mentalgymnast wrote: ↑Sat Aug 15, 2020 4:32 pm
On the other hand, if I was to see overwhelmingly convincing evidence that LDS truth claims were bogus I would leave my personal biases behind and become agnostic towards Mormonism.
This is exactly how confirmation bias works. You approach evidence that contradicts your current belief with the question, "MUST I believe this?" while evidence that supports your current belief is filtered through the question, "CAN I believe this?"
The thing you should have learned is it is nearly impossible to accomplish overwhelming that bias with evidence because we are very, very good at finding ways to call the evidence into question so we don't feel like we are obligated to accept the evidence as overturning our prior held belief.
You just acknowledged you aren't engaging with evidence to find truth.
So let's work on that. Let's list out a few statements regarding the foundations of Mormonism. Then, I'd like to ask that you assign the probability of that statement being justified belief as supported by evidence(being true if you like). Let's keep it simple using the following scale:
0% - This is proven wrong to such a high degree of confidence it's impossible for new evidence to come that could overcome that level of confidence it is a false statement.
10% - Highly confident it's a false statement such that it's impossible to see how it could be a justified belief, but theoretically evidence could turn up proves it is, in fact, justified to believe.
25% - Confident it's a false statement but evidence could turn up proves it is, in fact, justified to belief.
50% - Not confidence that it is justified to believe it or disbelieve it.
75% - Confident it's justified to believe the statement but evidence could turn up proves it is, in fact, a false statement.
90% - Highly confident it's justified to believe the statement such that it's impossible to see how it could be a false statement but theoretically evidence could turn up proves it is, in fact, false.
100% - This is proven true to such a high degree of confidence it's impossible for new evidence to come that could overcome that level of confidence it is a true statement.
Here are the statements. Don't bother with evidnec for or against just yet. Focus on the probability it's justified to believe the statement as provided. I'll share mine as well.
1. Joseph Smith had sexual relations with women other than Emma Smith while being married to Emma Smith.
2. Joseph Smith hid having extramarital consensual sexual activity from Emma Smith at least some of the time he was engaging in having sex with women other than Emma Smith.
3. No known historic population of Native Americans matches the description of the Nephites as given in the Book of Mormon, statements from Joseph Smith, and taught by the LDS church over the pulpit.
4. No historic population of Native Americans, known or unknown to modern archeology, matches the description of the Nephites as given in the Book of Mormon, statements from Joseph Smith, and taught by the LDS church over the pulpit.
5. The facsimiles in the Book of Abraham show an attempt to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics that does not match the translation of EH discovered and published after Church's release of the Book of Abraham.
6. There is an active intelligent force to whom responsibility for the existence of the Universe as we observe it could be assigned.
7. There is a God who literally fathered the spirits of every person who has or will live on the Earth, and humankind is a physical embodiment of the form of God as a tabernacle for a spirit child of God created in His image.
8. God loves us.
9. The figure known as Jesus Christ is literally the offspring of God in that a human woman gave birth to Jesus while his father in the biological sense was God.
10. The stories about Jesus contained in the New Testament are largely historically accurate and can be trusted in their broad strokes even if the details may be misrepresented.
11. Jesus died and was resurrected from the dead.
12. The culture of Mormonism is a good environmental in which to raise a family.
13. The authority to act on God's behalf on Earth is gendered for purposes that are according to Gods plan, and for the good of His children.
14. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ after praying to ask which church he should join.
.......
My answers:
1. 90%
2. 90%
3. 90%
4. 75%
5. 90%
6. 50%
7. 10%
8. 50%
9. 10%
10. 25%
11. 10%
12. 25%
13. 0%
14. 10%
