Comments on: 12 Answers from Philip Barlow: Part 2

By: Aaron Brown

Aaron Brown — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 19:39:29 +0000

Thanks for your 12 Answers, Brother Barlow.

_Mormons and the Bible_ has long been one of my favorite texts in Mormon studies. It’s one of the very few LDS books I have ever given away as gifts (but only since it’s come out in paperback, mind you; I’m not rich enough to buy copies of that pricey hardback! :) ) The book was particularly helpful to a recent, young missionary in my ward who had struggled with the scriptural dogmatism of his CES-instructor father and who was pleased to see that Mormonism potentially embraced a wider diversity of approaches and mindsets to Biblical study than he had previously realized. Your contributions to LDS Biblical understanding may never be felt by the majority of Saints, but there will always be those who are deeply affected by them for the better.

Aaron B

By: annegb

annegb — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 16:30:22 +0000

Yeah, wouldn’t we totally kick butt?

By: Kristine

Kristine — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 15:41:30 +0000

annegb,
I wish I could sit next to you in Sunday School!!

By: annegb

annegb — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 15:31:49 +0000

We have a good Sunday School teacher, but there is a tendency in my ward to encourage women to be seen and not heard. I find myself getting strident and offensive just because it torques me that these guys think they are smarter than I am. Maybe they are.

There is good wisdom in this post. I will try to be more humble. And I will sit quietly, telling myself that I really know more than the rest of them, but I am being humble about it.

Actually, posting and reading here has humbled me quite a bit.

By: Nate Oman

Nate Oman — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 15:19:47 +0000

“Your interest in Mormon studies will maintain itself simply because you are Mormon; you need to establish strong competences in other arenas, both for their own sakes and because you will make better contributions to the study of Mormonism if you do this.”

Amen! In a sense you can never understand Mormonism if all that you understand is Mormonism. MHA and Sunstone can be absolutely wonderful, but there are times when constant insider focus is stiffling. Furthermore, the study of Mormonism will never advance if Mormon scholars fail to demonstrate competence in other fields and an ability to link their discussions of Mormonism to larger questions!

By: Christie Frandsen

Christie Frandsen — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:48:20 +0000

As one who dropped out of the academic world to raise children, Dr. Barlow’s responses stirred all my passion for biblical studies. I am currently a volunteer Institute teacher at USC and a local community college, a rank amateur who wishes somehow I could have had two lives! By the time I get my youngest one raised, it will be too late for me to go back — and I would have to sacrifice my teaching, which I love. So keep up your good work, Dr. Barlow. And publish so the rest of us can learn from your great mind.

By: A. Greenwood

A. Greenwood — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:16:12 +0000

I’m going to scrapbook it. I’ve already got out my blogmarking set and highlighted it on my screen. :)

Or, perhaps not, but I’m glad I read it. Christian statements are almost as rare as Christian people.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 17:25:06 +0000

Phil Barlow sent me a birthday card when I was a freshman in college and he was my Institute teacher. I remember that he wrote, “Let’s stay close.” We didn’t, but I’ve always been impressed by Phil’s thoughts and writings as I’ve read them in various publications over the years, just as I was impressed by the thoughtful lessons and discussions we shared at that time. Thanks for providing my latest glimpse into a beautiful mind.

By: Kristine

Kristine — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:47:05 +0000

I’ll echo the appreciation of the answer to #12–I’m thinking of cross-stitching it and hanging it on my wall :)

By: James Rabaan

James Rabaan — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:45:48 +0000

“stay humble. In church settings [including the Bloggernacle], you are going to spend the rest of your life understanding some problems, facts, and concepts that are invisible to the faithful around you. With restraint, care, wisdom, modesty, and love, you may be able at points to draw on some of this understanding constructively to enliven your own mind and spirit and/or the minds and spirits of those about you. You may be tempted to think yourself superior when in conversation, church classes, and worship, as academics are tempted to do whenever they engage in subjects in which they have training. Remember that God’s Project entails an invitation to the divine, which leaves little room for preening, artifice, self-promotion, inert or arrogant intellectualism, or one-upsmanship. Understand that you are always surrounded by people, even when they appear simple, who are better at some things than you are, often without conceit. Some of them are expert at fixing the engine of your car, at removing your tonsils, at growing or preparing food, at making music; in none of their superiorities is aloofness or condescension appealing, admirable, or helpful. Some Saints with whom you attend church or among whom you live are expert at disciplined, courageus, intelligent (or naive) loving, which generally matters more than whatever academic perspectives you bring.”

——

Amen to Jed’s comment. Perhaps the above quote should be added to the comment policies at T&S? It just might help reduce the “preening, artifice, self-promotion, inert or arrogant intellectualism, [and] one-upsmanship.”