Comparative Biographies of Warren Aston, Discoverer of Nahom

[_Doctor Scratch]

Huh. That's real interesting, Prof. J. I wonder if William Tyndale was actually an alien? Maybe the "spirit committee" that translated the Book of Mormon for Joseph Smith was actually a committee of UFOs. The mind reels at the possibilities....

[_Lemmie]

Huh. That's real interesting, Prof. J. I wonder if William Tyndale was actually an alien? Maybe the "spirit committee" that translated the Book of Mormon for Joseph Smith was actually a committee of UFOs. The mind reels at the possibilities....

Well those gold plates had to get here somehow (and leave). An angel, a UFO, what's the difference?

I'm reminded of an exchange with Jenkins last summer, where either Rappleye or Smoot wrote, apparently in all dead seriousness, that if Jenkins was going to a priori completely rule out even the slightest possibility of angelic/supernatural visitation, then his logic was ignoring Ockham's razor, or something like that.

I do remember one of Jenkins' responses, however:

Oh Good Lord. This is such baloney from start to finish.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousben ... d-oranges/

[_Flaming Meaux]

Mormons have always had a fondness for the fringe...that's where Joseph got started and spent a lot of his time. Not only is LDS gullibility exploited in marketing investments, nutritional supplements and cleaning products, but also junk pseudoscience of all kinds. And so we will continue to see Mormons espousing Bigfoot, ghosts, aliens, cryptids, vanished continents, crystals, reflexology, naturopathy, visionary and anomalous experiences of any kind that will make you go "oooooooh!"

Indeed. Have you heard of Our Hollow Earth? Totally insane. But you gotta love when you go to the From the Author section to find this gem:

As a young man, I had two favorite subjects, science and religion. In my study, it became my conviction that ultimately science and religion will become one and the same, science being the study of God's creation; and religion consisting of the revelations of God to mankind. Both are ultimately manifestations of the truth of all things given to man by God in His infinite kindness and love to bring about the happiness of His children. It is from the Book of Mormon, an ancient text of scripture written by ancient American prophets of God that I gained the desire to obtain the object of both true religion and true science: the search for the truth of all things. The ancient American prophet of the Book of Mormon concluded this book of scripture with a perfect scientific test anyone can perform on that book to know it is of God. Moroni wrote 421 A.D.:

"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

"And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

It is by application of this scientific test to that book of ancient American scripture that I came to a knowledge that it is of God, because God did answer my prayer and let me know by the power of the Holy Ghost of its truthfulness. Millions of Latter-day Saints have performed this same test and received the same answer of the divinity of this book. Therefore, it could be said that Mormonism is a scientific religion. The acquisition of this one precious truth has given me the impulse to discover the ultimate: the truth of all things. And my search has not been in vain. In fact, my search is a much more efficient one because my hits in the dark are much more infrequent when I have the power of the Holy Ghost to lighten the way to the next truth. Thus my search has been an exciting one and I hope some of the things I have uncovered concerning this earth of ours will be as exciting to you as it has been to me.

(emphasis added). I guess this is just one of the side effects when you tell people that how they feel about something is valid evidence of how true that thing happens to be.

[_Maksutov]

Huh. That's real interesting, Prof. J. I wonder if William Tyndale was actually an alien? Maybe the "spirit committee" that translated the Book of Mormon for Joseph Smith was actually a committee of UFOs. The mind reels at the possibilities....

Well those gold plates had to get here somehow (and leave). An angel, a UFO, what's the difference?

I'm reminded of an exchange with Jenkins last summer, where either Rappleye or Smoot wrote, apparently in all dead seriousness, that if Jenkins was going to a priori completely rule out even the slightest possibility of angelic/supernatural visitation, then his logic was ignoring Ockham's razor, or something like that.

I do remember one of Jenkins' responses, however:

Oh Good Lord. This is such baloney from start to finish.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousben ... d-oranges/

Jenkins will go down as one of the most devastating critics of Mormonism. Ranking with Howe and Brodie.

[Guest]

Jenkins will go down as one of the most devastating critics of Mormonism. Ranking with Howe and Brodie.

Exactly. Not only did he get down in the trenches with Hamblin, but he also gave a searing meta-analysis of the mopologetic scene:

I have had a couple of exchanges with Neal Rappleye in the past. Then as now, he strikes me as smart and literate. I am no less struck by the puzzling disconnect between the articulate nature of what he writes, and the startling lack of sophistication of his arguments. By far his weakest spot concerns his use of far-fetched and wildly unconvincing analogies, which instantly destroy the credibility of his arguments – more on that shortly. This may all reflect the fact that Book of Mormon apologists really never engage with mainstream scholars. Virtually no mainstream academic takes his cause seriously enough to be worth arguing with, so an apologist never has an opportunity to test his/her arguments in that setting.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousben ... d-oranges/

I am sure that I am not the only person who appreciates that Jenkins decided to take on a Mormon apologist on strict academic grounds.

(edited to remove the part that Kishkumen felt the need to mock, in a most sincere manner. Truly.)

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Our Hollow Earth

Yeah, I had a Young Men's leader who was a heckin' Hollow Earther, but otherwise seemed like a decent and rational man. Basically, in a golly gee willickers nutshell, he expected the Lost Tribes of Israel (that would be such a cool Death Metal band name, by the way) to "Come from the North, out of the Earth."

Looking back at my niggardly upbringing I find myself a bit surprised how much and how often various Ward members, my parents included, were just completely convinced of the craziest shizzle. Mormonism is most certainly a flappin' vehicle for magical thinking and acceptance.

- Doc

[_ldsfaqs]

So, just because someone has interest in a subject that is not "mainstream" means what?

Almost everyone believes that UFO's and "other life" likely exists, so how are people who explore that subject somehow "crazy"?
UFO's are a well excepted fact by most people.... thus clearly not just crazy people believe in them.
Sure, some might be nuts, as we all know for obvious reasons, so what's the problem again of a Mormon out there having such an interest.

Like I said, nothing but bigotry.

[_Doctor Steuss]

Maybe crypto-zoology could shed some light on cureloms.

[_Analytics]

So, just because someone has interest in a subject that is not "mainstream" means what?

Almost everyone believes that UFO's and "other life" likely exists, so how are people who explore that subject somehow "crazy"?
UFO's are a well excepted fact by most people.... thus clearly not just crazy people believe in them.
Sure, some might be nuts, as we all know for obvious reasons, so what's the problem again of a Mormon out there having such an interest.

Like I said, nothing but bigotry.

It's one thing to believe that life out there probably exists. And I don't think there is anything wrong with having an interest or open mind about UFO stories, as long as one listens and considers the claims with an appropriate level of skepticism. But believing that there is "overwhelming evidence that earth is being, and has always been, visited by a variety of extra-terrestrial races" is out there. Way out there.

Ditto crypto-zoology.

[_Analytics]

Maybe crypto-zoology could shed some light on cureloms.

Lol.