{"id":83244,"date":"2020-02-29T14:33:36","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T21:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=83244"},"modified":"2020-03-05T22:42:50","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T05:42:50","slug":"a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html","title":{"rendered":"“A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Goodman<\/a>
\u201cMartin Harris\u201d from the back. \u00a0Still photograph from the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s Witnesses<\/em> film project,\u00a0courtesy of Mark Goodman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found myself thinking of the lyrics to an old Simon and Garfunkel song today. \u00a0(See the title of this blog entry, taken from \u201cThe Boxer.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is, in an odd corner of the Web, an odd message board that is devoted, to a really surprising degree, to anonymously criticizing me and all my works, day in and day out, month after month, year after year. \u00a0This has been going on for about a decade and a half. \u00a0Over the past year or two, some of the participants there have been posting blisteringly negative reviews of the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s Witnesses<\/em> film project<\/a>, for which even the dramatic portion is still only in its roughcut version, still undergoing editing, and which will only be released to theaters in October 2020.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The early bird catches the worm, I suppose. \u00a0It reminds me of the old joke where one academic asks another, \u201cHave you read Rosenbloom\u2019s new book?\u201d \u00a0\u201cRead<\/em> it?\u201d responds the first professor. \u00a0\u201cI haven\u2019t even reviewed<\/em> it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the past couple of days, these dedicated critics have focused their fire on a new video sampling, drawn from both the theatrical film and its accompanying documentary, that we\u2019ve posted on the Witnesses<\/em> website<\/a>. \u00a0Their unanimous consensus, of course, is that the movie will stink because the preliminary trailer stinks. \u00a0It\u2019s pathetic, amateurish, and so forth. \u00a0Worst of all, I\u2019m involved with it. \u00a0As a prime example of our buffoonish incompetence, they point to\u00a0the wireless microphone and wires hanging from the back of one of the actors, which they can clearly \u201csee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But we didn\u2019t use such wireless microphones and wires. \u00a0We used boom mikes<\/a>. \u00a0Or, if you prefer, \u201cboom mics.\u201d \u00a0(I really dislike that spelling, which seems to be prevalent despite my opinion of it.) \u00a0What these ardent critics are seeing isn\u2019t a wireless microphone and wire, it\u2019s\u00a0a vest that ties in the back.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I pointed this out to one of them who mustered up the courage to confront me directly (but anonymously) about the supposed wireless microphone right here on my own blog. \u00a0He responded that I was entitled to \u201cmy opinion.\u201d \u00a0But, of course, it isn\u2019t<\/em> my \u201copinion.\u201d \u00a0We used boom mikes, not little wireless mikes mounted on the actors\u2019 backs.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
Templo en Nakum, Parque Yaxh\u00e1 Nakum Naranjo, Reserva de la Biosfera Maya, Pet\u00e9n, Guatemala
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, this absurd little circus doesn\u2019t just remind me of Simon and Garfunkel. \u00a0It also makes me think of A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em> III.ii.115: \u00a0\u201cLord, what fools these mortals be!\u201d \u00a0And it\u00a0reminds me of a blog entry that I originally posted back in August 2019 (accompanied by the photograph immediately above). \u00a0In the early days, explorers and proto-archaeologists were often literally walking over the remains of Pre-Columbian fortifications \u2014 walls of timber and cast-up dirt that encircled abandoned cities but that had \u201cmelted\u201d in the heavy Mesoamerican rains \u2014 without seeing them. \u00a0And why did they not see them? \u00a0Because they didn\u2019t expect<\/em> to see them.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I posted last August:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAncient Mayan city burned in \u2018act of total war,\u2019 scientists say\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And thanks to Jason Holker for calling this article to my attention:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAncient Maya warfare flared up surprisingly early: Extreme conflicts broke out well before the civilization\u2019s decline, researchers say\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m reminded of Mormon 8:7-8:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And behold, the Lamanites have hunted my people, the Nephites, down from city to city and from place to place, even until they are no more; and great has been their fall; yea, great and marvelous is the destruction of my people, the Nephites.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites are at war one with another; and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also reminded of something that I wrote in\u00a0a review of a now long and deservedly forgotten anti-Mormon<\/a>\u00a0book back in 1989 or 1990:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Book of Mormon speaks of terrible wars occurring among its peoples, as Bartley correctly points out. Yet the Maya \u201cwere on the whole a peaceful people. Their ceremonial centres had no fortifications, and were for the most part located in places incapable of defence\u201d (p. 53). Bartley here assumes a simple equation of the Maya with the peoples of the Book of Mormon which may or may not be accurate\u2014but, more importantly, he fails to mention Sorenson\u2019s treatment of this issue.