First, I have to say I have NOTHING against Mormons -- never had
On the contrary, I have never agreed with other people's statements that the Church of Latter Day Saints is IN ANY WAY weirder or more bizarre than the religion of those who say so.
In terms of weirdness, perceptiveness, intelligence level, I have no way of being able to evaluate anyone's belief as to real, imagined, logical, insane -- whatever, and I allude to Herman Melville's ecumenical point of view as stated in Moby Dick:
"I cherish the greatest respect towards everybody's religious obligations, never mind how comical, and could not find it in my heart to undervalue even a congregation of ants worshipping a toad-stool"
"Now, as I before hinted, I have no objection to any person's religion, be it what it may, so long as that person does not kill or insult any other person, because that other person doesn't believe it also.
But when a man's religion becomes really frantic; when it is a positive torment to him; and, in fine, makes this earth of ours an uncomfortable inn to lodge in; then I think it high time to take that individual aside and argue the point with him."
So -- I don't differentiate between Mormon, Baptist, Episcopalian, Amish, Quaker, Jewish, Muslim -- none of them make sense to me, but that IS NOT to say they don't make sense. That is not to say that they are without worth. I make no judgment on the value of those or any other religions. I respect their right to believe what they believe.
BUT...
when a bunch of rich sanctimonious twats storm out of their desert fastness in Utah to come INTO MY STATE and fling millions of dollars around in order to deny those of us in California from establishing what we consider a sorely needed advance in social justice IN OUR OWN STATE (i.e., the right of people to marry), they have earned my eternal enmity.
Not as great a crime -- perhaps -- as the Mountain Meadows Massacre, but a definite bit of vile, small-minded, petty, vicious, anti-life behavior.
Oscar Wilde put it nicely:
"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live.
It is asking others to live as one wishes to live."
Get it?
You've worn out your welcome.
And that goes for your arrogant little "missionaries" coming to my door because they believe that interrupting my evening -- even if I'm only watching an incredibly stupid time-waster TV show -- is more important. Because I don't get the idea that your people know ANYTHING worth knowing.
(And this is not specifically against the Mormons, just specifically against than trampling their way into our state funneling millions of dollars into our state to win an initiative designed to take civil rights away from some people who live here. And also against their continued financing of appeals against the overturn of the law as unconstitutional, their appeal based on gay-bashing the judge who overturned it, given that he had actually read the U.S. Constitution.
But just to show I'm trying to be fair, I also consider the decidedly non-Mormon Michelle Bachmann to be the same sort of vicious hate-mongering scum who points her amazingly un-American finger at a group of people and declares them NOT entitled to those same rights she holds highest and reminds us (endlessly) that they have been gifted to us by the Big Guy -- "endowed by our creator."
Curiously, she also seems to disapprove of those rights being available to Mormons.
To which I say, "OK -- how about a monster political fundraiser -- Naked Cage-Fight to the Death!!! -- Bachmann vs Romney!!! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! Great TV, maybe even a sitcom series.)
*********************
While I have never held antipathy to Mormons, as I said, I realized I should mention that one of my lifelong closest friends had been declared Apostate by them, fired from his position teaching at Brigham Young, his wife compelled to divorce him and take the children.
This because he flunked what he called the annual Dogma Interrogation. He didn't actually disagree with their dogma, but -- a wonderfully honest man -- he admitted he didn't actually believe in God.
He was proud of it, having been declared an Apostate, an honorific not many people earn these days. He smiled when he admitted he'd had to push them a bit to get the title. His name was FLetcher Hicks and he died last year and I miss him a lot.
I have never filled in the title I choose to use as a Universal Life Church Minister, but now I realize I will use the title APOSTATE, and minister to religious renegades. (They're more fun, anyway.)
In terms of weirdness, perceptiveness, intelligence level, I have no way of being able to evaluate anyone's belief as to real, imagined, logical, insane -- whatever, and I allude to Herman Melville's ecumenical point of view as stated in Moby Dick:
"I cherish the greatest respect towards everybody's religious obligations, never mind how comical, and could not find it in my heart to undervalue even a congregation of ants worshipping a toad-stool"
"Now, as I before hinted, I have no objection to any person's religion, be it what it may, so long as that person does not kill or insult any other person, because that other person doesn't believe it also.
But when a man's religion becomes really frantic; when it is a positive torment to him; and, in fine, makes this earth of ours an uncomfortable inn to lodge in; then I think it high time to take that individual aside and argue the point with him."
So -- I don't differentiate between Mormon, Baptist, Episcopalian, Amish, Quaker, Jewish, Muslim -- none of them make sense to me, but that IS NOT to say they don't make sense. That is not to say that they are without worth. I make no judgment on the value of those or any other religions. I respect their right to believe what they believe.
BUT...
when a bunch of rich sanctimonious twats storm out of their desert fastness in Utah to come INTO MY STATE and fling millions of dollars around in order to deny those of us in California from establishing what we consider a sorely needed advance in social justice IN OUR OWN STATE (i.e., the right of people to marry), they have earned my eternal enmity.
Not as great a crime -- perhaps -- as the Mountain Meadows Massacre, but a definite bit of vile, small-minded, petty, vicious, anti-life behavior.
Oscar Wilde put it nicely:
"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live.
It is asking others to live as one wishes to live."
Get it?
You've worn out your welcome.
And that goes for your arrogant little "missionaries" coming to my door because they believe that interrupting my evening -- even if I'm only watching an incredibly stupid time-waster TV show -- is more important. Because I don't get the idea that your people know ANYTHING worth knowing.
(And this is not specifically against the Mormons, just specifically against than trampling their way into our state funneling millions of dollars into our state to win an initiative designed to take civil rights away from some people who live here. And also against their continued financing of appeals against the overturn of the law as unconstitutional, their appeal based on gay-bashing the judge who overturned it, given that he had actually read the U.S. Constitution.
But just to show I'm trying to be fair, I also consider the decidedly non-Mormon Michelle Bachmann to be the same sort of vicious hate-mongering scum who points her amazingly un-American finger at a group of people and declares them NOT entitled to those same rights she holds highest and reminds us (endlessly) that they have been gifted to us by the Big Guy -- "endowed by our creator."
Curiously, she also seems to disapprove of those rights being available to Mormons.
To which I say, "OK -- how about a monster political fundraiser -- Naked Cage-Fight to the Death!!! -- Bachmann vs Romney!!! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! Great TV, maybe even a sitcom series.)
*********************
While I have never held antipathy to Mormons, as I said, I realized I should mention that one of my lifelong closest friends had been declared Apostate by them, fired from his position teaching at Brigham Young, his wife compelled to divorce him and take the children.
This because he flunked what he called the annual Dogma Interrogation. He didn't actually disagree with their dogma, but -- a wonderfully honest man -- he admitted he didn't actually believe in God.
He was proud of it, having been declared an Apostate, an honorific not many people earn these days. He smiled when he admitted he'd had to push them a bit to get the title. His name was FLetcher Hicks and he died last year and I miss him a lot.
I have never filled in the title I choose to use as a Universal Life Church Minister, but now I realize I will use the title APOSTATE, and minister to religious renegades. (They're more fun, anyway.)
posted by Saintperle at
9:15 PM
