Lecturer | Linguist | language researcher | PhD Candidate in Complex Systems
Recently, Steven C. Harper asked me about my thoughts about the ideas in “The Broken Constitution” by Noah Feldman. The book presents a provocative argument that Abraham Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War were necessary breaches of the Constitution to
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In a recent episode of the Mormon Stories Podcast, host John Dehlin interviews Dr. John Lundwall, who presents a sweeping critique of the Book of Mormon. His central claim is that the text is fundamentally anachronistic—not just in specific details,
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One of the sources of confusion in constitutional interpretation arises from a subtle but consequential category error: natural rights are routinely treated as policy objectives rather than as constraints on political authority. This misclassification distorts both the philosophical foundations of
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The CES Letter has become one of the most influential critiques of Latter-day Saint truth claims in the modern era. For many readers, it is not merely persuasive but decisive—once encountered, belief feels intellectually untenable. That effect alone warrants careful
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Why Systems Matter in Theology Every theological tradition carries implicit assumptions about how reality works. Some assume that moral and spiritual outcomes follow predictable patterns: obedience yields blessing, disobedience yields punishment, belief yields salvation. Others assume something more dynamic—that growth,
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I’ve had countless arguments about atheism where someone confidently claims that “atheism is the default position.” It’s a familiar line in debates about religion and belief, but the problem is that people often use the word atheism in very different
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Recently, a video by my childhood friend Adam Allred made the rounds on social media and eventually reached the attention of Christian apologist Wes Huff. What followed was a public back-and-forth that raised important questions about the history of the
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In the study of ancient names, scholars often wrestle with uncertainty. When records are fragmentary or languages extinct, researchers must infer connections using a mix of linguistic, historical, and contextual reasoning. But that uncertainty also demands careful methodological restraint —
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One of the more interesting geographic features mentioned in the Book of Mormon is the “narrow neck of land” , a small, strategic “land bridge” that connects the land northward with the land southward. Though briefly mentioned, this feature has
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The Mixe-Zoque people of Southern Mexico have a rich cultural history that has been largely lost to history. This language family is tied to major civilizations in Mesoamerica. Civilizations such as the Olmecs, Epi-Olmecs, and Teotihuacan. Trying to reconstruct their
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