Mormon apologists are necessarily cranks

[_Patriarchal gripe]

Who said anything about payrolls? Oh, right, it was you.

So, Chip, by "professional apologist such as those published by the Maxwell Institute," you meant to refer to unpaid apologists?

Sort of like the unpaid professional athletes who work for the NFL, the NBA, the American League, and the National League? Rather like professional amateur golfers and professional amateur race car drivers?

Chip, is English (or any other form of human speech) your native language?

Perhaps, now that I think about it, that would account for the low-substance character of your posts here.

So by unpaid apologists, you sort of mean unpaid, like, say, unpaid clergy? Like our General Authorities are unpaid? Because that would be priestcraft, according to the Book of Mormon?

[_Daniel Peterson]

So by unpaid apologists, you sort of mean unpaid, like, say, unpaid clergy? Like our General Authorities are unpaid? Because that would be priestcraft, according to the Book of Mormon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring

[_Some Schmo]

Man, it's entertaining to watch DCP be obtuse and pretend it's the other guy who has issues with the English language.

This is what passes for a "doctor" these days, I guess. Pretty funny.

[_Buffalo]

Who said anything about payrolls? Oh, right, it was you.

So, Chip, by "professional apologist such as those published by the Maxwell Institute," you meant to refer to unpaid apologists?

Sort of like the unpaid professional athletes who work for the NFL, the NBA, the American League, and the National League? Rather like professional amateur golfers and professional amateur race car drivers?

Chip, is English (or any other form of human speech) your native language?

Perhaps, now that I think about it, that would account for the low-substance character of your posts here.

Just as with the "Insider's View" issue, Peterson loves to pretend as if there is only one definition for every word, and the definition he chooses just so happens to be the one that best serves his needs. And, as with the "Insider's View," the points he chooses to rebut are either strawmen as in this case, or the ones on the periphery. Instead of refuting Palmer's thesis, he instead focuses on the title of his book. Instead of refuting me, Peterson focuses on on definition of the word "professional," as if that is a relevant issue here.

These sorts of dishonest tactics that Dr. Peterson likes to employ are very typical of cranks.

[_Patriarchal gripe]

Who said anything about payrolls? Oh, right, it was you.

So, Chip, by "professional apologist such as those published by the Maxwell Institute," you meant to refer to unpaid apologists?

Sort of like the unpaid professional athletes who work for the NFL, the NBA, the American League, and the National League? Rather like professional amateur golfers and professional amateur race car drivers?

Chip, is English (or any other form of human speech) your native language?

Perhaps, now that I think about it, that would account for the low-substance character of your posts here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring

Read it yourself...

[_stemelbow]

Throw out the pejoratives all ya like. Its cute to watch for me. I'll avoid employing the obvious pejoratives so many here tend to be though. Just don't feel like playing along, I suppose.

[_Buffalo]

Throw out the pejoratives all ya like. Its cute to watch for me. I'll avoid employing the obvious pejoratives so many here tend to be though. Just don't feel like playing along, I suppose.

The politer term for crank is apologist. They're really synonymous. I've long felt that, although you irrationally cling to fringe theories, you're a gentleman crank and a much nicer person than I am. For whatever that's worth.

[_stemelbow]

The politer term for crank is apologist. They're really synonymous. I've long felt that, although you irrationally cling to fringe theories, you're a gentleman crank and a much nicer person than I am. For whatever that's worth.

Its worth a lot. It warms my heart. But i don't think I'm all that nice.

[_DrW]

There can really be no disputing the fact that, in the vast majority of cases (especially when defending the indefensible as they are wont to do), Mormon apologists are also cranks. (This is pretty much by definition.)

So, instead of claiming that "crank" is an unfair pejorative term, perhaps apologists should own it, just as we own the pejorative term "apostate".

[_Daniel Peterson]

The politer term for crank is apologist. They're really synonymous.

And thus, with one magisterial semantic gesture, such writers as Thomas Aquinas, Peter Kreeft, Justin Martyr, William Lane Craig, Origen, Maimonides, C. S. Lewis, Irenaeus, Keith Ward, Josephus, al-Ghazali, G. K. Chesterton, Alvin Plantinga, Plato, and Richard Swinburne are summarily dismissed.

This place is absolutely chock full of deep thinkers like Chip! ("Pretty much by definition," as the preeminently great DrW explains.)

It certainly makes one want to continue to engage them in conversation.