When we were kids we all learned that it is wrong to speak half truths you’re caught with your hand in the cookie jar, well, all of us that is except for the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.

On December 25, 2009 a Nigerian terrorist boarded a Northwest airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. He paid cash, did not check in luggage, and apparently did not have a valid passport (a required document for travel on all US bound flights). As the plane approached Detroit, the terrorist tried to ignite a bomb hidden in his underwear. Thankfully his ignition source (a syringe full of acid) failed. The bomb simply smoldered. A quick thinking Dutch passenger subdued the terrorist and thwarted additional attempts to ignite the bomb. If the bomb had gone off, experts say it could have blown a hole in the fuselage or ignited the plane’s fuel tank, killing everyone on board. 

Letting a known Nigerian terrorist suspect onto a US bound flight without a passport is bad enough. Seeing our Homeland Security Secretary hum and haw about what happened makes everything worse. 

On CNN Napolitano claimed that disaster was averted because “the system worked.” In Napolitano’s mind the working system is a failed ignition source and a brave passenger. If the Homeland Security Secretary’s system is a failed ignition source and a brave passenger then we are all in trouble. I assume that when she stated that the system worked she was not referring to the failure to locate the bomb during screening, to allowing a suspected terrorist onto the plane, and to allowing someone without a passport onto the plane. 

Napolitano mislead the American people while a crisis was unfolding. In a way her actions are akin to a child telling her mom that she is not taking a cookie while her hand is in the cookie jar. 

Friends, psychological science has shown that people are surprisingly resilient during crises and catastrophes. During tragic moments like Pearl Harbor and 9-11, people pull together and try to make things better. Such behavior is a testament to the values of hope and prosperity underlying the American collective psyche.  

However, there is no greater threat to hope and prosperity in a time of crisis than poor leadership. During times of crisis we look to our leaders for guidance and inspiration, but when someone like Napolitano “reads” a crisis completely wrong, there is no guidance and inspiration; rather there is frustration and fear. 

The Secretary of Homeland Security should have publicly thanked the Dutchman, declared that something went wrong, and then reassured the American public that she is going to find out what went wrong and fix it! This is the kind of leadership the American public deserves in a time of crisis.
 
 
Harmonizing scientific and religious truths is a noble pursuit. Harmonization is fairly straight forward when scientific theories and gospel doctrines are in relative agreement. Challenges to harmonization arise when gospel truths and current scientific theories disagree. Disagreements will always exist for the simple fact that science is an imperfect and changing endeavor. Progress in science means that our best scientific theories are never 100% consistent with gospel truths. Science changes – gospel truths do not. 

When differences arise, should we trust religion or should we trust science? It depends. If religious truth claims come through direct revelation such as scripture and revelation, then we should definitely go with religion. On the other hand, if religious truth claims come from theological conjecturing, of which there is plenty, then science may be right and religion may be wrong. In any event, properly interpreted revealed truth always trumps science. 

Here are some examples.

If science claims that the sun will expand and eventually destroy the earth, we know that they are wrong because modern day revelation tells us that the earth will not be completely destroyed. Rather it will be celestialized and receive a paradisiacal glory.    

If science claims that we need to restrict population growth or else we will overpopulate the earth and exhaust our resources, we know that they are wrong because the Lord has declared otherwise. Elder Russell M. Nelson recently reminded Mormon military surgeons and students in Bethesda, Maryland of this revelation when he responded to concerns about overpopulation by saying that “there is room and enough to spare.” (Church News, Nov. 18, 2009)

And if science claims that Adam and Eve’s immortal bodies were created through macroevolutionary processes, we know that it’s wrong. If macroevolution was indeed used to create Adam and Eve’s bodies, then their bodies were created by two processes, namely natural selection and random mutation in the genome. Yet revelation tells us that the creation of the first man and woman was purposeful and directed. It was not left to the vicissitudes of undirected, random processes as orthodox neo-darwinism supposes. 

