By this I think they mean to argue that believing in OJ is not silly or irrational. This stance is appealing to these types of people for obvious reasons; they are too intellectually savvy to claim that they can prove their religion is the one true religion, and not just because 100% proof isn't possible, but they wouldn't even claim that of all the alternatives, OJ is the most reasonable or likely.
However they are also not fundamentalist enough to proclaim 100% conviction and loyalty to some fundamentalist doctrine which by all accounts is crazy. So, they convince themselves that their position is at least 'intellectually defensible', i.e. coherent, not crazy, not significantly contradicted by any known evidence, and so on.
The intellefundies that I know vary on how they create this 'intellectual defense'.
The more right wing fundies will stick to the ikkarim without fail, and will rely on metaphorical approaches to Breishis to answer questions from Science. These types will generally reject the validity of Biblical Criticism outright, because they have no way of assimilating it into their defense.
However more left wing fundies are even able to address Biblical Criticism. One guy I know says that he has trained himself that if ever Biblical Criticism was proved true (or if he himself came to that conclusion through his own research), it wouldn't matter. He would still believe that the Bible was 100% Divinely inspired, but it was just created and compiled by various people over the centuries.
Personally, I don't believe that OJ is even intellectually defensible.
We know too much about ancient religions, about the incredible bias of religious types, about the powerful hold that religious indoctrination can have on a person, about the formation of ancient myths, about the structure and style of the Old Testament, about ancient archeology and about religious fundamentalism in general to believe that it is in any way defensible. Only religious fundamentalists themselves think that their positions are intellectually defensible, nobody else does.
I found this new book book that makes this point, specifically about OJ. From the description:"With an engaging manner, a clarity of expression, and a keen sense of humor that make this powerful book a pleasure to read, first-time author R.D. Gold relentlessly dismantles the whole mind-set of the religious fundamentalist. At first glance, it might appear that Gold has the singular purpose of deconstructing the doctrines of Orthodox Judaism (Jewish fundamentalism), but in reality the book develops a compelling argument that applies to all forms of fundamentalist religion. The evangelical belief system is firmly anchored in the same literal reading of the Old Testament that is at the core of Orthodox Jewish doctrine, and indeed would be incomprehensible without it. By pulling up the anchor that is the literal truth of the Torah, Gold sets adrift not only the foundation of Orthodox Judaism, but of Christian fundamentalism as well.
There is a great debate unfolding across the country pitting reason and science against revelation and faith. Bondage of the Mind talks to that vast audience of modern readers who are trying to figure out where they stand on the spectrum of religious belief.
Recognizing that even the most skeptical among us are uncomfortable with the atheist label, Bondage of the Mind develops a powerful argument that our choice is not limited to fundamentalism (I believe all of it) or atheism (I believe none of it).
Bondage of the Mind relentlessly dismantles the doctrines of religious fundamentalism - focusing on Orthodox Judaism (Jewish fundamentalism) -- but its core message is not that religion should be abandoned. Rather, the core message is that religious fundamentalism is an insidious force that must be combated if our hearts and minds are to remain free."
Sounds interesting.HALOSCAN COMMENTS
