tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15264500.post3230412480447076516..comments2023-07-11T05:13:06.461-06:00Comments on Morehead's Musings: New Religions and Folk Religion: Considerations Beyond Institutional OrthodoxiesJohn W. Moreheadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01262542253787543738noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15264500.post-42985576322000659552007-01-10T13:48:00.000-07:002007-01-10T13:48:00.000-07:00Aaron, you seem to enjoy monitoring this blog in o...Aaron, you seem to enjoy monitoring this blog in order to keep tabs on where you disagree with me, and to counter my thinking that critiques aspects of countercult perspectives. I hope I can encourage you to reflect more carefully. <br /><br />Rather than my post on Mormon folk religion being naive and absurd, I specifically had in mind a neglected or ignored facet in evangelical thinking related to the complexity that is Mormonism as it relates to hermetic and esoteric influences. Most, if not all, evangelical treatments, particularly those of the countercult, when they do consider this aspect, tend to note its connection to Joseph Smith's "money digging," or its relationship to Mormon temple rituals and the symbolism of its architecture. This is usually tied to a case that then tries to dismiss Smith and Mormonism due to "occultic" influences, but no further reflection is given to the significance of hermeticism in Mormon thought past and present.<br /><br />If you are aware of countercult assessments of this matter that engage the primary source material from the nineteenth century cultural milieu that played a part in Smith's thinking and practices, as well as interactions with the relevant academic material on this then by all means please make me aware of where we can find it.<br /><br />Until such countercult materials surface that meet the criteria I set forth above then it would seem that you may be guilty of the straw man argumentation that you accuse others of (which I have noted you do on other blogs in making comments on MoreheadsMusings). Please be more careful and specific in your comments as this will lend credibiity to your posts, and enable this important dialogue to move forward in constructive ways.John W. Moreheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01262542253787543738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15264500.post-26268302315129557702007-01-10T11:36:00.000-07:002007-01-10T11:36:00.000-07:00"I am unaware of any countercult engagement with L...<i>"I am unaware of any countercult engagement with LDS folk religion with its esotericism."</i><br /><br />That is absurd. Every Christian countercultist in Utah who does regular evangelism is QUITE aware--on a personal level from personal experience--of Mormon folk doctrine and neo-orthodoxy (although they might not label as such). They are probably more familiar with it than you are, since they interact with it on a regular basis with new laymen.<br /><br />I really think you need to spend some more time with the countercult community before you keep dishing out your outrageous generalizations. Or at least base your generalizations off some compelling public data. It's easy to knock down a strawman.Aaron Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385127979306952044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15264500.post-47960495611272742862007-01-05T19:28:00.000-07:002007-01-05T19:28:00.000-07:00Aaron, thanks for coming by and leaving your comme...Aaron, thanks for coming by and leaving your comments.<br /><br />We'll just have to disagree concerning our assessments of the countercult and their acknowledgement of Mormon folk beliefs. My views do not assume naivete, but rather come as a result of reviewing countercult resources and having seen their approaches to the LDS where the views of LDS are often held up against institutional orthodoxy or at times nineteenth century Mormonism (as if the religion was static). I am unaware of any countercult engagement with LDS folk religion with its esotericism. In my thinking this is a reification of Mormon"ism" that does not necessarily reflect where many LDS may be in their faith practices and beliefs. If you read my paper on Eclectic Mormon Women, and trace down some of the bibliographic materials I interact with, you might come away with a broader picture for reflecting on this issue.John W. Moreheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01262542253787543738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15264500.post-74853998092585439452007-01-05T15:08:00.000-07:002007-01-05T15:08:00.000-07:00I think you're naive in assuming that counterculti...I think you're naive in assuming that countercultists don't recognize neo-orthodoxy and folk beliefs. I just don't see their existence as warrant to stop interacting with the more concrete, authoritative LDS positions, among other things because a Mormon's religious identity and the sort of repentance the gospel calls for encompasses not just what one individually affirms, but also the kinds of things one is willing to believe, unwilling to repudiate, and willing to acquiesce to. This is especially the case when it comes to beliefs on the fundamental nature of God.ndAaron Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385127979306952044noreply@blogger.com