Some Mormons Search the Web and Find Doubt

[Rescinded and Mended]

I'm pretty sure that engineer5 is a woman. In the first page of this thread she mentioned wearing longer dresses in order to have a more modest appearance.

Thanks - you're right, I completely missed that. Had to go back and look for it. Feeling just a tad foolish now. :embarrassed:

[Mama Mia]

But religious people often expect their beliefs to be given equal or greater consideration than fact-based statements or positions. They demand that secular people give evidence for their opinions, but are themselves exempt?

A few weeks ago I was given shit by religious teachers when I corrected faith based statements they made in front of students. A Mormon teacher told secondary students that some Native Americans were related to the Israelites (DNA studies say no), a Pentecostal put forward some Lamarckian nonsense about children inheriting characteristics and habits that their fathers(and only their fathers, for some reason) had acquired over their lifetime (again, science says no). Their rebuttal to the evidence I presented to the kids? "You're not allowed to say that!"

The feeling of religious people trump reality, thanks for making that clear. Is it any wonder that non-believers are fed up?

Out of curiosity what kind of situation are you in where Mormons and Pentecostals are drilling religious beliefs into high school kids? Is it a survey of religion course? If it is, why wouldn't they allow you to share your opinions?

I don't think religious beliefs should be given more credence than secular beliefs, I just think it is very difficult to have a conversation about those beliefs if you start out by telling someone that their belief system is ridiculous, and you'll think its ridiculous whatever they have to say. Why would someone bother to talk to you?

Some people in this thread said they were hoping a Mormon poster would stick around and share their views. That is far less likely to happen if people start out by saying that their beliefs are stupid

[Just Not Good]

But... I think there is at least the ghost of an implication that atheists find religiosity to be somewhat stupid, and that true believers find atheism to be somewhat stupid.

[nelliebelle1197]

But... I think there is at least the ghost of an implication that atheists find religiosity to be somewhat stupid, and that true believers find atheism to be somewhat stupid.

And when you come to a place like this, you need to be prepared to defend your beliefs. I am not going to around posting my progressive/socialist POV at Fox "News" without expecting a particular response.

FWIW, I am not some religion hating atheist. But I look at religion as a primitive instinct and respect its value for some people. Social justice minded liberal Christians are awesome. I have practiced yoga for 10 years and find some solace and centering in its limbs. But the extremes of any of any religion are terrifying, as is any religion that sees itself as THE path. I cannot respect that and I will challenge it where ever I see it.

[fundamentalistnomore]

No, I'm not a Mormon. I think the attitude that you need to defend your faith based on evidence is kind of silly. Faith in religion, any religion, isn't based on evidence, its based on, well, faith, so demanding evidence and treating it like a trial, where you've already decided the verdict, isn't very productive. People having theological discussions is one thing, but starting out by saying you find someone's beliefs ridiculous is hardly the way to get someone to want to engage with you.

Wow, that is a huge run on sentence, and horribly worded. Grammar police fire away :embarrassed:

I think you might have me confused with someone else? I never said ridiculous or stupid. I said weird because no elaboration upon questioning. I wished a mormon would stick around & give their point of view.

Reading her answer helped me understand how they explain that scripture. In addition, I quoted their book, their publications and their quotes from their prophets, because I'm not just pulling my questions out of a hat. <--- yea I went there :) I understand faith requirement. I'm asking about certain aspects of that faith. LDS.org has almost the very same Q&As. So these aren't unusual questions.

A user clicked on a post about Mormon doubt, and they took the time to defend it. I'm a logical thinker, but I don't bite! It doesn't mean that either us is wrong. The flouncing part is pretty much how every single post about mormonism ends. I guess seeing it all out there in the open is kind of eye opening. I left fundamentalism when I realized how extreme & outrageous some of those beliefs were. For Jinger's sake, the tagline is: Keeping Quiverfull and Fundies Flouncing since 2005