- John C. on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “Being openly Mormon in academia and social media circles means paying twice, in skepticism from colleagues and listeners and in suspicion from members, and it’s fair to be frustrated when someone with standing in both worlds seems to skip the hard part. But I think these comments assume more than they show. Describing what the data show isn’t “putting weight on the side of doubt” unless faith depends on the data coming out a certain way. And “refuses to explain anywhere” is a strong claim. Has he declined to talk about his faith, or just not given the specific account you’d want? I’d also read the Mosiah 18 comparison differently. Mourning and comforting are things we do for people in front of us. Being a witness means bearing testimony of Christ, and that can take many forms. It doesn’t clearly include a duty to publish a theory of how scholarship and devotion fit together, on demand, to an audience that will grade the answer.” Oct 11, 09:00
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “I agree with RLD that I want people to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I used to believe that meant inviting them to participate in worship with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It honestly kind of breaks my heart that I don’t any longer feel safe in issuing that invitation. These posts and discussions are a pretty good example of why I can’t encourage anyone to participate—I can’t know which church I will be inviting them to. The gospel is vitally important. The path of discipleship leads us to be better people. And the meanness, judgment, and shunning are real. I’m a lifelong, committed member. I have all the “spiritual credentials” marking me as being successfully on the covenant path. Yet one of the few things I’m certain of is that I’m not welcome at church. It doesn’t matter how sincere my testimony is. All that matters is that it’s not the right kind of testimony. This post reinforced that conviction.” Oct 10, 15:55
- on When Peace Is More Than Personal: “An excellent post – but it does not give us an easy answer. Indeed, the very modus operandi of ICE is to provoke resistance and protest, in order to justify a more heavy-handed and fear-based response from the sheep. Since [technically] the ICE program is legal, in the sense that Congress authorized and funded it, any resistance to any portion of its activity can legitimately be viewed as lawlessness or treason-light. I would truly appreciate any suggestions from the bloggernacle, or from any portion of the truly freedom- and peace-loving segment of today’s US society, as to how we address this Godawful present state of affairs.” Oct 10, 14:12
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “I want people to believe the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s important to me. That doesn’t mean I don’t talk about my doubts and the associated evidence, but it does mean I talk about them in a way that tries to increase faith rather than decrease it, like also presenting the (stronger) evidence for what I believe. I’m not interested in judging Dan McLellan–I know next to nothing about his work–but I would suggest that wanting other people to believe is a hallmark of a faithful Latter-day Saint (seconding Jonathan). (I use “evidence” rather than “data” deliberately.)” Oct 10, 07:46
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “Hilarious to me that all the commentary is about Dan, and not the other guy behind the microphone. Surprised the other guy even came up on this blog.” Oct 9, 12:55
- on Attention Spans and Spiritual Diets in the 21st Century: “Many things in the world today are too long, way too long. For example, most 3-hr movies, John Dehlin interviews, many books, TV series, etc. They get repetitive. Mormon church services are boring. General Conference is boring. Some try to blame this on members for their lack of concentration. But life is too short to waste time on unproductive activities. Meetings lack creativity. Redundant and repetitive messages. Recycled material. MoTab music is frequently dreary. Instead of bemoaning short attention spans, we need to readily accept that it is reality. That increasingly members expect more with less beating around the bush. The development of new technologies is accelerating. We need to evolve with it. New technologies give us incredible opportunities. We need to use them productively. I would like to hear Jackie DeShannon’s “Think of your Fellow Man” in church. While the song dates from the 60’s, hearing an upbeat song in church with a positive message would be innovative.” Oct 9, 12:30
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “You do good work. So does McClellan. Sometimes you thrown down this very specific vibe, the term that comes to mind is “Nibley Negativity.” This nerfs the impact of your voice for a lot of people. I think your overall effectiveness and reach would improve without it. Keep doing good work.” Oct 9, 12:24
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “Even if we stipulate that Dan is a faithful, believing church member, it’s still a crummy move to put the weight of one’s discipline on the side of doubt in public, and then refuse to explain anywhere how he gets from that point to personal devotion. It takes work to explain how data fit with belief, and there may be professional costs for doing so, but it’s a crummy deal to leave that work and those costs up to other people. Being witnesses at all times and in all things and in all places is an obligation on the same level as mourning with those who mourn and comforting those in need of comfort, and it doesn’t make an exception for podcasts and social media.” Oct 9, 12:23
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “Stephen, I’m going to join with the crowd here: it’s presumptuous and inappropriate for you to opine on whether someone else believes in the Church’s truth-claims. It runs deeply against the love for neighbor we’re commanded to have, and deeply against the mandate that we have to not judge AND to not judge unrighteously. I don’t know the details of your testimony, I don’t know the details of Dan’s, and you don’t know the details of mine. If you, or Dan, or I, feel like sharing those details, we certainly can. But uninformed assertions, based on our interpretation of what people say about other topics, is certainly not Christlike.” Oct 9, 12:11
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “Israel, that’s an interesting perspective on Dan’s work, and I’d like to learn more. Can you link to any examples of his Youtube videos, Twitter exchanges, or podcast episodes where he refuses to accept or engage with objective data that conflicts with or contradicts his position?” Oct 9, 10:59
