A FairMormon Analysis of "Difficult Questions for Mormons"

The following is a good response to a common series of questions one often encounters posed against the Book of Mormon and other areas of LDS beliefs and practices:

A FairMormon Analysis of "Difficult Questions for Mormons"




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The Protestant Reformers Preached a False Gospel

Tomorrow is the 499th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation with the nailing of the 95 Theses on the church door at Wittenberg. While Luther et al. were correct in rejecting much of Rome's later doctrines (e.g., Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice), they themselves perverted much of the Gospel.

To see some of the many problems with such theologies see, for example:

Why Latter-day Saints cannot believe Evangelical Protestantism is True: A Response to Dave Bartosiewicz

See also my various blog posts refuting, from both the Bible and early Christian literature, that sola scriptura, the formal doctrine of the Reformation, is a man-made tradition.

Terryl Givens hits the nail on the head with the following comment:

Contrary to popular Mormon narrative that sees the Reformation as paving the way for the LDS Restoration, Luther, Calvin, and others in fact shaped Reformation theology in a direction much further removed from the teachings of Smith would propound than Catholicism ever was. They did this by emphasising a God “without body, parts, or passions,” human depravity, the Bible as the only source of authority, and salvation by faith alone. (Terryl L. Givens, Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014], 326 n. 90)

The Protestant Reformers were promulgator of false gospels (Gal 1:6-9). I do hope Latter-day Saints will be more careful about their assessment of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others.

The Reformation PiggyBackers

The following video is a good video that, via comedy, shows some of the theological differences amongst the "main players" of the Magisterial Reformation (e.g., nature of the Eucharist); rather a propos as tomorrow is the 499th anniversary of Luther nailing his 95 Theses:

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Tarik LaCour vs. Mormon Coffee on Mormonism, Materialism, and Atheism

My friend, Tarik D. LaCour, has started a series blogging against a post on the "Mormon Coffee" blog of Bill McKeever's ministry; to see previous refutations of McKeever's "criticisms" against the LDS Church that I have written, see:

Top 17 Reasons Bill McKeever Doesn't Understand the Latter-day Saint Faith

Review of the Holt/McKeever Debate on LDS Soteriology

The particular blog post Tarik is responding to is this article by Joshua Valentine.

Tarik will be eventually have posted a five-part response, so I will update this post accordingly:

Is Materialism Incompatible With Theism: A Response to Joshua Valentine (Part 1)

Fideism and Simplicity: Response to Joshua Valentine (Part Two)

Mormonism as a Big Tent: A Response to Josh Valentine (Part 3)


Always in Control: A Response to Joshua Valentine (Part 4)

Do Self-Reliance and Happiness Lead to Atheism? : A Response to Joshua Valentine (Part 5)




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How an Evangelical Apologist Holds up Against a Real (Book of Mormon) Scholar

The Bible vs. the Book of Mormon

It is rather clear that Brant Gardner mopped the floor with the Evangelical apologist, but I will let the interested reader pursue the entire thread.

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Moroni appearing in Joseph Smith's Room and Elisha's Angelic Army: Another Evangelical Double-Standard

One Evangelical apologist wrote the following:

1. Joseph Smith claimed that in 1823 an angel appeared to him in his bedroom three times during the night, in extremely bright light, each time waking him up and talking with him at length. How could Joseph’s brothers, several of whom slept in the same room and one or two in the same bed as Joseph, have been unaware of Joseph staying up most of the night talking to a brilliantly shining angel?

This just shows that the apologist does not apply the same standards to the Bible and his flavour of (Reformed) Protestantism that he applies to the Book of Mormon and other Latter-day Saint issues; to quote from another Reformed apologist, James White, "inconsistency is the sign of  a failed argument." How so? Well, if Joseph Smith's narrative is false due to this miraculous event (is Bowman really implying God cannot shield others in a room from a conversation between Joseph and an angel as well as the glory emanating from the latter?), then the Old Testament fails, too.

Then Elisha prayed: "O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see." So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots offire round about Elisha. (2 Kgs 6:17 NRSV)

And yet, only Elisha saw this army of angelic beings; the two opposing armies in this narrative did not.

Bowman is guilty of a double-standard. I have been told he will be updating his article on Moroni's visitation to respond to 2 Kgs 6:17, so I am willing to give him some props for engaging with LDS apologetics, which is a good step forward on this particular topic.

Update (June 2017): Bowman has not yet updated his article interacting with 2 Kgs 6 and other issues, so his articles discussing this topic reveal that he operates using a blatant double standard. I will let readers conclude what this implies for his intellectual integrity, or properly, lack thereof.


Update (Sept. 2017): Bowman has updated his Moroni article in an attempt to interact with the comment about 2 Kgs 6. I will let the reader to see Bowman's special pleading and double standards, something highlighted by my friend Andrew Sargent in his post Angels, Ad Hocs & Assumptions

Larry Hurtado and Anthony Buzzard Discuss Christology

The following video is between Dr. Larry Hurtado (author of works such as Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity) and Anthony F. Buzzard (Unitarian; author of Jesus was not a Trinitarian)

It is an interesting discussion, including the Christology presented in the Synoptic Gospels and the NT use of Psa 110:1 (LXX: 109:1).  One does find the following amazing admission from Hurtado beginning at the 1:03:34 mark:

I quite agree that Jesus did not claim that He was God, and did not imagine Himself to be a second person of the Trinity, and did not insist that He should be worshipped.

He argues, instead, that whatis important and should determine one's Christology is what the Father has said about, and done to, Jesus (cf. Phil 2:5-11). This fits rather well with LDS Christology.



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