- JeffR on Mimicry or New Religious Hotspot: Jesus-Figures and Joseph Smith-Figures in 1st Century Palestine and 19th-Century New York: “Love the post and comments. What kind of philosophy of a theological could get traction in today’s world? And where. Could it withstand scrutiny over years, tens of years, or more? I’m thinking we’ll see AI Christianity, Judaism and really any tradition. AI LDS? Will the prophets of these new schisms reveal their source? Or will AI reveal itself to the world, requiring our devotion. I’ve been pondering Jacobs prophecy. “…for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls.”” Jun 10, 22:17
- on Mimicry or New Religious Hotspot: Jesus-Figures and Joseph Smith-Figures in 1st Century Palestine and 19th-Century New York: “I agree with all of the above re the reformation. The proximal cause of Martin Luther not losing his head was Frederick the Elector of Saxony willing to stick his neck out and protect him. But then that begs the question of why he was able to do that at that point, and then the Muslim invasions at the gates of Christendom forced the Christian world to not be super picky about your allies’ beliefs about priesthood, etc. A lot of things came together for ML that didn’t for his less fortunate predecessors.” Jun 10, 21:23
- on Mimicry or New Religious Hotspot: Jesus-Figures and Joseph Smith-Figures in 1st Century Palestine and 19th-Century New York: “I’m skeptical of technological determinism. Print had been around for 65 years by the time Martin Luther got around to posting his theses, and it’s a lot easier to censor a print workshop that relied on skilled labor and expensive equipment than it was to keep all the handwritten stuff from circulating. You also need a political environment where the powers that be are on your side, or at least don’t mind 250-5000 printed tracts getting exported from their town.” Jun 10, 16:33
- on Mimicry or New Religious Hotspot: Jesus-Figures and Joseph Smith-Figures in 1st Century Palestine and 19th-Century New York: “The Reformation took off not due to religious fervor, because there had always been periods of religious fervor in the European environment, but by the early 1500s there was a new technology that made new or revolutionary ideas go “viral” namely, the printing press. Mormonism took root and flourished because there were cultural, social, political and technological elements which aided its development.” Jun 10, 12:56
- on Mimicry or New Religious Hotspot: Jesus-Figures and Joseph Smith-Figures in 1st Century Palestine and 19th-Century New York: ““A thought experiment that kind of bugged me when I was younger was what would have happened if Joseph Smith was born in 2000s America, his brother knocked on my door telling me that his brother discovered Gold Plates and that God had restored the Church. Such a movement wouldn’t have made it very far, and I certainly wouldn’t have given them the time of day, so why would 1830s New York be any different? But it was, and that’s precisely the reason why it took off there.” THIS! For me…..the whole “Ongoing Restoration” narrative has become boring, worn out and quite useless.” Jun 10, 07:20
- on A Review: A New Translation of Isaiah: Based on Ancient Scrolls and Texts: “Click on the picture or either hyperlink. Or search on Amazon. Any of those will get you there!” Jun 10, 06:23
- on Mimicry or New Religious Hotspot: Jesus-Figures and Joseph Smith-Figures in 1st Century Palestine and 19th-Century New York: “And it suggests the people answering “Whom say ye that I am?” understood the difference between an itinerant rabble-rousing faith healer and the Son of God. The Reformation is another similar case – there were various reformists and critics as precursors who had minor impact and are nearly unknown today, and then Luther and dozens of other major Reformers appeared relatively suddenly all across Europe.” Jun 10, 04:27
- on A Review: A New Translation of Isaiah: Based on Ancient Scrolls and Texts: “How can I get a copy” Jun 9, 22:57
- on Unsettling Settler Mormon Lifeways: A Review of Elise Boxer’s Mormon Settler Colonialism by Jason Palmer: “Kirkstall, I appreciate you bringing those initiatives to our attention. That doesn’t feel like what the original post (or the book it is reviewing) is advocating, but is more something I can get behind.” Jun 9, 10:15
- on Unsettling Settler Mormon Lifeways: A Review of Elise Boxer’s Mormon Settler Colonialism by Jason Palmer: “Lots of defensiveness in this comment section without addressing the actual ideas in the post. If you spend even a few minutes googling this stuff, you’ll quickly learn that Land Back initiatives do not call for the abolition of the US government or the deportation of non-indigenous immigrants or their descendants. No one is asking you to right all the wrongs done by colonization. Land Back initiatives are pretty reasonable and achievable and typically involve restoring specific unceded tribal lands and honoring specific treaties that the US government violated. Is there a more abstract element of personal de-colonization and ending white supremacy? Yes! But your white guilt need not compel you to anything drastic. You can start by researching whose stolen land you actually live on and who those people are today—not just who they were in ye olden times. For example, I live on Chumash land in Southern California. The Chumash tribal council website is full of great information about what they’re working on and ways you can help. Donations to the foundation are a very low effort way to get involved. No one’s asking me to vacate and demolish my apartment, but the state of California is in the process of granting 7.5 million acres back to indigenous peoples this year, restoring a broken treaty from 175 years ago. I used to live in Provo on Timpanogos land. Most Mormons aren’t taught about the 1850 extermination order issued from Salt Lake to wipe out the Timpanogos, all because of a misunderstanding about a shirt and some cattle. TLDR: Mormon militiamen massacred the tribe, sticking the men’s heads on pikes outside Fort Utah and trafficking the women and children northward and placing them in white Mormon homes. The Timpanogos website today is not calling for vengeance or the demolition of BYU. On the contrary, in 2021 the Timpanogos chief executive collaborated with BYU ecology professor to present at a symposium on the health of Utah Lake. One of the website’s main features is a message of peace. From their page: “Though we were made to walk knee deep in the blood of our ancestors we must forgive and free our souls. The anguish that has held us captive must be released and allow the new sunlight to refresh our lives. We must remember that their prayers have carried us to a place of renewed strengths. Like our mountain that bears our name Timpanogos, we were, we are, and we shall remain.” Consider donating.” Jun 9, 10:04
