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Originally Posted by Archaea
I imagine you've oversimplified, because I only read an occasional article of theirs. That's not how I interpret what they say, and you know that.
They actually get involved in minutae. And their conclusions are much more carefully articulated than you give them credit for.
And they have sufficiently rebuffed most of the ancient criticisms. In your minds, the critiques are proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Well, if a mind is made up, nothing they can ever say will be anything but a fraud to you, because you have a closed mind, and anything not fitting within your paradigm is rejected out of hand.
However, what you and Seattle do is a common rhetorical tactic, it's dishonest, but it's common: simplify, then exaggerate.
I imagine the two of you are actually afraid that somebody, be it FARMS or somebody else might actually find someting substantiating some of their claims, because they you'd have to reevaluate some of your paradigms. That's the crux.
Those of us, and I'd classify most adult LDS over thirty-five in that realm, have adjusted our paradigms in light of historical evidence to increase our understanding, while still finding faith. Once you've walked through the proverbial door, you close it behind you, closing your mind to possibilities. Those of us with flexible paradigms leave open a multitude of doors with paradigms never rigid but flexible. In my mind, it leaves more room for intellectual expansion and growth.
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Dude, YOU STARTED this whole thread.
What in Hade's name were you talking about? You suggested that Mormon Intellectuals were always critical, and seldom built things up. When I accepted your assertion at face value, everyone piled up on me. So what were YOU talking about?