Richard Bushman – Helping Those in Doubt

[LA Ute]

This podcast interview is quite interesting if you can make the time to listen to it:

http://www.fairblog.org/2013/11/06/fairmormon-frameworks-9-richard-bushman-helping-those-in-doubt/

I think skeptics, doubters, apostates, critics and believers alike will find something interesting here.

[Indy Coug]

[Topper]

This podcast interview is quite interesting if you can make the time to listen to it:

http://www.fairblog.org/2013/11/06/fairmormon-frameworks-9-richard-bushman-helping-those-in-doubt/

I think skeptics, doubters, apostates, critics and believers alike will find something interesting here.

I find Bushman engaging, but you stated, "if you can take time to listen." That is usually a precursor to, "this will take a lot of time." Please advise or warn us in advance.

[LA Ute]

I find Bushman engaging, but you stated, "if you can take time to listen." That is usually a precursor to, "this will take a lot of time." Please advise or warn us in advance.

It's about 28 minutes. You can listen while you are running or biking or doing the other workouts you do.

[Topper]

It's about 28 minutes. You can listen while you are running or biking or doing the other workouts you do.

Why don't you transcribe it for us? I read much faster.

[LA Ute]

Why don't you transcribe it for us? I read much faster.

Faster than I can type.

[creekster]

Faster than I can type.

While you're at it can you also get me a pastrami on rye, no white on that btw, and maybe some apple juice? TiA

[LA Ute]

While you're at it can you also get me a pastrami on rye, no white on that btw, and maybe some apple juice? TiA

Anyway, it's an interesting interview. You could listen to it while you make yourself a sandwich.

jeeves-smiley.gif

[LA Ute]

At 18:30 the interviewer asks Bushman to comment on his statement that “rather than destroy the critics, we want to loosen their grip.” This follows:

[Richard Bushman speaking]

Well, I think one of the problems is that you get dogmatism vs. dogmatism. So many of the people who have their faith shaken “knew for sure”; they had a certain testimony. So when they lose their testimony and then they “know for sure” that the Church is false. They are just as dogmatic after the change as before. Neither one of them is sound or based on a real search for understanding.

These things are just immensely complicated and there is no way that through picking through and looking at everything you can arrive at certain conclusions. That’s easy for me as a scholar to say because that’s the nature of historical knowledge. Every historian knows that the biggest questions are all unanswerable or you have very restrictive answers to most of the big questions.

So, I think the better way to say is “there is a way of looking that is favorable to the Church. You don’t have to interpret everything in a negative way.” So, all I aim when I talk to people is to keep the conversation open. Don’t close your mind. Don’t decide it’s now all over.

I’m trying to rehabilitate the word “investigator.” We make “investigators” a preliminary stage to full-fledged membership, but “investigator” is a wonderful description of a religious life. You’re always investigating It requires an open mind and a questing spirit, and out of that comes beautiful results, if we can tolerate it.

That’s my aim: to keep the conversation going and keep people looking at the possible meanings of all the things we turn over.

[Bill Reel speaking]

I think you hit on a beautiful point as you’re talking about that. If rather than we try to bury the critic and their argument, we simply say “hey, there’s other possible conclusions; other ways to look at this information,” then all of a sudden agency is back on the table. For those people who want to lead with faith, now they have two conclusions they can go to, and with faith being on the table, with both conclusions being reasonable and perhaps valid, it then puts the choice back in their own hands. Which I think, more times than not, can lead one to stay in the Church and make their way through it and figure it out.

[Richard Bushman speaking]

Yeah, I’m with you 100% on that.

This was not my favorite segment but it gives you an idea. His comments on the Book of Abraham were interesting. I'll try to post more.

[YOhio]

I didn't listen to it. Sounds boring.

[scottie]

It's about 28 minutes. You can listen while you are running or biking or doing the other workouts you do.

The status thing shows that it's 49:17 long.

[LA Ute]

The status thing shows that it's 49:17 long.

I got that wrong. I polished it off in one workout this morning, however.

[LA Ute]

I didn't listen to it. Sounds boring.

Be patient. The Ohio version with big colorful pictures and short, simple sentences is still being edited.

[Pelado]

I got that wrong. I polished it off in one workout this morning, however.

Sounds like you went overtime on your workout.

[LA Ute]

Sounds like you went overtime on your workout.

No, it takes me about an hour to run my daily 10 miles. So the podcast length worked out well and even left me time to get some transcription done on my iPhone during the last 11 minutes of my run.