One of the reasons people reject religion is that it requires things of its adherents. Some of those requirements appear strenuous, especially when compared to contemporary popular cultures. They even seem strange, and to those immersed within those popular cultures, wrong and harmful. How you see the requirements of religious adherence depends on your worldview. … Continue reading Why does God make demands of us?
I read a review of a book on Goodreads last week, in which the person commented that people believe religion because it’s easier to rely on what others tell you to do – a prescribed set of rules that allow you to not have to think for yourself. Here’s part of what they wrote: There … Continue reading Religion is not an escape
Luke 6:20 – 38 I like Luke’s account of the “Sermon on the Mount” (which he says actually occurred on a plain). There’s less in it, but sometimes it makes easier sense and is just a little simpler. Here’s a sort of expanded version of the Beatitudes, especially as Luke shares them (which is a … Continue reading Poor, hungry, and rejected: the Sermon on the Mount-Plain (Luke 6 version)
On the one hand, we must recognise that we are nothing; on the other, we learn that to God, we are everything, and He will give us everything. We are His heirs, “joint-heirs with Christ” Continue reading Unprofitable servants and joint-heirs
When the young Joseph announced his experience in the woods, no-one except his family, who knew him well, believed him – he was just a young farmer’s boy; what would he know? Why would God reveal himself to a farmer’s uneducated boy and not a learned theologian? Pah! Continue reading The legacy of Joseph Smith
Peaceable Treasures 