Link bomb #4

In Cache Valley news, a group of Hyrum students seek to form a no cussing club. If you dont want to use certain language, finedont use it. But what will creating a group accomplish to that end? To me, this just smacks of self-righteousness, and thats a greater social ill than cussing.

Slate Magazine reviews The Book of Mormon musical. What Parker and Stone do isnt religion-bashing. Its religion-teasing. And its born more from fascination than disdain. Indeed, Slate suggests the musicals creators are rather fond of Mormonism.

This guy bribes a homeless man to remove God from his sign for $20 bucks. Its exploitative, sure, but the debate and negotiations are fascinating.

Gay-rights activist Eric Ethington had his car tires slashed at BYU while meeting with students there about Utah county non-discrimination ordinances. His car boasted a couple of LGBT bumper stickers, making it an easy target at the conservative campus.

Mormon blogger Joanna Brooks challenges Elder Oaks assertion that religious freedom is under attack by gay rights.

Greta Christina digs up Pascal Wagers coffin only to put yet another nail in it.

One of my favorite documentarians, BBCs Louis Theroux, meets with Israeli zionists. His documentary serves as an important reminder that Islamists are not the regions only religious fanatics.

The Christian Delusion is being called the best atheist book of 2010 and among the most exhaustive and accessible critiques of Christianity. Here are three essays that didnt make into the book, but are still good reads: God and Animals, Modern Democracy, The Will of God.

Common Sense Atheism asks, Can theists and atheists reasonably disagree? And a related question: Can you love religious people if you hate their religion?

Despite the majority of Americans believing that the Bible is the word of God, most are ignorant as to what the Bible saysespecially where it concerns sex. Newsweek spells out what the Bible really says about sex.

If you care to read a 50-page journal article on the history of Mormon attitudes toward masturbation, then enjoy.

Are intuitions good evidence? When I think intuition, I think of the anti-intellectualism of Stephen Colbert following his gut. But this article notes that, for good or ill, intuition informs our philosophical and religious beliefs.

Whenever I want to read something thats guaranteed to annoy me, I read the letters to the editor in the BYU’s Daily Universe. Its a perpetual parade of petty complaints, like men fretting about the length of ladies skirts and shorts. The latest letter to irk me was published Monday. The student wrote to demand that the school take action against her Democratic classmates for wearing Choose the Left shirts, which she felt was tantamount to sacrilege.

Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis discusses his disillusionment with Scientology in a lengthy article in The New Yorker.

The Afghan government has arrested two men for converting to Christianity, a crime that carries the death penalty in Afghanistan and several other Muslim countries. And a 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl dies after receiving 100 lashes for alleged sexual indiscretions.

Scientists aim to resurrect the woolly mammoth in five years. My mouth is already watering for the inevitable mammoth burger.

South Dakota, a state that has unsuccessfully attempted to ban abortion twice, recently considered a law that might legalize killing abortion providers. Thankfully, as February 16th, South Dakota has indefinitely shelved the bill due to public outrage.

A faithful Mormon again uploads the anti-Prop 8 video that, two years ago, she removed on threat of having her temple recommend and church callings revoked.

Futurist author Ray Kurzweil predicts that, by 2045, the human brain will be able to adopt a machine body as its host, effectively making man immortal. P.Z. Myers is skeptical. At his popular blog Pharyngula, he called Kurzweil a huckster and the founder of a new religion: Singularitarianism.

Pure Mormonisms advice to unmarried LDS couples: Go ahead and skip that temple wedding.

Okay, here come the lists: the top 8 Bill OReilly science fails; the top 10 transhumanist technologies; the 30 most offensive church signs of all time.

This defense of Fawn Brodie makes a compelling argument that Mormons owe the critical Joseph Smith biographer a huge debt of gratitude.

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4 Responses

  1. Lisa says:

    “Choose the Left” HA! that is awesome.

  2. aerin says:

    I really appreciated the Scientology article (and I only made it halfway through). I do intend to finish it.

    I also appreciated slate’s article about apostates vs. heretics. I was going to write up a post about it.

    Sometimes it’s hard to tell if people are apostates or heretics. I think since I formally resigned my membership I’m an apostate. Someone who works for change within a church is a heretic. It’s still confusing, however.

  3. chanson says:

    Alan Rock Waterman’s piece on temple marriage is excellent. I highly recommend reading the whole thing, but let me pull out some highlights:

    Since governments in many foreign countries will not recognize a marriage performed in secret, the LDS Church makes special provision for those foreign members. The church allows those couples to be married civilly out in the open to satisfy local laws and customs, then lets them be sealed in the temple as soon after the wedding as is convenient for them. But if you live in North America and have a civil marriage, you don’t those rights.

    This double standard shows that either God’s law is subordinate to civil law, or that the leaders of the Church are acting arbitrarily. It’s your guess.

    And he makes the very good point about how the sealing should be important enough to stand on its own rather than making it just one more thing on the already hectic wedding day:

    I strongly believe the ceremony that seals you and your soul-mate for time and all eternity is a solemn procedure that should not be rushed. That’s why I think placing it up front amid all the distractions of the wedding day detracts from the sacredness of the occasion. The holy nature of the ordinance is lost amid the frenzied hustle and bustle leading up to the typical marriage, reception, and honeymoon plans. The numerous distractions demanding the attention of the participants can often blur or bury what should be a calm and thoughtful commitment.

    I also highly recommend the “Defense of Fawn Brodie” — maybe it should have won the Brodie Award it was nominated for. It was a close race! 😉

    I’ll have to check out some of these other links, thanks!

  4. Alan says:

    My mouth is already watering for the inevitable mammoth burger.

    That is the saddest thing I have ever read. Bringing back an extinct animal just so we can eat it.

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