Novak's Rule

[_Gadianton]

Mister Scratch's latest post celebrating the simple faith of one Lehi Cranston inspired me personally to take a look at some of the other "signatures" within the Shields guestbook. As I earnestly perused the entries, my hands clasped and fingers interlocked, I became puzzled by references to "Novak's rule". What was this strange rule these people -- apologist and critic alike -- were citing?

A little more digging turned up:

This site illustrates, as indeed all of these sites do, Novak's Rule Number 1 of Becoming an Anti-Mormon: expect your IQ to drop at least 85 points.

http://www.shields-research.org/Novak/archive/jan07.htm

Should I have guessed that "Novak's Rule" would be nothing more than a gratuitous cheap shot taken against anyone who opposes Mormonism in any way?

What I find most disquieting about "Novak's Rule" isn't its straightforward mean-spiritedness, but its wide acceptance by the apologists proves that for some time now they have been trying to "trick" critics into being OK with the label "anti-Mormon". Famously, professor Daniel Peterson of Brigham Young University often writes -- the lattest incident of this writing being just the other day,

Anti- means "opposed to." As in anti-Semitic, antacid, anti-Catholic, anti-Communist, anti-abortion, anti-depressant, anti-Nazi, anti-allergen, anti-war, anti-antihistamine, and anti-discrimination. "Anti-" terms don't necessarily indicate evil. I, for example, am both anti-Communist and anti-abortion.

I suppose there is some semantic wiggle room here regarding the interpretation of the word "evil", but clearly, the intention is that it's not necessarily bad to be "anti-Mormon". The "setup" here turns on getting the critic to accept this dry exposition on logical necessity only to find herself snickered and laughed at as the butt of a joke as the apologists also hold tightly to their (supposed) certain though contingent "Novak's Rule".

Be careful then, my friends, when granting legitimacy to labels the apologists have contrived for us like "anti-Mormon", because the sales pitch may be misleading.

In a fairly recent post on MAD, Wade Englund cited "Novak's Rule" as an inside slam only those "in the know" would get.

The 14 Fundamentals apply to living prophets, not dead ones. It is surprising that you cannot see the fallaciousness of your argument yet. So far, Novak's Rule seems to be holding true. :)

[_Daniel Peterson]

Mister Scratch may have curtailed his epistolary activity of late, but Scratchism plainly doesn't lack enthusiastic disciples.

Gadianton Scratch, your post is worthy of the master himself.

I expect he'll be here soon to praise this latest contribution from "Dr. Robbers."

Incidentally, a member of my Creepy Network of Anonymous Informants sent me a list, tonight, of titles of threads that Mister Scratch has started here on this board. I don't know how complete it is nor what order they're in, but I certainly found it interesting to see so many Scratch thread titles -- so many "watershed moments in the history of Mopologetics" -- in one place. Plainly, as you taught us back on 11 July of last year, "Scratch . . . always tries to see the good in people."

Here's the list:

DCP Supports Whitewash of History

Is Pahoran a Hypocrite?

Bill Hamblin Uses Yet Another Offensive Stereotype

Dr. Peterson Offers Up His Diagnosis of MDB

Meet Ed Snow: The "Fundraiser"

DCP Accuses Christian Ministries of "Greed"

Wade Englund Protests at Temple Square

Prof. Peterson's "RfM Archive"

Another Tvedtnes Masterpiece

For Wade: What Happened to Your Websites?

Will Schryver Has Returned

juliann's Paranoia Erupts in Anger

DCP's "Humble Apologetics"

Hauglid "I will embarrass Metcalfe!"

The Shifting Loyalties of William Schryver, Esq.

DCP Discusses Peer Review at FARMS

Wade Englund: Victim of a Church Court?

DCP's Gossip: "Horizontal" or "Vertical"

FARMS H-bombs the Three Nephites

Skinny-L Members Ridicule T. Kimball, C. Hitchens

DCP is Gossipmongering Again

juliann Issues Forth Yet Another Lie

Bill Hamblin: "The Book of Mormon is Historically Fallible."

Has Allen Wyatt Screwed Up Again?

GBH Puts Foot in Mouth Again

Has John Gee Pulled Another Fast One?

The Scholarship of Robert D. Crockett

DCP Threatens to Flee the MADboard!

