Jan Brown, a freelance writer, apologist, and ministry consultant, wrote an interesting article at Christianity Today. The article is not that bad, from an Evangelical Christian’s perspective. There are, however, a few things that just jumped out at me as I was reading through the piece.
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And we multiplied exceedingly
This Jarom 1:8 phrase is used throughout the Book of Mormon and appears to borrow its language from the Abrahamic covenant in Gen 17:2 and elsewhere. It appears to be an apt description of the early Utah Saints, who saw themselves as modern heirs of the covenant. Mormon women welcomed many more children into their homes than their national counterparts, a phenomenon I attribute largely to polygamy.
As a disclaimer, I realize that this blog entry is not in good taste, especially from a feminist perspective. Some of the quantitative analysis that follows will no doubt feed into Mormon stereotypes that we like to keep our women barefoot and pregnant.
Intelligence and Belief
Periodically I run into statements which imply or directly state that those who believe in the tenets of Mormonism are less intelligent than those who believe in other Christian faiths, or those who have somehow rid themselves of any beliefs whatsoever and thereby transcended the stupidity of Mormons.
Something about bigots….
There is something about politicians specifically appealing to the bigots among society that really puts me off!
Yesterday in a speech found here, one political candidate (name omitted to protect the guilty–let’s call him Finn, after the Mark Twain character in the book Tom Sawyer) said, “You don’t like people from outside the state coming in and telling you what to do…. In fact, if somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we’d tell ’em what to do with the pole, that’s what we’d do.” What a “defender of freedom”—except that the flag he refers to is the Confederate battle flag, which some South Carolinians want to use for official functions.
How to Conveniently Hide Bigotry
In an interesting study that was released today, researchers at Vanderbilt University report that it appears that people who really have problems with presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s religious beliefs cover that problem by saying that they believe he is a “flip-flopper.” Apparently, ingenious Americans are finding the flip-flopping charge to be more socially acceptable than just saying ‘Mitt’s a Mormon, and that disqualifies him from being president.’
Nephite money and “coinage”
For years, critics of the Church have attacked the Nephite “coinage,” mentioned in Alma 11:3-19, claiming that this in itself makes the Book of Mormon fiction [See Allen Wyatt’s blog, “Coins in the Book of Mormon.”]. Really, I don’t see what the fuss is about. [Read more…] about Nephite money and “coinage”
The Kirtland Safety Society’s collapse is significant!
To many people, the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society is a “deal breaker” for Joseph Smith’s Prophetic calling. After all, wouldn’t God make sure a bank set up and run by a Prophet won’t fail? Not necessarily. God uses things (and people!) to accomplish His purposes, and, when His purposes are accomplished, those things (and people) must necessarily wane from the spotlight. When John the Baptist’s job as harbinger for the Saviour was complete, God didn’t even spare his life. Why should He then spare a bank when its job of financing the Kirtland Temple was complete? [Read more…] about The Kirtland Safety Society’s collapse is significant!
A Refreshing Sorta-Mormon Celebrity
An interesting article from GetReligion.org came across the wires today. I know there are lots of people who play the “which celebrity is Mormon” game. This is a celebrity I never knew about; seems Katherine Heigl spent a good part of her youth in the Church.
Thomas Alexander’s Arrington Lecture on the MMM
In September of 2006 I had the exhilarating experience of attending Dr. Alexander’s coverage of Brigham Young’s post Mountain Meadows Massacre investigations. Furthermore, I got to break the news of the event to Bloggernacle as Clark Goble and the rest of the crew at the Millennial Star allowed me to do a guest post. In the interest of balance, I will share two excerpts from Dr. Alexander’s now published paper, that paint contrasting pictures of Brigham Young’s response to the Massacre.
[Read more…] about Thomas Alexander’s Arrington Lecture on the MMM
Ad-Hoc Book of Mormon Geography
I can’t tell you the number of times over the past five years that I have heard critics (and some Mormons) say something along the lines of “Mormons have always believed that the Book of Mormon took place in all of North American and South America, with the Isthmus of Panama as the ‘narrow neck of land.'”
