I don't know if you realized it, but today--June 14th--marks the 10th anniversary of the day that Daniel C. Peterson resigned as editor of the FARMS Review, effectively bringing an end to the Mopologists' "reign of terror" at BYU's Maxwell Institute. As Dr. Peterson recently noted himself, some "things simply must not be forgotten," and surely this is one of those things. It was without a doubt one of the most monumental happenings in the history of Mopologetics, and its reverberations can still be felt to this day. The thread I linked to is well worth reading again--or for the first time, for those who are unfamiliar with this particular nugget of history. But I felt it would be worthwhile to take a bit of a trip down Memory Lane....
--For one thing, it's interesting that DCP very clearly *resigned* as Editor: it says so plain as day, and in his own words, and yet this was quickly spin-doctored into him "getting fired" by the late M. Gerald Bradford. (The campaign to paint Bradford as a "villain" in all of this began immediately and didn't let up even after Bradford passed away.)
--It is still remarkable how much of Dr. Peterson's email makes mention of money--of his fundraising efforts, his editorial fees, and so on. For someone who doesn't "make one dime" from apologetics, this email sure sends a different message.
--Within months of this "shake-up," the Mopologists had already launched Mormon Interpreter with the help of (of all people) David Bokovoy, over a meal at the Olive Garden. Bokovoy is seldom given the credit he deserves for helping them out of the hole they'd dug themselves into.
--In the original thread, Kevin Graham posed quite an intriguing question:
That's a great question, and it still applies to this day with Interpreter. Nowadays, it seems the efforts are being directed more towards things like the "Witnesses" film and its sequel, but you have to wonder what transpired during these "fundraising" meetings.Kevin Graham wrote:Dan has served as an apologetic lobbyist who goes around targeting wealthy Mormons, trying to cull wealth from them so he can continue to produce these nonscholarly hit pieces. There is no honor is that responsibility, and in fact I think it would be quite interesting to know what it is exactly Dan is telling these people to convince them to hand over to him their money.
--Last but certainly not least: I know that Dr. Peterson is fond of re-using (over and over and over and over and over again) a quote from Bond...James Bond that predicted that Interpreter would be nothing but "blog-style posts" within a year or so of its launch. (My response, when has it ever been anything *but* a blog?) It turns out that Mr. Bond was quite prescient in another respect:
LOL! Indeed, Mr. Bond. Indeed.Bond...James Bond wrote:On the bright side Dr. Peterson will have more time to travel and blog.
In any case, friends and colleagues, I hope you are all enjoying this fine week in June, and that you take a moment or two to reflect on the anniversary of this momentous occasion.