Is Mormonism so bad?
Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:18 pm
We are quick to forget that Mormonism was born in a Christian world. The dominate religion influencing Mormonism from its birth was Christianity. Christianity like all religions is a split religion. Its splitness is precisly why Mormonism and other odd forms of Christianity came to be.
If we go back to a period of time after Jesus but near his proposed life we get division among those who taught this odd form of Judaism. Some declared Jesus was not. He was not a living oracle--God coming down to earth assuming human flesh...indeed no one, seemingly, would have put it that way for hundreds of years. Their Christianity was one of allegory. Jesus did not live but the story arose to fulfill what was thought to be heavenly events. One of the erstwhile defenses of Christ historicity is that people near to Jesus' time, but after He died, actually believed Jesus really lived. But the existence of believers who did not accept that proposition demonstrate the opposite. The reason why people are able to use it as a defense is because the winners of that early Christian disagreement told the story of their era, or at least so that seems to be the case.
Now, I do not mean to suggest Jesus never lived. He may or may not have. But history cannot pretend to support the notion that Jesus rose from the dead, despite the protestation of believers who wish to skew history in their favor.
Demonstrations in history that the story of Christianity is much different than what today's Christian world teaches is precisely comparable to the complaint of Mormonism. We forget, it seems, each are examples of religion misleading its adherents. On this Mormonism is no more diabolical than Christianity and, as is assumed, every other religion. Not to get into it but as a matter of acknowledging it, dogma is religion's greatest weakness. It's dearest ally is it's folly.
A huge problem we should be concerned about is victimhood. As former Mormons we want to blame a religion that has done nothing more than all religions before it (and after it, amazingly). Some might chafe at such a notion thinking Mormonism's offenses are worse, with it's lies and misleadings. I don't' think that can be maintained. Others might chafe in that Mormonism is worse because it is more demanding and what we might say more cult-like. I also don't think that can be maintained. The only reason why it's more cultlike than traditional Christian religions is because it's smaller and is a newer attempt at exclusive truth. The demands may seem heavy to the evolved and worn liberal Christian sects but perhaps less heavy to the conservative more fundamental Christian groups.
When a traditional Christian clears the mind and finds the truth of the Jesus myth, including all the lies she's been told through religion, it's no fun. We Mormons assume our hurt is worse because the lies are more easily uncovered. The comparison loses it's impact when one considers Christianity's lies started thousands of years back. And what we fail to realize or accept is Mormonism's lies were but add-ons to the lies of it's parent religion. Christianity was merely doing what it's parent religions were doing before it, adding to the lies already bought and sold.
If we compare this to a parent-child relationship, we end up with a faultless child following the example of it's parent who, when it was a child followed the example of its parent. Its not one religion that's at fault but the whole concept of religion itself. If we go back far enough and imagine the time when simple communities worshipped tiny gods (compared to our big ones), we know their rituals to appease to stop a draught, control a volcano, or a rapidly formed deluge were not met with divine assistance. They were simply a matter of natural processes that were not divinely interfered with. But those believers thought, when the rains came, it was god, or when a volcano did not erupt it was god's doing. They also believed the opposite. When drought killed, it was god, when the volcano ruptured it was god showing disapproval of sacrifice. I'd wonder if we consider religion as a whole on human history, if we ever really could, the best definition of religion might be lies. But I'd wonder if it's ever fair to criticize any religion itself, since doing so we're merely blaming a child for the sins of its parent, all the way back to the beginning. That we throw a God at the start of this mess, seems silly. The history of religion makes sense from a naturalist standpoint. but if there is a God, religion is his greatest hoax, put upon us, it seems, to cause us problem and pain while making us think its supposed to do that opposite.
