Religion Commons^™

Excavating Nauvoo: The Mormons And The Rise Of Historical Archaeology In America, Richard K. Talbot, Benjamin C. Pykles

BYU Studies Quarterly

During a recent coordination meeting, an archaeologist employed by the state of Utah tried to explain how the science of archaeology can help Native Americans to know their history. In response, one of the Native American participants exclaimed, "We already know our history!" This statement sheds light on tensions that arise when reconstructing the past. To those living in a postmodern world, history can serve many purposes and many masters; for this particular Native American, the oral history that had been passed down generationally to her presented her past in a context and form with which she was accustomed and …

Backyard Alchemy, Casualene Meyer, Lance E. Larsen

BYU Studies Quarterly

Fatherhood is an immediate, fruitful theme in Lance Larsen's Backyard Alchemy, from the title with its combination of hominess and intellectual magic to the dedication page honoring his wife, Jacqui, and his recently deceased father, Veryl Larsen. Several poems in Larsen's book feature fathers, inviting readers to ponder the subject.

The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved And Why It Endures, Brian Jackson, Nicholas Wade

BYU Studies Quarterly

"People of faith may not warm to the view that the mind's receptivity to religion has been shaped by evolution," writes Nicholas Wade, science writer for the New York Times, in his new book The Faith Instinct. If religion evolves with cultural circumstances, then it loses some of its immutable, supernatural qualities. On the other hand, atheists "may not embrace the idea that religious behavior evolved because it conferred essential benefits on ancient societies and their successors." If we accept the proposition that faith endures because cultures select it (perhaps unconsciously) as a necessary attribute of their survival, then we …

City Of Tranquil Light (Book Review), James C. Schaap

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Reviewed Title: Caldwell, Bo. City of Tranquil Light. Henry Holt & Co., September 28, 2010. Hardcover, 304 pages. ISBN: 978-0805092285.

Wow! What A Ride! A Journey With Cancer (Book Review), Pam Adams

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Reviewed Title: Bosma, Cella. Wow! What a Ride! A Journey with Cancer. Sioux Center, IA: Dordt College Press, 2010. 274 pages. ISBN: 978-0-932914-84-2.

Living At The Crossroads: An Introduction To Christian Worldview (Book Review), Wayne A. Kobes

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Reviewed Title: Goheen, Michael W. and Craig G. Bartholomew. Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to Christian Worldview. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008. 205 pp. ISBN: 978-0-8010-3140-3.

Apocalypse And Allegiance: Worship, Politics And Devotion In The Book Of Revelation (Book Review), Syd Hielema

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Reviewed Title: Kraybill, J. Nelson. Apocalypse and Allegiance: Worship, Politics and Devotion in the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2010. 224 pages. ISBN: 978-1-587432-61-3.

What Americans Really Believe, Roger Terry, Rodney Stark

BYU Studies Quarterly

Forty years after Rodney Stark and Charles Y. Glock published the results of the first two major surveys of American religious beliefs and practices, Stark finally picked up where American Piety (Berkeley: University of California, 1968) left off. Now codirector of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, Stark has published an analysis of data gathered in two Baylor Surveys of Religion--one in 2005, the other in 2007--as well as a 2006 survey focusing on economics and religion. The results are surprising in many regards. In fact, Stark delights in debunking popular misconceptions and myths about what Americans …

The Schooled Heart: Moral Formation In American Higher Education, Ronald E. Bartholomew, Michael D. Beaty, Douglas V. Henry

BYU Studies Quarterly

The Schooled Heart: Moral Formation in American Higher Education is a deeply provocative work. Editors Michael D. Beaty and Douglas V. Henry, both of Baylor University, put forth the objectives of the book in what I found to be an enlightening and engaging introduction. Tracing the history of the institutional position of moral formation once held in higher education, they argue that the traditional emphasis on building morality was displaced primarily by the epistemological shift that occurred during the 1930s. According to their view, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, liberal education at universities embraced revelation from God as …

Latter-Day Saint Courtship Patterns, Jennifer Hurlbut, Thomas B. Holman, Kristi A. Young, Mary J. Woodger

BYU Studies Quarterly

This book is a collection of twelve sociological studies that examine how active, faithful Latter-day Saint singles go about deciding to marry and selecting a mate. Since most of the research was conducted via surveys of BYU students and asks the question "What makes the Mormon marriage process different from the typical American process?" it accounts for a very narrow part of the worldwide LDS community. Focusing on this small segment is a good start but shows that research in LDS sociology is still often limited in its scope.

