This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In yet another venue for debating religious differences, former Mormon John Dehlin and LDS scholar Patrick Mason are jousting with each other on a blog titled "Mormonism Inside and Out."

Exactly what Dehlin and Mason hope to accomplish that 150-plus years of gabbing about the same thing still hasn't is a mystery. Maybe religion is just something people enjoy discussing, like the weather, or sports, or Donald Trump.

Other than Congress, few things go awry more quickly than religious discussions. Somebody will let his, or her, ego do the talking and what was once a simple exchange of ideas becomes a dogfight.

One of my closest friends is Sonny. We've logged thousands of miles and lots of adventures together. He's saved my life five times, and I've kept him from killing me twice. Yes, we're close.

We're also comfortable in our shared lunacy. We've managed to make our friendship work despite the fact that I'm a Mormon and Sonny is an avowed nonbeliever. In anything.

The difference between these two diametrically opposed life views doesn't bother us a bit because … well, I don't know. It just rarely seems to come up.

We're far too busy arguing about things that actually matter — which of us is a worse driver, a better shot, or, vastly more distressing, where the hell are we?

When religion does arise between us, usually by accident, it's practically a nonissue, because neither of us cares what the other thinks.

For example, if we're watching the news and a story comes on about a mass killing of elementary school children, Sonny will say, "How could there be a god with that kind of #@&$ going on?"

But when we're running a river or wandering around a lake and we stumble into a group of women sunbathing topless, I'll say, "See? I told you there's a God."

That's as far as our difference of opinion on the matter reaches. Religion just isn't something we care enough about to endlessly debate. It's certainly not something worth risking a friendship over.

If I'm right, I figure God will let Sonny into heaven anyway. He's a far better person than most religious people I know.

Meanwhile, if Sonny's right, neither of us has anything at all to worry about. We'll be dead.

One major religious point worth arguing over is whether one religion should maintain control of a government intended to serve everyone.

The only people who might disagree with a completely secular government are those whose religions are already running things — Christians, Muslims, Jews, cat owners, etc. Religion isn't about protecting everyone's rights. Only the rights of people who agree with it.

None of this is to say that religion should never be discussed. Only that it's rare that anyone's mind is ever changed by these discussions, unless it's to make them angrier or more defensive.

The closest I've ever come to bringing Sonny around to my way of thinking on religion occurred during a research trip to investigate Colorado's marijuana laws.

We were kicked back on a hillside over Glenwood Springs when part of our investigative substance suddenly hit us. The entire world calmed down and turned golden.

Me: "See? I told you there's a God."

Him: "I think he wants us to go get some potato chips."

Robert Kirby can be reached at rkirby@sltrib.com or facebook.com/stillnotpatbagley.