Equality at Equality Time recently posted a video from an ex-Muslim that he personally related to. And it did not disappoint — I enjoyed and agreed with several points from it. If I can, lemme embed the video…
There are a differences in details, to be sure, (my life is not the speaker’s) but here were a couple of quotes that I particularly liked: Read the rest of this entry »
When I first starting blogging, I wasn’t all that worried about blog traffic. This isn’t to say that I didn’t care if I had 10 readers or 100 (or even just 1), but that I wanted to write first and worry about traffic and rankings never.
Over time, I think I caught a bug. I started caring about the numbers in cyberspace. I like to think I still have some sanity, though — after all, I haven’t sold my soul to SEO efficiency. But I began to look forward to seeing smaller numbers for my site’s alexa rank.
Perhaps it was because I read so many others’ articles discussing the same topic. (To be honest, Zelophehad’s Daughters has consistently seemed to avoid the alexa trap, which will be important.)
I guess the rational question to ask (even if it was after I jumped on the bandwagon) was: “What the heck is Alexa ranking?”
The Alexa Logo
It’s apparently my deep, dark secret: my anti-Mormon obsession.
I have a weakness for dialogue and wordiness; I do not deny these things. I try to tell my story with rogue (and unproven) hope that perhaps at least one person will expand their viewpoint (even if it’s ultimately me). But I would like to think that I’m not explicitly anti-Mormon. I would like to say that the members who know me know that that’s not my MO, and I really can’t stand a lot of the anti tactics anyway. (if you disagree, speak out! or forever hold your peace. Do I come off as anti?)
I don’t have much interest in trying to disprove the church. I believe such a game doesn’t matter. Instead, what I may get passionate about is in defending a niche for myself and others like myself. I don’t care if you believe the church is true. Rather, I care that I am not looked down upon for disagreeing. I simply care that people who are hurt and stressed by the church can realize that it is not irrational or immoral or weak or cowardly to leave. And if I fight, it is to fight for that niche. To fight to one day be able to not believe without someone challenging me.
My quest is complete. The quotation I’ve been searching for since the start of this blog (most recently mentioned in, “What if Mormonism is wrong?”) has been found.
I chanced upon it in a Recovery from Mormonism deconversion narrative, but the actual source comes from Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Specifically, the summer 1970 release, in a review by Klaus J. Hansen.
…To a professional historian, for example, the recent translation of the Joseph Smith papyri may well present the potentially most damaging case against Mormonism since its foundation. Yet the ‘Powers That Be’ at the Church Historian’s Office should take comfort in the fact that almost total lack of response to this translation is an uncanny proof of Frank Kermode’s observation that even the most devastating acts of disconfirmation will have no effect whatever on true believers. Perhaps an even more telling response is that of the ‘liberals,’ or cultural Mormons. After the Joseph Smith’s papyri affair, one might have well expected a mass exodus of these people from the Church. Yet none has occurred. Why? Because cultural Mormons, of course, do not believe in the historical authenticity of M ormon scriptures in the first place. So there is nothing to disconfirm.
So that leads me to a question…does history even matter? Should the church open up to intellectual historical scrutiny?
Does this not sound like the least wholesome, most (more than vaguely) pornographic thing you’ve ever heard of?
And then you realize it’s not porn. It’s just the byline of a politically insensitive ad from who knows when (that I hope is simply a photoshop).
tipalet flavored cigarettes
What if Mormonism (or any other religion) is wrong? This has been a question asked by bloggers and others throughout time…and a question I hope every religious person asks several times throughout their lives. It is a question anti-mormons (or anti-any religion people) want to change from a “What if” to a decided statement. And I believe it is a question many atheists want to ask theists, in the hopes of getting them to admit a rather shocking conclusion. (or, to be equitable, a question theists want to ask atheists, in the same hopes.)
Yet I think the shocking conclusion is not the one most people would originally think of. Most people think that if their religion were found wrong, then it would make an eternity of matter. I think the conclusion, however, is something different. Something that Jeff at Mormon Matters already touched upon: it doesn’t matter.
Perhaps it’s because it’s too late at night, but I was just thinking…what if we lived in bizarro world?
In another world, I might be a hyperdevout Mormon dude, probably on my mission or preparing for my mission as we speak. Irresistible (Dis)Grace wouldn’t exist, or, if it did, it would be closer in content and in vigor to Jared’s LDS Alive in Christ blog. (And perhaps, in such a world, Jared would be the Irresistible (Dis)Grace characteristic exmormon atheist.)
Perhaps in such a world, Mormon Matters would be the preeminent blog in the bloggernacle…perhaps its very writers would have a different philosophy on the whole group blog concept, formed by much different experiences. Nine Moons would update more than once in a blue moon.
Maybe this is Jack's flavor?
I was thinking about Jack’s ClobberBlog…my favorite evangelical blog. What would happen in topsy-turvy bizarro world? Perhaps Jack would be the Molly Mormon happily married to an evangelical husband, and maybe that clobber would become cobbler.
I need to get some sleep or something.
So, the writers at Nine Moons decided to update (it must be a holiday — yes…Father’s Day was Sunday, so that makes sense). Our question (since 9Moons has a fascination with polls)?
To witness what event would have the greatest capacity to convince an atheist of the existence of God? Why?
This was most certainly an amusing post, and I wish there were more answers for me to read. It’s interesting that some people gave generic proofs that didn’t necessarily point to any specific formulation of God, while some others pointed out these generic proofs. Some gave generic Christian proofs that didn’t necessarily validate Mormonism…while others went straight for the jugular and went for the Book of Mormon historicity + God validator (e.g., appearance of Jesus Christ to the Nephites).
Taking a break from red-hot regular posts…I started thinking about a curious question I had faced in a few of my interviews I had had.
An interviewer had wondered how I would feel about feedback. He tried to brace me for the subject, as if he were talking about the most devastating thing in the world. “You know…sometimes it can seem like feedback, reviews, and performance evaluations are negative and hurtful…but I would like to suggest that we don’t mean it negatively and we don’t mean to be hurtful. So, what would you do if you got a performance review that seemed to be negative?”
Hurtful? Who got that idea? I wondered why he had to butter up the review process…did he think performance evaluations were a great evil?
Maybe I’m weird, but personally, I like performance evaluations. I do have caveats: I like them a lot more when they are frequent and when they come before the final grading process has begun. I’d rather someone tell me that I’m doing something wrong and tell me how to improve before I miss out on an opportunity or embarrass myself. Read the rest of this entry »
I think I’m informally developing a series of posts on my thoughts about atheism. But unfortunately, as of now, I lack the peer-reviewed strength to take over the world with these (in my opinion), reasonable, intuitive, and etymological ideas.
But, if you want reading on my past entries, try:
So, what would I like to talk about today? I’d like to talk about the difference between strong atheism and weak atheism.
I believe that there is only one thing that is necessary to be an atheist. And that is a lack of belief in gods.
