Once again, science is showing that religion--most religions anyway--are a bunch of hooey if you try and take their scripture or myth literally. The Mormons have always had what I've thought to be one of the kookier back stories out there, so it's really no surprise when it turns out their view of the world is highly inaccurate.
I mean, this is a religion that's less than 200 years old, for one thing. How can you sign up for that? I could start a religion today that would make more sense and wouldn't be all that much younger, especially when compared with some of the big hitters like Christianity (2000 years) or Judaism (um... even longer).
Also, the Mormon church was started by a belligerent drunk who got kicked out of more towns than he was welcomed. Big surprise that he moved all the way to Utah at a time when Utah seemed about as far as the moon. And they think Jesus stopped by the New World (of course he did! Doesn't have anything better to do when rising from the dead, why not hang out where nobody lives yet, bury some dinnerware in upstate New York, and then hoof it back to Israel)! I'm not a huge believer in any religion's particular dogma, but I gotta tell you--the odds that the Mormons have it right have got to be pretty small.
Anyway, I know plenty of Mormons, and the majority of them are very nice people. Some of the nicest people I know, in fact. But it just goes to show you how religion can ask even the sanest and kindest souls to accept the preposterous.
February 17, 2006
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10 comments:
*cough* the mormon religion is a branch of Christianity, not a seperate entity all together. *cough* That is all!
Nice try. But I don't buy that when they have a set of dogmatic beliefs that differ so widely from almost every other Christian sect out there.
They don't get to coast on Christianity's 2000 years when they have a different heaven, different prophets, and a different set of moral rules. Technically they may be the same, but for all intents and purposes they're a separate entity.
I think you're wrong. Mormons believe in God and Jesus Christ, and that's all you need to know. If you want REAL info go to www.mormon.org
Yeah, i gotta agree with the brotha on this one. Mormonism dresses up in a Christian costume, but they are not quite the same. (Mormon's like to say this is not true, but hardcore Christians are adamant that it is.) Same basic God - the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob - and same basic Jesus, although my Jesus never came to America....but different everything else.
As somebody who comments under the anonymous tag I feel it is my duty to call BS on the anonymous comment above.
From www.mormon.org: "The Book of Mormon is another witness that Jesus Christ really lived, that He was and is God’s Son. It contains the writings of ancient prophets. One of these, Lehi, lived in Jerusalem around 600 B.C. God commanded Lehi to lead a small group of people to the American continent. There they became a great civilization."
sb never says that they dont have a core belief in Jesus Christ and a Christian God. He does imply that they have managed to tack on enough wacky components to have earnt crazy cult status all on their own (refer quote above :)).
Which is not to say other Christian sects haven't set themselves up in a similar manner. The superstitions of a pre-Vatican II Catholic Church spring to mind here, but put simply if you think "Mormons believe in God and Jesus Christ, and that's all you need to know" you're an idiot. - Nick
Oh, and because I feel like starting World War IV by mocking religion further (World War III having been initiated by some Danish cartoons) here's a hymn for all.
(To the tune of Teddy Bears Picnic)
If you go out in the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go out in the woods today
You'd better go in disguise.
For every mormon that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day that John Smith has his vision.
If you go out in the woods today,
You'd better not go alone.
It's lovely out in the woods today,
But safer with 3 wives at home.
For every mormon that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day that John Smith has his vision.
Every mormon, that's been good
Is sure of a treat today
There's lots of wonderful things to eat
And caffeine wont get in the way
Beneath the trees, where nobody sees
They'll hide and seek as long as they please
Today's the day that John Smith has his vision.
Ahhhh - immaturity, let me bask in your warm glow.
OK EVERYONE.. calm down.
See what happens when you try to talk about religion at the dinner table. People call other people idiots.
You can not call someone an idiot for their beliefs.. no matter how WACKY ! It would be like calling me an idiot because I believe the color purple is the best color there is. To ME.. it is my belief and I am NOT an idiot. At least I dont think I am! I may be crazy but not an idiot!
Umm - if you read my comment you'd see I called them an idiot for the statement "Mormons believe in God and Jesus Christ, and that's all you need to know". It is not all you need to know, as was fleshed out by the rest of my comment - hence the idiot label. I didnt call anyone an idiot for their personal beliefs, faiths or colour preferences. (Although if purple is your favourite colour, clearly your a moron).
*WARNING* Sarcasm Alert *WARNING*
- in case that last sentence offends any purple lovers out there.
Im going to add more, because Im bored and the more I thought about the comment that a belief can’t be called idiotic the more it bothered me. Of course a belief can be called idiotic. Just because somebody sincerely believes something does not provide that belief with immunity from analysis, criticism or ridicule. I genuinely believe that I am a messenger from God brought to cleanse the Earth of all red heads, as red is the devils colour. Now, before I go and blow away every redhead in the name of my Faith I think the least the rest of you can do is to call my belief idiotic.
Your point has some merit but only in reference to opinions. If purple is my favourite colour that’s an opinion not a belief. It is difficult to say that the opinion is wrong for me (emphasis on the “me” part). Even that point is open to debate though. For instance, in my opinion, the 80’s hair metal group Ratt are far better musicians than the Beetles. Possibly a stupid opinion? At what point does an individuals opinion move from an inarguable personal preference to something that requires a supporting argument/evidence?
Legally, not all opinions (or beliefs) are equal. An expert witnesses opinion counts for far more in a court case than your average man on the street. My inexpert opinion on my houses land value is not going to be used to determine the land tax value. And as for beliefs – not all faiths are recognized by the government (Scientology is not recognized in Germany, the Raelians were not recognized in the US). The government may not be saying the word “idiot” but they are legislating to that effect.
In my opinion (and it is only MY opinion and therefore completely open to disagreement and debate) a few thousand years of human history/wars has shown us that peoples beliefs and religious institutions should have been called out as idiotic a few more times.
My apologies that my use of the idiot label made it appear that this discussion would devolve into simplistic name calling, however it was in response to what I perceived as a fairly simplistic comment, ie Mormons believe in Jesus, that’s all you need to know, something that I tried to make clear with the rest of my post.
PS Ratt rocks!
Alright, simmer down ya'll. Good points have been made, but let me summarize by saying that religion is best defined by the people who practice it. You can be a snake-handling anarchist devil-worshipper and still be a good person, or you can be the most devout and scripture-quoting soul on the planet and be bad.
I'll remember not to bring this up at the next dinner party I attend.
:)
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