Thursday, April 27, 2023

Who Refuses to Do Debate? LDS Apologists or Secular Critics?

 I got a laugh out of this:


Mike (LDS Discussions) "there's a reason why you don't see someone like Daniel C. Peterson go out and do, like, a public debate against say, someone, like Dan Vogel or John Hamer . . . " (Joseph Smith's Failed Prophecies | LDS Discussions Ep. 37)


It should be noted that Dan Vogel was approached by our mutual friend Stephen Murphy ("Mormonism with the Murph") to debate me on whether early LDS Christology was a form of Modalism (e.g., Mosiah 15; the 1832 account of the First Vision; JST Luke 10, etc). He refused, saying he was "too busy." Working one day a week at a grocery store, commenting non-stop on the Mormon Discussions youtube channel, appearing with Kerry A. Shirts to discuss Method Infinite, etc., prohibits him from defending his bogus claims about early LDS Christology for the past few decades (yeah, right . . . ). In reality, Vogel, who is not trained in biblical exegesis, would not do well in a debate with someone with formal training in exegesis and theology, and he knows it. For more, see:


Early Mormon Modalism? A Dialogue with Stephen Murphy



Most recently, Vogel has been pulling another stunt: claiming I mumble and talk too fast:





Also, Dan Peterson (as well as John Gee and Bill Hamblin) have literally debated Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe See the following from a Sunstone Conference:


And I Saw the Stars: The Book of Abraham and Ancient Geocentric Astronomy


As an aside, this Mormon Stories episode was on the topic of allegedly false prophecies. On this, including a discussion of Deut 18 (no exegesis of the passage was offered), see:


Resources on Joseph Smith's Fulfilled Prophecies