The NEW Maxwell Institute

The new Maxwell Institute has started a blog and a facebook page.

http://www.maxwellinstituteblog.org/

https://www.facebook.com/maxwellinstitute

They have also announced the board of the new Mormon Studies Review, which will produce one volume a year.

http://www.maxwellinstituteblog.org/announcing-the-new-mormon-studies-review-2/

It is crystal clear that for the new Maxwell Institute, Mormon Studies means secular-style studies of nineteenth and twentieth century Mormonism.  No one on the advisory or editorial board has any expertise or interest in in the ancient world, biblical studies, etc.  With this new board of editors, the new Maxwell Institute is signaling its complete abandonment of the original mission of FARMS, that is, the study of the intersection of ancient research and Mormon studies, as well as its abandonment of apologetics.  (A number of members of the advisory board are non-Mormons, which is fine in itself, but they will not be interested in LDS apologetics).  I should add, since it is quickly forgotten, that I have no objection to this type of Mormon Studies.  There was simply no reason to destroy FARMS in order to do it.  Both could have been done.  And there are already plenty of outlets for Mormon Studies: BYUS, JMH, JWHS, etc.

Whether this will be a good thing or a bad thing, we’ll have to wait and see.  But we do know that John Dehlin is “excited for the dawn of a new age!!!!” (from the Facebook page).  (Why does John Dehlin get to post on their Facebook page and I don’t?)

I should note that their Facebook page has a header with photos of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.  I posted the following comment on their Facebook:  “Pictures of Nibley books: good.  Nibley apologetics: not so good.”  Alas, it was taken down.  I guess I can’t blame them.   I am Emmanuel Goldstein, after all.