By S. Richard Bellrock S. Richard Bellrock has studied, taught, and worked in areas related to psychology and philosophy for 25 years. Or download the audio file here: Sin Does Not Exist: And Believing That It Does Is Ruining Us Sin is to morality as Zeus’s thunderbolt is to weather.1 That …
Tag: Islam
IS RELIGION REALLY UNDER SIEGE IN THE US?
What should we make of recent claims that religion is somehow being driven out of the “public square”? What is the public square and what are the legal rules and—equally important—the ethical considerations governing public expression on religious issues? When should individuals, organizations, and businesses have a right to claim an exemption from neutral laws …
The Social And Economic Teachings Of Mormonism: Social Justice Is Alive And Well
In the 1980s, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued their pastoral letter about our responsibility as Christians to assist the poor. In 2010, the LDS Church stated its new Fourth Mission “to serve the poor and needy” in a new handbook that emphasizes ministering to others. Similar strong traditions exist in many other Christian …
SL10091: The Fate of New Religious Movements when They Are No Longer New
During the past several decades, sociologists and scholars in Religious Studies have created an additional category, “new religious movements,” to use in the study of religion. This category is proving extremely useful not only in the consideration of new movements in modern times but also in examining the coming into being of such world traditions …
SL10091: The Fate of New Religious Movements when They Are No Longer New
During the past several decades, sociologists and scholars in Religious Studies have created an additional category, “new religious movements,” to use in the study of religion. This category is proving extremely useful not only in the consideration of new movements in modern times but also in examining the coming into being of such world traditions …
SL10113: Maturing Faiths: A Comparison between Mormonism and Islam During their First Two Centuries
In this paper, I explore the first two hundred years of Islam and compare and contrast with Mormonism during a similar time frame. I use three foci of comparison. First, I explore ways Mormonism and early Islam seek to control the telling of history. Second, I will explore similarities in the rift between Sunni and …
Mormon Heaven: Everything the Prophets Didn’t Tell You
Mormon Heaven: Everything the Prophets Didn’t Tell You Joseph Smith said that if we knew how great heaven is going to be, we’d kill ourselves to get there. Then he cautiously told us almost nothing about it. Later prophets have been even less help, unwilling to venture even so far as an opinion of whether …
The Classical Hebrew Prophets: Those Magnificent Men And Their Dangerous Doctrines
The classical Hebrew prophets contributed greatly to the intellectual and spiritual foundations of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Though their messages are ancient, their relevance is modern, for the prophets were “dissident intellectuals” who taught us by their examples to challenge both religious and political authorities. How does the role of Joseph Smith as a prophet …
Hearing Islam From Others: Hearing Islam From A Muslim
SL03091, This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the March on Washington, at which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and the thirty-fifth anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. It also marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the revelation reversing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ policy of …
Video: Fortress of Faith
Video: Fortress of Faith