Here's a list of things I don't like
1. Superiority complexes. I need to avoid this one.
2. Spanish papers that are this hard.
3. ASL 15 hour projects that I procrastinate.
4. Mormon exit stories- I am going to talk about this one today.
I know I blog a lot about Mormonism. I am a fan ( just in case you couldn't guess) of my faith and the complex matters of theology that it presents. I love to see both sides of the matter. I love to hear the criticism because it's so interesting to hear what interesting ideas people have about Mormonism. I was recently reading a Mormon exit story and I realized why I don't like them.
They quote things like this as evidence that Mormonism causes you to rely wholly on feelings you feel in your heart.
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
"He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool, but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." (Proverbs 28:26)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)
"He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Isaiah 44:20)
And these bother me. Can you really ever prove any religious system? Evangelicals who dislike Mormonism often love to point out that Mormonism has problems with x, y, and z, while ignoring the problems of a-w of Christianity in general. Also, what's up with this talk of a different Jesus? What does that even mean? My Christ is lesser than yours? Your Christ is greater than mine? My Christ is greater than yours? No to all of the above. I love my religion, you love yours, can't we have an honest dialogue where you don't throw out things like the Book of Abraham and I won't throw things at you like seeming Bible contradictions. I love Evangelism because of its beauty. Can't you do the same with Mormonism? Can you see anything beautiful in it?
Now let me step back and say this: not all Evangelicals are out to get Mormons. In fact it is a small minority. But, I feel pain when my "christian" (and I mean lowercase) brothers attack the Christian saints. It makes me just as sad, however, when my "christian" saints attack my Christian brothers. I will leave you to figure out my distinction.
3 comments:
Hm.
In my house I am lucky. My mom is Born Again, but looks at Mormonism from the standpoint that we are BOTH Christians. [=P]
People are mudslingers.
Maybe you'll learn to like that they do that.
It makes it easier to figure out the 'truths' that make up your Truth.
=]
My dad told me when he was a kid that he had close friends who fell away from the church, and were pressuring him to leave too. He promised himself that he would never stay LDS for anybody, or leave for anybody.
I thought it was worth mentioning, though not quite on topic.
Anyway. Miss you.
I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this-- maybe we can have a Newman/Lehnardt Sunday evening chat when you are in town?
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