Midgley Announces an Essay on “the silly and disgusting things” that BYU Admin Did to John Gee

[Gadianton]

Other than his PhD is Misanthropic Misology, what would be Midgley's unique qualifications for reviewing the book?

You mean reviewing a book on family science written why an Egyptologist and right-wing ideologue?

He's also a right-wing ideologue and so he's in a unique position to support it.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

I wonder how harshly Midgley is going to criticize the BYU Religious Studies Center for halting publication of ‘Saving Faith’ because of Gee’s troubling and false statements about homosexuality and child sexual abuse? Or, Deseret Book for not selling 'Saving Faith?'

I will bet $10 that Midgley's review will somehow try to blame Gina Colvin.

[Tom]

I hope that Dr. Midgley uses his review essay to criticize the “new direction” Maxwell Institute and those who were involved in the 2012 coup and to highlight the severe “scolding” that Elder Holland delivered to the Institute in 2018. I assume he’ll criticize Jana Riess.

I will award bonus points to Dr. Midgley if he mentions any of the following: Fawn Brodie, Thomas Jefferson, Marjorie Newton, D. Michael Quinn, Marvin Hill, Dialogue, Sunstone, the New Mormon History, remembrance in the Book of Mormon, “no middle ground,” his decision in 1980 to become a full time defender of the faith, apologetics, Peter Novick, his showdown with Stephen Crary at Brown, becoming a Saint, Grant Palmer, Signature Books, Gina Colvin, his love for the Maori, his missions to New Zealand, the boy he sucker punched in junior high, anti-Mormon ministries, the acids of modernity, Martin Marty, Hugh Nibley, Sterling McMurrin, or secular humanism.

Additional bonus points if his review is at least 20 pages long, if he uses the words bizarre or insist, or if he claims that he coined the term cultural Mormonism.

[Marcus]

I hope that Dr. Midgley uses his review essay to criticize the “new direction” Maxwell Institute and those who were involved in the 2012 coup and to highlight the severe “scolding” that Elder Holland delivered to the Institute in 2018. I assume he’ll criticize Jana Riess.

I will award bonus points to Dr. Midgley if he mentions any of the following: Fawn Brodie, Thomas Jefferson, Marjorie Newton, D. Michael Quinn, Marvin Hill, Dialogue, Sunstone, the New Mormon History, remembrance in the Book of Mormon, “no middle ground,” his decision in 1980 to become a full time defender of the faith, apologetics, Peter Novick, his showdown with Stephen Crary at Brown, becoming a Saint, Grant Palmer, Signature Books, Gina Colvin, his love for the Maori, his missions to New Zealand, the boy he sucker punched in junior high, anti-Mormon ministries, the acids of modernity, Martin Marty, Hugh Nibley, Sterling McMurrin, or secular humanism.

Additional bonus points if his review is at least 20 pages long, if he uses the words bizarre or insist, or if he claims that he coined the term cultural Mormonism.

And extra credit for saying "went up the stack" in conjunction with his very favorite death camp, noting Gina Colvin has no local congregation with which to worship, or that the Nuns who tried very hard to inculcate gemli in the religion of his youth failed miserably because he has never once read a book nor listened to Peterson.

If he adds in the phrase "can't spit or swallow" or "went missing" for any post-Mormon, we have a Bingo.

[dastardly stem]

From this review of Gee's book.

the book sometimes makes simplistic conclusions about complicated issues. He argues many times that secularization is merely a narrative told and retold by social scientists who are themselves agnostics or atheists, and that they persist in this untrue narrative because it legitimates their own irreligion. He asserts early in the book that secularization theory is “promoted by social scientists, 61% of whom describe themselves as atheists.” Considering that only 4% of Americans identify as atheists, that 61% figure seemed highly improbable, so I read the original study he cites in the book — which he has substantially misinterpreted.

I like it. "Since studies are conducted by people who don't share faith, quite often, I'm just gonna assume any scholarship is all wrong and am run with my own assumptions."

Sounds like a book worth publishing to me.

[Kishkumen]

There are plenty of books out there that tell people what they want to read without paying much regard to facts or truth. An Egyptologist with extreme, fundamentalist views is unlikely to publish a ground-breaking or even worthwhile book on the state of the family, gender, etc. It is not impossible, of course, but I still think highly unlikely. The reviews suggest that Gee did not succeed in writing a worthwhile book. That leads me to suppose that BYU was right to pull it. I don't see anything silly or disgusting about that.

[Dr. Shades]

I don't see anything silly or disgusting about that.

Clearly, you’re forgetting the rule: Any concept at variance with one or more of Lou Midgley’s opinions is ipso facto silly and disgusting.

I will expect better from you from now on.

[Tom]

I hope that Dr. Midgley uses his review essay to criticize the “new direction” Maxwell Institute and those who were involved in the 2012 coup and to highlight the severe “scolding” that Elder Holland delivered to the Institute in 2018. I assume he’ll criticize Jana Riess.

I will award bonus points to Dr. Midgley if he mentions any of the following: Fawn Brodie, Thomas Jefferson, Marjorie Newton, D. Michael Quinn, Marvin Hill, Dialogue, Sunstone, the New Mormon History, remembrance in the Book of Mormon, “no middle ground,” his decision in 1980 to become a full time defender of the faith, apologetics, Peter Novick, his showdown with Stephen Crary at Brown, becoming a Saint, Grant Palmer, Signature Books, Gina Colvin, his love for the Maori, his missions to New Zealand, the boy he sucker punched in junior high, anti-Mormon ministries, the acids of modernity, Martin Marty, Hugh Nibley, Sterling McMurrin, or secular humanism.

Additional bonus points if his review is at least 20 pages long, if he uses the words bizarre or insist, or if he claims that he coined the term cultural Mormonism.

And extra credit for saying "went up the stack" in conjunction with his very favorite death camp, noting Gina Colvin has no local congregation with which to worship, or that the Nuns who tried very hard to inculcate gemli in the religion of his youth failed miserably because he has never once read a book nor listened to Peterson.

If he adds in the phrase "can't spit or swallow" or "went missing" for any post-Mormon, we have a Bingo.

[Gadianton]

And extra credit for saying "went up the stack" in conjunction with his very favorite death camp, noting Gina Colvin has no local congregation with which to worship, or that the Nuns who tried very hard to inculcate gemli in the religion of his youth failed miserably because he has never once read a book nor listened to Peterson.

If he adds in the phrase "can't spit or swallow" or "went missing" for any post-Mormon, we have a Bingo.

the memories -- I've forgotten so much.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

I don't see anything silly or disgusting about that.

Clearly, you’re forgetting the rule: Any concept at variance with one or more of Lou Midgley’s opinions is ipso facto silly and disgusting.

I will expect better from you from now on.

Dr. Shades, I hope you can use his review in your upcoming biography, 'Louis C. Midgley: The Salt Lake Strangler.'

Does Midgley know that you are planning on writing his biography? If so, has he inundated you with hate mail?