But we're in a position to end the cycle of this repeated groundhog day. Religion anchored humans for millennia past, but thanks to past sacrifices we live in a world where human reason can triumph. It'd be humanity's greatest disrespect to squander the opportunities our fore-fathers gave us. I don't think we do it by focusing on one religion, or pretend that the child is worse for following the example of its parent. We do not win by cowering to the pain, however real it is, of ignorant offense. Religion does what religion does. Its part of our human world. The question we need to ask ourselves is do we let it persist
If we go back to a period of time after Jesus but near his proposed life we get division among those who taught this odd form of Judaism. Some declared Jesus was not. He was not a living oracle--God coming down to earth assuming human flesh...indeed no one, seemingly, would have put it that way for hundreds of years. Their Christianity was one of allegory. Jesus did not live but the story arose to fulfill what was thought to be heavenly events. One of the erstwhile defenses of Christ historicity is that people near to Jesus' time, but after He died, actually believed Jesus really lived. But the existence of believers who did not accept that proposition demonstrate the opposite. The reason why people are able to use it as a defense is because the winners of that early Christian disagreement told the story of their era, or at least so that seems to be the case.
Now, I do not mean to suggest Jesus never lived. He may or may not have. But history cannot pretend to support the notion that Jesus rose from the dead, despite the protestation of believers who wish to skew history in their favor.
Demonstrations in history that the story of Christianity is much different than what today's Christian world teaches is precisely comparable to the complaint of Mormonism. We forget, it seems, each are examples of religion misleading its adherents. On this Mormonism is no more diabolical than Christianity and, as is assumed, every other religion. Not to get into it but as a matter of acknowledging it, dogma is religion's greatest weakness. It's dearest ally is it's folly.
A huge problem we should be concerned about is victimhood. As former Mormons we want to blame a religion that has done nothing more than all religions before it (and after it, amazingly). Some might chafe at such a notion thinking Mormonism's offenses are worse, with it's lies and misleadings. I don't' think that can be maintained. Others might chafe in that Mormonism is worse because it is more demanding and what we might say more cult-like. I also don't think that can be maintained. The only reason why it's more cultlike than traditional Christian religions is because it's smaller and is a newer attempt at exclusive truth. The demands may seem heavy to the evolved and worn liberal Christian sects but perhaps less heavy to the conservative more fundamental Christian groups.
When a traditional Christian clears the mind and finds the truth of the Jesus myth, including all the lies she's been told through religion, it's no fun. We Mormons assume our hurt is worse because the lies are more easily uncovered. The comparison loses it's impact when one considers Christianity's lies started thousands of years back. And what we fail to realize or accept is Mormonism's lies were but add-ons to the lies of it's parent religion. Christianity was merely doing what it's parent religions were doing before it, adding to the lies already bought and sold.
If we compare this to a parent-child relationship, we end up with a faultless child following the example of it's parent who, when it was a child followed the example of its parent. Its not one religion that's at fault but the whole concept of religion itself. If we go back far enough and imagine the time when simple communities worshipped tiny gods (compared to our big ones), we know their rituals to appease to stop a draught, control a volcano, or a rapidly formed deluge were not met with divine assistance. They were simply a matter of natural processes that were not divinely interfered with. But those believers thought, when the rains came, it was god, or when a volcano did not erupt it was god's doing. They also believed the opposite. When drought killed, it was god, when the volcano ruptured it was god showing disapproval of sacrifice. I'd wonder if we consider religion as a whole on human history, if we ever really could, the best definition of religion might be lies. But I'd wonder if it's ever fair to criticize any religion itself, since doing so we're merely blaming a child for the sins of its parent, all the way back to the beginning. That we throw a God at the start of this mess, seems silly. The history of religion makes sense from a naturalist standpoint. but if there is a God, religion is his greatest hoax, put upon us, it seems, to cause us problem and pain while making us think its supposed to do that opposite.
But we're in a position to end the cycle of this repeated groundhog day. Religion anchored humans for millennia past, but thanks to past sacrifices we live in a world where human reason can triumph. It'd be humanity's greatest disrespect to squander the opportunities our fore-fathers gave us. I don't think we do it by focusing on one religion, or pretend that the child is worse for following the example of its parent. We do not win by cowering to the pain, however real it is, of ignorant offense. Religion does what religion does. Its part of our human world. The question we need to ask ourselves is do we let it persist