Biblical Keys for Discerning True and False Prophets/Considering Joseph Smith/Paradigm debate

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A Brief Guide to Paradigm Debate in Religious Circles

One of the things that my original study of the Bible tests, recommendations, and critical practice did was to prepare me to appreciate the importance of Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and later to Ian Barbour’s important work comparing Kuhn’s model to religious debates. Here, I want to briefly survey some important issues, before looking at a specific critical response to Joseph Smith.

• Paradigm Debate and Religious Differences
• Defining Our Paradigms
• Within a Paradigm
• Between Paradigms
• The Limits of Verification
• The Limits of Falsification
• Deciding “Which Problems are more significant to have solved?”
• A Pragmatic Approach to Paradigm Debate
• Ian Barbour’s Critical Realism
• Values Applied in Paradigm Debate