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I think it is foolish for Apologetic Mormons to leave this board unchallenged. Always packing up shop and going home does not furnish an argument against critics. It seems instead like a capitulation and capitulation is very unapologetic.

If Apologists who are knowledgeable and good at arguing in support of the Church, shirk the task of being where the critics are, then who will? Who will be diligent in holding to the iron rod of defense?

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I will.

moksha wrote:I think it is foolish for Apologetic Mormons to leave this board unchallenged. Always packing up shop and going home does not furnish an argument against critics. It seems instead like a capitulation and capitulation is very unapologetic.

If Apologists who are knowledgeable and good at arguing in support of the Church, shirk the task of being where the critics are, then who will? Who will be diligent in holding to the iron rod of defense?

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I think that the board has taken a hit from the lawsuit threat and the Mormon gulag allegations. The hit may be short term and things could get back to normal soon, but it seems that the board has suffered during the last week or so. I am not sure what the apologists think about it all but I would assume that they also have a bad taste in their mouths.

The question is: Should apologists even bother with this board since almost everyone (critic oriented) has made up their mind anyway about the LDS church?

why me wrote:The question is: Should apologists even bother with this board since almost everyone (critic oriented) has made up their mind anyway about the LDS church?

I have always assumed that the efforts were being made for the benefit of those lurking readers who may have questions and doubts. There isn't much chance of changing any critic's mind, just as there is no chance that an apologist will budge on the idea that the church is true no matter what, and that they simply need to come up with any remotely plausible explanation for any problems that arise.

I hope all the believers don't abandon this arena. Otherwise it will just become RFM with a better-looking interface and fewer participants. That will be much less interesting.

why me wrote:
The question is: Should apologists even bother with this board since almost everyone (critic oriented) has made up their mind anyway about the LDS church?

You make a mistake about who the audience is. When I post, it is not for my opponent, who will almost assuredly be unpersuaded, it is that silent audience out there. It is just like staged political debates, they are not held to persuade the opponents or even the home team, it is aimed squarely at the undecided.

why me wrote:The question is: Should apologists even bother with this board since almost everyone (critic oriented) has made up their mind anyway about the LDS church?

Does this mean that apologists only post to try to convert/re-convert?

Ray A wrote:

why me wrote:The question is: Should apologists even bother with this board since almost everyone (critic oriented) has made up their mind anyway about the LDS church?

Does this mean that apologists only post to try to convert/re-convert?

What other reason could there be? Entertainment? Enjoyment? To actually learn something? To be part of an online community? To be helpful? To give a more balanced perspective to the board?

None of those reasons apply, at least to certain apologist-type posters here. We've been told often enough by several of them that this is a despicable community, full of degenerates and worse, only to be despised and ridiculed. We're told this so often by so many apologist-types, it's impossible to ignore it.

harmony wrote: We've been told often enough by several of them that this is a despicable community, full of degenerates and worse, only to be despised and ridiculed. We're told this so often by so many apologist-types, it's impossible to ignore it.

I always translate that to mean, "I can't win, so I give up and I'm leaving, but not before I try to hurt you the way you've hurt me."

I don't even know who has left. Is there a roll call somewhere?

John Larsen wrote:... it is aimed squarely at the undecided.

And the undecided will look to a forum named "Mormon Discussions". Only the initiated or maybe a scholastic nerd would look toward a forum with Apologetics in its title.