Theos-Talk Archives (November 2006 Message tt00463)

Daniel,

I know you "do not care about what people think of you". No problem. 

Yet I sense that, out of  respect for theosophists, you might clarify one day  your cover actions under false names,  and explain your true goals after all. 

I can wait.

I know that the Universal Potentialities for Good are present in everyone and  you, of course, are no exception to that rule. 


All the best,   Carlos. 





De:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Para:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Cópia:

Data:Tue, 07 Nov 2006 21:08:49 -0000

Assunto:[Spam] Theos-World Carlos & Paul: Ad Hominem Distractions??

> Carlos and Paul: Ad Hominem Distractions?? 
> 
> Way back in January 1997 when Paul Johnson did
> an official reply to my HOUSE OF CARDS critique of
> his books, after dealing in some detail with
> some of my criticisms, he apparently couldn't resist
> ending his reply with what I viewed at the time
> as simply an "ad hominem" argument/distraction. He had
> to try to analyze my motives, etc. etc. I quote some
> of his words AT THE VERY END OF THIS EMAIL.
> 
> It made me smile at the time and still does when
> I read this sentence of his:
> 
> "Mr. Caldwell has ingratiated himself with Theosophical
> orthodoxy by leading the charge against my work."
> 
> One assumption piled upon another and another and another piled upon
> those! The whole section is full of them!
> 
> Even if all of what he wrote was GOSPEL TRUTH, what does
> any of that [concerning my supposed motivations and actions]
> have to do with the validity of my criticisms about his books?
> 
> At the time I decided to simply ignore his psychobabble speculation
> about me and instead to reply to some of his "reply" dealing with
> HPB and the Masters which was (believe it or not) the focus of my
> HOUSE OF CARDS critique to begin with..... You can still read my
> reply to his reply at:
> 
> http://blavatskyarchives.com/johnsonparanormal3.htm
> 
> Then last year we had dear Jerome Wheeler in the pages of FOHAT
> write a "review" of my ESOTERIC WORLD OF MADAME BLAVATSKY and
> instead of confining his comments to the contents of my book, he
> choose to go "ad hominem" and suggest all sorts of dark motives,
> etc. on my part, etc. etc.
> 
> Now, we have Paul's detective work posted once again by dear
> Carlos. Carlos is very good at the ad hominem DISTRACTIONS. :)
> 
> Should I reply and what would be accomplished if I did?
> 
> I must say that I feel just like I did in 1997. What is to gained
> by answering any of it. Do I really care if Carlos or anyone else
> considers me a decent guy or ... the worse of dugpas (sorry
> Charlie...!!)??
> 
> As far as I can tell, all of this is simply DISTRACTION. Ad hominem
> arguments by nature are designed to distract.
> 
> One of the most distinguished of our posters here on Theos-Talk
> several years ago stated that Paul Johnson wrote his books to make
> money or (what was the other reason?) to achieve some kind of fame
> (I think!). But why write such "garbage"? Even if the assertions
> were totally true, does that really tell us whether the CONTENTS of
> Paul's books are valid or not? I don't think so.
> 
> I have over the years tried to make some contributions to
> Theosophical knowledge, in my books, in some articles, in the
> contents of my website. If interested inquirers and students find
> value in any of that material, great...if not ....then so be it.
> 
> I have had an abiding interest in Blavatsky, the Masters and
> Theosophy since 1968 and I suspect that interest will continue until
> I exit this physical plane. I will continue to post on Theos-Talk
> material that I think may be of interest to some readers and I will
> continue to add content to my website as well as work on my book
> projects. 
> 
> Carlos and those of like mind can continue to yell slander and use
> ad Hominem arguments and distractions about me as much as they
> want. But I have more important things to do than respond to such
> things. If people want to judge me for that...one way or the
> other....good do it.
> 
> Anyway BELOW is Paul's wonderful "speculations" about me in 1997. 
> This little piece of writing gave me some insight into how Johnson 
> must have written some of the material in his books on HPB and her 
> Masters. :)
> 
> Daniel
> 
> ================================================
> Why has Mr. Caldwell devoted such passionate
> effort to discrediting my work, at the same time that he
> promotes as reliable almost every other book on Theosophical
> history produced by Theosophists? More puzzling to me, why
> does he virtually ignore the large body of works that are
> hostile to Blavatsky and dismissive of the Masters' existence,
> while spending years publicly bombarding me, a basically friendly
> Theosophical author, with blame and disdain? During the last
> three and a half years that I have been regularly attacked by
> Mr. Caldwell, these questions have arisen again and again, and
> they remain perplexing. One likely incentive suggests itself:
> Mr. Caldwell has ingratiated himself with Theosophical
> orthodoxy by leading the charge against my work. Since he and
> John Algeo have emerged as the chief denouncers of my books,
> Dr. Algeo has announced that under his editorship Theosophical
> Publishing House will reprint Mr. Caldwell's compilation of
> laudatory accounts of HPB. Theirs is to be the official party
> line (in which criticism of HPB is minimized) whereas my work
> is to be the officially repudiated "house of cards."
> The behavior of Mr. Caldwell and Dr. Algeo in response to
> my work conveys an air of desperation. Not content to point
> out a few flaws and praise a few strengths, they ignore the
> evidence on behalf of the hypotheses offered ("No evidence" is
> repeated like a mantram in Dr. Algeo's reviews) and attempt to
> demolish my credibility. Such extreme tactics directed toward
> a member of the same spiritual organization suggest that they
> perceive the stakes to be very high. Why is my work perceived
> by them as more "dangerous" than others which address the same
> topic? What they are defending has all the earmarks of a true
> "house of cards": a complex structure resting on a chain of
> inferences and rooted in demonstrably false assumptions. (That
> HPB and Olcott's accounts of the Masters are consistent and
> reliable, most notably.) My hypotheses provide a paradigm
> shift in approaches to the Masters, a shift that is extremely
> unwelcome in orthodox circles. If the Theosophical movement
> advances toward recognizing the need to sort out truth from
> fiction on the topic of the Masters, many things become
> subject to question. Most notably for Mme. Burnier and Dr.
> Algeo, these are the legitimacy of the Esoteric Section based
> on its alleged sponsorship by the Masters, since the TS remains
> dominated by this secret inner group. Most importantly for Mr.
> Caldwell, it might become necessary to reevaluate the spiritual
> status of Mme. Blavatsky and her Masters and the authority of
> texts he considers sacred. In order to forestall such
> developments, they have chosen to kill the messenger through
> an intellectualized form of character assassination. I can
> only hope that perceptive readers will recognize such tactics
> and what they reveal about those who use them. They strain
> at the gnat of my minor errors, while swallowing the camel
> of HPB's total credibility. This is their only strategy for
> propping up the house of cards in which orthodox Theosophists
> have been living for the past century. Until they can offer
> their own explanation of the evidence I have presented, and
> arguments for their interpretation of HPB, it will be obvious that
> they
> are more interested in defending dogmas than in searching for truth.
> This, in the words of the Gospel of Matthew, is the behavior of
> "blind guides."
> ===========================================================
> Quoted from: http://members.tripod.com/~dlane5/pjimp.html
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
> 
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