My wife is not big into favorites. She likes so many things for so many different reasons that she finds the concept of favorites too limiting. I run roughshod over such niceties as the exclusivity of the term favorite, so I have many favorites in the very same category. I have been giving some thought to the issue of my favorites in the cyber-Mormon world. Unlike many, I include anti- and ex-Mormon stuff under the general rubric of cyber-Mormon. I don't include Evangelical stuff for the simple reason that they drive me insane. It is therefore difficult for me to imagine having a favorite among them, but rather a least unfavorite.
Here we go with some of Hiram's cyber-Mormon favorites:
In the category of ex- or anti-Mormon I have three current favorites.
1) Tal Bachman: Tal is at #1 right now, partly because I just discovered him, and partly because he is just so cool. He has written a number of excellent posts on Recovery from Mormonism that have been compiled at The Mormon Curtain blog.
2) Bob McCue: Bob is a Canadian attorney whose exodus from Mormonism created a good deal of local publicity. Bob has a website where he has made his writings documenting his exodus from Mormonism available to others. Some of them are quite long, but they are well worth the effort.
3) Richard Packham: Richard is the godfather of the ex-Mormon movement. He started the Ex-Mormon Foundation. Richard is the best guest that The Church Is Not True's podcast has ever had, with Bob McCue taking a close second.
In the category of Mormon apologists I have two favorites:
1) Kerry Shirts: half the time I can't tell exactly where Kerry is coming from, but this is a good thing. Most apologists are so predictable. The truth is that Kerry is a mystic. Since discovering mysticism, Kerry has opened up to different views.
2) Kevin Graham: Kevin also thinks outside of the box. It is a joy to watch him get into fights with other LDS apologists, especially Dan Peterson.
3) Benjamin McGuire: Ben has a very interesting approach to scriptures. He is very tolerant of those who think the Book of Mormon is inspired fiction.
In the category of favorite Mormon podcasts:
1) Mormon Stories: John Dehlin has managed to get some great guests and he regularly addresses interesting topics. His aim seems to be to help thinking Mormons stay in the Church. It's a tall order.
2) Sunstone's two podcasts: usually the new podcasts are the better of the two, but the Jan Shipps podcast is one you shouldn't miss.
3) The Church Is Not True: a couple of their shows are amazing, mostly because of the guests. In my opinion these guys are a little strident in their criticisms and loose with their facts. The child testifying to the falseness of Mormonism is wearing thin.
