I still check it out from time to time, since there are some posters I enjoy reading. Which reminds me - has anyone seen cinepro or mighty curelom lately?
I can't -- I was banned from even viewing the page long ago. Frankly, I don't miss it at all. This bb is much better, in my opinion.
"Moving beyond apologist persuasion, LDS polemicists furiously (and often fraudulently) attack any non-traditional view of Mormonism. They don't mince words -- they mince the truth."
-- Mike Quinn, writing of the FARMSboys, in "Early Mormonism and the Magic World View," p. x (Rev. ed. 1998)
I have participated in MAD largely because I wanted to discuss some of the issues that were on the table there, and because there were at least some decent thinkers there to discuss them with. I'll likely participate there some in the future, but I've pretty much left for now. I'm tired of the dogmatic one-sidedness of most of the posting. There are some folks there with whom discussion is stimulating; but there are many others who are bright and nice but frustratingly stuck on defending a position on the pretext of examining it, rather than of truly examining it.
I have participated in MAD largely because I wanted to discuss some of the issues that were on the table there, and because there were at least some decent thinkers there to discuss them with. I'll likely participate there some in the future, but I've pretty much left for now. I'm tired of the dogmatic one-sidedness of most of the posting. There are some folks there with whom discussion is stimulating; but there are many others who are bright and nice but frustratingly stuck on defending a position on the pretext of examining it, rather than of truly examining it.
So they throw posters they don't like off that board and squash some discussion. Is that what you're thinking about?
Jersey Girl
That about sums it up, in addition to being petty
Even though there is no banning on this board (except the porn spammers) wouldn't you say there is a fair amount of petty squashing that also takes place on this board?
Jersey Girl
Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.
Chinese Proverb
Part of the reason I post there is that there are a few issues on which the apologists simply have no viable way out, and when you back dogmatic thinkers into a corner often enough some of them actually do engage in some critical thinking. Her Amun has at least reconverted to the catalyst theory of late, which is an improvement. Dr. Steuss was willing to listen on the Matthew 22 subject, and Zeta Flux at least conceded the strength of my position. It's slow going, of course, but maybe worth it in order to instill a respect for critical self-awareness in some of the up-and-coming amateur apologists.
The main reason I post there, though, is that I find it stimulating to interact with such bright people. However dogmatic they may be, most of them are nevertheless capable of making a cogent point and carrying on an intelligent conversation. As long as you avoid the blatantly stupid threads (of which there are unfortunately many), posting there can be both educational and enjoyable.
Interesting thoughts, CK. You actually hit on one of my aims in posting over these past few years--to encourage LDS believers and apologists to become more systematic in their thinking. Far more often than I've critiqued faith claims themselves, I've critiqued bad arguments in support of those claims. There are some reasonable, responsible arguments for belief. I'd greatly prefer to see more of those than of the endless litany of poor apologies currently bleeding out of the LDS community.
Jersey Girl wrote:Even though there is no banning on this board (except the porn spammers) wouldn't you say there is a fair amount of petty squashing that also takes place on this board?
Jersey Girl
Yep, there certainly is, and I have been guilty of it myself. Truly open discussion is difficult but not impossible.
Of course, I'd be careful, lest someone accuse you of being a board nanny. by the way, isn't criticizing a poster for being a board nanny the same as being a board nanny yourself?
I don't post there, even though I could (I have a new server), because I refuse to support something I see as detrimental to the church. People who hold themselves out as apologists for an organization have an obligation to live by the rules of the organization or wear the hypocrit's brand. I see little of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the mean, petty, snide, humor-impaired posts of the apologists there. I think FAIR and FARMS and the members of both do far more damage to the church than any critic or protestor. FAIR and FARMS members know the rules by which they have pledged their loyalty; that they choose to disregard them in playing their continual game of One-Up speaks louder than any testimony they bear in church during any Fast and Testimony meeting. I find MAD to be an embarrassment to the church. And I am ashamed of their behavior.
harmony wrote:I don't post there, even though I could (I have a new server), because I refuse to support something I see as detrimental to the church.
I find that admirable in you, though kind of ironic given some apologists' outright hatred for you because you're somehow a hypocritical enemy of the church. I don't have any reason to attack or defend the church, so I don't really care what's detrimental to it.
People who hold themselves out as apologists for an organization have an obligation to live by the rules of the organization or wear the hypocrit's brand. I see little of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the mean, petty, snide, humor-impaired posts of the apologists there. I think FAIR and FARMS and the members of both do far more damage to the church than any critic or protestor. FAIR and FARMS members know the rules by which they have pledged their loyalty; that they choose to disregard them in playing their continual game of One-Up speaks louder than any testimony they bear in church during any Fast and Testimony meeting. I find MAD to be an embarrassment to the church. And I am ashamed of their behavior.
I think it's a function of people needing to be right instead of trying to learn from each other. That's pretty typical for any internet board, and I don't hold it against the people over there, though some are quite extreme. I'm trying to learn to take things in stride better.