Book of Mormon Contradiction: Freedom of Belief

[_RayAgostini]

If there was no law against what he was doing, there was no reason for him to defend himself.

Wait, I know! Maybe the chief judge of the Nephites, who was also a prophet, didn't know what the law was respecting religion, and that's why he exercised subject matter jurisdiction that he didn't have.

There was no law against an expression of disbelief.

[_Darth J]

You feel free to find a thread where I have said I don't believe in a God, though.

Take the MDB stage, my friend, and state what or who you believe God is.

Please be my guest and state your case.

I, Darth, believe in God because......

You fill in the rest.

No, Ray, I am under no obligation to explain to you what I think God is or why I think that. That is irrelevant to your ongoing lie that I am an atheist.

I'm pretty sure I would not be able to observe a lot about God if he was moving past me at 25,000 miles an hour, though.

[_Darth J]

If there was no law against what he was doing, there was no reason for him to defend himself.

Wait, I know! Maybe the chief judge of the Nephites, who was also a prophet, didn't know what the law was respecting religion, and that's why he exercised subject matter jurisdiction that he didn't have.

There was no law against an expression of disbelief.

So there was no reason for the chief judge to force this character to explain himself, which is what the story rests on.

[_RayAgostini]

No, Ray, I am under no obligation to explain to you what I think God is or why I think that. That is irrelevant to your ongoing lie that I am an atheist.

Defend yourself. I'm all ears.

Who is God?

[_RayAgostini]

So there was no reason for the chief judge to force this character to explain himself, which is what the story rests on.

The Nephites were more tolerant than Australians.

Australia's Constitution (Section 116) prohibits Australia from having a state religion, and the Crown has rarely acted to protect religion. The Crown has not prosecuted anyone for blasphemy since 1919. In some jurisdictions, such as Tasmania, Queensland, and Victoria, someone who is offended by someone else's attitude toward religion or toward one religion can seek redress under legislation which prohibits hate speech.

Blasphemy law in Australia

It is unknown whether blasphemy is a crime in Victoria where it might yet exist under common law.

The Crown last laid a charge of blasphemous libel in 1919. The case concerned socialist journalist Robert Samuel Ross, who had published a satirical piece in which Bolsheviks ransack heaven. The prosecutor dropped the charge but proceeded on a charge of sending blasphemous materials through the mail. The Court convicted Ross, and sentenced him to six months of hard labour.[2]

A person who is aggrieved because someone is engaging in conduct that incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of him on the ground of his religious belief or activity can seek redress under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001.

The Nephites never imprisoned Korihor.

[Guest]

No, Ray, I am under no obligation to explain to you what I think God is or why I think that. That is irrelevant to your ongoing lie that I am an atheist.

Defend yourself. I'm all ears.

Who is God?

Nope. I have no obligation to do so. I believe in a God of some kind. I have been saying that on this board for two years. That's sufficient. I do not have the burden of disproving your knowingly lying about my supposed atheist zealotry or anti-God agenda or whatever stupid BS you type out when you forget to take your lithium.

[_Darth J]

Australian law is irrelevant, Ray. Whether or not the Australians or the Saudis or the Martians would have been less tolerant is irrelevant. Alma 30 makes an unequivocal statement that the Nephites had no legal recourse against someone who did not believe in God. The only thing that matters for the story is what law the Nephites had. The scenario for the Korihor story requires the Book of Mormon to contradict itself.

(To viewers: I know that discussing Nephite law is about as meaningful as discussing Klingon law, but we're staying in-universe for the sake of discussion.)

[_RayAgostini]

I believe in a God of some kind.

An undefinable kind? Does he/she approve of your campaign to continuously crap on Mormons?

When you finish with Mormons, will you take on the New Testament, and the existence of Jesus, and the myth of the Gospels and all that?

[_RayAgostini]

The scenario for the Korihor story requires the Book of Mormon to contradict itself.

There is no contradiction. Korihor was allowed to express his views.

(To viewers: I know that discussing Nephite law is about as meaningful as discussing Klingon law, but we're staying in-universe for the sake of discussion.)

I know that. You think it's all fantasy. No new insight into you in that regard.

[_Darth J]

The scenario for the Korihor story requires the Book of Mormon to contradict itself.

There is no contradiction. Korihor was allowed to express his views.

No, he wasn't "allowed" to express his views. He was arrested and put on trial for expressing his view. In any legal system, being detained and brought before a judge to defend yourself is being put on trial.

You think it's all fantasy. No new insight into you in that regard.

Okay, then draw me a map to Zarahemla.

I believe in a God of some kind.

An undefinable kind? Does he/she approve of your campaign to continuously crap on Mormons?

When you finish with Mormons, will you take on the New Testament, and the existence of Jesus, and the myth of the Gospels and all that?

It doesn't matter what kind of God. Belief in any God at all makes a person not an atheist by definition. Mormonism is a lie, Ray. The LDS Church is a modern corporate reboot of Joseph Smith's frontier tall tales. I'm not crapping on Mormonism anymore than the U.S. Department of Justice crap on Bernie Madoff.

This is what you do every single time you get caught making things up and proffering specious evidence. You try to change the subject. Mormonism is a fraud, Ray. The LDS Church is the largest perpetrator of that fraud. There is no credible evidence that space aliens have been to our planet. There is no Santa Claus. Water does not retain the memory of things that have been soaked in it. You can't get rich investing in international postal reply coupons or tulip bulbs. Elvis is dead. And you're lying about me being an atheist, you know you're lying, and you're doing it to distract from things you don't like being said about your fatuous superstitions.

Deal with it, or get some stronger medication to control your mood swings.