Kishkumen wrote:There is a way in which this topic crosses over to the neo-apologetic discussion that is going on. In the past it has been pointed out, by myself and others, that Mormonism offers a fictional history. Now, someone like the narrator might argue that Mormonism is entitled to its myths and that these have little to do with the mundane reality we inhabit most of the time. Once we enter the realm of faith, so the line of thought goes, we are talking about something entirely different from history and so we should not place incorrect demands on Joseph Smith and angels with gold plates. To do so would be a category error.
I have some sympathy for this point of view, but then I do not believe that most of the people who believe the Book of Mormon is an ancient record--and this is something that Bert Russell pointed out--make such distinctions. These folks are like those kind individuals who, upon hearing I was going off to get a Ph.D. in Ancient History, got excited that I would be able to learn more about the Book of Mormon. In their minds, there was no difference. God creating the world, an angel with a flaming sword, Jesus walking on water, Nephi and the brass plates, Joseph Smith receiving the gold plates from an angel: all of these things were part of history, not an alternate "language game" called myth, legend, or theology.
And these alternate histories of the world do have consequences. Who can blame the member of the LDS Church who sincerely believes that the time is nigh at hand when President Monson will call upon the saints to settle in Jackson County, Missouri? Why did people seek out archaeological remains of Nephite civilization? People put their faith in such things because they believe the claims are anchored in real-world events. Except that they are not.
This is a tough one because I'm sympathetic to both views. To your point, a couple of days ago, I shot the bull with a guy in my new neighborhood that I run into on my morning walks. He's obviously a pretty right-wing Christian guy. Really nice guy and has done well for himself in life both money and family wise. The conversation turned to money, and he mentioned he lost quite a bit in recent years betting on the stock market. Well, you see, this Christian minister has a program for investing and that was that. He didn't blame the program, he blamed himself for not having the temperament for following it. He seemed to have mentioned the "Christian minister" part to justify himself, that he had every good reason to give it a shot.
I think where I'm sympathetic to myth believing is that I'm extremely skeptical as to what people's beliefs actually are. Case in point: Mormons believe fervently in priesthood blessings, yet, they don't really believe in them. That doesn't mean lack of critical thinking in Mormonism doesn't lead to errors, I think it does, but I don't think it's as straightforward as skeptic societies imagine it. The guy I met on a walk could have had any background and been duped with a different program cover. A key concern is where the the subject matter isn't easily accessible and the consequences aren't immediate. Global warming and world politics are great examples. I'm a fairly good researcher, and it would take me several months of consistent daily study to even get a handle on where the world is at economically today or to understand the basics of global warming enough to discuss that. So take the same poor investigation skills that lead a person to argue for the veracity of healing through faith or NDEs or golden bibles, apply that to an actual complex topic, and the problem is, even an intelligent person who through compartmentalization can save himself from walking off of cliffs or pushing the surgeon out of the room to perform a blessing, can't save himself from contributing to poor policy decisions that affect humanity in the long run.
But there's more, because these examples assume a type of otherwise competent person doing well in life who compartmentalizes his faith. While I think it's rare for a person to lack the intelligence or emotional development to go as far as insist on blessings in time-critical emergency situations where the cost is a doctor doing her job, a lack of sober thought does contribute to poor lifestyle choices and that can be reinforced by religious community and authority. For instance, if a person is overweight and type-II but very spiritual and committed to the faith, then somehow that compensates for having a problem more than it should. So there is certainly a class of the religious who pay a high price for faith.
