stemelbow Posted July 21, 2016 Posted July 21, 2016 16 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said: The LDS faith is likely to be most strongly held by the better educated members. The less well educated, the more likely LDS members are to lose the faith. I don't know how true this is, but it's an interesting thought. I know tons of ex-LDS who are very well educated. I know tons of active participating LDS who are not well educated. 16 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said: This goes against the expected result in most other religions, precisely because LDS faith is better supported by critical thinking and evidence. This is a legacy of its strongly humanistic qualities, including natural law, an anthropomorphic God(s), and its emphasis on praxis. Indeed, Mormonism is a way of life more than a religion, a shared ethnicity more than abstract dogma. Conversions to Mormonism are nearly always based on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit rather than on some historical or theological considerations. I think there's a good point mixed in here. But to suggest that the critical thinking members stay, well that's a bit of a stretch. There are some critical thinkers who stay, but not all, of course.
Robert F. Smith Posted July 21, 2016 Author Posted July 21, 2016 15 hours ago, Gray said: I would agree with Robert and MFBukowski - Mormonism is naturalistic and materialistic. That's the inevitable conclusion when you really think about the theology and the doctrines that Joseph Smith laid out. Mormons believe in things that most people would categorize as supernatural (Gods, angels, devils, miracles), but it defines those things in purely naturalistic/materialistic terms. God is essentially an alien from another planet, not a supernatural first cause agent. However, once again on LDS.org you find only criticism of naturalism and acceptance of the supernatural (both terms are used rarely, however). Perhaps that's a side effect of having clergy who are businessmen, doctors and lawyers rather than academics, philosophers or theologians. Is this a problem? We do seem open to influence from other Christian thinkers (CS Lewis especially). Will Mormon humanism/naturalism eventually fade away, replaced by something more mundane and mainstream? I see Mormons adopting mainstream Christian positions all the time - first cause arguments for God cribbed from William Lane Craig, or criticisms of naturalism as a devilish or atheistic position. None of these arguments make sense if you believe in the teachings of Joseph Smith on these matters. But will his teachings cease to influence the doctrine at some point? Will Mormonism fully embrace the supernatural, and a fully transcendent God who is the ultimate author of all existence? Excellent points all. 1
Robert F. Smith Posted July 21, 2016 Author Posted July 21, 2016 4 hours ago, stemelbow said: I don't know how true this is, but it's an interesting thought. I know tons of ex-LDS who are very well educated. I know tons of active participating LDS who are not well educated. I think there's a good point mixed in here. But to suggest that the critical thinking members stay, well that's a bit of a stretch. There are some critical thinkers who stay, but not all, of course. We are talking sociological statistics here, not what makes sense to most people. It is especially difficult to accept when it becomes apparent that the facts go against our intuitive, apriori notions. Phenomenologically, Mormonism (like Judaism) is a kind of ethnicity in which better educated people flourish. That does not require 100% adherence. Only that it is much more likely than for other religions (to the degree that it upends the usual trend). What are the fruits of this fact? A whole string of remarkable scientists who just happen to be Mormon, all out of their proportion in the population in general. 3
Gray Posted July 21, 2016 Posted July 21, 2016 58 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said: Excellent points all. Thank you Robert!
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