The Dude wrote:(Maklelan- while you're here, may I make a suggestion. It would help if you use an avatar on the MAD board because I sometimes confuse you with "Mordecai" and I don't think you want that. At least, I wouldn't want to be confused with "Mordecai".)
Oh really? Have you seen any LDS apologists criticize David Stewart's pseudoscientific defense of conventional Hemispheric Geography?
I haven’t. But then again, I haven’t bothered to read David Stewart’s comments. No offense, but I have little to no interest in Book of Mormon geography and/or DNA issues.
I have, however, posted critical comments of observations connecting the Book of Mormon with Israelite traditions made by the BYU Dean of the Religion department, Kent Brown.
It’s all-good, though, since Dr. Brown rejected two of my articles for publication, so it appears that he and I just don’t see eye to eye.
Could it be that you just do not have anything to contribute?
And crawling on the planet's face Some insects called the human race Lost in time And lost in space...and meaning
Could it be that you just do not have anything to contribute?
I really don't. I couldn't care less about geography and/or DNA.
The Dude,
Rather than try to take down this theory, I would bolster it with my most sincere cheerleading.
Of course your attempt to find Book of Mormonlike Hebraisms and ancient cultural descriptions in Tolkien would no doubt prove rewarding. The man was, after all, not only a linguist, but a specialist in ancient mythology.
VegasRefugee wrote:...would they notice? I'm talking about articles justifying Mormon doctrines, church policies, etc. Has this been done before? Could they even tell that it was fake?
What I am suggesting is an "apologetic turing test" in that we could see if tghe apologists could tell a half baked, "uninspired" apologetic masturbatory endeavor from the real deal.
This would be a great way to illustrate confirmation bias.
Reel in a few good figureheads over there, whip em up into a frenzy and then post saying you are not an apologist but a critic in actuality. State the apologetics you bring up were concocted from whole cloth and then deconstruct your own argument.
It would make them think for once in their lives.
vegas,
Hasn't there been enough fakery going on around these boards? If you were to employ your tactic you'd simply be labeled dishonest. Which in this case, you would be.
With a brother at Oxford, perhaps the two of you could work on a theory, whereby the remains of the Nephites dropped into the sea when the land changed at the end of the First Age. I doubt the Dude would attempt to take on that one.
I would love to out smart the Dude.
Believe it or not, I could handle the oceanography component, but would lose interest on the geography side of things. Besides, what would a Brother-in-Law at Oxford have to do with Nephites dropping into the sea? The man does Stem Cell Research.
Because all the reasearch on the First Age was done at Oxford by professor JRR Tolkien. He's the one who translated the Elven plates into English, which we now possess as the Quenta Silmarillion. In this most sacred record it is told how after the final battle against Melkor, the northwestern-most part of Middle Earth sank into the sea. Perhaps the Nephite civilization went with it, along with the principal Noldor and Sindar (Elven) kingdoms. The Book of Mormon doesn't say anything about Elves and Orcs, but following the precedent of allowing unmentioned "other" civilizations to account for the prevelence of Asian DNA in Native Americans, this should not be a problem.
Maybe your brother-in-law could access some of professor Tolkien's unpublished notes and uncover further evidence in favor of the MEGT (Middle-Earth Geography Theory). Rather than try to take down this theory, I would bolster it with my most sincere cheerleading.
Enuma, there you have it. With the Dude's nimble mind and genetic knowledge to back you, the MEGT could sweep FARMS, be a property for a movie deal and perhaps even bring in new converts - a win-win situation, if ever there was one. I doubt any but the most hardened anti would dare to attack it, lest they be drawn into the coming gloom of Mordor.