Mopologetics and the Need for "Token" Gentile Scholars

[_Jason Bourne]

I think given this incident and others like it, that there grew to be some mutual dissatisfaction, even though I would still call the relationship friendly.

Oh hardly at all. There is no dissatisfaction. Waltz is also still a regular on MADB.

[_Daniel Peterson]

... in my opinion, the FARMS Review is currently the best and most scholarly journal in all of Mormondom.
...

In this sentence we can find the hidden evaluation of all others.

That's true. Just as saying that Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on earth says something about all other earthly mountains. Just as the fact that Microsoft is the biggest software company entails that all other software companies are smaller. Just as giving the Oscar to Slumdog Millionaire as best picture of 2008 entails not giving that Oscar to any of the other 2008 films.

So?



.

[_John Larsen]

...
in my opinion, the FARMS Review is currently the best and most scholarly journal in all of Mormondom.
...

In this sentence we can find the hidden evaluation of all others.

Kind of like saying, "Mr. Jones is the most scholarly of all Loc Ness monster researchers."

[_Daniel Peterson]

Kind of like saying, "Mr. Jones is the most scholarly of all Loc[h] Ness monster researchers."

Logically, yes. Same structure.

Kind of like saying "John Larsen is the most incisive and substantive of all critics of Mormonism."

[_John Larsen]

Kind of like saying, "Mr. Jones is the most scholarly of all Loc[h] Ness monster researchers."

Logically, yes. Same structure.

Kind of like saying "John Larsen is the most incisive and substantive of all critics of Mormonism."

Touché

[_Dr. Shades]

Also, I wonder if there are other "gentile" scholars I am overlooking---i.e., people who have been befriended by the apologists in an effort to bring more credibility to FARMS.

The answer is yes.

Remember Owen & Mosser? When their article "Evangelicals: Losing the Battle and Not Even Knowing It?" came out, the orgiastic love-fest erupted.

[_Gadianton]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for replying with some substance, rather than just cruel personal attacks.

Watlz is a gentleman and is respected as one by LDS who know him. He also spent many years studying Mormonism and had thousands of books on Mormonism. I believe he was brought up a Jehovah's Witness in his early year. In his studies he came to a point where for him it was either Catholicism or Mormonism.

He is a good guy. I also think we should add "or B'hai" here, though.

I think his pick for Catholicisms was more based on his view that an apostasy was not able to be substantiated.

Why does it need to be substantiated? All he has to do is read and pray.

He defends Mormonism in a well thought out rational way. He is objective. He is often criticized by EV types for being a fake Catholic and too much of a Mormon sympathizer.

Well, yes, hence why I brought him up, it's very interesting.

He will defend Catholicism and no Mormon that interacts with him that I have seen ever throws him under the bus when his views diverge from Mormonism. The reason I have already noted. He is a gentleman.

Yes he is, and I have complimented him on that before.

And unlike the phony characterization Scratch and Gad spin here most LDS apologists are gentlemen (and women) as well. They are quite fine with a person like David Waltz who may be friendly by certainly is not LDS.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. The LDS apologists, in their capacity of apologists, are not typically gentlemen.

You should study David's behavior, and emulate it

The apologists should do this no doubt, it would save them a lot of embarrassment.

[_Gadianton]

when is the last time the Review has solicited material from him?

Can't remember. We've had something like 200 different reviewers; I don't always get back to all of them.

Certainly. This is how the weeding out process typically goes. I've had plenty of potential employers "not get back to me" in the past, like David here, for whatever reasons, I didn't appear to make the cut.

[_Daniel Peterson]

Nothing could be farther from the truth. The LDS apologists, in their capacity of apologists, are not typically gentlemen.

I've never known Stephen Ricks, Noel Reynolds, Davis Bitton, Kevin Barney, John Welch, Matthew Roper, David Paulsen, James Allen, Duane Boyce, Michael Jibson, George Mitton, Gregory Smith, John Clark, Richard Lloyd Anderson, Mel Thorne, Donald Parry, John Butler, Hollis Johnson, or Brant Gardiner to be anything other than a gentleman.

Can't remember. We've had something like 200 different reviewers; I don't always get back to all of them.

Certainly. This is how the weeding out process typically goes. I've had plenty of potential employers "not get back to me" in the past, like David here, for whatever reasons, I didn't appear to make the cut.

There's really no point in trying to converse with you, is there? True to Scratchist dogma, you can never accept my statements as honest. They've always got to be disingenuous, deceptive, concealing something. So why bother?

[_ludwigm]

[ quote="ludwigm"]
[ quote="Enuma Elish"]... in my opinion, the FARMS Review is currently the best and most scholarly journal in all of Mormondom. ...[ /quote]
In this sentence we can find the hidden evaluation of all others.[ /quote]

That's true. Just as saying that Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on earth says something about all other earthly mountains. Just as the fact that Microsoft is the biggest software company entails that all other software companies are smaller. Just as giving the Oscar to Slumdog Millionaire as best picture of 2008 entails not giving that Oscar to any of the other 2008 films.
So?

I think You misunderstand something, due to my poor english.

My I present a real example about other mountains?

The Kékes is the tallest mountain of Hungary. This says something about our mountains.
The Kékes is 1024 m high. Our "mountains" are hills, compared to the 4000s of Europe or to the 8000s of the Himalaya.
Our "highest mountain" is only a hill, too. It is our, we like it, we like the smaller ones, there are many beautiful area around them. But they are desperately small.
And we call them mountains.

And the FARMS Review is the best and most scholarly journal in all of Mormondom.
(see more: provincial, countrified, limited, narrow-minded, parochial, small-town)