An introductory chapter by Thomas B. Holman provides the backdrop necessary …

Outrageous Idea Of Academic Faithfulness (Book Review), Ryan G. Zonnefeld

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Reviewed Title: Opitz, Donald, and Derek Melleby. The Outrageous Idea of Academic Faithfulness. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2007. 144 pages. ISBN-978-1-58743-210-1.

Devil Reads Derrida (And Other Essays On The University, The Church, Politics, And The Arts) (Book Review), David Schelhaas

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Reviewed Title: Smith, James K. A. The Devil Reads Derrida (and Other Essays on the University, the Church, Politics, and the Arts). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2009. 163 pages. ISBN 978-0-8028-6407-9.

Desiring The Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, And Cultural Formation (Book Review), Laurence C. Sibley

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Reviewed Title: Smith, James K. A., Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009. 240 pages. ISBN 978-0-8010-3577-7.

Erratum: The last line of the third paragraph should read, “His Desiring the Kingdom argues that it is the heart that leads because it is the heart that hungers for and loves the kingdom; and imagines what that kingdom might be" (32).

Christians, The Care Of Creation, And Global Climate Change (Book Review), Delmar Vander Zee

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Reviewed Title: Scott, Lindy (ed). Christians, the Care of Creation, and Global Climate Change. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008. 144pp. ISBN 13:978-1-55635-844-9.

By Good And Necessary Consequence: Preliminary Genealogy Of Biblicist Foundationalism (Book Review), Calvin Jongsma

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Reviewed Title: Bovell, Carlos R. By Good and Necessary Consequence: A Preliminary Genealogy of Biblicist Foundationalism. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2009. xiv + 173 pages. ISBN: 978-1-60608-457-1.

On Zion's Mount: Mormons, Indians, And The American Landscape, Jill T. Rudy, Jared Farmer

BYU Studies Quarterly

On Zion's Mount: Mormons, Indians, and the American Landscape tells the tale of a beloved mountainous landmark and a disregarded lake. Jared Farmer's penetrating and sweeping gaze invites readers to view connections between land, landscape, and peoples that have remained, like Poe's purloined letter, hidden in plain sight. Farmer's story of "Timp" relates directly to the story of Indians native to the land and Mormon settlers who became "neonatives," in part by creating a significant landmark in Timpanogos and seeing imagined Indians while forgetting and displacing Utah Lake and real Indians. By illuminating these interwoven narratives with interdisciplinary research involving …

The Temple Of Jerusalem: Past, Present, And Future, John M. Lundquist, Jared W. Ludlow

BYU Studies Quarterly

John M. Lundquist is the Susan and Douglas Dillon Chief Librarian of the Asian and Middle Eastern Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library within the New York Public Library. He has written many books and articles on diverse subjects for both general and Latter-day Saint audiences. The title of this book--The Temple of Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future--captures well the scope of Lundquist's work. He addresses the role of the Jerusalem temple in ancient Israelite society, its role in the contemporary world, and the prophecies and apocalyptic notions about its future. The book mostly focuses on …

Christian People Across The Centuries (Book Reviews), Keith C. Sewell

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Reviewed Titles: Christian People Across the Centuries. Richard A. Horsley (editor), Christian Origins; Virginia Burrus (editor), Late Ancient Christianity; and Derek Krueger (editor), Byzantine Christianity, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of A People’s History of Christianity, Denis R. Janz (General Editor). Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press, 2005, 2005 and 2006, respectively. ISBN: 0-8006-3411-X, -3412-8, and -3413-6.

The Tree House, Philip A. Snyder, Douglas Thayer

BYU Studies Quarterly

Douglas Thayer. The Tree House: A Novel. Provo, Utah: Zarahemla Books, 2009.

The Five Books Of Moses: A Translation With Commentary, Roger G. Baker, Robert Alter

BYU Studies Quarterly

There are Bibles aplenty in our world, hundreds if Amazon.com is any guide. In late 2009, Amazon listed over one thousand books on its Bible hit list that have not even been released yet. Over one thousand new books of the roughly 450,000 listed Bible hits portend heavy reading this year for those who try to keep up with things biblical. A beneficial search in this swim through the Amazon of books is for new Bible translations, which now seem plentiful, although there were very few in the years after King James. An almost three-century gap separates the King James …

Religion, Politics, And Sugar: The Mormon Church, The Federal Government, And The Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, 1907-1921, Matthew C. Godfrey, Barnard S. Silver

BYU Studies Quarterly

Matthew C. Godfrey. Religion, Politics, and Sugar: The Mormon Church, the Federal Government, and the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, 1907–1921. Logan: Utah State University Press, 2007.