A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

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Doctor Scratch
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A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by Doctor Scratch »

Over at "SeN", the Mopologists have been reflecting on the legacy of George Washington, and the wise and learned Tavares Stanfield made this observation:
Tavares wrote:I don't recall exactly where, but I recall that several years ago some radio program or article described how George and Martha destroyed some of their personal correspondence with specific intention. The hypothesis was that the two wanted to hide the fact that their marriage was one of mutual benefit, and not genuine romantic love. I found the idea intriguing. That such conscious effort may have been put into crafting an image or perception that would long outlive you.
Well, in Washington's case, the "image manipulation" certainly seems to have worked, as Washington is venerated to this day. Perhaps unsurprisingly, though, this led to Dr. Peterson reflecting on his own life--you know, since talk of G. Washington automatically calls for comparisons with one's self:
DCP wrote:I don't expect that biographers will ever be falling all over themselves to chronicle and examine my life, but the Washingtons had every reason to expect that they would receive such attention. And, even though (to the eventual enormous disappointment of my small band of obsessive stalkers) I have no significant skeletons in my closet, I know that I would not be looking forward to other people pawing over the detritus of my earthly sojourn. I've seen how fundamentally certain people continually misrepresent me while I'm living.
Quite interesting--particularly the bit about "skeletons" in his closet. But what struck me the most here was his insistence that he's been "misrepresented." I'm going to call "baloney" on this claim: I think that, by and large, critics have been quite accurate in their assessment of him and their reportage of his behavior and comments. In fact, I defy him to provide even *one* example that proves definitively that he's been "misrepresented." I'm predicting here and now that he won't do it, because he can't. Rather like when Jenkins insisted that Hamblin supply "one sherd" of evidence in favor of the Book of Mormon being real history, let DCP--or any Mopologist, for that matter--supply one instance where he was "misrepresented."
"If, while hoping that everybody else will be honest and so forth, I can personally prosper through unethical and immoral acts without being detected and without risk, why should I not?." --Daniel Peterson, 6/4/14
Equality
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Re: A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by Equality »

DCP and I apparently don't share the same moral values.

If, in rummaging through my own closet, I were to discover lurking there "egregious professional plagiarism" I would consider that a "significant skeleton" of which I would be terribly ashamed.

DCP doesn't view *that* as a significant skeleton so it's hard to say what he *would* consider a significant skeleton.
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Re: A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by drumdude »

DCP likes to conflate criticism of his apologetics with criticism of himself personally.

If he wasn’t one of the major faces of LDS apologetics no one would care enough about him to write anything on him. His academic career has been almost non existent- he has spent his career simply attacking Mormonism’s critics, mostly with lies and straw men as his tools of choice. His time as a teacher isn’t discussed very often at all by critics or himself, presumably he did an acceptable job but nothing very noteworthy.
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Doctor CamNC4Me
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Re: A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by Doctor CamNC4Me »

drumdude wrote:
Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:38 pm
If he wasn’t one of the major faces of LDS apologetics no one would care enough about him to write anything on him … His time as a teacher isn’t discussed very often at all by critics or himself, presumably he did an acceptable job but nothing very noteworthy.
This is spot on. I couldn’t name, much less care about any BYU faculty members or MI whatever-they-are. Quite honestly if he weren’t brought up as a topic here I’d just know of him as ‘that guy who defends the Church’. It’s cool he’s crafted a little bit of a cult of personality, but other than that and just being bitchy he’s not super interesting. Hrm. I’m not sure he’s had an original thought that’s noteworthy unless one counts the LGT, Nephite genetic drift, and the Two Cumorahs theory. Actually, scratch that last bit - Early Modern English the METI was an excellent idea.

- Doc
Hugh Nibley claimed he bumped into Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Gertrude Stein, and the Grand Duke Vladimir Romanoff. Dishonesty is baked into Mormonism.
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Bought Yahoo
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Re: A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by Bought Yahoo »

It seemed common in prior centuries for famous men to order the destruction of their journals, so Washington wasn't unusual.

There's some of what Dr. Peterson publishes with which I disagree, but otherwise he's a great writer and analyst and defender of the faith. He's at the top of the crowd. And, yes, he seems to be constantly attacked and mispresented, largely on this Board.
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Re: A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by Doctor CamNC4Me »

Bought Yahoo wrote:
Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:26 am
It seemed common in prior centuries for famous men to order the destruction of their journals, so Washington wasn't unusual.

There's some of what Dr. Peterson publishes with which I disagree, but otherwise he's a great writer and analyst and defender of the faith. He's at the top of the crowd. And, yes, he seems to be constantly attacked and mispresented, largely on this Board.
You know what? We should turn this thread into a petersonfestschrift of sorts. I agree with YahooBot that Peterson does write very well on his blog. He’s especially adept at synthesizing random topics, sources, and the first-person narrative to produce a blog entry that edifies faithful Mormons.

