http://www.amazon.com/Deconstructing-Mormonism-Analysis-Assessment-Mormon/product-reviews/1578840074/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

You would think that Kerry would have finished his life faithfully defending Mormonism till the day he died with his hilarious antics on youtube such as obsidian swords cutting off the heads of horses and other unsupportable assertions that leave so many folks rolling on the floor with laughter. But no! Kerry is waking up. I saw his awakening a while back in a discussion he was having with his fellow apologists as he was pleading with them that their answers are not valid and that the world was better informed than even they were.

In his review on Amazon of the book “Deconstructing Mormonism: An Analysis and Assessment of the Mormon Faith” Kerry is open, honest and straightforward. It is the most refreshing thing I have ever read that an apologist has ever said. I give Kerry five stars!

If I had read the book I would give a review myself and I would give Kerry kudos for seeing the world as it actually is and for having the courage to read the information in the book until he understood what the author was trying to impart. This desire for truth by honestly wanting to understand the other side of the coin is what the search for truth is all about and it has created a fantastic awakening in a man who once thought he knew the truth but has now realized that he cannot look away from the fact that he was not fully informed.

Thank you Kerry, for being honest with yourself and the world instead of falling back on faulty logic, misdirection, obfuscation and feelings in order to protect a testimony of something that never deserved one.

I would exhort all here at exmormon to go take the time to read his review.

Did he say Mormonism is a load?

Wow - it looks like this is a decent book!

it's like when Robin Williams got sober

and stopped being funny.

Say it ain't so, Kerry!

As an amateur comedian (hey, I'm a slut for tips these days), I can tell you it's a whole lot easier to keep drunks entertained than sober sorts...

And yes, I'm sober myself... And I think this is a scream...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtPp_xIpC4

"...the sledge hammer of logic and doubt is now shattering the glass of faith."

Wow, that is huge. I don't know Kerry, but it seems like he's on his way out. Is DCP next?

Haha I really like that metaphor! It explains the situation quite well

I couldn't help but notice that this review was very long-winded... Something it seems all apologists have in common. :)

That said, it was very honest. Seems to be on his way out.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2013 12:32PM by Xyandro.

I get the impression from the reviews that it's kind of a boring read. Factual, and informative, but count on slogging through if you do buy the book.

Kerry Shirts has a lot of crow to eat. I think we should help him by offering a little anti-acid and some good ale to get it down. Anyone invite him here?

Most of them have. I know I tangled with Linsday once, and Van Hale had to be shown the door several times...

I wish him well, but my bullshit radar is jangling a bit with this one...

I hate to be cynical, but it looks like Shirts is pumping the author up...

Remember, Shirts' basic M.O. is as a clown...

Yes, antacids are good for a burning in the bosom.

Posted by Kerry Shirts on a Mormon discussion board back in August:

"Someone accused me of being an atheist. No, I regret to inform you that prophecy in LDS public is as lousy as in history and scripture. What I am is skeptical. Now that I am checking on my own assumptions, which is pretty much all the assumptions the rest of we Mormons hold also, I am asking far tougher questions of my own beliefs, as well as others, and I am finding it interesting that all the sudden the only response that is comforting, because, many questions being asked are not answerable without serious cognitive dissonance on all our parts, is to falsely accuse me of atheism. Let me clarify, I am a skeptic of many things I have been taught to believe simply on faith and that just because an authority proclaims a doctrine I was to believe it. I have been told, as we all have, what to think all my life. Now that I am learning HOW to think THROUGH my assumptions and take them ALL THE WAY TO THEIR HONEST CONCLUSION, I admit, I have become quite skeptical of a lot. If it really does bother many of you, we can carry on conversations email, and I will stop posting here so as to quit disturbing the comfortable cushion of equilibrium of faith you all live in.

I am sincerely sorry for interrupting several threads with my own personal problem of doubts. If I feel the need to actually air them, I shall start new threads and quit worrying about showing the illogical stance so many continue to believe is the truth. That way nuthin gets derailed.

Thanks,
Kerry"

Thanks Raven. Good for Kerry is what I say regardless of his misguided past. We were all there once.

I hope he figures it out. Actually, after reading that post, I think he has figured it out and is now trying to determine his best course of action. Like many of us, his job, family, reputation, and friends are most likely on the line.

Also, this has to be gutwrenching for him. The stronger the faith, the harder the fall.

