My critics are much exercised because they believe I am trying to force someone to publicly bear their testimony. This is a mere obfuscation. I am criticizing his published position on an intellectual issue of interest to the Latter-day Saints. If he want’s to further explain his position, he’s welcome to post on my blog, or elsewhere.
I am not asking him to bear his testimony. I am asking him to clarify and explain the cogency and coherence of his ideas as expressed in a published essay. It is purely an academic issue. I have not insulted him (like his supporters have done to me), I have not accused him of being unchristian (as his supporters have done to me), I have not vilified him (as his supporters have done to me).
If someone asks me if I believe in evolution, I tell them I do indeed, and I defend my views. If someone asks me if I believe in a universal flood, I tell them I don’t, and I defend my position. If someone asks me if I believe in Mesoamerican geography of the Book of Mormon, I tell them I do, and defend my position. And there are many Latter-day Saints who believe that my position on those three issues is heresy. Yet I don’t whine that people are calling me a heretic or forcing me to bear my testimony.