Question for Dr. Peterson about his Islamic studies and work

[_antishock8]

Dear *insert insult*,

I'm not sure the Mormon church would like their paid apologist to be paralleling Mormonism with Islam on an essentially anti-Mormon board, especially since LDS Inc. is trying to mainstream itself with Christianity. Not to mention Islam has a certain s****y record when it comes to, oh, I don't know, murdering people, polygamy, slavery, and f*****g children. But heck, I would LOVE for Mr. Peterson to list of parallels between Mormonism and the prophet Muhammed's religion. It would be wonderful.

Sincerely,

AS8

antithought,

I don't know how else to say this and I'm not going to spend time thinking of a better way. You're an idiot straight up. Christianity also has a s****y record when it comes to much of what you listed. Daniel is an academic. I should think that LDS Inc. expects him to answer an academic question based on his expertise and that LDS Inc doesn't give a hoot what he posts on this board or that he posts on this board.

What is it with you people? When Daniel isn't posting you all complain that he's chicken or something. When he does post, you get giddy as if some impending drama is about to unfold.

Get a grip.

Dear *insert insult*,

Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but I think your intellect falls somewhere between a fatuous Giants fan and The Nehor. So, take that how you will.

You're barking up the wrong tree when it comes to Christianity. I think Christianity is just as devoid of historical benefit to the human race as is Mormonism. If anything, it's worse.

As far as the rest of your comments are concerned they don't apply to me, and I could really care less if your feelings are hurt that Mr. Peterson brings this kind of scorn upon himself. Now go get some Midol, wash the sand out of your vagina, and behave yourself. You have standards to uphold.

Sincerely,

AS8

[_Jersey Girl]

Dear *insert insult*,

Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but I think your intellect falls somewhere between a fatuous Giants fan and The Nehor. So, take that how you will.

I largely ignore it.

You're barking up the wrong tree when it comes to Christianity. I think Christianity is just as devoid of historical benefit to the human race as is Mormonism. If anything, it's worse.

Did someone ask you to recite your opinion on Christianity? You might want to review the exchanges to figure out what you were talking about to begin with.

As far as the rest of your comments are concerned they don't apply to me, and I could really care less if your feelings are hurt that Mr. Peterson brings this kind of scorn upon himself. Now go get some Midol, wash the sand out of your vagina, and behave yourself. You have standards to uphold.

I love it whenever overly defensive males who can't respond on point resort to making gender related comments to a female poster. The female posters "feelings are hurt", she menstruates, she has a vagina.

Evade much?

[_antishock8]

[_Daniel Peterson]

Daniel,What was your motivation to pursue Islamic studies? I listened to a lecture of yours last evening and was duly impressed. I'm interested in knowing what set you on your path.

After a brief stint as a mathematics major, I switched over to Greek and philosophy. But I soon came to the conclusion -- not at all correct, I now realize -- that everything of any importance in classical studies had already been done three or three thousand times, and I certainly didn't want to spend my life studying the use of the Greek particle te in the works of some obscure Hellenistic poet. But out there, beckoning to me, was the vast expanse of the Islamic world, to which very few people at the time seemed to be paying attention. And I began to realize that, just as the Latin tradition can be and typically is viewed as a continuation of the Greek, Arabic too can be understood as a classical language.

That was my initial orientation to Islamic studies, and it continues in my work as editor of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. (I still use my Greek a fair amount.) I also have a strong interest in Qur’anic studies, but from a slightly unorthdox angle. Where the Qur’an is usually examined as the commencement of the Islamic tradition (an entirely legitimate and important approach), my own favored focus is on the Qur’an as a relatively late manifestation of early Semitic traditions (including the Bible itself). Someday, if I ever get off this message board, I dream of doing a multivolume fresh translation of the Qur’an, accompanied by commentary from that angle. (David Noel Freedman, the famous Old Testament scholar and editor of the Anchor Bible Commentary and the Anchor Bible Dictionary, began urging me to do it in the mid-90s. But, as I conceive it, it's a dauntingly huge undertaking -- probably one that will require several co-workers.)

[_antishock8]

by the way, I did respond to your point, but your PMSy histrionics have further derailed an already derailed thread. Hopefully, despite your best efforts to defend a defender of a pederast, Mr. Peterson will offer up some parallels between Islam and Mormonism. Should be interesting...

[_Tarski]

I don't think it means much for Internet Mormons to say that another religion is partially true. Because, they themselves believe Mormonism is only partially true. Ok, maybe they believe Mormonism is 100% true, but prophets and everything involved with Mormonism except God are fallible, so they can't really say what doctrine is, but more importantly, there are plenty of beliefs among Mormons (doctrinal, to these Mormons) including high-ranking church leaders that internet Mormons reject and just consider opinion or sometimes they call it myth. But with that kind of flexibility, how do you really say another religion is "partially true?" Because, anyone else can see by the same standards that these same religions would be 100% true too, and all the parts that aren't true are just opinion and myth and should be overlooked.

Well said.

[_Daniel Peterson]

Well said.

Actually, it's not.

While every religious tradition or movement is a complex -- and a complex complex -- of "official" doctrines, canonical texts, practices, folk notions, expert commentary of varying degrees o authority or status, assumptions, and so forth, there is a core to each one of them, and not everything is vague or in flux.

Mormonism, for example, teaches the deity of Christ. That isn't ambiguous or debatable. Islam denies the deity of Christ -- unambiguously, and beyond dispute. They disagree on this.

And on many, many other things.

[_Jersey Girl]

Thank you for posting your story, Daniel. I appreciate it. When/if you get around to posting parallel's, could you list those in terms of Islam, Christianity and Mormonism as categories? If not, I'll be happy with whatever you have to share.