Meldrum on Mormon Stories

[græy]

I'm about half way through the second Meldrum episode, and I'm really struggling to keep listening to it. Meldrum continually turns to logical fallacies, contradicts himself, and makes false claims in an effort to support his own view (the USA was the first country on Earth to fight against slavery? B.S.).

A good friend of ours was gushing about Meldrum to my wife the other day. She was going on and on about his theory of water within the Earth and how that explains the great flood, but the science conspiracy won't ever accept that idea because it goes against what they "want" published.

I had read enough about Meldrum in the past to dismiss him as a scientific fraud. He's making money selling feel-good ideas with no substance into an echo chamber, and I don't get how so many otherwise intelligent Mormons are so scientifically illiterate so as to not be able to see that for what it is. The message feels good and confirms their world view so it must be true even if it makes no sense.

Sorry, this is just making me frustrated.

edit: The science conspiracy theory apparently stems from the "fact" that 97% of all scientists are atheist (false) and they want to publish only claims that weaken the bible (also false). WTF people? Science works! Look at your gorram cell phone. Look at progress in healthcare. That is science applied. Scientists aren't just making sh*t up to undermine your faith. Scientists are rewarded for finding new reproducible understandings of how the world works. The system does NOT reward them for making false claims that have no purpose beyond making you feel sad. There is no science conspiracy!

[Zeezrom]

I'm about half way through the second Meldrum episode, and I'm really struggling to keep listening to it. Meldrum continually turns to logical fallacies, contradicts himself, and makes false claims in an effort to support his own view (the USA was the first country on Earth to fight against slavery? B.S.).

Wow!!! Where does he think the underground railway led to????I guess if you spend your time studying mythical history you don’t get much time for actual history.

[Hagoth]

...but the science conspiracy won't ever accept that idea because it goes against what they "want" published..

This is the common thread of all pseudoscience. Once you hear this you can pretty much be certain that everything else that comes out of their mouth is BS.

[Cnsl1]

Amen and amen to what ya'll said.

Meldrum gets irritating.

... and so forth.

[Hagoth]

Speaking of irritating.

Here's another weirdly common thing I have noticed about people who think geology and biology are bogus. When asked about why the church doesn't work for gay and transgender people, Meldrum jumped the shark and went straight to bestiality and pedophilia. And when given room for clarification he stuck to his guns; f**king goats is exactly the same thing as two people in a loving, devoted lifelong relationship, if they happen to have the same genitals. These guys always go straight for bestiality. And bear in mind, this is a guy who acts like he loves and has the best wishes for everyone. I really want to like Meldrum because he seems on the surface like such a sincerely nice person. I bet he's an awesome home teacher.

So, how can an otherwise nice person have all of this sewage boiling just beneath the surface? The only answer I can come up with is that if you really, literally believe the teachings of the church you have no choice but to be a biggoted a$$h*le, even if your nature is to be otherwise. The only reason these people reject science in the first place is that they prioritize a very specific set of ancient myths above empirical truth, and while some of those myths are beautiful and inspiring, others should have remained in the Bronze Age, along with the notion that the earth is flat.

Speaking of which, it was funny to hear how crazy Meldrum thinks flat earth is, considering that the motivations and beliefs of flat-earthers, and their regard for actual science, are the same as his own.

[Hagoth]

Any bets about whether Rod will show up for the promised debates with scientists? I really hope it happens, but I'm giving it at least a 50% chance that he will have a prompting telling him not to.

I want to hear his explanations - in the presence of scientists - of why all dating methods are inaccurate and were running at 27 times faster than their current speed (his claim) right up until very recently. And I hope someone asks him to explain why trees and speleothems once produced 27 times more rings per year than they currently do, and why lake sediments and ice shelf layers also piled up 27 times faster. I also want to know how dinosaur bones fossilized overnight. He says he has conclusive proof of that. If that is true, those clueless paleontologists could be excavating bones of dinosaur species that are still alive and died as recently as last week.

[jfro18]

Any bets about whether Rod will show up for the promised debates with scientists? I really hope it happens, but I'm giving it at least a 50% chance that he will have a prompting telling him not to.

I won't lie to you, from listening to that third part Meldrum really seems delusional enough to where he thinks he could withstand a debate by just yelling that the science of dating is wrong over and over again.

Like he was pressed on the interview so many times and just plowed through it so I don't know why he would just stop showing up now. He is a true believer in what he says as impossible as his beliefs might be.