Should we throw out scientific theories that disagree with revealed truth? No. As mentioned above, science is an imperfect and changing endeavor. What is important is that scientists shake off the shackles of theoretical dogma and earnestly seek truth. If they do, science will self-correct and steer toward the absolute truth of things as found in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
 
There are a wide variety of scientific beliefs among LDS scholars. Generally this is a good thing. A variety of perspectives on scientific-doctrinal issues for which the truth has not been revealed facilitates discussion and discovery. A true scholar entertains diverse viewpoints.

When Paul was teaching the Greeks on Mars Hill, many left the theatre when he taught them doctrines that they disagreed with. Do you remember who stayed behind to hear the rest of Paul’s sermon? Those who felt the spirit in Paul’s teachings stayed, and philosophers who were curious about Paul’s “new” ideas stayed. 

In any mormon scholarly debate, we should be willing to listen to credible diverse viewpoints. We should be less like the people who left the stadium in a huff when Paul said something they disagreed with, and more like the philosophers who were willing to hear Paul because he had something new to offer. 

Intellectual debate is the essential to scientific-theological discovery. Scholarship is a social activity. Progress is made when credible viewpoints are freely exchanged in the marketplace of ideas. Viewpoints that are founded on facts, reason, and a sound interpretation of scripture should be welcomed in the marketplace of ideas, even if we disagree with them.

Nothing kills a vigorous debate faster than hostile language. Name calling and insults like “You do not know what you are talking about” have one thing in common: they are attacks on personal character. Attempting to discredit people's viewpoints by assailing their character or personal beliefs is called an ad hominem attack. Ad hominem attacks usually result when people respond in haste or when they feel frustration over not being able to persuade people to think differently. An ad hominem attack is not a legitimate argument. 

In scholarly debates it is not appropriate to call people jerks, idiots, or intellectual midgets etc. just because they hold different viewpoints. Even if we believe someone is a jerk, we should refrain from using such language for the simple fact that it stifles debate. 

I am not perfect when it comes to communicating in a scholarly manner. On a few occasions I have written something in haste and later changed my text when I realized the language was too harsh. (Posting a harsh comment on someone else’s blog and not being able to take it back is a real bummer – it’s up there for the whole world to read over and over again.) 

Here’s a thought that helps me stay cool in lively exchanges. It is that a scholarly debate is more about exchanging ideas than it is about changing ideas.
 
 
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Somebody screwed up.

On November 29th, 2009 an Arkansas parolee with a long criminal history walked into a coffee shop near Lakewood, Washington, pulled a gun, and killed four police officers. 

Dead are officers Mark Renninger (39 years), Tina Griswold (40 years), Ron Owens (37 years), and Greg Richards (42 years). The Police chief said that “They were good people. They were great cops, [and] they will truly be missed.” Why did they die? 

Somebody screwed up.

They also had families – spouses and children. This woman is now a widow, and the little boy in her arms is without a dad. He no longer has a father who will teach him to work, learn, love, play, and to be a man. Why has this family been devastated?
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Somebody screwed up.

The murderer, Maurice Clemmons, should never have been on the street. In 1989 when he was 17 years old, Clemmons was convicted in Little Rock for aggravated robbery and other charges. He was sentenced to 108 years. While in prison, he broke prison rules more than 24 times – sometimes violently. Shortly after being paroled in 2000, he was convicted of robbery in Ouachita County in 2001. He was paroled again in 2004. He should have been in prison.

Who screwed up?

In my opinion, Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, is largely to blame. Huckabee commuted Clemmons’ sentence in 2000.  County Prosecutor Larry Jegley opposed Clemmons' parole in 2000 and 2004, but pressure from Huckabee won Clemmons’ release. Said Jegley: “[If Clemmons] had stayed locked up like the jury wanted him, we wouldn't even be having this discussion."
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/01/huckabees-clemmons-pardon_n_375020.html).

It appears that Huckabee has demonstrated poor judgment when offering clemency.  Huckabee pardoned or reduced sentences for 1033 convicted criminals during his 10.5 years as governor of Arkansas - that is 2 times more pardons and sentence reductions granted by all three previous governors combined (Bill Clinton, Frank White and Jim Guy Tucker) over a 17.5 year period! In one famous case, Huckabee commuted the sentence of Wayne DuMond, a man arrested for murder in 1972, sexual assault in 1973, rape in 1976, and rape in 1984. In the late 1990s, Huckabee commuted DuMond’s prison sentence and DuMond was released in 1999. Two years later he raped and killed Sarah Andrasek who was pregnant.  

