By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog

The association of the fallen state of humanity with the biblical story of expulsion from Eden has deep and varied Christian roots. While Original Sin might be a notion primarily associated with the theological traditions of Catholicism (and perhaps Eastern Orthodoxy as well), Protestants too view the redemptive work of Christ as the antidote to the problems of human sinfulness as embodied in Adam’s fall from grace. I have no idea the extent to which the problem of physical death figures into these Christian anthropologies (though I assume that the at least some connection between Adam and Eve’s transgression and our collective mortal nature is implicit in most if not all Christian traditions). But my sense is that the link between physical death and the Fall enjoys a unique theological focus and valency in Mormon thought. Read the rest of this entry »

Seventeen centuries ago, on 28 October 312, the emperor Constantine, convinced that Christ had delivered to him recent military victories, officially converted to the by then rapidly spreading and increasingly powerful religion of Christianity. He would soon attempt to extend his personal conversion onto whole of his imperial dominion, if only symbolically. And, since Christianity was, among other things, a strategic tool for consolidating his power, the newly anointed Religion of Empire would itself be subjected to unification and centralization. Read the rest of this entry »

If a sure sign of a healthy organism is that its feces stink, then perhaps the steady onslaught over recent years of effeminate “progressives” (along with their cohorts in the Liberal Media) whining about the price of freedom is evidence that the bloggernaccle, as a deliberative body, is finally at fighting weight. Read the rest of this entry »

Mike stared incredulously at his brother. “I can’t believe I’m hearing what I’m hearing.”

There was a self-assured quality to the look in his brother’s eyes right now, a strange blend of confidence-inspiring beauty and what Mike viewed as arrogant self-righteousness. Then again, his brother had every reason to feel supremely confidant in matters such as these, as their father seemed to trust him implicitly. Yet precisely for that reason, Mike was uncomfortable, knowing what his brother’s words implied about their father’s authority, even sanity.

“He is wrong – at least about this. I know it’s hard to hear, but the logic is as inescapable as it is self-evident.” Read the rest of this entry »

A regular (though mostly quiet) BCC reader recently emailed me the following:

My Church Service Troubles

Recently, my service in a church calling has started to bother me. It’s not the time investment, although there’s a lot of that. I am a member of a Stake Presidency, after all. What’s bothering me is that my service in the calling might be involving me in unfairness toward gay people in the Church.

Let me tell you about two recent disciplinary councils we had to hold. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE–a note from Barney Madsen: We look forward to sharing in a wonderful service honoring our dad on Tuesday. It should be viewable live on the Web at http://thefuneralview.com/funeralservices/2009/6/2/trumangmadsen.html beginning at noon (Provo time). It should be available later at the same website as a podcast. Please pass the word for those who would like to attend but can’t make the trip.
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Mormonism lost a spiritual and intellectual giant this morning.

Truman Madsen was a respected and influential philosopher, professor, and writer. His wildly popular lectures on the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith have achieved near canonical status for millions of Church members over the decades. He served as a full time missionary in the New England Mission, and later as a mission president over the same mission. He later served as director of the BYU Jerusalem Center, and at the time of his passing was serving as patriarch in his stake. He earned a PhD from Harvard University and, at BYU, held the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding. The power of his ideas and writings — including his famous Four Essays on Love — were only surpassed by the appeal of his personality. His influence on the faith and understanding of Latter-day Saints was profoundly positive and far-reaching. Read the rest of this entry »

What follows is the first of a series of three collaborative posts that address some of the most fundamental questions of our religious experience as Mormons. We’ll begin with two very basic, and closely related maxims of our faith and work from there:

1) We worship God the Father

2) We worship (in perhaps a slightly different sense?) Jesus Christ

Parts 2 and 3 of this series will deal with some problematic issues associated with the identity and character of these two Divine Beings we profess to worship. For this first installment, I’d like to tackle the issue of worship itself. My collaborators for the series are former T&S blogger Adam Greenwood (currently blogging here) and Neal Kramer, whose guest contributions have occasionally elevated the standards of discourse here at BCC. Read the rest of this entry »

Divine covenants make strong Christians.

–Elder D. Todd Christofferson, 4 April 2009 Read the rest of this entry »

For just over a year now, I have been my ward’s primary pianist. It’s nice in that I get to spend time with my sons (all primary age). It’s also nice being able to avoid some of the tension headaches that tend to result from prolonged exposure to GD lessons and discussions. Retreat from the frequently agonizing realm of anachronism, cheap proof-textery, and the curious combination of wild speculation with monotonous, pre-packaged answers into the realm of the simple, pure, undiluted basics of the Gospel, formatted for children. Or so I imagined… Read the rest of this entry »

This began as a lengthy response to some very important questions raised on JNS’s thread earlier this week. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that Senator Barack O-bortion Obama hates babies enough that he actually opposed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, and even criticized the US Supreme Court Ruling which upheld the Act’s constitutionality?!?!?!?!!!

What if I told you that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act doesn’t do what you think it does… Read the rest of this entry »

Background: Alliance Defense Fund is like a conservative counterpart to the ACLU — basically a well-funded law firm with a socio-political agenda that operates in jurisdictions throughout the United States. Read the rest of this entry »

Two weeks ago I watched a man die. Read the rest of this entry »

When: Friday, July 11 2008, 7:00 pm. Read the rest of this entry »

In our judgment, the ten most influential Mormons of the Twentieth Century.

What follows is an extraordinarily long collaborative post. Read the rest of this entry »

Announcing (following Steve’s lead) a bloggersnacker in Ann Arbor Michigan! Read the rest of this entry »