DiscussMormonism.com

This A.I. sounds like a well oiled assemblage of common observations gleaned from a large bunch of sources. I may not really want to know how many opinions were reviewed to mulch into this one summary. I realize a very large part of any humans’ statements about subjects of interest are like that. H...

I’ve always wondered why that line damaged McCarthy so much. He seemed powerful and famous, then he suddenly lost influence and was over, and the only explanation I’ve seen for his fall is that question in the Senate. Why couldn’t he just shrug it off and keep going? You get the impression that Amer...

I think it could be okay to say something like, “I don’t want to talk about that.” Marriage doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to tell everything, even about things from long ago or that really aren’t important. I don’t think lying to anyone is ever an ideal option, though. I don’t think one sho...

I disagree with gemli that every religion requires belief in things with incontrovertible evidence against them. My own personal religion seems to me to be a counterexample. I believe things that are not implied by any incontrovertible evidence, that's true, but I don't think I believe anything that...

He's posting on a Mormon blog!! How does that make his statement about non-Mormons accurate? Every single time a Mormon says 'i know because the spirit told me' or some variation, they are testifying that their beliefs are justified by their sincerity in holding them. Hmm. You were Mormon, and you ...

But gemli's list didn't even include Mormons specifically, and did include a lot of other groups, none of whom actually think as he said they do, at least not in any significant numbers. I mean, really, flat-earthers will talk your ear off with all their complicated reasons for their beliefs: conspi...

PG, it appears your thoughts on the matter overlook the distinction between sincerity and justification in belief formation. While sincerity may rebut charges of deliberate fraud, it doesn't inherently justify one's beliefs. Deluded individuals, like the Mopologists, often believe they have good re...

Heh, that's true. You can't think too much about The Lord of the Rings . Giant eagles can carry hobbits, so why don't they just dive-bomb the ring into Mount Doom? It might not exactly be a sure bet, with flying Nazgûl around, but it seems better than the "simply walk into Mordor" plan that they fol...

No, I've never been to one of those. I've read quite a few arguments by most if not all of the kinds of believers gemli mentioned, though, and none of them has ever mentioned their own sincerity as a justification for their belief. That's just not at all a common reason for believing things, even am...

I think Peterson clearly wins this round. Whatever is wrong with the thinking of theists and flat-earthers and all, very few of them think that their beliefs are justified by their own sincerity. I mean, who does ever think that? The reason to mention sincerity is to rebut the charge of deliberate f...