Tvedtnes: Author of "more than 300" articles?

DCP Admits to "LDS Academic Embarrassment"

The Mopologetic Hall of Fame: Pacman Goes Trolling

Lou Midgley: An LDS "Capo"?

What is the Mopologetic "skinny-l" Listserve?

DCP Revises the Mopologetic Canon

More on the Financing of Mopologetics

MYTH DISPELLED: LDS Apologists Are Paid

DCP Looks to Cash in on Mopologetics (Again...)

Wade Englund Unmasked!

Rcrocket Distorts Sources Yet Again

How Much is MA&D Worth?

Yale and the FARMS Money Trail: A Case Study

Scott Lloyd Smooches the Ring of Dan_G

Scratch, DCP, and the IRS

John Tvedtnes: Foul-mouthed Hatchet Man?

juliann Issues a Diss on "Hick" Pastors

Who is Wade Englund?

Coming Attractions: The Archive of Agent S

DCP: "Quinn Was Ex'ed for Being Homosexual."

Prof. Peterson in Full Self-deprecation Mode Again

DCP "I was rebuked for teaching LDS history"

Wade Has Been Reinstated at MA&D

FARMS's Smear Campaign Against Signature Books

Maklelan: MAD's Version of Mark Hofmann?

MAD's Obiwan: A Recovering "Pornoholic"?

DCP Returns, Worries About PBS Doc

Juliann Makes a Confession

Prof. P Makes Nasty Remark About Church PR

Rommelator Lashes Out at Runtu, Ray A

The About-face Continues: DCP & Co. on "The Mormons

DCP "Busts" Me

What Became of Will Schryver?

Paula Hicken Pisses on K. B. Schofield's Bio of Mormon

Revisting a Classic: The DCP / McCue Smackdown

DCP Publishes Material from this Board---Sans Attribution!

How Much do the GAs Make?

DCP: A New form of Missionary?

The Nehor's Bid to Become a MADmod

Prof. P. Continues to Attack GIMR!!!

Vogel Rips juliann a New One

DCP "Jokes" Yet Again About His Wealth

Bill Hamblin "Outs" CKSalmon

Ray A: A Mormon 'John'?

Ray A: The Gandhi of Internet Mormonism?

Jskains's "Longhaired Weiner"

Prof. P Throws a Feeble Counterpunch

The Many Faces of Ray A

Crocket's Blog: "Mercury is a Deceiver"

The MADmods have Overhauled the Search Feature

Jskains: Prophet of the CoJCoLDS?

DCP: "I hate all non-Mormons"

Bill Hamblin "mislays" Critical Evidence

DCP Comments on the Nature of Doctrine

Jskains Lectures Us on Youtube

DCP Gets Reamed by GoodK

FAIR to TBM Volunteer: "Go screw yourself!"

juliann & DCP Stick it to Yme

Guess Who Else is Guilty of Smearing?

Brant Gardner "Gets off the Pot"

Does Wade Englund Use a Sock Puppet?

juliann is Frothing at the Mouth Yet Again

Stake Pres. Ditches Ethics to Smear Tal B.

Hammer: "God is Smiting the Bible Belt"

Midgley Threatens to "Out" Bachman

More Evidence of a FARMS 'Cabal'

Who is Behind MADB?

Who's Calling the Shots at MAD?

DCP: "Puppetmaster" of MDB?

S. Lloyd: LDS Church is a "Brand Name"

DCP: "RfM is My Laboratory"

Steve Benson Has Returned to RfM

Has Pahoran Lost his Faith?

Joseph Fielding Smith: Two-Faced?

The Many Faces of Daniel C. Peterson

juliann Discusses the "Atrocity Narrative"

DCP Laughs in the Face of Tragedy

S. Lloyd: "Arrington Was a Screw-up"

Did juliann Contribute to an Apostasy?

Does the Church Instill Paranoia in Members?

Church Surveillance

BYU and Polygraph Machines

Is the Church Trying to Muzzle the SL Trib?

Is the LDS Church Vindictive?

What's in the Secret Church Vault?

The SCMC: A Painful Church Secret?

