…we’ve got the Utah state legislature discussing evolution. The state senate has passed a bill that would require teachers to say that evolution is just one theory of the origin of human life. It should be fun to watch this debate (the one in Utah, I mean, not the inevitable “anybody who doesn’t believe in evolution is stupid” debates that break out on M*).
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Non-Mormon Mormon Movies (cont): “Contact”
As part of our continuing occasional series on Non-Mormon Mormon Movies (N-MMM), we consider today the case of the movie “Contact.” Huh? But wasn’t that based on the book by Carl Sagan, the well-known atheist and/or agnostic? Well, yes, he did author the book. I happen to think Carl Sagan makes a great case for religion in this book (perhaps unintentionally) and very indirectly makes a great case for Joseph Smith. Read on if you want to see my reasoning.
Is It Real?
In Wendy Ulrich’s FAIR conference presentation last summer, she spoke on spiritual experiences, and our attempts to discern whether such experiences come from within, as part of our own emotions, or whether they are truly created by the Spirit, outside ourselves.
Heath’s all broken up about the Mormons
Well, Heath Ledger is very upset with the Utah Mormons. It appears that one theater in Sandy decided not to play “Brokeback Mountain.”
In yet another Hollywood display of deep, thoughtful logical processes, Heath compares Mormons with West Virginia racists (based on one theater’s decision, of course). My search shows there is at least one other theater in Salt Lake City that is showing “Brokeback Mountain.” But anybody who lives in Utah knows that the market there does not treat R-rated fare as well as, say, New York City.
The Batavia, Lord of the Flies and the Nephites
The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating review today of a new book called “The Wreck of the Batavia.” The book details the gruesome story of what happened to the passengers of the Batavia, a Dutch ship that ran aground off the western coast of Australia in 1629. The ship was carrying 300 men, women and children. Soon after the shipwreck, one of the survivors appointed himself dictator and proceeded to rape, murder and terrorize the other survivors to maintain control. This dictator may have had ties to devil worshippers in Holland.
The Wall Street Journal calls the story a “real-life ‘Lord of the Flies'” in reference to William Golding’s novel.
And of course this got me thinking about another group of people who landed in the Americas about 580 years before Christ.