As part of our stated mission to defend the Church, its doctrines, leaders and practices, we at FAIR recognize the power of the “bloggernacle” and it’s utility in discussing difficult and controversial topics. For that reason, FAIR has chosen to use this medium as a way of discussing topics relevant to Mormon Apologetics.
Some of you might inquire, “What exactly is apologetics and what do you feel you need to apologize for”? The answer to this last question is “Nothing.”
“What” you ask? “But you are apologists! It is in your name, the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research!”
Yes, it is true that our members and many contributors are considered apologists and our name carries the term apologetic. However, saying we are “sorry” is pretty much the opposite of what we are about. You see, apologetics is a branch of theology that deals with the defense of a person’s faith or beliefs (see Dictionary.com – Apologetics). In this sense, being an apologist actually means NOT saying we’re sorry.
That is not to say we don’t make mistakes; we do. In fact, we might even apologize for them. However, we do not “apologize” on behalf of the Church for its teachings, practices, or leaders. Rather, we stand at the ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us (see 1 Peter 3:14 – 16). We seek to gather information, reasoning, research, and insights from individuals of intellect and understanding who are faithful in their beliefs that the Gospel is restored and that the canonized scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are inspired of God and useful for our sojourn towards eternity. We make this information available to those who find their own faith attacked by the “cunning craftiness” of some who “lie in wait to deceive” (see Ephesians 4: 11 – 14).
Might we make mistakes in this endeavor? Undoubtedly we will, and when we do we hope you will simply see it as evidence that we are like everyone else on this spinning orb who seeks to work out their own salvation. However, we are sincerely optimistic that what we provide is fertile ground in which individual seeds of faith may sprout and continue to grow despite the winds of opposition we may face from our critics.
If you are a friend and you come here to find insights and information, we hope that you will find the topics we cover and the way we approach them useful and faith affirming. We caution you that, since we sometimes discuss controversial issues, not everyone who comments on posts on this blog will be supportive. Critics and friends alike will no doubt venture here, and there will be opinions shared that will vary. Do not take offense when such opposition is manifest, as we have no desire to violate anyone’s sensibilities. As Brigham Young is rumored to have cautioned, “Only a fool would take offense when no offense was intended, and only a bigger fool would take offense when offense was intended.” We intend no offense.
If you are a critic and you come here to see what FAIR has to say, we welcome you to our little corner of cyberspace and hope that you will find the posts informative even if you disagree with us on points or conclusions. We realize that issues of faith or secular religion (as some have termed non-belief in God) is deeply personal. We expect you will be treated with the same “FAIR” treatment that you give those who sit opposite you on a matters of opinion.
In the coming days and weeks, we will seek to bring you insightful posts on topics from a wide variety of subjects and scholarly disciplines. We will cover matters of Church history, doctrine and practices, archaeological and scientific evidences. We will cover social issues, humorous encounters, and counter-arguments of claims against leaders. We will laugh at ourselves. We will hold our critics feet to the fire and we will explore new insights in faith-affirming gospel topics.
While we cannot promise you that everything we post will be free from “material defect in workmanship” (for a period of six months from the date of posting—see limited warranty), we do promise you that we will take on tough topics from a position of faith, and hopefully give fertile terrain in which your faith my flourish.
If you have a particular topic you would like to see covered, please feel free to suggest it. If we don’t have an in-house expert, we will try to find one. But always feel free to drop in, peruse the posts, and hopefully be enlightened.
John Lynch
Chairman, FAIR
Welcome to the Bloggernacle. I look forward to reading this blog as often as possible.
John:
Will fair be seeking a spot on ldsblogs.org? I know Kevin Barney posts a lot over at By Common Consent. Are you going to try and woo him over here? (just kidding)
Thanks John, I will drop by often.
Matt,
Kevin is a tremendous contributor to FAIR and serves with me on the Board. I certainly hope we can persuade him to contribute. We would all be the better for it.
The reality is, we would love to see as many quality contributors as we can draw. If you have a topic you would like to see addressed, we will try to find a guest blogger to cover it if none of our current contributors take it on. By the same token, if you know someone you think would fit well in our playground here, we will similarly invite them to come and “try out” blogging on a guest or test basis.
John L.