- Doc
Hugh Nibley claimed he bumped into Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Gertrude Stein, and the Grand Duke Vladimir Romanoff. Dishonesty is baked into Mormonism.
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Re: A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by Kishkumen »

I enjoyed “Nephi and his Asherah.” I am glad he never got sucked into Trumpism. His travelogues and anecdotes about meeting famous academics are diverting. Also, he was responsible for the making of a not half-bad film about three men who fell in love with Joseph Smith.
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
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Re: A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by Philo Sofee »

For my Festschrift moment in regards to Daniel C. Peterson, I may say he is an engaging speaker when he wants to be and puts time into it first and then presents. He does write well, and has a wicked sense of humor using irony, which some actually do miss and hence misunderstand his wry, dry humor. He is on the egotistical side, but who among us are innocent in this regard? As he passed up the time to write very good books, he has actually contributed to being an online presence for other LDS to look to in order to get some sort of bearings on the internet thrashing of all things Mormon in an unending and overwhelming tidal wave since the very nature of Mormonism from the get-go is so incredibly out on the very far side of most anything imaginable, that all things are able to be roundly criticized, and hence needs defending. True he uses ad hominem a bit much, but he is quite astonishingly well read in some areas, for the most part. Overall he is admired by those who agree with him more or less because he does have stick-to-it-iveness in taking on criticism which takes time away from going after the far more important brethren. In the long run, however, they do receive their very proper due, hence it, alas, appears almost a complete waste of his time, except, he has taken it in a literal sense, that which Joseph Campbell advocated, find your bliss and stick with it. Peterson strikes me as quite comfortable being a front man to take the hits. It is his bliss to be criticized, and hence his enjoyment is being the target lightning rod. In all, he is a valid LDS internet presence, of course. It's just too bad he is misguided. But he can take a punch and give one. It is the give and take which he thrives on, and in that, I understand as I have been in that line, and perhaps, in some ways, still am.
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Re: A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by Gadianton »

Doctor Scratch wrote: I defy him to provide even *one* example that proves definitively that he's been "misrepresented."
*crickets*
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Dr Moore
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Re: A Challenge to Daniel C. Peterson and the Mopologists

Post by Dr Moore »

Doctor Scratch wrote:
Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:56 pm
DCP wrote:I don't expect that biographers will ever be falling all over themselves to chronicle and examine my life, but the Washingtons had every reason to expect that they would receive such attention. And, even though (to the eventual enormous disappointment of my small band of obsessive stalkers) I have no significant skeletons in my closet, I know that I would not be looking forward to other people pawing over the detritus of my earthly sojourn. I've seen how fundamentally certain people continually misrepresent me while I'm living.
Quite interesting--particularly the bit about "skeletons" in his closet. But what struck me the most here was his insistence that he's been "misrepresented." I'm going to call "baloney" on this claim: I think that, by and large, critics have been quite accurate in their assessment of him and their reportage of his behavior and comments. In fact, I defy him to provide even *one* example that proves definitively that he's been "misrepresented." I'm predicting here and now that he won't do it, because he can't. Rather like when Jenkins insisted that Hamblin supply "one sherd" of evidence in favor of the Book of Mormon being real history, let DCP--or any Mopologist, for that matter--supply one instance where he was "misrepresented."
It isn't a misreprentation that Doctor Peterson
(1) accepted a cash donation to Interpreter in exchange for his commitment to keep bad-mouthing of this message board off of his blog, Sic et Non
---and---
(2) has, for the past >18 months, allowed all types of bad-mouthing of this message board on his blog, Sic et Non

Both of those facts are easily demonstrable via public-domain web searches and archival sites. He entered a good faith contract and then proceeded to behave in incredibly bad faith.

He's claimed he can't be expected to moderate his own blog, but let's call that what it is -- a lie. Doctor Peterson is more active at moderating his own blog than he ever was at teaching or professional research. His own activity levels, which are also easily witnessed in the web history, shows an incredibly active, hours-per-day, blog owner and comment moderator.

He's claimed that somehow he doesn't have to keep his promise because some people at this message board will bad mouth him. But that wasn't in the agreement. In fact, he specifically noted no such expectation in the agreement. He wants to move the goal posts, but that's a dishonest dodge if ever there was one.

So not only is this particular skeleton "out of the closet," but rather than apologize and do better, he's chosen to stomp his feet and cry foul every time these facts are pointed out, acting like some sort of wronged child whose cereal box toy was unfairly taken away.
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