Mormon Post Revisited

There has been some tension and I believe some misunderstanding on my recent post about the Mormons coming to visit. I think it took a little turn for the ignorant even on my part so I think I should explain myself. As this is in no way I desire to go on this blog. While I stand by my post and think there was nothing wrong with that, the comment I made subsequently about Mormon boys getting “drafted” may have been misinterpreted as being something negative. I did not mean to imply that a young Mormon man has no choice about going on his mission. What I probably should have said, when broaching a subject I am no expert on, was that the young men are “invited”. I thought that they were invited because of a statement made to me by a young Mormon woman. I asked her if she would like to go on a mission. She said that she would be honored if she was invited and gladly go. For this reason I assumed that there was an invitation based system, especially since the young men went so universally.

Also, yes, I do think Mormon theology is strange and really unattractive to me but that does not make it a cult based on my own observations. I lived in Utah for several years and had a friend who was a devoted Mormon while living elsewhere in the US. It does have some cult like features but most of these are not top down things but things mostly driven by its members. In any non-mainstream devout religion there is a degree of inward cultishness, this is not an exception in the Mormon Church. Some of the stories you find online told by ex-Mormons of severe cult like abuses are rare. I know tons of ex-Mormons, way more than I know current Mormons and while some of them viewed their former religion negatively did not describe it as a cult and reported no larger degree of trouble leaving it than most people report leaving the churches their families are extremely devoted to. I can dig up similar stories from the church of my family and most people do not think mainstream Pentecostals, like Assemblies of God, are cults.

I will write more about what I learn as I grill the missionaries as they are coming over in a few hours. They are quite nice boys and pretty enjoyable company.

More of this except with talent

Found a great new blog on wordpress, the writer really deals in very similar stuff as I do.

http://moonchild11.wordpress.com/

Go check her out.

I Need Your Opinion

I still have a few posts to go in my series What I don't like about Christianity. I will edit and post another part soon. In the meanwhile I have noticed that my posts on Jehowah's Witnesses have enjoyed some popularity. Should I go to their service and write another entry on the subject? I mean I am planning on going anyway when I get around to it because I love being a spiritual tourist.

It would be the first time I have visited a "non-Christian" church. I have been to Assemblies of God, Southern Babtist, Independent Pentecostal, Independent Babtist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Catholic so I really think I need to expand my horizons. It is shocking that I have not gone to the services of more religious groups since I enjoy the exploration so much.

So what is your opinion? Do you want to hear more?

Update on Blogging

So, my posting has fallen off as of late, yet again. I have been worrying about my final exam but it is tomorrow and have some ideas for blogs and maybe I can churn a few out in the interim before my next session of classes starts and that will be a heavy load.

What is this all about

If you came to this looking for a skeptical female blogger you are in the right place but I mostly deal with matters of faith. If you are looking for scientific skepticism written by women may I recommend Skepchick? If you are just interested in skepticism in general my favourite podcasts are The Skeptics Guide to the Universe and Skeptoid.

I really love questioning things before I accept them but I don't really fit into the skeptic community because not only am I theist but I am a Christian a very devout one but the stuff I beleave is a little off so I really do not fit in with other Christians either. That is because I am an old earth creationist meaning I accept the scientific evidence for how we got here but I beleave there was a benevolent deity behind all that. Also I am not so sure about a lot of the established details of Biblical interpritation. I reject your theology and substitute my own.

I do like to think I am a very tolerant person. I know other people feel just like me about their particular beleif systems. Once you realize that it is a lot easier to understand other people.

I guess my heroic mission here is to use my superpower of being skeptical of my own beliefs to help aleviate some of the self deception many people are under from never stopping to think and never asking who and what they are and who and what they beleave in. Asking these questions does not always yeld the answers you want but it can help you live a more honest life.

This state of self deception traps Cristians in the cave of shadows, as in Platos allegory of the cave. They are too complacent to climb out and look at the world as it truly is. A faith unquestioned is a faith not worth having and a faith so weak examining it would break is worthless and you might as well not have it.