\u00a0\u00a0Nor does he show the slightest awareness of the evidence now available on \u201cthe state of war that existed constantly among many Maya cities. The modern myth that the Maya were a peace-loving, gentle people who only tended their\u00a0milpas<\/em>\u00a0and followed the stars has fallen with a thunderous crash.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Yale Mayanist Michael D. Coe puts it simply: \u201cThe Maya were obsessed with war. The Annals of the Cakciquels and the Popol Vuh speak of little but intertribal conflict among the highlanders, while the sixteen states of Yucatan were constantly battling with each other over boundaries and lineage honour. To this sanguinary record we must add the testimony of the Classic monuments and their inscriptions.\u201d\u00a0A brief glance at the volume\u00a0The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art<\/i>\u00a0is all that is needed to show clearly that the Maya were among the most bloodthirsty people in world history.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Which, in turn, reminds me of this:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hidden Coastal Culture of the Ancient Maya:\u00a0For thousands of years, ancient Maya kings ruled a vast inland empire in Mexico and Belize. But just how inland was it, really?\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the article:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cModern scientists have found that the real ancient Maya were just as war-prone as Aztecs or Europeans. . . . Contrary to their reputation, the ancient Maya engaged in plenty of warfare.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also from the article:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe presence of pirates of the ancient Caribbean might . . . explain the tall pyramid [at the coastal site of Vista Allegre, not far from Canc\u00fan\u00a0<\/strong>near the point of the<\/strong>\u00a0Yucat\u00e1n\u00a0Peninsula] that could serve dual functions: for religious ceremonies and as a lookout.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Which, in turn, reminds me of the portion of the story of Gideon and King Noah recounted in Mosiah 19:5-6:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it came to pass that he fought with the king; and when the king saw that he was about to overpower him, he fled and ran and got upon the tower which was near the temple.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And Gideon pursued after him and was about to get upon the tower to slay the king, and the king cast his eyes round about towards the land of Shemlon, and behold, the army of the Lamanites were within the borders of the land.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 I\u2019ve found myself thinking of the lyrics to an old Simon and Garfunkel song today. \u00a0(See the title of this blog entry, taken from \u201cThe Boxer.\u201d) \u00a0 There is, in an odd corner of the Web, an odd message board that is devoted, to a really surprising degree, to anonymously criticizing me and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[56,259,8951,3460,1570,5688,921],"class_list":["post-83244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-book-of-mormon-witnesses","tag-confirmation-bias","tag-critics","tag-martin-harris","tag-three-witnesses","tag-witnesses"],"yoast_head":"\n"A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    I've found myself thinking of the lyrics to an old Simon and Garfunkel song today. \u00a0(See the title of this blog entry, taken from "The\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    I've found myself thinking of the lyrics to an old Simon and Garfunkel song today. \u00a0(See the title of this blog entry, taken from "The\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-29T21:33:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-06T05:42:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/02\/Unknown-980x1024.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html\",\"name\":\"\\\"A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-02-29T21:33:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-06T05:42:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"    I've found myself thinking of the lyrics to an old Simon and Garfunkel song today. \u00a0(See the title of this blog entry, taken from \\\"The\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest\"","description":"    I've found myself thinking of the lyrics to an old Simon and Garfunkel song today. \u00a0(See the title of this blog entry, taken from \"The","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest\"","og_description":"    I've found myself thinking of the lyrics to an old Simon and Garfunkel song today. \u00a0(See the title of this blog entry, taken from \"The","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2020-02-29T21:33:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-06T05:42:50+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/02\/Unknown-980x1024.png"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html","name":"\"A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-02-29T21:33:36+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-06T05:42:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"    I've found myself thinking of the lyrics to an old Simon and Garfunkel song today. \u00a0(See the title of this blog entry, taken from \"The","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2020\/02\/a-man-hears-what-he-wants-to-hear-and-disregards-the-rest.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83244\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}