Archive June 2008

On the Mormon blog, By Common Consent, in a post entitled “Towards a Mormon Darwinism”, Steven P asked how readers reconcile evolution with various aspects of Mormonism, and wondered whether we could do so while preserving notions of God’s creation, Adam’s fall and Christ’s atonement. Of course, I think we ... Read the article →

The Book of Mormon contains an intriguing story about a man named Lehi, who in ancient times seeks guidance from God while journeying in the desert with his family to find a new home. One morning, upon opening the door of his tent, he discovers on the ground a fine ... Read the article →

Thanks to David Frischknecht at LDS Media Talk, we have news that the next issue of the LDS Church magazine, “The Ensign”, will feature on its cover an article entitled “Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet.” It is an adaptation of a talk given by Elder M Russell Ballard, who ... Read the article →

In response to an article by transhumanist philosopher Nick Bostrom, I wrote recently about the significance of finding basic life forms on another planet, such as Mars. In summary, if basic life forms are probable in the universe then advanced life forms must also be probable or we’re probably doomed. ... Read the article →

I often have the opportunity to present to groups interested in learning about parallels between Mormon and Transhumanist views of the future. Below is a summary of how I understand Mormon metaphysics, theodicy, eschatology and soteriology in relation to contemporary science and technology. Metaphysics Mormon metaphysics (a description of the ... Read the article →

I recently came across an interesting blog post entitled “An Alien God,” by Eliezer Yudkowsky, who is a transhumanist AI researcher. In the post, Eliezer describes biological evolution and compares it to various ideas of God. In the end, he concludes that evolution is much more like Azathoth, a blind ... Read the article →