Thursday, August 26, 2010
Comic: The Downfall of Mormonism
I found this delightful comic on reddit, and thought I would share it with you all. It perfectly shows what SHOULD be happening, unfortunately though, there are a lot of gullible people out there, who simply take peoples word and never look into anything for themselves.
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Depends how credulous you are about sources on the Internet. There is a lot of hostile misinformation out there about Mormonism and everyone has an agenda.
ReplyDeleteKeep that in mind next time you watch some cheesy cartoon on YouTube and are tempted to think it just taught you "all I need to know" on a subject as complex as a world religious tradition.
I don't find it very difficult to weed out the bad sources on the internet. In the case of the South Park episode on Mormonism, the information was accurate. Sure, there is a lot more to the story than what was covered in that episode, but what they did say was consistent with the facts.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that Mormonism is a world religious tradition anyway. It's a fringe sect of Christianity that has only been around for a short length of time, compared to say Catholocism, which has been an establishment for nearly 1700 years.
I wasn't talking about the South Park episode. Most of my Mormon friends found that episode pretty amusing actually. I'm talking about that stupid Godmakers clip that's still getting circulation all over YouTube.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, everyone has an agenda. It colors which facts they choose to convey, and which facts they choose to leave out. You can alter an entire story by which incidents or details you choose to report and which you choose to ignore.
I haven't seen the clip you're talking about I'll have to check it out some time.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I saw this about 4 years ago I think. From my understanding most modern Mormons do not hold the D&C, JoD and other documents containing the teachings of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and other early Mormon Prophets as authoritative. So while most if not all of the things mentioned in that video are contained in these documents, they aren't official teachings of the LDS church.
ReplyDeleteHey Mormon dude,
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend you check out this podcast:
http://www.irreligiosophy.com/
The hosts of the show are both ex-mormon, and they're *hilarious*. Definitely one of my favorite podcasts.
I've already got a couple ex-Mormon podcasts I subscribe to and I've already got a lot on my plate at the moment, but thanks anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with reading old sources of Mormon teaching is that there are varying degrees of authority in the sources.
For example, prophets are only considered authoritative by most Mormons when they are speaking as such. What they do in their spare time is their own affair. Take the Journal of Discourses, for instance. Lots of quirky and just plain odd stuff in there. But not all of it is really authoritative.
So, you might find an isolated instance of second prophet Brigham Young (mid to late 1800s) talking about how people live in the sun.
Thing is, most Mormons today don't really buy into that notion, and if you confront them on it, they'll shrug and say "well, I don't believe that - I suppose Brigham Young was entitled to his opinion." Because that's all we view this particular statement as - Brigham's own personal opinion.
But to hear some critics talk - you'd think we all still bought into the concept.
The Internet isn't always a great place for nuance, and in-depth understanding. Something that should always be kept in mind when researching on it.
Possibly the worst place to learn about mormonism is from Fundamentalist Evangelical Christians. They're the people who spread all the stuff in the JoD and D&C etc. as if it's official church doctrine.
ReplyDeleteWell, you can find the fundamentalist mindset in all religions - and even among people who have no religion.
ReplyDeletePart of what makes the Fundamentalist Evangelical arguments popular is that they are easy to grasp and use - once you buy into the assumptions.
Fundamentalism assumes that if a religion is claiming to have prophets who hear God's direct will - that must mean that everything the prophet in question says or writes is the iron-clad irrevocable word of God almighty himself.
Therefore, any Mormon you meet on the street can be reasonably held accountable for every trivial and obscure thing any man who ever held the title ever said.
It's a very simplistic view of the world - and of religion - and appeals to people who don't want to do the legwork of balancing the individual credibility and context of every Mormon statement out there.
I've seen everyone buy into this kind of black-and-white thinking. Certainly not just Evangelicals.
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ReplyDeletethats so true hahah
ReplyDelete