T.E. Lawrence is doubtless a great storyteller! Although I had seen the film Lawrence of Arabia before listening to this book, I was still struck by the power of this writer to bring to life images encapsulated in words. These images – sometimes disgusting, sometimes delectable, but always captivating – were even more palpable to the senses than those presented on celluloid by the makers of the film. I highly recommend this exquisitely narrated autobiographical tale of conquest told by the conqueror himself.

Carter’s book is a well-informed, up-to-date, in-depth yet succinct, analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Daniel C. Peterson’s CD, Understanding Islam: An LDS Perspective, left me wanting for more. It turns out his book, Abraham Divided: An LDS Perspective on the Middle East fills the bill. In it, Peterson analyzes the Arab-Israeli conflict through the lens of an LDS apologist, Arabist and scholar with first-hand knowledge of the people and their historical, political, and religious context. I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Peterson twice at BYU, where we spent time discussing Abraham Divided; the Islamic Translation Series, of which he is managing editor; and other matters related to Middle East studies and Arabic. In our first conversation, he casually mentioned the possibility of a second edition of Abraham Divided since so much has changed in the Islamic world since the publication of the first edition. I hope to see it in print soon and look forward to reading it if it does materialize. I highly recommend reading it.

An intriguing, in-depth look at the prejudice, racism, and bigotry that spur the continual, mutual victimization of these two nations.

I started reading this book 36 weeks ago and thought I had finished reading it 16 weeks ago. I only recently discovered through All Consuming that I had not finished reading it. In fact, I had not yet read the most interesting section of all to me: the sixth and final section: “Language.” The other five sections are “Darwin’s Legacy,” “Science,” “Religion,” “Philosophy and Society,” and “Metaphysics.” Among the philosophers whose interviews with the authors were edited for inclusion in this book are Richard Dawkins, Richard Swinburne, Ray Monk, John Searle, and Simon Blackburn.

This book was a great refresher on the philosophers I’ve studied and a great intro to those I haven’t. I look forward to reading More Matrix and Philosophy, but not before I finish reading Think by Simon Blackburn and Wittgenstein’s Poker by David Edmonds and John Eidinow.

I can’t wait to dig in to this volume!

Renowned scholar Hugh Nibley presents a fascinating work written in two distinct yet related sections. In “Temple,” Nibley discusses the meaning of the temple, the history and origin of ordinances and sacred vestments, and the temple’s necessity in the Lord’s work today.

In “Cosmos,” Nibley explores man’s place in the cosmos, or the expanse of Heavenly Father’s kingdom, and how the temple fits into this divine realm of existence. he also writes about the importance and significance of language and writing in a chapter entitled “Genesis of the Written Word.”

Source: DeseretBook.com – Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 12: Temple and Cosmos

I’m committed to reading every volume!

This was my first Nibley book. I can’t wait to read everything else he wrote!

In December 1832, the Lord instructed the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”

Few members of the Church have followed that admonition as faithfully as has Hugh Nibley, emeritus professor of ancient history at Brigham Young University. As a young man he memorized vast portions of Shakespeare and studied Old English, Latin Greek and other languages. As a student at Berkeley, he began reading the southwest corner of the ninth level of the library and worked his way down to the northeast corner of the first level, studying every significant book that caught his eye. And throughout his life, he has related everything he has learned to the greatest knowledge of all-the word of the Lord, as revealed in the scriptures and in the temple.

Not content with that, however, Dr. Nibley has dedicated himself to being a teacher, to sharing with others the knowledge he has gleaned through his vast studies. He has lectured and published widely, producing more than three hundred papers and books on a wide variety of subjects.

Old Testament and Related Studies is the first volume in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, published by Deseret Book Company and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. This collection of papers and lectures, many of which have never been published, includes papers on the earth before Adam, the historicity of the Bible, archaeology and religion, myths and the scriptures, patriarchy and matriarchy, apocryphal works, the message of Isaiah, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran community, and other subjects, all in Dr. Nibley’s fascinating and inimitable style.

Old Testament and Related Studies, which was complied and edited by John W. Welch, Gary P. Gillum, and Don E. Norton, will be enjoyed by students of the Old Testament, gospel scholars, and history buffs—indeed, by anyone who desires to “Seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”

Source: DeseretBook.com – Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 1: Old Testament and Related Studies

I’ll probably read Vol. 12: Temple and Cosmos next.

I don’t watch R-rated movies anymore. I hardly even watch PG-13-rated movies. The exceptions I make to this rule are few and far between and well thought out. The last exception I made was American Zion. The one before that was Saints and Soldiers. American Zion was rated PG-13 for the violoence inflicted upon early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints depicted in the movie, a historical drama. Saints and Soldiers, also a historical drama, is based on the true story of an American soldier fighting in World War II Germany against the people he had earlier served amongst while serving as a missionary for The Church. It, too, earned its PG-13 rating for the violence it depicted.

I choose not to watch R and PG-13-rated movies in an attempt to follow the counsel of modern-day prophets to avoid violence, vulgar language, and immorality in movies. Unfortunately, the Classification and Ratings Administration doesn’t follow the same guideline, resulting in PG-rated movies that contain all of the above undesirable elements. Therefore, their ratings serve me only as a guideline. In the end, I must use my own judgement and follow the promptings of the Spirit in order to determine what is appropriate for me to watch and what is not. As for The Matrix, I first saw the movie a couple of times in the theater before I made the choice not to watch R and PG-13-rated movies anymore. Since then, I’ve also seen it a couple of times as edited for TV or by Clean Flicks. Additionally, I’ve seen the Clean Flicks editions of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

It didn’t take long for me to notice the Gospel symbolism in the Matrix, as well as other literary allusions. And each time I’ve watched it, I’ve discovered more. It’s been like peeling back the layers of the proverbial onion. Now that I’m studying philosophy, I’m finding philosophical allusions in The Matrix as well. Once, when visiting the office of Cy-Fair College Associate professor of philosophy, Jason Moulenbelt, I noticed some books on The Matrix on his bookshelf. One of them, The Gospel Reloaded, was written by a friend of mine, Ecclesia pastor Chris Seay. The other two are The Matrix and Philosophy and More Matrix and Philosophy. On another occasion, lifted a couple of layers of the onion and gave me a peek underneath. A conversation with another professor (this time a zoology professor at BYU), who was interested in the layers of meaning in The Matrix, cinched it. I ordered all three books from Amazon.com and patiently awaited their arrival. The Gospel Reloaded was the first to arrive. I read it in a couple of days.

In The Gospel Reloaded, Chris explores spirituality and faith in the Matrix (as stated in the book’s subtitle). He also covers literary allusions from the more obvious, such as those to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, to the more arcane, such as those to Orpheus and other figures in Greek Mythology. He explores Morpheus as John the Baptist, and God the Father; Neo as his Son, Jesus Christ, or the Messiah; Trinity as the Holy Ghost; and Cypher as Judas Iscariot, and Satan. Chris also explores Gnostic and Buddhist references.

Hintikka’s argument from Wittgenstein’s dyslexia brings a new and different perspective to my study of Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language.