An Orwellian Announcement from Dan_G

Gee's Latest Book of Abraham Piece

More Hypocrisy at MA&D

juliann Distorts Research Yet Again

A ZLMB Classic: Prof. Hamblin Lectures RfM

SHIELDS: The Ugly Stepchild of Mopologetics

K. Shirts Caught Plagiarizing on Sciforums

Coggins7: Why isn't he "Accepted"?

Juliann & Scott Gordon's "blacklds.org"

Poll: Who is the new owner of the board formerly known as FAIR?

Are Hamblin and Schryver the Same Person?

Scott Lloyd Defends Sexual Abuse

Bokovoy: "Tornado Victims Deserved It!"

Did FAIR Bury the "Pundits" Threads?

More Evidence of DCP's Gossipmongering

juliann lobs another water balloon at Beastie

Prof. P: "JWs are 'Dangerous'"

From the Archives: The Burden of Being Gee

DCP Revises His Comments on Quinn's Apostasy

A "Duh!" Moment for Bill Hamblin

How Much Are LDS Apologists Paid?

DCP to Bond: "You are a narcissist"

juliann Lashes Out Against Sis. Beck

Does DCP Require Biased Moderation?

[_harmony]

That post is a red herring, Daniel.

Are you going to address the title of the thread... ie: Novak's rule?

Novak's rules seems like something Pahoran would dream up, or Stan Barker. I don't see Daniel as being so smug as to actually make this assumption.

[_Dr. Shades]

Novak's rules seems like something Pahoran would dream up, or Stan Barker.

Gary Novak came up with it.

[_Daniel Peterson]

Are you going to address the title of the thread... ie: Novak's rule?

What is there for me to address?

If you're wondering whether I actually believe that a person's IQ drops if that person becomes an anti-Mormon, no, I don't.

[_Jason Bourne]

One wonders if Gad has ever heard of sarcastic humor.

[_John Larsen]

Mister Scratch may have curtailed his epistolary activity of late, but Scratchism plainly doesn't lack enthusiastic disciples.

Gadianton Scratch, your post is worthy of the master himself.

I expect he'll be here soon to praise this latest contribution from "Dr. Robbers."

Incidentally, a member of my Creepy Network of Anonymous Informants sent me a list, tonight, of titles of threads that Mister Scratch has started here on this board. I don't know how complete it is nor what order they're in, but I certainly found it interesting to see so many Scratch thread titles -- so many "watershed moments in the history of Mopologetics" -- in one place. Plainly, as you taught us back on 11 July of last year, "Scratch . . . always tries to see the good in people."

Chewbacca Defense

[_EAllusion]

Are you going to address the title of the thread... ie: Novak's rule?

What is there for me to address?

If you're wondering whether I actually believe that a person's IQ drops if that person becomes an anti-Mormon, no, I don't.

Do you believe that people on the one hand define "anti-Mormon" in generic terms meaning something like, "Opposed to the truth claims of the LDS Church" and with the other hand fill the term with all sorts of negative associations usually centering around stupidity and immorality? So when a person complains about being labeled an "anti-Mormon" by them, they resort to their neutral, technical definition and deny any inherently negative meaning. But then they turn around and create an appalling negative connotation with the term in a two-faced move demonstrating that the neutral definition is a facade. Pahoran was the most blatant about doing this I've seen, so I see why his name came up. But there's plenty of others who do it too. Know anyone like that DCP? Gad's just pointing it out. What's your response?

[_Daniel Peterson]

Do you believe that people on the one hand define "anti-Mormon" in generic terms meaning something like, "Opposed to the truth claims of the LDS Church" and with the other hand fill the term with all sorts of negative associations usually centering around stupidity and immorality? So when a person complains about being labeled an "anti-Mormon" by them, they resort to their neutral, technical definition and deny any inherently negative meaning. But then they turn around and create an appalling negative connotation with the term in a two-faced move demonstrating that the neutral definition is a facade. Pahoran was the most blatant about doing this I've seen, so I see why his name came up. But there's plenty of others who do it too. Know anyone like that DCP?

No.

What's your response?

See above.

[_EAllusion]

Someone mentioned on this thread not named Pahoran used to on the one hand define anti-Mormon as one who voices disagreement with the LDS Church. On the other hand, he or she used to compare being anti-Mormon to being anti-semetic. The asinine rhetorical implication of this is that voicing disagreement with the LDS Church is a bigoted activity. 5 points for the person who knows who it was.