Boylan the Beggar

[Kishkumen]

The content of Boylan’s work conforms to the standards of Mopologetics as closely as his behavior mimics the uncouth nature of the Mopologetic Vanguard. The Mopologetic perspective views scholarship not as an end unto itself, but rather as a means to a rhetorical end. Usually scholarship is entangled with notions about what exactly a “Life of the Mind” is and how one goes about living it, but Mopologists are first and foremost polemicists.

Boylan doesn’t study the Early Church because he loves the history, culture, and theology of early Christianity, but because it serves as an artificial battleground for him to challenge and embarrass rival Christian apologists in a public spectacle. If there was no one he could argue with online about the topic, he wouldn’t blog about it at all.

If Boylan was actually enthusiastic about ancient Christianity, it would be plain to see in his content and it would make him a million times more watchable/readable. Instead the topic is just a thin pretense to go after people he has deemed worthy of his scorn.

That sounds about right! But why spend all that time in grad school studying theology and patristics?

[Bill_Billiams]

That sounds about right! But why spend all that time in grad school studying theology and patristics?

An obsession with being right and a lack of touching grass can make people do things that only make sense to them.

[huckelberry]

You really captured the essence of Boylan's "work."

In fairness to Boylan, that's actually the essence of most Mormon apologetics in terms of trying to retrieve traces of Mormonism from antiquity and/or the Christian tradition (minus the use of Logos). It's almost all vague "bullseyes" and comparisons that contextually don't hold up (like Holland invoking Karlstadt at the last fall General Conference ).

Real exegetical historians make fun of that "history of ideas" sort of approach.

What surprises me is Boylan's complete disdain for Protestantism as a whole. I took two religion classes on non-LDS Christianity in undergrad at BYU, one on general church history and one on American church history. Both taught that the Protestant Reformation was a necessary forerunner to the Mormon Restoration and a step in the right direction; both professors showed respect and fondness for Protestant theologians. I have no doubt those professors would have been appalled at Boylan's antics.

(Logos has not made much effort to cater to Mormons, so I'm not surprised few Mormons use it, but it is a powerful resource for doing historical theology and biblical research, at least to start out with.)

Ms Jack, May I ask a small clarification to help me understand your meaning. A couple of bits of ignorance on my part is causing difficulty. I do not know what Mr Holland did with a reference to Karlstadt. Do you mean exegesis in relation to historical context of a scriptures composition or the history of how exegesis was done, or history of the results of exegesis? I suspect my uncertainty on these contributes to my not knowing what sort of "history of ideas" approach you mean.

I certainly agree with your observation that the usual LDS view sees some positives in Protestant tradition and Christian tradition in general.

[DrStakhanovite]

Contrast his work with that of James White. I’m not a Calvinist but I really enjoy White laying out arguments and demonstrating he has at least put in some work to make a coherent argument and lay it out in a comprehensible way.

That is a really interesting comparison.

I’ve watched James White since his debate with Bart Ehrman and keep tabs on him because I like to follow all the circus drama with presuppositional apologists. James isn’t someone I hold in particularly high esteem, but putting him next to Boylan really goes a long way in demonstrating how much work Boylan needs to do.

You can just tell that James has spent time thinking about how to communicate complex ideas to an audience, the economy of words, time management, taking into consideration how people from different perspectives/religions/cultures are going to take what he has to say. Spending time pastoring people as a chaplain, having to prepare and deliver sermons, and other ministerial duties allowed him to develop a wider skill set that makes him a relatively successful apologist.

Boylan has never done anything like the above and it really shows.

[DrStakhanovite]

That sounds about right! But why spend all that time in grad school studying theology and patristics?

Credentialing is a really big part of Mopologetic culture. Without a graduate degree, your role in Mopologetic organizations is going to be limited to being part of a “communications” team where you draft promotional emails and answer questions about upcoming events or being the person who is making sure all the online orders for books and DVDs are getting filled and shipped in a timely manner.

Boylan doesn’t want to be a civilian, he wants to be the guy flown out somewhere for speaking gigs, he wants to have his essays next to all the big names in the future Interpreter anthologies, he wants to be perceived as an expert. This is how he wants to pay the bills.

That is what I mean by the degree becomes a means to an end rather than an end itself. Of course Boylan had enough interest and discipline to finish a graduate degree in patristics, but what was his motivation for doing all that reading and writing? Was it because he loved reading people like Origen and Tertullian? Or does it help him dominate Protestants in debates and write polemical pieces calling sincerely held religious beliefs Satanic?

I think the answer to those questions can be found in his created content and behavior.

[Moksha]

Without a graduate degree, your role in Mopologetic organizations is going to be limited to being part of a “communications” team where you draft promotional emails and answer questions about upcoming events ...

I get you. Like letting everyone know about the upcoming FAIR Conference at the Lehi Rodeo Fairgrounds in August, with Mike Lindell talking about Fidelity Month and Da Bears.

[drumdude]

Contrast his work with that of James White. I’m not a Calvinist but I really enjoy White laying out arguments and demonstrating he has at least put in some work to make a coherent argument and lay it out in a comprehensible way.

That is a really interesting comparison.

I’ve watched James White since his debate with Bart Ehrman and keep tabs on him because I like to follow all the circus drama with presuppositional apologists. James isn’t someone I hold in particularly high esteem, but putting him next to Boylan really goes a long way in demonstrating how much work Boylan needs to do.

You can just tell that James has spent time thinking about how to communicate complex ideas to an audience, the economy of words, time management, taking into consideration how people from different perspectives/religions/cultures are going to take what he has to say. Spending time pastoring people as a chaplain, having to prepare and deliver sermons, and other ministerial duties allowed him to develop a wider skill set that makes him a relatively successful apologist.

Boylan has never done anything like the above and it really shows.

Exactly. Even if Boylan is correct about something, he doesn’t know how to adequately communicate it. He’s too busy feeling smug about being smarter than the amateur opponents he has zoom and Facebook debates with.

If Boylan has stumbled upon some interesting ideas I would love to hear them. But his blog is an incomprehensible disorganized mess.

[Kishkumen]

Credentialing is a really big part of Mopologetic culture. Without a graduate degree, your role in Mopologetic organizations is going to be limited to being part of a “communications” team where you draft promotional emails and answer questions about upcoming events or being the person who is making sure all the online orders for books and DVDs are getting filled and shipped in a timely manner.

Boylan doesn’t want to be a civilian, he wants to be the guy flown out somewhere for speaking gigs, he wants to have his essays next to all the big names in the future Interpreter anthologies, he wants to be perceived as an expert. This is how he wants to pay the bills.

That is what I mean by the degree becomes a means to an end rather than an end itself. Of course Boylan had enough interest and discipline to finish a graduate degree in patristics, but what was his motivation for doing all that reading and writing? Was it because he loved reading people like Origen and Tertullian? Or does it help him dominate Protestants in debates and write polemical pieces calling sincerely held religious beliefs Satanic?

I think the answer to those questions can be found in his created content and behavior.

So he pursued the education after he converted? For some reason I thought it was the other way around.

[Bill_Billiams]

So he pursued the education after he converted? For some reason I thought it was the other way around.

He has said that he studied Mormonism in his teens and was baptized LDS when he was 18. So I think all (or at least most) of his degree work was done after he converted.

[Kishkumen]

He has said that he studied Mormonism in his teens and was baptized LDS when he was 18. So I think all (or at least most) of his degree work was done after he converted.

Ah. OK. Well, that makes a big difference in my mind. It starts to look more like he armed himself for apologetics.