The Mormon Apologist's Modus Operandi

[_Calculus Crusader]

How many Nephite coins did you discover? Will you post pics of the Nephite arms and armor you brought back?

How many independent testimonies do we have that Jesus actually performed miracles? I know that we have the Bible but do we have any other evidence from the residents at the time of Christ? No I don't think so. And so, why do people believe? Because they have faith.

You are comparing apples and oranges. Real civilizations leave artifacts; no testimonies are required. I don't need to have faith that Jews existed in first century Palestine because there is plenty of evidence that they existed.

[_Droopy]

Doctor CamNC4Me.

What next? Scratch has more sockpuppets than I have socks.

I wonder what this individual's real agenda is, and why he (she) continues to pursue it.

Move along, nothing to see here.

[_Droopy]

You are comparing apples and oranges. Real civilizations leave artifacts; no testimonies are required. I don't need to have faith that Jews existed in first century Palestine because there is plenty of evidence that they existed.

Yes, they do. Like Ebla, which had been around for many, many centuries, but was only discovered in the seventies.

Or Troy.

The overwhelming majority of known Mesoamerican archaeological sites have never been excavated, and Mesoamerican archeology is still a very young subject area. We really have no idea what the future will bring.

We do know, however, that witless bigots, unperturbed by their own intellectual vacuity or disingenuous, angry posturing, will always be among us, and will always have something to say that has no intellectual or ethical value.

Move along, nothing to see here.

[_bcspace]

a) Attack the critic and his/her sources in order to change the subject of discussion away from the topic and onto the critic or the critic's sources.

b) Use victimology once the attacks are returned. This is pretty clever in that the focus shifts now to the poor apologist and away from the substance of the debate. This is, without a doubt, a particular apologist's sublime ability.

c) If a point is too well documented to reject then just say, "So what. It was never a big deal to begin with." This one reminds me of a particularly inane apologist that I shall decline to name.

d) Claim victory regardless. If you tell a big enough lie often enough then your begin to convince the masses you have a point. No one has the time to perpetually poor over hundreds of pages of debate, and a believer will tend to take an apologist's word at face value rather than doing the research.

e) Run away. Once the apologist "wins" or "gets bored" he will leave for a period. I think we all know who practices this one on occasion.

f) At the end of the day bear one's testimony. This moves the discussion to an emotive based discussion and everything becomes relative. Rationality is no longer a basis upon which "truth" can be ascertained.

Feel free to add anything I may haver left out.

Sure....

g) I think you'd be hard pressed to find a single instance of me doing any of those things except bear testimony and that never to distract from the issue at hand.

[_Calculus Crusader]

You are comparing apples and oranges. Real civilizations leave artifacts; no testimonies are required. I don't need to have faith that Jews existed in first century Palestine because there is plenty of evidence that they existed.

Yes, they do. Like Ebla, which had been around for many, many centuries, but was only discovered in the seventies.

Or Troy.

The overwhelming majority of known Mesoamerican archaeological sites have never been excavated, and Mesoamerican archeology is still a very young subject area. We really have no idea what the future will bring.

We do know, however, that witless bigots, unperturbed by their own intellectual vacuity or disingenuous, angry posturing, will always be among us, and will always have something to say that has no intellectual or ethical value.

Move along, nothing to see here.

Shorter Droopy:

Puh-lease don't take away my Mormon delusions. They're all I have left.

This is typically stupid Mormon apologia. The fact of the matter is that Old World archaeology is only 2-3 centuries old but Mormon apologists like to pretend that it has existed for millennia.

So sorry, Dopey, but if the civilizations described in the Book of Mormon had existed then they would have been discovered by now. Instead, everything unearthed discredits your fraudulent religion.

[_Droopy]

This is the kind of argument a not particularly bright 15 year old would make, not an intellectually mature adult.

I think perhaps sometimes my expectations are still too high for this place.

I'll have to work on that.

[_Calculus Crusader]

This is the kind of argument a 15 year old adolescent would make, not an intellectually mature adult.

I think perhaps sometimes my expectations are still too high for this place.

I'll have to work on that.

Fifteen year old adolescent? That's about the age the founder of your religion was when he started duping people.

[Guest]

56ryt

[_Droopy]

The neat thing about CC is the deep, well articulated, finely honed and keenly lucid analysis he brings to any discussion of Mormonism. It leads me to believe that CC is a very level headed guy.

Straight back from the eyebrows.

[_Droopy]

And I mean it too.

I really do.