Edification for the Faithless

[RachelSkates]

There truly is nothing like conversations with Xers to make you realize how far you have come with reason. I had to endure them today, and thought I would pass these on to the anti-brethren.

Maria: "God lead us to buy our house because it has a den where he wants us to do Bible study." Denoting that they were looking at several and kind of liked this one, but the order to instruct newbies in the den, orders from God, well, that clinched it!

Per a friend of mine who became Mormon (poor thing), because the fundy church she went to wanted her to stay with her bastard husband who left a bruise the exact size of his work boot on her arm for weeks among other things to destroy her life.

Actual convo about her:

Colleen: "How is Tracey?"

Me: "Well, she is doing much better. She has a place to stay and food and is out of the shelter and...."

"Colleen": "She's in a cult, Rachel."

Me: "Well,why would God want her to stay with a jerk, live in a shelter, have no food, drink, or shelter just based on one different theological point?" Mormons have different beliefs about Jesus.

C: Because it's better to save your soul than your life!"

Meanwhile, Colleen is all fat and happy and munching on a brownie, never knowing what it's like to have a boot smashed into your arm full force or the all encompassing bite of suffering.........

I tried to reason with her, that suffering turns people AWAY from God not toward him. Whereupon several mentioned Jesus' suffering, how he had it worse than anyone.Worse than anyone?! THREE HOURS ON A CROSS after a rather productive life will compare to a abused women or starving children in Africa or damn near any real suffering?!

This is like the Catholic church's idea that AIDS is better than a condom.

I smiled a bit and trying to use as much calm, rational reason and not get too excited. They want that to make you look unstable.

After a while, I just left to do laundry, mostly, realizing how far I have come to NOT try to square circles and connect dots where there are none............And truly I had to chuckle a bit, kinda proud of myself, but terrified that there are people so insane.

I would pity them, but they are dangerous.

[TheDarkestOfAngels]

There truly is nothing like conversations with Xers to make you realize how far you have come with reason. I had to endure them today, and thought I would pass these on to the anti-brethren.

No kidding. Around these forums, you can find a few stragglers here with the same mindset, though there are a few reasonable ones (looking at you fr0d0) but the conversations are sometimes just as inane.
I've been in a discussion with a poster called 'nogodaloud' around here somewhere over two threads now about how he thinks that certain sciences are just as faith-based as religion.
Luckily, though, my friends are actually quite like-minded in this regard or at least we don't really discuss it (I know a few of them are believers) and my family tend to not be very confrontational in this regard either.

Still though, this whole stigma that many christians have against mormons is so much the 'pot calling the kettle black' or however that goes that outsiders like you and I just see the inaneness of the whole thing for what it really is and I agree that it does show you just how irrational some people really are about their views on the world.

Still, on another point you agree on, their kind of willing ignorance can be extremely dangerous for everything from civil rights (concerning gays, people religions other than theirs, foreign people in general, their ideas on sex and STDs, etc) to education and their conversion of people into their special brand of insanity.

[Cego_Colher]

If she was going to compare Mormons to a cult. Well, it would make more sense to say that Tracey got out of a cult.
I can't believe some people could be like that. Well, maybe I can, but I don't think I want to.

[Entropist]

Maria: "God lead us to buy our house because it has a den where he wants us to do Bible study." Denoting that they were looking at several and kind of liked this one, but the order to instruct newbies in the den, orders from God, well, that clinched it!

"According to Plutarch, by the first century of our era men went to Delphi only to ask trivial questions (marriage, investments, etc.). The decadence of the Church imitates that of the oracles." (E.M. Cioran, The New Gods)

This sums it up best:

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

though there are a few reasonable ones (looking at you fr0d0)

It's rude to stare.Besides, if you stare at him he won't change into his real shape.

[TheDarkestOfAngels]

It's rude to stare.Besides, if you stare at him he won't change into his real shape.

So he's like those angel statues from Dr. Who?