Category: Doctrine
Understanding the God of the Old Testament: An Evangelical Scholar Explains the Meaning of “God Is Love”
Evangelical Bible scholar Ben Witherington has written a deeply interesting essay on the meaning of “God is love” for Biblical Archaeology’s “Bible History Daily” column. After explaining the wrong assumptions…
More on the Limits of “Endless” and “Eternal” in the Book of Mormon: Awaking from “Endless Sleep” and the “Eternal Band of Death”
In a recent previous post, “‘From Whence They Can No More Return’: What Lehi Teaches Us About the Book of Mormon’s Harsh Language on Hell,” I noted that a passage…
“From Whence They Can No More Return”: What Lehi Teaches Us About the Book of Mormon’s Harsh Language on Hell
The Book of Mormon’s teachings on hell sometimes sound much harsher than what we understand from modern revelation. From Joseph’s Smith’s revelations, such as his vision on the three degrees…
Book of Mormon Reminder: Resist Voices That Stir Hate and Violence
1. The Book of Mormon’s Warnings Against Manipulative Power Seekers Who Stir Us to Anger The Book of Mormon is becoming more relevant day by day during this time of…
Is the Book of Abraham Translation Dependent on the Kirtland Egyptian Papers? Revisiting The Pearl of Greatest Price
A potentially troublesome flaw in the discussion of the Book of Abraham in the generally good book by Terryl Givens (with Brian Hauglid), The Pearl of Greatest Price, is its…
John 8 and the Woman Taken in Adultery: A Faith Promoting Fabrication?
For years I’ve had a question mark in my mind over John 8:1-11 with its beautiful and inspiring story of Christ’s merciful treatment of the woman taken in adultery. The…
Imagine Fewer Dragons (and More Data): Initial Reactions to the Film Believer with Dan Reynolds and John Dehlin
While returning to the US for Christmas, I looked at the selection of movies on my United Airlines flight and noted that one of their many films dealt with a…
It Depends on What the Meaning of “It” Is: Reconsidering the “Burning in the Bosom” and “Studying It Out” in Doctrine & Covenants 9
For years many of us have read about the “burning in the bosom” in Doctrine and Covenants 9:7-9 and interpreted it to mean that Oliver Cowdery, in a failed attempt…
Faith, Reason, and the Resurrection
Based on a talk given in Hangzhou, China, on Easter Sunday, 2013. Fairly close to the original talk, but with added material, particularly in the last section. The discussion of…
“Having Done All, To Stand”: Exposing a Self-Proclaimed “Christian”
Have you ever been fooled by someone who claimed to be Christian, only to find out later that they were part of a non-Christian cult which, because of a horrifically…