Prosecutors in Arkansas claim that Huckabee “was more inclined to release or reduce the sentences of prisoners if he had direct contact with them or was lobbied by those close to him.”  Furthermore, convicts like Clemmons who appealed to Huckabee's Christian sensitivities were more likely to be released. It appears that convicts who demonstrated a “change of heart” and involvement with religious ministers in prison won sympathy from Huckabee, even if their crimes were violent.
(http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joe_conason/2009/11/30/mike_huckabee/index.html).

Why did Huckabee screw up?

It may be that Huckabee, a southern Baptist minister, screwed up because he does not understand Christian forgiveness. Forgiveness is a spiritual phenomenon, not a behavioral phenomenon. Forgiveness is sincerely letting go of the animosity and anger. It is a willingness to accept the offender as a child of God, as someone who is loved by the Creator. Notice that there is no action or doing in this definition of forgiveness. The actions and behaviors that ensue from forgiveness are not forgiveness in and of themselves; they are the byproducts of forgiveness that may or may not arise. 

My guess is that Huckabee thinks that forgiveness is defined by action. He probably thinks that forgiveness is releasing and making free again, before the price of sin is paid. If he does, he is wrong. It is possible to forgive while demanding justice. This is how God works. He is merciful and extends forgiveness to all of us, yet His mercy and forgiveness always satisfy the demands of justice. In other words, a price is paid for every sin. There is no free lunch in heaven and mercy is not allowed to rob justice.

In a manner of speaking, Huckabee has offered free lunches (prison releases) without satisfying the demands of justice (requiring convicts to pay their debts to society). Perhaps he fails to realize that it is possible to forgive while, at the same time, keeping dangerous criminals off the streets until their debt to society is paid in full. 

I may be wrong about Huckabee's understanding of forgiveness and mercy - I hope I am. Whatever the case may be, releasing violent criminals like Clemmons was wrong.
 
 
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Recently I was doing some Christmas shopping in the toy section at a department store. A two-year-old girl was riding a tricycle that she found in the nearby bike isle. Her mom had finished shopping for toys and was ready to leave. 

The mother told her daughter to get off the bike. The girl did not want to get off; she was having too much fun. The mom calmly told her to get off a couple more times, but the girl would not. Then the mom told her daughter that if she did not get off the bike, the sales associate who was coming down the isle would get mad at her because she was on the bike. (The sales associate did not hear the mom’s warning, nor did the associate care that the child was on the bike.) When the associate got closer the girl screamed, got off the bike, and ran to her mom. Mission accomplished for mom.

I applaud the mother’s patience; she calmly asked her child to get off the bike at least 2-3 times. But I am not sure that I can applaud her for creating a false fear to get her child off the bike. 

Have you seen this sort of thing before? I think the worst example is when parents tell their kids that the cops are going to get them if they do not obey, particularly when the cops could not care less about the kids’ disobedience. Such idle threats create an irrational fear toward police officers. Children should view police as people who protect and help, not people who punish kids for being disobedient toward their parents. I am sure police officers don’t want parents telling their kids things like: “You better get off the swing and into the mini van before that policeman comes over here and arrests you.”

Generally speaking, I think it is wrong to create an irrational fear in kids. As Nephi teaches in the Book of Mormon, young children have tender hearts and minds. While creating a little irrational fear may not seem like a big deal to adults, to a child it may be a big deal. That is why, as a parent, I avoid creating irrational fear in my kids to promote obedience, but it sure gets tricky around Christmas time.

My guess is that most parents have used the old “You better be good or you might get nothing from Santa" at Christmastime. Just last week when my oldest daughter was being disobedient, I started singing the familiar tune, “I’m getting nothing for Christmas, ‘cause  I have been nothing but bad.” She got the message, in an indirect sort of way.

The problem is that when we say it, we never mean it. Kids always get gifts from Santa, even if they’ve been horrible! So does that make “you better be good or you’re getting nothing for Christmas” an idle threat that may induce irrational fear?
 
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