I am not a moral relativist. But I am what I will call for lack of a better term an experiential relativist. I believe that everyone's experiences, and thus what can be expected of them at any given moment, is different. I try to avoid any hint that I am somehow on a higher plane... Continue Reading →
Book review: Durkheim’s “On Suicide”
Durkheim argues that at its root, suicide arises when there is a disequilibrium between the individual and society. Investing in mediating institutions and communities is a vital component towards addressing this heart-rending problem.
God isn’t a vending machine, and He doesn’t use cookie cutters
God loves you as an individual, with all your facets, talents, quirks and all. The Plan of Salvation isn't a cookie cutter, and God isn't a perfected bureaucrat, trying to fit us into a celestial Gantt chart. It's all about you.
Book review: “To Heal a Fractured World” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
My favorite image from this book is of God willing to be overruled by his children: "My sons have defeated me, my sons have defeated me." When we see injustice in the world, even at the hands of a church, we should seek to confront it and make it better.
Religious feelings: Sentimentalism or spirituality?
Feeling emotion at church can either be some of the most uplifting or make me feel phoney and suspicious of the feeling itself. Is how we feel important?
Book review: “The Best of Lowell L. Bennion” edited by Eugene England
Lowell Bennion is my hero. "Nothing matters ultimately in any setting—in marriage, the family, school, the church, the community, the world—except what happens to persons."
Book review: “The Righteous Mind” by Jonathan Haidt
I just finished reading Jonathan Haidt's most recent book The Codding of the American Mind, and I wanted to go to his original work The Righteous Mind which he wrote back in 2012. I was already familiar with some of the ideas in The Righteous Mind from his TED talk, "The Moral Roots of Liberals... Continue Reading →
Book review: A History of Religious Ideas Vol. I by Mirea Eliade
This is my the beginning of my attempt to read Jordan Peterson's list of 15 books he considers central to his intellectual development, as posted on his website. I recently discovered Jordan Peterson through a recommended Youtube video after watching Jonathan Haidt's TED talk on the moral divide between liberals and conservatives. I had heard... Continue Reading →
Why commandments?
I teach the 16-18 year-old Sunday School class in my ward/congregation, and September begins a discussion on the commandments. I gave a lot of thought on what to share this week, and I decided to do a compare/contrast setup with common secular views of commandments with the religious rationale for commandments. Perhaps I was waning... Continue Reading →
