References to pornography in General Conference address have coincided with the availability of pornography, as this graph illustrates: While that certainly won’t surprise anyone, the scientific evidence does seem to suggest that pornography causes no harm whatsoever. I caught this article in my science news today reiterating that very point….
Daniel Peterson, expert witness?
Did anyone else catch this write up in the SL Tribune about Daniel Peterson giving Brian David Mitchell props for his “impressive production”? Yes, this is the Brian David Mitchell who abducted Elizabeth Smart and forced her to become his second wife and consummate the marriage. Yes, this is the…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Spirit of Contention Edition!
After last week‘s quiet contemplation of thy neighbor, this week Outer Blogness has been itchin’ to pick a fight! The Gay Dot says it all, in Wanna fight?! And if that’s not enough to get tempers flaring, it looks like Klaus Baer called Hugh Nibley a “crackpot”! Here’s a little…
Atheists and Traditions
Religion has a lot different facets that different people find appealing: identity/community transcendence/awe/altered states of consciousness rituals tradition/culture purpose/guidance belief in the supernatural And surely many others. It’s my impression that people tend to focus on a few of their favorites among these components and ignore the rest. It’s just…
Battlestar Galactica and the Lost Ten Tribes
The re-imagined Battlestar series ended last year, and the DVD came out this past summer. But I was thinking of it the other day when someone mentioned the lost ten tribes of Israel. How did I get from Battlestar Galatica (BSG) to the lost ten tribes?
Sunday in Outer Blogness: It’s All in Your Head Edition!
It seems that Outer Blogness this week has spent quite a lot of time contemplating religious people to figure out what makes them tick! USU Shaft analyzes the latest stats on both happiness and depresssion in bipolar disorder, thy name is Utah. Bull has been reading Krakauer (like many of…
Bordeaux Mission wrap up!
Really enjoyed these latest chapters. As an atheist with LDS friends, it’s a fascinating (and a little scary) look into the Mormon mission world. I’m also impressed with your ability to empathize with and accurately characterize a teenage male’s sexual drive! I went back and read the whole thing together…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Personal Narratives Edition!
It all started when I read this story from the bizarre-yet-eerily-familiar parallel universe of growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness. Then HH had a nostalgic-weird-coincidence moment. Is it something in the air? Or is it “Talk Thursday” that has folks reminiscing about life-altering memories? And about finding your personal history’s…
Enjoying Some Jack-Mormon Cheese
It’s an open secret that Salt Lake City, the seat of Mormondom, is such a (comparatively) liberal city (see Craig’s old post). Though Holly reported (earlier this year) that word is starting to get out, but slowly. That’s why — when I found this cheese at my local snooty French…
A Healthy Dose of Skepticism
Recently, I got a chance to experience the missionary/salesperson perspective first hand. I was asking various people to sign a petition. For privacy reasons, I’m not going to say what the petition was for, except that it may or may not be related to my work. You might question how…