{"id":24290,"date":"2011-12-06T23:47:55","date_gmt":"2011-12-07T06:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/12\/06\/motes-and-beams-and-making-fun-of-mormonism.html"},"modified":"2011-12-07T14:56:21","modified_gmt":"2011-12-07T21:56:21","slug":"motes-and-beams-and-making-fun-of-mormonism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/12\/06\/motes-and-beams-and-making-fun-of-mormonism.html","title":{"rendered":"Motes and beams and making fun of Mormonism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mormonism has come under increased scrutiny as Mitt Romney finally seems to have a decent chance of winning the GOP nomination, and some folks go nuts in horror that someone who believes such incredibly goofy things, religiously, could be our next president. I mean, buried gold tablets and after-death planet ownership and Lost Tribes of Israel in America and … <\/p>\n

In some ways, some of the most cogent (if somewhat differently approached than my own) commentary on the whole mockery of Mormonism's ostensibly zany bits has come from the atheist community. To wit: orthodox Christianity has it's own goofiness, if it weren't so simply familiar. <\/p>\n

So consider (as a tiny fraction) things like the Virgin Birth (not to mention the Immaculate Conception). Or a heaven of winged, robed folks with halos spending eternity singing in an endless choir. Or Transubstantiation. Or the ritual cannibalism of Communion. Or the Trinity. Or the Book of Revelations, and the (competing) theologies of the End Times. Or the various stories of Jesus activities in the New Testament and how, despite all the conflicts and contradictions, and the scholarly analysis of how long after the actual events the Gospels were put down, some people think it makes a single, perfect, inerrant, divinely dictated narrative. Or the very idea of, after some brief period (between a decade and "four-score years and ten") that someone ends up in eternal joy in the presence of God or else frying in pools of brimstone, tormented by demons …<\/p>\n

Too many orthodox Christians assume what they believe in is (through familiarity) perfectly natural and normal and non-controversial (and, of course, True and Virtuous and Necessary). It's not. It's the tradition<\/i> they've been brought up in, "normal" only because it's the current norm, and, from an outsider's perspective, no less oddball than some of the things that people poke fun at in Mormonism. #ddtb<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMaking Fun of Mormonism<\/a><\/p>\n

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Mormonism has come under increased scrutiny as Mitt Romney finally seems to have a decent chance of winning the GOP nomination, and some folks go nuts in horror that someone who believes such incredibly goofy things, religiously, could be our next president. I mean, buried gold tablets and after-death planet ownership and Lost Tribes of … Continue reading “Motes and beams and making fun of Mormonism”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,99,27,110],"tags":[107],"class_list":["post-24290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-elections-2012","category-religion","category-religious-zanies","tag-ddtb"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30569,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/13\/we-were-against-cults-before-we-were-for-them.html","url_meta":{"origin":24290,"position":0},"title":""We were against cults before we were for them"","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 13-Oct-12 12:29am","format":false,"excerpt":"Offered not as a critique, per se, of Billy Graham -- who I honestly believe is not directing any of this activity -- but as an example of the continuing tension on the Religious Right between \"Mormonism is an evil, non-Christian cult that we must shun!\" and \"We must get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22877,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/09\/29\/bryan-fischer-is-a-dolt-mormons-are-lucky-we-graciously-let-them-practice-their-weird-religion-edition.html","url_meta":{"origin":24290,"position":1},"title":"Bryan Fischer is a Dolt (Mormons Are Lucky We Graciously Let Them Practice Their Weird Religion Edition)","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 29-Sep-11 7:38pm","format":false,"excerpt":"So in a couple of weeks, Mitt Romney is speaking at the Value Voters Conference. And once he's done, he hands off the podium to my Favorite Dolt, Bryan. Yes, you. Of course, one wonders, Bryan, if he might have a few things to say first about, oh, this pronouncement\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dolts"","block_context":{"text":"Dolts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/dolts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/mormon-bluebeard-hitemagain.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23033,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/10\/10\/the-c-word-and-presidential-politics.html","url_meta":{"origin":24290,"position":2},"title":"The “C” Word and Presidential Politics","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 10-Oct-11 12:07pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I am, of course, speaking of cult. As Mitt Romney continues to be a strong contender in the 2012 GOP Primaries, the Right-Wing Christian Fringe is in full-bore assault on Mormonism and the LDS church, of which Romney is a member. For example: The pastor who introduced Texas Gov. Rick\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Elections 2012"","block_context":{"text":"Elections 2012","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/elections-2012"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/romney_ask-mitt-anything-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":135256,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/11\/01\/happy-birthday-sherlock-holmes.html","url_meta":{"origin":24290,"position":3},"title":"Happy Birthday, Sherlock Holmes!","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 1-Nov-17 9:59pm","format":false,"excerpt":"The Great Detective's first story, \"A Study in Scarlet,\" was first published 130 years ago today. Also, some interesting bits on Mormonism and Victorian England. The Creator of Sherlock Holmes Was, Like Many Victorians, Fascinated by Mormons The first story featuring iconic detective Sherlock Holmes, 'A Study in Scarlet,' was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/sherlock-holmes-drawing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23172,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/10\/23\/unblogged-bits-sun-23-oct-11-1730.html","url_meta":{"origin":24290,"position":4},"title":"Unblogged Bits (Sun. 23-Oct-11 1730)","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 23-Oct-11 5:30pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries .... Florida Republican Rep. Calls For \u2018Hispanic-Speaking\u2019 Voters To Prove They Are American - No, that doesn't seem \"negative or demeaning or detrimental\" at all ... Hispanic Alabama Schoolchildren Face Bullying In The Wake Of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Potpourri"","block_context":{"text":"Potpourri","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/potpourri"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18349,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/08\/31\/unblogged-bits-tue-31-aug-10-1730.html","url_meta":{"origin":24290,"position":5},"title":"Unblogged Bits (Tue. 31-Aug-10 1730)","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 31-Aug-10 5:30pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries .... mental_floss Blog \u00bb Where Are These Thousand Islands? The Origins of 7 Condiments & Sauces mental_floss Blog \u00bb The Surprisingly Interesting History of Margarine - My mom tells stories putting the color packet into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Potpourri"","block_context":{"text":"Potpourri","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/potpourri"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}