We need a new term.
We have 'retcon' for retroactive continuity, and it's a term I've used a few times in going over some of the evolution of Mormonism over the decades (despite the Mormons themselves publishing explicit proof of their practice while steadfastly denying it occurs) and I've been comfortable using it.
But I'm 1/2 way through Jesus Interrupted, and some of the chicanery involved in supposed 'Holy Truth' doesn't really fit into the world of retconning.
I think we need the term:
retdiscon, in other words, retroactive discontinuity. Subsequent Bible writers and editors and correctors and forgers go back over some book, parable or verse and change it, but they don't fix 'continuity errors', they COMPOUND them !!
And I realize now, that is a better descriptive for some of the bullshit Joe Smith was trying to pass off. All kinds of things Joe (and subsequent Mormon poohbahs) changed turned out to be changes for the worse. Now, quite a bit of the 'worse' angle was the Mormons compulsion to publish doctrinal items, then change them, then publish the changed version and then hope nobody noticed anything changed. And of course that leads back to something that unfortunately for them, wasn't changed soon enough, and that is the command from God to be a record keeping people.
And of course, they did eventually catch on to the record keeping requirement, and that is you 'keep' them. Publishing things can be a problem, as they have failed to learn on so very, very, very many times.
We have 'retcon' for retroactive continuity, and it's a term I've used a few times in going over some of the evolution of Mormonism over the decades (despite the Mormons themselves publishing explicit proof of their practice while steadfastly denying it occurs) and I've been comfortable using it.
But I'm 1/2 way through Jesus Interrupted, and some of the chicanery involved in supposed 'Holy Truth' doesn't really fit into the world of retconning.
I think we need the term:
retdiscon, in other words, retroactive discontinuity. Subsequent Bible writers and editors and correctors and forgers go back over some book, parable or verse and change it, but they don't fix 'continuity errors', they COMPOUND them !!
And I realize now, that is a better descriptive for some of the bullshit Joe Smith was trying to pass off. All kinds of things Joe (and subsequent Mormon poohbahs) changed turned out to be changes for the worse. Now, quite a bit of the 'worse' angle was the Mormons compulsion to publish doctrinal items, then change them, then publish the changed version and then hope nobody noticed anything changed. And of course that leads back to something that unfortunately for them, wasn't changed soon enough, and that is the command from God to be a record keeping people.
And of course, they did eventually catch on to the record keeping requirement, and that is you 'keep' them. Publishing things can be a problem, as they have failed to learn on so very, very, very many times.
The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it.
