I said: I am giving others the chance to ask about a religion without being accused of attacking it.
U said: In that case DU, when you are asked about certain items fo your beliefs, give a straight answer...
First, I am loathe to go into too much detail on a religion I don't believe, and will readily bow to the wisdom and knowledge of any FLDS who wants to take up the answer, that is the religion we were talking about.
U said: Dont hem and haw and give the answer to the question that should have been asked, etc
Unfortunately, anti Mormons are fond of asking "when did you stop beating your wife questions". I always try to answer as straight forward as I can, however, you can be asked unanswerable questions, for example C.S. Lewis says:
Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable.
I cannot answer some of the Questions asked for they are nonsense (Like the marital status of the number five for example...), and I am immeasurably more limited then God in my ability to answer questions, that is one of the reasons I champion praying about things..
U said: Dont answer a question with another question
Why not? (I just couldn't resist)
U said: Answer the question put to you to the best of your ability and knowledge and THEN ask questions back.
This is actually what I try to do, I even have some common questions posted on my page
here.
U said: It’s the hedginng that gets the Christians riled up...
I beg to differ, it's the questions which assume the worst and all but answer themselves they are so twisted that get people riled up, which is the point of some posters posts.
U said: Avoiding the questions and just being flippant is like a red rag to a bull...
being Flippant when asked the same dumb questions over and over keeps me sane, well, sort of. (Grin)
U said: Most of the FReepers here have much of the goods on JS and BY... their own words in the D & C the BoM and the Pearl of Great Price etc..condemn them...
You should have read my link earlier to
Quote mining, Here, let me repeat it:
Quote mining is the practice of compiling frequently misleading quotes from large volumes of literature or speech.
The term is pejorative. "Quote miners" are often accused of contextomy and misquotation, in an attempt to represent the views of the person being quoted inaccurately. For example, if a person being quoted disagrees with some position, a quote miner will present quotes that suggest that instead, this person is supportive of this position. Material that ostensibly bolsters this position is often taken out of context. Exposition that is at odds with the argument being made in the same text is excluded or otherwise obscured.
Many of the quotations, if not all you are speaking of are the product of Quote mining, I've chased down enough of them to know.
U said: There’s no denying the obvious...
I agree, it's obvious that the methods employed by those involved in debates on religion on both sides are often Crude arguments and lack the training acquired in formal debate. For example, you are trying to claim victory by claiming it is "obvious" that you have won, this is a
Hasty Generalization Fallacy.