Skousen's Introduction to Book of Mormon

[_mentalgymnast]

You really, really missed the point behind Maksutov saying that.

Hi Lemmie, just another quickie to let you know I'm not totally ignoring you and I am skimming your posts.

Regards,
MG

[_mentalgymnast]

Some are narrative, as is the case in most scripture.

Hey, thanks!

That's a start anyway.

Regards,
MG

[Guest]

The simple answer is that it has it has no relevance. That's as simple as it gets. You are asking as a way of avoiding addressing the larger issue of whether or not Dr Jenkins is actually showing bias.

http://archive.boston.com/news/science/ ... /blog.html

Bias is an interesting thing.

I have a couple of questions. Does one 'show' bias? Always? Sometimes? Can an intelligent person mask/cover bias but they still come through either consciously or unconsciously?

I have NO idea whether or not Phillip Jenkins has a prejudice and/or bias that would inform his views in regards to Jesus being the Son of God. I would think that his views relative to Jesus may have bearing on whether or not he is a practicing Christian. I don't know if he is or isn't. What I would surmise, however, is that if he does have any biased opinion that disfavors Jesus as Son of God and this in turn influences any Christian practice that he would engage in...going to church for example...this may have some influence in regards to the way he views Christian movements/churches that have 'sprung up' over the last century or two. After all, if he doesn't believe in Jesus as the Son of God it would surprise me if this didn't influence his views towards the underpinnings of the LDS Church.

But then again, I really don't know much about this guy as far as his personal beliefs and how those might in any way create biases/prejudices inside his mind.

Just asking...

Regards,
MG

Questioning someone's integrity, which is what you're doing when you're questioning if they have bias in their approach, is a low blow. In questioning his religious background, it's like suggesting someone can't make an argument about race because they're Mormon, and Mormons are racist.

The simple answer is that the question has has no relevance, as whether you're a Mormon would have none if you were arguing Islamic history. You're still asking the question as a way of avoiding addressing the larger issue of whether or not Dr Jenkins is actually showing bias.

If you think he's demonstrating bias, show how.




Edited for grammar.

[_Goya]

Some are narrative, as is the case in most scripture.

Hey, thanks!

That's a start anyway.

Regards,
MG

How about answering mine?

[_Goya]

Was Daniel Peterson's book, Muhammad, Prophet of God, biased because he was LDS when he wrote it?

[_Maksutov]

Was Daniel Peterson's book, Muhammad, Prophet of God, biased because he was LDS when he wrote it?

I remember Reza Aslan being confronted by a hostile Fox News reporter over his right, as a Muslim, to write a book on Jesus. Dan is a big fan of Fox.

[_Themis]

Yes, the Book of Mormon is more familiar to me than the texts of any other faith. Yes, I think that most if not every faith has something unique about it.

My guess is that there has been exponentially more material written about the Book of Mormon by those within the faith. If members are some of the only ones producing critical text/exegesis on the contents of the Book of Mormon, that, at the very least, helps folks understand the scriptural foundations of the LDS faith.

Believable? Relevant? That, of course, is in the eye of the beholder.

Regards,
MG

You have already admitted that the Book of Mormon makes objective claims about the real world that other texts don't. Joseph made claims about being able to translate ancient langues that we can test. These factors will cause more to be written that the claims are false and defenders writings to defend against those criticisms. None of this has any real relevance to anything. You won't see this kind of thing happening with other texts since they don't make a lot of objective claims. They still do have people writing about them, and the size and education of the believing population will have a factor on how much is written. Does it put the Book of Mormon in some special category that has relevance to anything important? Not really.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

All y'all are the:



It's amazing to behold.

- Doc

[_mentalgymnast]

All y'all are the:



It's amazing to behold.

- Doc

I think my Energizer Bunny is about out of juice on this thread. It's been fun. Thanks for playing everyone! As is par for the course I've been able to learn a few things during this conversation. And it's interesting as time goes on to see/understand a bit more in regards to some of the strong personalities participating on this board. It becomes even more clear that we are all biased in one way or another. It shows through from time to time. It is important to realize the biases from wherever they come and however they got there play a part, even if subconsciously, in our worldview...even when it comes to religious belief and/or Mormonism in particular. You add assumptions on top of that and you get quite a mixed bag of folks going this way and that.

Thanks again,
MG

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

MG,

You're a case study in Brandolini's Law.

- Doc