A Thought

I've been reading "Dimensions of Faith: a Mormon Studies Reader" for a little while.  The book is a collection of papers on Mormonism or "Mormon Studies."  Some are written by participating LDS members, while others are written by non-members or less active.  Most of the authors have a phd, but not all.  One is even written by a friend of mine (which is how I came to own a copy of the book).  Anyway, so far I've found the essays very enlightening, but I especially love the forward.  Let me share with you the last paragraph which is a view I share with the editor on Mormonism:

"I think that religion especially, instead of being treated with solemnity and deference, ought to be thought out and understood so that we're not unduly influenced by proselytizers or lack confidence in our position in the world and so that we understand other people's beliefs." Stephen C. Taysom

I also quite like the back jacket summary of the book:

"Believing is one thing, deciding what to believe is harding for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that what is known and what is known is a moving target.  The world changes daily as new revelations burst onto the scene in religion, science, social studies and the humanities............Where new ideas impinge on faith, it is up to us to interpret and manage these views.  Rather than tremble in the face of change we can look confidently at the empirical world through the twin lenses of religious heritage and a grounding in secular learning."