Posts

There are so many problems with the Book of Mormon that you should disregard spiritual feeling you think you have when reading it

Reasons to agree Spiritual feelings, if no stronger than feelings you get when watching Pixar movies, should not over-rule logic.  Real spiritual guidance should not be ignored, but most  Mormons  report no more than mild warm and  fuzzies  when reading the book of Mormon, but often squirm when reading some of the  embarrassing  parts of the book. Those feelings of  embarrassment  are just as valid as feelings of enlightenment.  Of course, you should not disregard real spiritual answers, but you should be aware of confirmation bias, and ensure that spiritual guidance you receive is of a different nature than spiritual confirmation others receive to stay in their religions.  Reasons to disagree The Book of Mormon has many inspiring quotes.   The Book of Mormon has many inspiring stories. Score : # of reasons to agree: 3 # of reasons to disagree: -2 # of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: 0 # of reasons to disagree with ...

There are many similarities between Quetzalcoatl and Jesus Christ

Reasons to agree   "Teotihuacan arose as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland, around the time of Christ..."   Teotihuacan: Introduction" . Project Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico/ ASU. 2001-08-20 . Retrieved 2009-05-17 Reasons to agree Mormons often say that 

There are some aspects of the Book of Mormon that support a literal historical interpretation +0

Reasons to agree : +1 Latter-day Saint President John Taylor was right when he wrote: "Quetzalcoatl and Christ are the same being". The fact that south american cultures believed in a bearded white God named  Quetzalcoatl supports the story in the Book of Mormon.  Reasons to disagree :  -1 The Bible has enough problems with historical accuracy. If you are going to come along and start a new religion, and say that God has placed his official stamp of approval on this new religion, with new scriptures, the new scriptures should have less problems than the old scriptures, which have been around a long time so that errors of mankind can slip into the things of God... However the Book of Mormon has more archaeological problems than the Bible. There is no city in the Book of Mormon, that you can say existed in then and still exists now... I know, I know, Mormons will say you can't compare the two because the people who lived in cities, and kept written records, a...

We should not begrudge faithful Mormon their desire to preserve faith by focusing on the good bits

Reasons to disagree Some people need faith Reasons to disagree Following the spirit is problematic, because if all your family, and your upbringing tells you the Church is true, then of course when you doubt you are going to feel uncomfortable. The church tells you this uncomfortable feeling is the spirit leaving you, and so you get stuck never knowing the truth.

We should avoid conflating "the good" with "the true"

Reasons to agree Whatever is good is true. It is better to be good than right. Reasons to disagree Whatever is good, is not necessarily true. Being right is good. We can't face the real problems unless we live in reality.

It is moral not to hold on to implausible claims when they support a problematical construal of God

Reasons to agree I'm not sure I get this right, but it sounded like he was saying that believing in "the God of 3 Nephi 9, D&C 132, Abraham 1" is immoral. Or at least not believing in them is Moral. If God exists, perhaps He will forgive our stitching together models of goodness from “this-worldly” expressions untethered to extraordinary Mormon claims. This stance seems to avoid conflating "the good" with "the true" while leaving one open to both. Reasons to disagree Just because a construct of God is problematic, does not make it immoral. This is all just a mater of semantics. Sure, from a worldly standpoint it is moral to believe whatever you want. This does not mean it is true. Both believing and not believing can be moral. I'm not sure Bushman's point of view was accurately represented, but I assume Bushman feels that Josoph Smith was a Moral guy, and that Mormonism helps make Bushman a better guy. Much like what Peter said to Jesus, wh...

Leaving the Church can be a moral choice.

Reasons to agree: 1. It is moral not to hold on to implausible claims when they support a problematical construal of God