The Bloggernacle Minute, 4-10-08

My Google Reader shows 323 posts from 60 blogs (I pared the list down a bit), swelled perhaps by Conference blogging. That's about 45 posts a day. Wow. I'm going to change the format to commenting on just three or four posts I really like, with maybe a half dozen extras listed by link alone. Featured this week for comment are posts from HI4LDS, Mormon Insights, and T&S.

Here are the posts I found most interesting:

Todd at HI4LDS comes out against Evangelical-LDS interfaith dialogue of the sort promoted over the last dozen years by LDS scholars Robert Millet and Stephen Robinson. Todd sees Evangelicals giving up too much in this enterprise: "I reject any rules that force me to leave behind a sincere evangelistic spirit of love for the one I am conversing with." Todd certainly promotes interaction and conversation with Mormons, so I think it's fair to say his opposition to interfaith dialogue is qualified rather than absolute. Still, it's worth knowing not all Evangelicals are in favor of this sort of thing. Not all Mormons are either, for that matter.

Psalm for a Mormon soldier at Mormon Insights. It's easy to forget there are close to two hundred thousand American troops getting shot at or at risk from IEDs every day in Iraq, but for families with soldiers in the field it is a stark daily reality that overshadows all the little stuff of life. My neighbor has a son there with Airborne. The paralegal has a son there flying helicopters. The local paper has a photo on the front page of a ceremonial US flag being given to the family of a soldier who died there last month. This has become another Vietnam and it will dog us all for two generations. Let's hope it turns out to be worth it.

What's Wrong with Ancient Research in Mormon Studies by Jonathan at T&S. This is your post of the week, folks. Given that we reject the Evangelical myth of scriptural inerrancy, does that mean we must also reject the assumption that biblical books each started with one single authentic manuscript? Is every change from an original manuscript another step down the road to textual corruption and doctrinal apostasy, or do some changes improve the end product? Can multiple original manuscripts be reconciled with authenticity or inspiration? Might multiple origins actually be better than a posited single original manuscript? A fascinating discussion.

Other posts you ought to read:

• Messenger and Advocate offers A+ real-time Conference summaries.
• Multiple migrations to the New World look less likely - Mormon Chronicles posts the abstract of a recent article.
• Part 8 of Science vs. Religion at Waters of Mormon.
• Calling and election made sure - with good references to sources. And take a look at Nibley and Stonehenge too.
• Gideon Burton on high expectations for Mormon filmmakers, at the impressive Mormon Renaissance blog.
• Birth Mormons vs. Converts at Normal Mormons.
• Theology vs. Culture at the Faithful Dissident, worth reading for the "inside the Mormon Bubble" discussion alone.
• What Children Know at Mormon Matters. Buckle up before you read this or you'll fall off your chair. If you don't get it, go here first.
• Bloggernacle Bullies at FPR. If you know one, send her a link.

Comments

[Todd Wood]

Todd certainly promotes interaction and conversation with Mormons, so I think it's fair to say his opposition to interfaith dialogue is qualified rather than absolute.

Good call, Dave.

[Bryce Haymond]

Hey, Dave. Thanks again for the links. I like your summaries.