Correspondence between X and Dr. Daniel C. Peterson

[_Daniel Peterson]

LOL. My job is to teach the part of the Church's seminary curriculum that focuses on advanced Arabic language and literature and Islamic philosophy, with occasional forays into the general history of the medieval and modern Near East.

[_cksalmon]

The question is, are you serious? Have you never been told by anyone who attended BYU or taught there that BYU is a seminary? You live a sheltered life.

If I had to guess, I would say that sk's implicit point is that his biotech employer never thought to tell him that "BYU is a seminary."

cks

[Analytics]

My claim is intended to be offensive. If it was not true, it would not be offensive.

Right.

"Mr. Smith beats his wife and tortures small animals."

"Your claims are unfounded and offensive."

"My claim is intended to be offensive. If it was not true, it would not be offensive."

Stunning logic there Sherlock. I hope for your sake nobody makes an unfounded accusation against you or those you care about.

[_silentkid]

The question is, are you serious? Have you never been told by anyone who attended BYU or taught there that BYU is a seminary? You live a sheltered life.

Did you not read my previous post that you responded to? I attended BYU for my undergraduate degree and my master's degree. I have never been told by anyone who attended BYU or taught there that BYU is a seminary. What are you talking about? Sure, BYU requires its students to take religion courses, which I took, but those comprise a total of about 18 credits. BYU is an accredited university. My bachelor's and master's degree are as valid as anyone who attended an accredited university anywhere. And how do you presume to know what kind of a life I live? You don't know me. Stick with your claim and try not to make this personal.

Did you ever have a professor who, because he or she spoke out, lost a teaching job at BYU?

Nope.

My goodness, the censorship happens at the U of U (because the Utah Legislature is almost all LDS), let alone BYU.

What are you talking about and what does this have to do with your claim that BYU is a seminary which lacks intellectual honesty and integrity? Quit making things up as you go along.

By the way, silentkid, what is your real name?

Why does that matter and why should I tell you?

[_ByronMarchant]

The question is, are you serious? Have you never been told by anyone who attended BYU or taught there that BYU is a seminary? You live a sheltered life.

Did you not read my previous post that you responded to? I attended BYU for my undergraduate degree and my master's degree. I have never been told by anyone who attended BYU or taught there that BYU is a seminary. What are you talking about? Sure, BYU requires its students to take religion courses, which I took, but those comprise a total of about 18 credits. BYU is an accredited university. My bachelor's and master's degree are as valid as anyone who attended an accredited university anywhere. And how do you presume to know what kind of a life I live? You don't know me. Stick with your claim and try not to make this personal.

Did you ever have a professor who, because he or she spoke out, lost a teaching job at BYU?

Nope.

My goodness, the censorship happens at the U of U (because the Utah Legislature is almost all LDS), let alone BYU.

What are you talking about and what does this have to do with your claim that BYU is a seminary which lacks intellectual honesty and integrity? Quit making things up as you go along.

By the way, silentkid, what is your real name?

Why does that matter and why should I tell you?

May I suggest:

http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no85.htm

And, of course, the latest is Physicist Steven Jones (who got a big sum of money for his leaving BYU "voluntarily"):

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 3834100001

I'm not saying that you didn't get a good education in your selected field at BYU, good for you; but there is a pattern of behavior there that supports the pressuring-out of intellectual freedom. Maybe by the time you got there all the purging had already taken place (so you never saw any of it) and everybody was already under the foot of the authorities.

BYU is a seminary.

[_ByronMarchant]

My claim is intended to be offensive. If it was not true, it would not be offensive.

Right.

"Mr. Smith beats his wife and tortures small animals."

"Your claims are unfounded and offensive."

"My claim is intended to be offensive. If it was not true, it would not be offensive."

Stunning logic there Sherlock. I hope for your sake nobody makes an unfounded accusation against you or those you care about.

You're a little late. They (the Mormons) already have (made unfounded accusations...).

[_asbestosman]

You're a little late. They (the Mormons) already have (made unfounded accusations...).

Well I hope you weren't offended. After all, anyone who takes offense to Mormons who make accusations against them is only taking offense because the accusations are correct.

[_cksalmon]

BYU is a seminary.

Maybe you don't really know what a "seminary" is, but believe the term to be pejorative, in some sense?

I graduated from a Real Life seminary, a school with the express purpose of inculcating a particular religious perspective in all spheres of life for the purpose of producing religious ministers of a particular religious perspective. BYU isn't one.

You're apparently conflating the alleged silencing of religiously-dissident professors at a religious institution with that's institution's actually being a "seminary."

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

cks

[_ByronMarchant]

Mormonism is a church with a "lay" priesthood:

http://www.centuryinter.net/davejo/dorbp.html

and when someone says that BYU is not part of the indoctrination that occurs within Mormonism for the vast majority of those who attend BYU, who do they think they are kidding? Here is a link for the word "seminary":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seminary

[_ByronMarchant]

You're a little late. They (the Mormons) already have (made unfounded accusations...).

Well I hope you weren't offended. After all, anyone who takes offense to Mormons who make accusations against them is only taking offense because the accusations are correct.

Your quotes:

From an earlier post, quoting me: "My claim is intended to be offensive. If it was not true, it would not be offensive."

and then, from you above:

"...anyone who takes offense to Mormons who make accusations against them is only taking offense because the accusations are correct..."

You seem to be claiming that the verb "to be offensive" is the same as the verb "taking offense." Back to English 101?