More on yesterday's conversation


I noticed that most of what I wrote yesterday was about what I said ... I thought I'd put a few other thoughts on what I learned.

I've read about different religions for many years. What I am learning is that the doctrinal and historical discussions of "cult-watchers" are certainly valuable, but they fail to communicate the culture surrounding the people involved in a religion, at least in the limited group of people that I've met.

One example of how this plays out is a South Park episode that aired a few years ago called "All About Mormons." The episode was even more abrasive about Joseph Smith and the history of the Book of Mormon than I am (in fact, the South Park web site says that "The following program ... due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone). Even so, what I saw in that episode is entirely consistent with all that I've read concerning Joseph Smith and the beginnings of the Mormon faith, which is where a lot of the cult watchers stake their arguments. However, the reaction I've seen on the web (and the conversations I had yesterday) indicate that the Mormon experience today is not what was communicated in the things I've read (or the South Park episode, possibly with the exception of "Lucy Harris smart smart smart"). In other words, while I am convinced of the reliability of the historical data I've read, I am not convinced that this information is anywhere near the center of Mormon life.

I'm not saying that Christians should not read books like "The Changing World of Mormonism," "The Four Major Cults," or "The God Makers." These do well to reinforce non-Mormons to maintain their stance, and perhaps even to embrace the Christian faith (although I'm not sure of that), and they are certainly useful references for the study of differing religions. However, they're not going to give the reader of grasp of what it means to be Mormon, and that means that some care needs to be exercised after reading them. "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

And that's as much serious talk as I am comfortable writing today.

Posted: Mon - May 5, 2008 at 02:52 PM           | |

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