Benediction
However improbably, on Thursday Pope Benedict XVI will retire. Much has been said and will be said about what this means for the Catholic Church, in terms of having a pope living within shouting...
View ArticleDan Brown’s “Inferno”: An Eternal Return
I just finished reading Inferno, Dan Brown’s latest book. I’m no expert on Brown, though I have also read The Da Vinci Code. He is justly derided as a bad writer, but he is a good storyteller and sets...
View ArticleThere Will Be Blood
On Saturday President Obama took to the podium in the Rose Garden and announced that he had decided that in response to the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons against its own people, resulting...
View ArticleIn Praise of Cafeteria Mormonism
It was both troubling and fascinating (something like watching a car wreck) to witness the dustup of the past few days over the unfortunate column by LDS author Joni Hilton excoriating what she dubbed...
View ArticleWhy Do Americans Love Pope Francis?
The other day, I was talking to my students about how the press has been giving Pope Francis very positive coverage. We hear often about phone calls he makes to a grieving, troubled people, or about...
View ArticleI Even Remain Alone?: Reflections on Eve Tushnet’s “Gay and Catholic”
About two years ago Ralph Hancock, a BYU professor of political philosophy, met with the Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association. As I reflected on the ensuing conversation, which had quickly...
View ArticleThe Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Why an 80-year-old children’s book feels newer and more grown-up than the high-tech PG-13 epics recently based on it. Reviewing the Hobbit movies at this point would be, well, pointless. If you care...
View ArticleReligious and Gay: A Catholic-Mormon Dialogue (Part 1 of 3)
Sometime at church in the past two weeks, local Mormons leaders across the country read aloud a letter addressing the Church’s response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision on same-sex marriage....
View ArticleReligious and Gay: A Catholic-Mormon Dialogue (Part 2 of 3)
This is part 2 of a 3-part discussion with Alex Griffin and Eve Tushnet. In the first post, Alex and Eve discussed discourse on homosexuality in Mormonism and Catholicism. In this post, they discuss...
View ArticleReligious and Gay: A Catholic-Mormon Dialogue (Part 3 of 3)
This is part 3 of a 3-part discussion with Alex Griffin and Eve Tushnet. In the first post, Alex and Eve discussed discourse on homosexuality in Mormonism and Catholicism. In the second post, they...
View ArticleThomas, Meet Francis: The Glory of the Outsider-Leader
I remember the day he was elected, feeling amazed that a non-European was finally going to be in charge. I’d been LDS for a long time by then, but the prospect of some new blood…an outsider of sorts,...
View ArticleStephen Colbert is right, believing in God is pretty crazy
I had the pleasure of catching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night. It was a great episode, and I think the show is getting better as he settles on a more familiar format and rhythm. But even...
View ArticleHow I choose to see the revisions
I write this as a heterosexual person, one who is not directly affected by the new strictures in the Church Handbook of Instructions (CHI). For that reason, this is all very easy for me to say. I do...
View ArticleBill Maher is Like an Awkward Parody of Atheist Beliefs
Famous atheist and washed up 1950s stand-up comic impersonator Bill Maher went on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last night, and it was a gleefully awkward experience for everyone. You see, Maher...
View ArticleAndrew Sullivan on God, Doubt, and Organized Religion
Blogging pioneer Andrew Sullivan formally retired from the daily content grind last year when he announced the closure of his subscription-based blog, The Dish. Apparently he’s spent the last 12 or so...
View ArticleStop Praying for us, and Acknowledge That You Helped Create Omar Mateen
Let me give you a run down: 2015 was the deadliest year on record for transgender women, but 2016 could surpass that—since the beginning of the year, 14 transgender individuals have been murdered....
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