S/O Mormonism... I just don't get it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My favorite telling of the story of Joseph Smith - from South Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFMgqYs0KIo

And let's not even start on Brigham Young....

OMG that is hilarious! Now I want to see South Park make one about Christianity and Islam.

[Anonymous]

Of course all religions require some suspension of disbelief. And I don't think anyone is unaware of how odd and improbable the whole virgin birth thing is. But Mormonism requires this and so much more - the whole Jews=native americans thing, the whole magical tablets found by this convicted fraudster and so on. Even thinking about it for a second it is obviously ludicrous. The same cannot be said for Islam or Buddhism. Only Scientology can rival it for sheer obvious fraudulence.

Just like believing that the investing in the stock market is the answer to all our retirement concerns. So say the Wall Street bastards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Faith is not inherently ridiculous. You do realize it has a definition outside of religion, right? Blind faith may be questionable.

I'm an atheist and think atheism itself involves a small amount of faith. We hold a certain level of confidence in what we've learned and reasoned.

The sense religious people are using here is "blind faith"--whether they are aware of it or not. As you touch on, the difference is rational support. We have "faith" the sun's going to come up tomorrow. Or that terrorists aren't going to nuke DC tomorrow. That's because there's a ton of evidence that that will (or will not) be the case.

When folks talk about how they have "faith" that their reward will be in heaven, or that "my God is a living God" it's the definition of "blind faith". There's no rational support for the position whatsoever. Which they'll admit. "Lot's of people feel that way; also I feel it in my heart; plus the Bible's really old" are not rational supports for any level of confidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite telling of the story of Joseph Smith - from South Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFMgqYs0KIo

And let's not even start on Brigham Young....

OMG that is hilarious! Now I want to see South Park make one about Christianity and Islam.

You sound extremely angry!

Me too, btw, I'm so angry I'm crying... Oh wait, that's not anger, it's laughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Of course all religions require some suspension of disbelief. And I don't think anyone is unaware of how odd and improbable the whole virgin birth thing is. But Mormonism requires this and so much more - the whole Jews=native americans thing, the whole magical tablets found by this convicted fraudster and so on. Even thinking about it for a second it is obviously ludicrous. The same cannot be said for Islam or Buddhism. Only Scientology can rival it for sheer obvious fraudulence.

IOW, the Bible is very old. The Book of Mormon is not very old.

[Anonymous]

Why do people convert to this religion? What is the appeal?

[Anonymous]

http://fc.byu.edu/jpages/ee/w_etb87.htm

Divorce caused by women working.

http://scottwoodward.org/Talks/html/Benson,%20Ezra%20Taft/BensonET_TheHonoredPlaceOfWoman.html

a good article on the role of women in the Mormon church


http://www.exmormon.org/mormwomn.htm

[Anonymous]

Wow, is this thread a flock of atheists cackling gleefully and shrilly at each other? There seems to be one reasonable adult atheist, several playground bully atheists, and a drunk atheist.

I'm definitely not wading in to explain the finer points of a self-questioning belief to you. You can have your little echo chamber here, all to your charming selves!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Faith is not inherently ridiculous. You do realize it has a definition outside of religion, right? Blind faith may be questionable.

I'm an atheist and think atheism itself involves a small amount of faith. We hold a certain level of confidence in what we've learned and reasoned.

No it doesn't. I don't have "faith" that there is no God. It is just that on the basis of the available evidence I don't see God as a useful hypothesis to retain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://fc.byu.edu/jpages/ee/w_etb87.htm

Divorce caused by women working.

http://scottwoodward.org/Talks/html/Benson,%20Ezra%20Taft/BensonET_TheHonoredPlaceOfWoman.html

a good article on the role of women in the Mormon church


http://www.exmormon.org/mormwomn.htm

Are these articles supposed to appeal to or turn off potential converts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://fc.byu.edu/jpages/ee/w_etb87.htm

Divorce caused by women working.

http://scottwoodward.org/Talks/html/Benson,%20Ezra%20Taft/BensonET_TheHonoredPlaceOfWoman.html

a good article on the role of women in the Mormon church


http://www.exmormon.org/mormwomn.htm

Do educated people really believe this shit?

[Anonymous]

The problem is that non-Mormons are picking selectively aspects of the religion to paint a portrait that is not accurate.

Can you imagine what someone who is unfamiliar with Judaism or Christianity would come up wit, if she just scoured the internet for information about these religions? What kind of image of these religions would you be presented with?

I'm guessing a lot of completely bizarre stories, horrifically violent imagery, quotes about how "God hates fags," levrite marriage, slavery, creationism, end-of-the-world Book of Revelation loonies, etc.

The inability of people to put themselves in the shoes of others is just astonishing. BTW, I'm not Mormon, but in my field, I work a lot with people of different religious backgrounds. Many nice, kind, and intelligent people, I might add, who are far more tolerant than people on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that non-Mormons are picking selectively aspects of the religion to paint a portrait that is not accurate.

Can you imagine what someone who is unfamiliar with Judaism or Christianity would come up wit, if she just scoured the internet for information about these religions? What kind of image of these religions would you be presented with?

I'm guessing a lot of completely bizarre stories, horrifically violent imagery, quotes about how "God hates fags," levrite marriage, slavery, creationism, end-of-the-world Book of Revelation loonies, etc.

The inability of people to put themselves in the shoes of others is just astonishing. BTW, I'm not Mormon, but in my field, I work a lot with people of different religious backgrounds. Many nice, kind, and intelligent people, I might add, who are far more tolerant than people on this thread.

I don't think that is fair looking at the New Testament.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that non-Mormons are picking selectively aspects of the religion to paint a portrait that is not accurate.

Can you imagine what someone who is unfamiliar with Judaism or Christianity would come up wit, if she just scoured the internet for information about these religions? What kind of image of these religions would you be presented with?

I'm guessing a lot of completely bizarre stories, horrifically violent imagery, quotes about how "God hates fags," levrite marriage, slavery, creationism, end-of-the-world Book of Revelation loonies, etc.

The inability of people to put themselves in the shoes of others is just astonishing. BTW, I'm not Mormon, but in my field, I work a lot with people of different religious backgrounds. Many nice, kind, and intelligent people, I might add, who are far more tolerant than people on this thread.

I haven't seen anyone here argue that most people in all religions are very nice, kind, intelligent people. That is not the point. What we are trying to work out is how they can believe a bunch of fairy tales.

[Anonymous]

The first two articles are actual statements from mormon authorities, and the third is a good treatise on the role of women in the mormon church by a former mormon. The purpose of the articles is to state the mormon position on a woman's place.
http://lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/mothers-who-know?lang=eng