![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
This is gonna be real short, but I saw something that pissed me off today.
Ok, look, I'm not religious. I don't really care about divinity anymore, except where its narrative suits my purposes, and I kind of like some religions basically for the show they put on. That is all I get out of it. Others get more, and others feel harmed by it.
It takes all kinds, that's all. I can't express that feeling enough. I hope I didn't offend anyone on this one. Anyway.
I guess you could say I became very cross on behalf of the religious people I know, though. Xanga has a large evangelical base, I think. The semi-news-feed that it produces includes something called 'revelife'* where a Xanga poster opines about religion and then asks a question at the end. I guess it's designed to prompt posts. Anyway, this weeks question is 'Are Mormons Christians?', which is, I guess, spurred by the fact that the poster was raised that they were not, based on doctrinal differences but probably more along the lines of 'I was told by my factionalized, hyper-reactionary branch of faith that anyone who's not us isn't Christian.'
Ugh. I ended up writing a lot, and I said I was gonna keep it short. Basically, after actually meeting and talking to a Mormon, there didn't seem to be a huge gulf between their faith. The major doctrinal difference was limited primarily to how they viewed the Trinity (like so many desputes seem to be, this always tickles me as well as fascinating me). So, it's not the question that gets me. It seemed to be asking in good faith - except it isn't. It isn't a wayward soul honestly seeking guidance, it's a person who is deliberetly trying to stoke a debate, but anyhow. Maybe that's not too bad. It's the replies that get me. Oh man, the replies.
People, why you gotta be hatin' on each other? PickWick12 says "Mormons are some of the loveliest people in this country, but good morals do not save you." Well, fuck me. Oeshpdog2 says "If they were Christians...they would not be called Mormons. " Hey, you better inform the fucking Presbyterians and the Baptists, asshole. Sam707 said "A Yale Professor named Harold Bloom claims that their roots are more true to ancient gnosticsm rather then Christianity. I was pretty convinced by his argument. " Not convinced enough to learn anything about religion, though. a_single_raindrop opined "I would have to say no. ... I wasn't able to quite understand their beliefs though" Better make a snap judgement then!
If we weren't so ready to kick people out of our tribe, we'd probably get into less petty fights. Religion is a big deal for people, but people fight over this shit. Basically, if you don't know shit about it, you don't get to tell someone else how they view themselves. If you can't explain anything about religious doctrine, you don't get to tell them they're not Christian. End of line. The same goes for everything.
YOU WILL ALL PLAY NICE OR BY GOD I WILL TURN THIS CAR AROUND
* Its capitalization, not mine.
EDIT: This was not short at all. This is why we can't have nice things.
Ok, look, I'm not religious. I don't really care about divinity anymore, except where its narrative suits my purposes, and I kind of like some religions basically for the show they put on. That is all I get out of it. Others get more, and others feel harmed by it.
It takes all kinds, that's all. I can't express that feeling enough. I hope I didn't offend anyone on this one. Anyway.
I guess you could say I became very cross on behalf of the religious people I know, though. Xanga has a large evangelical base, I think. The semi-news-feed that it produces includes something called 'revelife'* where a Xanga poster opines about religion and then asks a question at the end. I guess it's designed to prompt posts. Anyway, this weeks question is 'Are Mormons Christians?', which is, I guess, spurred by the fact that the poster was raised that they were not, based on doctrinal differences but probably more along the lines of 'I was told by my factionalized, hyper-reactionary branch of faith that anyone who's not us isn't Christian.'
Ugh. I ended up writing a lot, and I said I was gonna keep it short. Basically, after actually meeting and talking to a Mormon, there didn't seem to be a huge gulf between their faith. The major doctrinal difference was limited primarily to how they viewed the Trinity (like so many desputes seem to be, this always tickles me as well as fascinating me). So, it's not the question that gets me. It seemed to be asking in good faith - except it isn't. It isn't a wayward soul honestly seeking guidance, it's a person who is deliberetly trying to stoke a debate, but anyhow. Maybe that's not too bad. It's the replies that get me. Oh man, the replies.
People, why you gotta be hatin' on each other? PickWick12 says "Mormons are some of the loveliest people in this country, but good morals do not save you." Well, fuck me. Oeshpdog2 says "If they were Christians...they would not be called Mormons. " Hey, you better inform the fucking Presbyterians and the Baptists, asshole. Sam707 said "A Yale Professor named Harold Bloom claims that their roots are more true to ancient gnosticsm rather then Christianity. I was pretty convinced by his argument. " Not convinced enough to learn anything about religion, though. a_single_raindrop opined "I would have to say no. ... I wasn't able to quite understand their beliefs though" Better make a snap judgement then!
If we weren't so ready to kick people out of our tribe, we'd probably get into less petty fights. Religion is a big deal for people, but people fight over this shit. Basically, if you don't know shit about it, you don't get to tell someone else how they view themselves. If you can't explain anything about religious doctrine, you don't get to tell them they're not Christian. End of line. The same goes for everything.
YOU WILL ALL PLAY NICE OR BY GOD I WILL TURN THIS CAR AROUND
* Its capitalization, not mine.
EDIT: This was not short at all. This is why we can't have nice things.
Tags: