This interview of LDS scholar Kent P. Jackson demonstrates as clearly as anything I have read in the last 5 years the point of religious studies has nothing to do with learning truth. It is truly and fundamentally about just keeping the youth in the church. His overly enthusiastic and optimistic assessment of the truth of how the church has handled history is almost borderline truly a blatant lie, and he just has to simply know that.
He said
I believe that the Church and its revealed teachings are unassailable. Our beliefs and practices stand on very solid ground, and our scriptures and history are evidence that God was in the Restoration and that his steady hand has guided the Church since then.
This is just prattlespeak. He obviously doesn't read much on the internet.
If he's an LDS "scholar" (such a dubious classification), then he would know how controversial the historical issues are to the "truth" narrative of the Church.
The doctrines of the Church are indeed assailable, hence the need for apologists.
I don't see him as a liar - just an indoctrinated dupe who is paid by the dupers to dupe the dupable.
That could be actually. Well with the Snufferite movement going strong now and influencing some stellar former Mormons, it doesn't appear the doctrine is unassailable at all but entirely vulnerable as I see it. Not only from science, but now from revelation! How ironic! Along comes some yoyo claiming revelation and even Mormon leadership once again fall into it because of what they have been told is real. They haven't been taught how to critically sift evidence and assess information. They have been taught to simply believe what they are told, and now it comes and bites the church in the ass. Quite amusing in so many ways. Good ole faith and testimony, ever faithful way to learn the truth....... of every charlatan and idiot claiming that special access to God alone, and all others should follow instead of think.
Dr CamNC4Me
"Dr. Peterson and his Callithumpian cabal of BYU idiots have been marginalized by their own inevitable irrelevancy defending a fraud."
I believe that the Church and its revealed teachings are unassailable. Our beliefs and practices stand on very solid ground, and our scriptures and history are evidence that God was in the Restoration and that his steady hand has guided the Church since then.
So unassailable that the Church disowns its own teachings.
21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.
Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.
“When we are confronted with evidence that challenges our deeply held beliefs we are more likely to reframe the evidence than we are to alter our beliefs. We simply invent new reasons, new justifications, new explanations. Sometimes we ignore the evidence altogether.” (Mathew Syed 'Black Box Thinking')
On my more believing days I picture various Mormon leaders and teachers at the judgement bar before the God of Truth, and the God of Truth saying something like "You didn't acknowledge me before the world, and I don't acknowledge you now." Then I imagine my own faults before such a God, and say "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner." On my more agnostic days, I just believe the truth will eventually win out over the indoctrination and propaganda that is "Church education."
I may be missing the beam in my own eye, but if I am, I willingly admit it. My point being, if we want the "God of Truth" for a friend, we have to be loyal to the truth.
Last edited by Guest on Thu Dec 21, 2017 4:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
deacon blues wrote:On my more believing days I picture various Mormon leaders and teachers at the judgement bar before the God of Truth, and the God of Truth saying something like "You didn't acknowledge me before the world, and I don't acknowledge you now." Then I imagine my own faults before such a God, and say "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner." On my more agnostic days, I just believe the truth will eventually win out over the indoctrination and propaganda that is "Church education."
The "What will you say to God" on judgement day is always an interesting question. Every person proposing that question, whether or not they realize it, goes so thinking they themselves know which God will be doing the questioning.
I have two answers for the question. My usual one is:
"Well I expect to have the same answer you will have, which is, wow did I picture you differently!"
or sometimes I just use:
"I used my brain exactly the way you designed it."
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."
You know, I don't have much to disagree with Jackson about. When you think about it, if you believe in a God who believes in prophets who lie to their wives, who risk peoples lives by coercing them into cross-country handcart treks simply to increase their own power base, who build billion dollar malls, who rewrite history to enhance their claim to divine appointment, who lie about or hide financial and membership numbers, who start illegal banking operations, who use their position to sell disease infested swamp land to gullible new members, who pretend to have the ability to translate languages no one else can read, who...... well you get my point.
If you believe in that type of God, then it is clear that the restoration is rife with His footprints.
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."
Got to love church cheerleaders. Give me an "A." Give me an "S." Give me another "S." What does that spell .......
"Religion is about providing human community in the guise of solving problems that don’t exist or failing to solve problems that do and seeking to reconcile these contradictions and conceal the failures in bogus explanations otherwise known as theology." - Kishkumen
There is no amount of lying for the brethren Lord the church will not stoop to.