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"The bare facts of the matter are that nothing, absolutely nothing, has ever shown up in any New World excavation which would suggest to a dispassionate observe

"The bare facts of the matter are that nothing, absolutely nothing, has ever shown up in any New World excavation which would suggest to a dispassionate observer that the Book of Mormon, as claimed by Joseph Smith, is a historical document relating to the history of early immigrants to our hemisphere." http://mit.irr.org/book-of-mormon-archaeology-full http://mit.irr.org/book-of-mormon-archaeology-full

brobdingnagians 6y ago
That's a very narrow and biased paper. "nothing, absolutely nothing, has ever" are loaded emotional words. It would be much more accurate to say "nothing that they know of, in their interpretation, and according to the two theories they cherrypicked and considered would suggest to them, yada yada yada". They seem to consider themselves dispassionate observers, but their analysis indicates otherwise. I am always disappointed, but not surprised, when individuals who consider themselves to be scientists fail to recognize their personal bias. There are lots of other theories, interpretations, and excavations, some obvious, that they do not consider, and which they either wilfully, or ignorantly, ignore. But that is inexcusable when they use such strong language in an obviously biased analysis, based on their personal belief. As a scientist, it is always healthy to be aware, and open, that you may not know everything, and you might be missing something obvious-- even when dealing with something that you may personally dismiss as incredible.
- bildung 6y ago
  Due to the obvious interest of Mormons, this isn't exactly an underresearched field. This single quote is obviously just that, a single quote of a single researcher, but to my knowledge it sums up the state of research pretty well.
woolcap 6y ago
I'd point out that the article referenced above comes from a group that could hardly be said to be 'dispassionate observers' themselves.
- bildung 6y ago
  Luckily, bias of the researcher is irrelevant, as this is science and the facts are published. Despite 7 decades of endavours, no evidence whatsoever confirming Smiths claims has been found.

brobdingnagians 6y ago

That's a very narrow and biased paper. "nothing, absolutely nothing, has ever" are loaded emotional words. It would be much more accurate to say "nothing that they know of, in their interpretation, and according to the two theories they cherrypicked and considered would suggest to them, yada yada yada". They seem to consider themselves dispassionate observers, but their analysis indicates otherwise. I am always disappointed, but not surprised, when individuals who consider themselves to be scientists fail to recognize their personal bias. There are lots of other theories, interpretations, and excavations, some obvious, that they do not consider, and which they either wilfully, or ignorantly, ignore. But that is inexcusable when they use such strong language in an obviously biased analysis, based on their personal belief. As a scientist, it is always healthy to be aware, and open, that you may not know everything, and you might be missing something obvious-- even when dealing with something that you may personally dismiss as incredible.

bildung 6y ago
Due to the obvious interest of Mormons, this isn't exactly an underresearched field. This single quote is obviously just that, a single quote of a single researcher, but to my knowledge it sums up the state of research pretty well.

woolcap 6y ago

I'd point out that the article referenced above comes from a group that could hardly be said to be 'dispassionate observers' themselves.

bildung 6y ago
Luckily, bias of the researcher is irrelevant, as this is science and the facts are published. Despite 7 decades of endavours, no evidence whatsoever confirming Smiths claims has been found.