Kerry, if you read here, best wishes to you in your journey to discover truth.

Where is Kerry Shirts posting at? Can you provide the link? I met him when I exited Mormonism, and I wonder if he still remembers me.

he has a facebook account, where he cites stephen hawking:
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”

"The persona of Mormonism as a faith that embraces wholesome family values is more than a distortion, it’s a lie. So too is the image of Mormon parents who allegedly or seemingly put family first. In reality, the “Mormon family” is, at its core, a fraud when it comes to accepting, respecting and fostering the autonomy, individuality, and psychological development and well-being of its members. And, as we have learned earlier, it is also a fraud inasmuch as it makes the acceptance and approval of its members conditional on the basis of self-sacrifice and the subordination of personal freedom to the authoritative collective demands, interests and expectations of authoritarian parents, parent-leaders, and an illusory parent-God."

http://insidemormonism-aamf.blogspot.com/2011/10/inside-mormonism.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2013 12:40PM by Twinker.

http://www2.ida.net/graphics/shirtail/mormonis.htm

He is one that helped push me over the edge in determining the morg was a complete pile of crap.

His monkey's were as good as Ash's tapir though.

I had the question as to whether this was indeed Kerry Shirts.

As the thread has developed, my question has been resolved.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!! Takes a lot of humility to realize that one has been seriously misled.

Congratulations, Kerry!

On the MAD board not too long ago, Kerry really laid into some of his fellow apologists, namely Lou Midgley, and a couple of others, for their treatment of NOMs, in particular. It was quite refreshing.

How can we be sure it's not a spoof?

I've seen Kerry Shirts stuff on you tube and it's so stupid I can't believe that somehow he manages to ignore himself while talking and not hear his own BS. lol

I must admit though, he seems a real decent guy and I bet he's otherwise fun to be around.

Could he really survive life if he realises the church isn't true? He's done stuff with FAIR I think, and attends their BS conferences!

It's sometimes difficult to be sure what, on the internet, can be taken at face value. Heck, long before there was such a thing as the internet, the early Christian Church struggled with the question of what were genuine writings of Peter and Paul and what were not (and in some cases, biblical scholars now mostly agree, got it wrong).

Mr. Shirts stopped updating his "The Backyard Professor" blog about a year ago, so my guess is that it was about at that point, if not before, that he began harboring serious doubts.

In one of his last blog posts he wrote,"A popularized Atheist Credo I have been told by atheists is that we Bible believers are taught not to think, but simply accept what we are told. I simply do not find that concept in the Bible. The exact opposite intellectual paradigm is actually presented to us to consider." It may well be that he began to take that "atheist credo" to heart and started to think for himself instead of simply accepting what he had been told. It certainly sounds that way from his August 2012 message that I quoted above.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2013 01:46PM by theraven.

Yes wow! I saw your prior post as well and it just could be the real deal.

Imagine Kerry guest speaking at a future Exmo conference!

Now that would be stunning because he is so comical.

My TBM stepson was quite enamored with kerry shirts at one time.

Maybe he needs a copy of kerry's book.

Hmm. The next Thomas Ferguson?

Its really quite strange that apologists don't leave Mormonism all the time. They get up every morning and dig their way through mountains of evidence disproving everything they preach in order to find the tiniest shred of anything to cast just enough doubt to give the Morg an out. Keep in mind that these are the same facts that convinced all us of the truth; and they're out there thoroughly researching it all the time!

They must just be yelling to themselves, "It is true! It is true! It is true!" all day long.

I'm so gratified by this book, and the review of it by Kerry S.

My first response is to send it to several family & friends. It's probably perfect for some, and too deep for others.

I'm tempted to wade through it & thus be even better prepared for the day when my TBM family & friends begin to seriously evaluate their beliefs.

I hate the waiting game.......

I am far more likely to believe Shirts if he confesses his doubts about Mormonism than I am to believe Lance Armstrong is sincere about his doping problem...

But I remain skeptical, nevertheless...

From the looks of it, Kerry has started to value the process and its tools more than the subject. Good for him.

It would be interesting to compare how often amateur apologists leave the church versus apologists who receive church financial support decide to leave.

It seems like quite a few exmos at rfm are former amateur apologists. There is no greater catalyst for apotasy than deciding to learn more about your own religion!

It's time a local ex-mo takes him out for a coffee...or a beer...or something.

Big step, that review. Good for him. I think we should all root for him. Where he is we once were.

Human