Is Robert Boylan Attempting to Profit from Apologetics?

[Tom]

I hope Brother Pittman gets a 50% cut.

[Symmachus]

Vox nostra? Since when has Mormonism had any interest or connection with any strand of Latin Christianity?

I think "Causa Nostra" would work better anyway.

[Dr Moore]

My dear cacheman:

Would you kindly supply us with a link to this new site?

https://ourvoice.blog/tag/dan-peterson/

What a hysterical irony that one of Dan Peterson's first posts on this new blog site bears the title "Keeping Promises."

https://ourvoice.blog/alcohol-chocolate ... ye-of-god/

I half expected there to be some re-commitment on Dr. Peterson's part, to edit out offending mean-talk at Sic et Non, to make Dan whole on our agreement. But no, just a supremely ironic poem containing this refrain:

He kept his promises, and so should you.

So, Dan, how about practicing what you preach? Or would you prefer history retain a documented instance of you eagerly taking money in return for a promise you failed to keep?

[Rivendale]

Vox nostra? Since when has Mormonism had any interest or connection with any strand of Latin Christianity?

I think "Causa Nostra" would work better anyway.

When I first read it I thought it was Dr. Van Nostrand & H.E. Pennypacker.

[Kishkumen]

Vox nostra? Since when has Mormonism had any interest or connection with any strand of Latin Christianity?

I think "Causa Nostra" would work better anyway.

LOL. Very close to Cosa nostra.

[Kishkumen]

BYU could have become a place for epigraphers, papyrologists, linguists, numismatists, and textual critics in all kinds of areas. I mention these subfields for two reasons: 1) they don't directly implicate traditionalist Mormon claims at all and so aren't much of a threat to apologetics and 2) they are as close as you get to "hard sciences" in the so-called humanities. FARMS could have done some real "ancient research" had it not emphasized the "Mormon studies" exclusively, and the Maxwell Institute could have become a springboard for some really great scholarship and a stepping stone for some very talented scholars, giving them a chance to perfect their craft, teach a few classes, and build up a CV, all while raising BYU's respectability without threatening traditionalist claims. There was a rich vein or opportunity there, and probably not much more money than went into "Witnesses" could have funded this, and I think this would have done these fields a great service, because so few places even teach their PhDs this material anymore, or even can. In their hiring choices over the past two decades, the retiring baby boomers across the country have left behind them an incentive structure that rewards scholarship of little long-term value.

The lost opportunity here really burns, but most of the LDS people who have the money to invest in things really don't give a fig about actual ancient history, unfortunately. They care about supporting LDS claims using antiquity as a tool to that end. Those priorities come from the LDS Church itself, sadly. Consider that Joseph Smith's revelations about the past were taken onboard by FARMS scholars as tools for understanding antiquity. To me that is an astounding fact, but it is so.

It is really unfortunate that Nibley inspired so many people to study antiquity, but at the same time most LDS people got the message that antiquity was only useful inasmuch as it supported LDS claims.

I don't want to exaggerate, however. It is true that there were legitimate initiatives to facilitate the study of the past that came out of all of this. METI and CPART, for example, have made real contributions to the study of the past. There could have been so much more of this kind of thing, but that these achievements exist is noteworthy and deserving of praise.

[Bond]

I'm certain that Patreon's creators were inspired by Clay Davis of The Wire. You throw enough hooks into the sea and see what you hook sometimes. At least he had the cajones to create a patreon page. I'm sure he giggled when he created those higher tiers. Thought it was the funniest damn thing in the world. Probably giggled about it in bed that night. Probably still chuckles about it once a week or so. Joel Osteen probably is the same way or Creflo Dollar when they get their monthlies. All in the game right?

"You think I have time to ask a man why he giving me money? Or where he gets his money from? I'll take any motherf***er's money if he giving it away!"

[Doctor Scratch]

My dear cacheman:

Would you kindly supply us with a link to this new site?

https://ourvoice.blog/tag/dan-peterson/

Thank you, cacheman. This is very interesting—it may merit its own thread, in fact. To be honest, I’m very skeptical of this endeavor. I say that because I think that DCP desperately craves the feedback of an audience, and this new platform doesn’t appear to allow comments. I hope he abandons his corporate Mormon overloads at Patheos ASAP so that we can see how the new venture unfolds.

[Gadianton]

he will find a way to remind you that he is merely but kindly perching down from some other, loftier space to play it, as the situation demands. When you try to catch a glimpse of that loftier space, he switches roles and perches on another one, just out of view.

One of the most accurate assessments I've ever read.

[DrStakhanovite]

What other factors are there that would make this group unusual or unique from an organizational behavior perspective?

I don’t think they are all that unique in the big picture, you could probably find corollaries with people in other communities and/or contexts without much effort. I know I can paint a bleak picture, but Mopologists can be affable and kind in their own fashion.

Are you still up on the Hebrew?

Oof, straight to my weakness. My semi-realistic goal is to be able to sight read without referencing lexical aids or grammars, but I’ve never been close to that and struggle to break plateaus in my ability. My very-unrealistic goal is to complete a Daf Yomi cycle.

But yeah, hit me up and we can collab.

I for one hope that Mr. Boylan, once his marketing skills improve, makes a nice profit from his work. Maybe I will even read it one day. I support his efforts not only because the oligarchs who lord over academia push their vast underclass to scrounge for a buck (or Euro) in whatever way they can; it is also because I cannot see in principle what is wrong with trading one's knowledge and skills for money.

Exactly, teaching six sections of a critical thinking class across two separate campuses and still qualifying for food stamps is no way to live. Spinoza had it right, grind glass during the day and then grind that scholarship at night; just don’t inhale and don’t open the door when Leibnitz comes knocking.

https://ourvoice.blog/tag/dan-peterson/

This is like someone taking their posts here at DM and putting them behind a paywall.