Believing in Satan
I think that mankind is good enough at finding evil on its own, thank you very much. So is what’s the point in believing in a Devil?
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Activist Judges
Whenever a court or a judge strikes down a popular piece of legislation, it’s pretty common to hear political pundits (or the people who parrot their talking points) complain about “activist judges”, a.k.a. “elites who overturn the will of the people”. However, these same people will often turn around the next week and praise similar activities by the judicial branch because they have “upheld the Constitution”. Wise observers of this phenomenon quip that the best definition of “activist judge” is “a judge that deems my legislation of choice to be unconstitutional.”
Appreciation for Uchtdorf
In the LDS Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting held earlier this month, a statement made by President Uchtdorf of the First Presidency drew a lot of attention in my religious circles. Thank God for men like him who remind us that our whole faith tradition is based on questioning, and that the scriptures and history are replete with examples of people who only got answers and growth because they refused to be content with what was already known.
Successfully Marketing Refis to Oddballs Like Me
Like any homeowner, I get tons of junk mail from all kinds of companies trying to hawk various loan options. By far, the most common offer is an attempt to sell me on a 30-year loan, at a low APR of course. But Emily and I are hoping to pay off the home as soon as possible, not as late as possible.
Illegal Immigrants: Gambling on the Goodness of Americans
Now that a couple of states have signed into law their notoriously strident anti-immigration legislation, we’re starting to see the fruits of such labors. And what a heartwarming story it is. Unintended consequences are stacking up, and we’re hearing legislators admit they may have “overlooked” the collateral damage of certain provisions. But didn’t these illegal immigrants welcome the risk in the first place?
Dismantling the Rose
I’ve heard an analogy that compares people’s personal religious beliefs to a beautiful rose. Some people’s intellectual curiosity drives them to dismantle the rose in order to see how it’s put together. Petal by petal they gently pull it apart to learn how the individual parts work or to examine its raw biology under a microscope.
Killing in the Name of
Call me a skeptic when it comes to scriptural accounts of divinely authorized killing. Is it merely due to the fact that my modern, bleeding-heart sensibilities that have concluded that life is invaluable?
A Bible! A Bible! We Have Got a Bible
It’s not rare to encounter people who struggle with the Mormon concept of an open scriptural canon. What is it about the Book of Mormon that conflicts with common Christian beliefs about the authority of the Bible, and where do these beliefs come from?
Mormon Prayer Taboo
For those who witness Mormon prayers, it’s easy to catch many language patterns and conventions. Even more specifically, you can find oddly worded phrases or curious word usages that are commonplace.
The Finger Pointing at the Moon
There is a simple proverb from the Zen school of Buddhism that compares the relationship between spiritual instructors and the ultimate truth to a finger pointing at the moon:
“Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon’s location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?”