Category Archives: Religion
Monuments to the Faith
For a long time in the U.S. there has been a battle between people who want to be able to display religious symbols, particularly the Ten Commandments, on government property (such as city parks, government buildings, etc.) and those who … Continue reading
The True Mirror of Our Doctrine
The conduct of our lives is the true mirror of our doctrine. – Montaigne The other day I saw a news article that said that Glenn Beck, a nationally-syndicated political talk show host who also has a TV show, a … Continue reading
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer; book review
I recently read for the third time a book I was introduced to in PoliSci 101 as an extra credit assignment. In the past, to me The True Believer; Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer was … Continue reading
Watch your tongue
As any English-speaker who has learned a Romance language knows, there are a lot of cognates, both true and false, between English and Romance languages. A cognate is a word that resembles its counterpart in another language. For example, even … Continue reading
"Resurrection" by Leo Tolstoy – Book Review
Tolstoy’s very readable tale of Prince Dmitry Ivanich Nekhlyudov, a man humbled by the results of his past sins and attempting to right wrongs and redeem himself, is a timeless criticism of human attempts at civilization and self-rule. In the … Continue reading
This Land is Whose Land?
How many times have we read Christ’s parable of the vineyard and assumed its application is long in the past? It’s easy to interpret as the history of the Jews, who were given the Abrahamic Covenant but then failed in … Continue reading
An Explanation of Mormons’ Support of Proposition 8
I’m no theologian nor do I speak for the LDS Church, but I would like to lay out the doctrinal reasons I think the Church supported a ban on homosexual marriage under Proposition 8 in California. I will try to … Continue reading
America's Religion of Wealth
In the New Testament, there are two occurrences of the word wealth: a silversmith of Ephesus said to his fellow idol-makers “. . . ye know that by this craft we have our wealth” (Acts 19:25); and from Paul to … Continue reading
American Messianism
In his book The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Eric Hoffer gives various reasons why people join mass movements. Most have to do with the believer’s desire that the movement absorb and absolve his unworthiness into … Continue reading
"Over-Zealous to Inherit"
In the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon, a man named Zeniff wanted to reclaim the “land of [his people’s] fathers’ first inheritance,” at his time occupied by an enemy people. Looking back on his decision years later … Continue reading