Mormon
Insights
The writer of this blog, S. Faux, is a PhD in the area of cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary psychology. He is a college teacher, and a fan of Darwin. He has been a member of the Church all of his life, and over the years has written thoughtful essays on Mormon topics. Many of these are included on his blog. He decided to share them when LDS members were encouraged to do so by the Church. Browse the sidebar, which includes a list of all of his essays.
In the month of July, Faux posted 32 essays on Mormon topics. A good starting place in perusing his blog would be to read his piece Lehi's Three Sacrifices: A Relationship to the Festivals of Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles. In an introduction, he considers it his "most important blog essay in terms of providing an intellectual contribution." It is an essay describing the Book of Mormon as a book written from a Jew to a Jew, and highlights the Hebrew meaning of the sacrifices made by Lehi. Faux states:
"The primary lesson of this essay is that the Book of Mormon has a depth and richness that makes it worth serious scholarship. Dismissing the book as mere frontier literature does an injustice."Another essay I particularly enjoyed reading was Overwhelmed by the Spirit of Revivalism, in which Faux describes the early Latter-day Saint religion as "standard Christianity on steroids." In the essay he makes the point that we "cannot understand our own Church history without understanding the religious history which preceded and concurred with the formation of our own Church." Thus, we owe a debt of gratitude to those spiritual predecessors, who were sincerely and legitimately seeking God. They established a way and pattern for Joseph Smith to watch.
Other outstanding essays from the month of July include Abe Lincoln and the Mormons: Did Joseph Smith meet with and talk to President Lincoln? Church History is NOT Church Testimony: How the proper use of Church history can provide perspective; and an interesting apologetic article Ancient Quotations in the Book of Mormon.
I hope you will enjoy reading Mormon Insights, and will continue to visit frequently.
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3 comments:
Thank you BIV!! I am greatly honored. You wrote an excellent summary of the site. I am tempted to say something like: "I've died and gone to heaven," but considering that I am writing this from a hospital bed, then maybe that would just a little TOO appropriate. ;)
I have written up my latest health adventure here.
Faux, I hope you're OK! I'm glad I could do my part to cheer you up during a stay in the hospital. Get well soon.
S Faux,
It seems BiV and I discovered you almost simultaneously! I hope you're ok, and I look forward to browsing your blog more.
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