I posted this over there, but I'll put it here too:
Good post. When I was growing up in an evangelical Christian household, I wasn’t taught anything about Mormonism, except that the Mormons had a really good choir. When I attended an evangelical Christian college, I quickly learned that Mormonism was a cult, a belief that I held for a long time (apologies to you and your readers). I don’t believe any of those fantasies now, but it’s interesting to compare your accounts of growing up Mormon with my experiences of evangelical Christianity. The beliefs differ, but a lot of the methods of propagation are common to all religious sects.
That's one of the main reasons I like writing (and blogging): to compare and contrast experiences. Even religions (and cultures) that seem very different from one another are still made of humans. ;^)
It's true, mormonism does start to look tiny after you leave it. I like that part =)
I don't even understand the "MY brand of Jesus-love is totally NOT CRAZY AT ALL" response. Why would I quit mormonism to join your type of christianity?
Exactly. The belief that Mormonism is nuts but (by contrast) Christian doctrine is reasonable is an incredibly myopic viewpoint. It's the sort of belief held by people who are incapable of looking at the world from someone else's perspective or have never tried.
That's another of my main goals in writing/blogging: to encourage people to try to look at different questions from an unfamiliar perspective. :D
It's the sort of belief held by people who are incapable of looking at the world from someone else's perspective or have never tried.
Conservative Christians are actively discouraged from trying to look at the world from any other godless, sinful, deviant point of view. Why would Christians debase themselves by doing so? Besides, their souls would be in mortal danger if they liked the view better from another side.
6 comments:
I posted this over there, but I'll put it here too:
Good post. When I was growing up in an evangelical Christian household, I wasn’t taught anything about Mormonism, except that the Mormons had a really good choir. When I attended an evangelical Christian college, I quickly learned that Mormonism was a cult, a belief that I held for a long time (apologies to you and your readers). I don’t believe any of those fantasies now, but it’s interesting to compare your accounts of growing up Mormon with my experiences of evangelical Christianity. The beliefs differ, but a lot of the methods of propagation are common to all religious sects.
Thanks Chaplain!!!
That's one of the main reasons I like writing (and blogging): to compare and contrast experiences. Even religions (and cultures) that seem very different from one another are still made of humans. ;^)
It's true, mormonism does start to look tiny after you leave it. I like that part =)
I don't even understand the "MY brand of Jesus-love is totally NOT CRAZY AT ALL" response. Why would I quit mormonism to join your type of christianity?
Hey Lilly!!!
Exactly. The belief that Mormonism is nuts but (by contrast) Christian doctrine is reasonable is an incredibly myopic viewpoint. It's the sort of belief held by people who are incapable of looking at the world from someone else's perspective or have never tried.
That's another of my main goals in writing/blogging: to encourage people to try to look at different questions from an unfamiliar perspective. :D
It's the sort of belief held by people who are incapable of looking at the world from someone else's perspective or have never tried.
Conservative Christians are actively discouraged from trying to look at the world from any other godless, sinful, deviant point of view. Why would Christians debase themselves by doing so? Besides, their souls would be in mortal danger if they liked the view better from another side.
Hey Chaplain!!!
Good point -- a lot of religions are that way. But some adherents end up empathizing with others anyway... ;^)
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