of this specific chapter is its account of Moroni and the “title of liberty.”   On this, you should Google Mark Morrise’s “Simile Curses in the [Read More...]

“Mormons’ disgust with Donald Trump turns Utah into close race”

    https://www.thestar.com/news/world/20...    

Inside the newly completed Sapporo Japan Temple

    A collection of exterior and interior photographs:   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article...   I particularly like the Zen-style rock and sand garden at the base of the principal staircase.    

A marvelously revealing social-science error

    It was a pretty spectacular error in an academic social-science article — hilarious to a lot of us, though certainly not to the study’s authors — but it and its enthusiastic reception probably also represent the political/ideological biases that dominate the contemporary social sciences:   http://www.weeklystandard.com/get-me-...   “Confirmation bias,” anyone?   Remember, too, that [Read More...]

“After Attacks on Muslims, Many Ask: Where is the Outpouring?”

    Is there a double standard in the West?  Do Westerners value the lives of those like themselves more than the lives of Muslims?  According to this article, many from the Middle East are drawing that conclusion.   That’s not good.  For a whole host of reasons.   Posted from Park City, Utah   [Read More...]

“Religious Freedom in an Era of Social Change”

    Bad news out of Canada for those who believe in religious liberty and, in the United States, in the First Amendment:   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/n...   Incidentally, Trinity Western University’s “covenant” is very similar to BYU’s Honor Code.   It’s Canada, yes.  But the decision cites a precedent from the United States, and this could [Read More...]