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Originally Posted by Rathji

Now I realize that story was simplified to the point of absurdity, but the point is, if you believe that God can do all this stuff and understand that he changed the skin color of these people. It really isn't that big of a stretch to believe that he changed this skin color by altering thier DNA. I mean he is God and all powerful and everything, but the stuff he does needs to follow the rules he set up when he made the world. Its not like he can just grab a can of paint and say "Bam, your brown", so he changes their DNA.

True, but would He do the change in such a way that it appeared exactly like was a natural progression of populations over very specific geographic areas at very specific times? To me that seems deceptive.

If you don't believe in God, or that he created the world, or that his is all powerful, then I can imagine that is is pretty nuts to agree with this explaination, but how could you deny that it makes total sense to someone who does beleive those things.

Well I can't deny it would make sense to someone who believes those things, but that's circular logic. I believe the things I do because they are right, and they are right because I believe them.

To me something written by God would be self evidently so... it would make clear predictions that come true (not veiled in the ambiguities of history and language), it would be perfectly self consistent, and it would address questions and issues far in advance of when it was written, instead of appearing to be entirely a product of the time it was written. I haven't read the book of Mormon so I don't know if it meets these criteria or not.

Rationalizing inconsistancy that I have found between what scripture says and what science says can be boiled down to one simple fact. If you beleive in the fact that God exists and believe that he has done everything people say he has done, then it is not a big stretch to believe that he did those things in a way that forced us to have faith that he existed rather than a way that give us proof he existed.

Right, but that's belief based on... nothing, just based on a desire to believe. Believing he did everything he said he did also requires believing that he actually said those things too. All this reasoning could be applied to Odin or Zeus and come to the same conclusions; why not believe in them?

And that's fine for some, but what about those that can't believe like that? Not everyone can believe based on no reason.

I don't think you mean forced to have faith do you? That would imply that God's chosen those who he's forced to have faith and those who don't.. meaning he chose those who don't believe to not believe, meaning there's no free will (and presumably sending those that don't believe to hell or whatever the Mormon equivilent is).