As a child, I would often go for walks with my mother. Our family only had one vehicle, which my dad drove to work, so we walked a lot. We walked across town to the bank and to the various entities to pay bills. We walked to the library. We walked to the park. We walked to school. We walked just about everywhere within a few miles radius. If we passed by somebody, we always greeted them. We'd say, "hello," or "good morning," or "good afternoon." My mother taught me it was a good and kind thing to greet people. We didn't have to stand there and talk to them. We certainly didn't go with them. But we still greeted them. She taught me that sometimes people just need a kindly spoken word to make their day, and that we can be the one to deliver it.
Fast forward several years. I am now an adult. The culture has changed some, and "stranger danger" looms large. This actually started when I was a child, and I felt my mother was a bit overprotective of me at the time. These "stranger danger"-taught children have grown up and had their own children. What do they teach their children? Don't talk to strangers! They teach their children to fear others not their own age.
I've had a few unpleasant encounters with children of this generation who are genuinely afraid of me for no other reason than they are taught to be afraid of me. For instance, I took my children to the park to play one day. There was a little girl on the swing. I was pushing my own small child on the swing. The girl's grandmother was in another part of the park, within eyeshot and shouting distance. The girl yelled for the grandmother to push her, the grandmother either didn't hear or ignored her. When I offered to push her (because I was right there pushing my own daughter), the girl got a very frightened look in her eye and started screaming. Children do not know how to interact with strangers anymore. They are taught to fear instead of appropriate and inappropriate interaction.
Ok. Back to greeting people on the street. As an adult, I have this ingrained habit. I always greet people I pass on the street. I have noticed over the past several years an interesting phenomenon. Adults almost always greet me in return. The rare few that don't usually have earbuds in, so I assume they can't hear me. Children, on the other hand, almost never greet me. In fact not only do they not return a greeting, they won't even make eye contact. They make it a point to ignore me, usually looking at the ground. It doesn't matter whether these children are walking alone, with a group, or with their parents. They will not return a simple greeting. The only ones who do are the ones who know me well. Some of my children's friends who I know as acquaintances also do not return my greeting. All the way up to the high school students who walk past my house twice daily.
I don't know what you think about this, but it seems to me to be an odd thing. It always throws me off guard, though maybe it shouldn't as often as it happens. It also, for an instant, makes me feel bad. After all, I put a piece of myself out to others and find I am rejected.
What can a simple greeting accomplish? It can brighten a moment for both participants of the greeting. It is a human interaction, and as such fosters a feeling of acceptance. A greeting can build the sense of community. As community members greet each other, pleasantries are exchanged, and you feel you know a bit about a person (he is capable of kindness). A simple greeting can pave the way for friendships to develop (normally superficial as is appropriate at first). More than just a word is exchanged in a greeting. There is body language there as well. You can tell if a person had a bad day or is expecting a good one. Your simple greeting may help somebody struggling with depression to make it through another day. Your greeting has power and is far from dangerous.
Please parents, teach your children appropriate interactions with strangers! Teach them that it is ok to talk to strangers, just not to go with people their parents don't know.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Faith vs Knowledge
The Merriam-Webster dictionary has these definitions of faith: "strong
belief or trust in someone or something; belief in the existence of
God; strong religious feelings or beliefs; a system of religious
beliefs". A belief, in turn, is defined as "a feeling of being sure
that someone or something exists or that something is true; a feeling
that something is good, right, or valuable; a feeling of trust in the
worth or ability of someone".
So, at least according to the dictionary, faith is based on feelings.
How does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints define faith?
Well, the Book of Mormon says that faith is the belief in things that
are not seen, but which are true. But how does one know that they are
true?
For many unseen things, we have evidence. Air, for example, is
virtually invisible to human eyes. But we can see the effects of wind,
and we know what happens when we are deprived of air. So we can make
observations and perform experiments as evidence for the existence of
air. We can have faith in air. But, how do we gather evidence for
other unseen things, such as God?
The Church teaches that a testimony can come from a witness of the
Holy Ghost. So, there is an empirical test. The Holy Ghost can be used
to test for the existence of God. How does the Holy Ghost communicate?
Well, for most people it is a warm, peaceful feeling. So, it would
seem that the Church agrees with the dictionary -- faith is based on
feelings.
Are feelings a reliable method of obtaining truth? In comparison,
science has given us indoor plumbing, electric lights, automobiles,
antibiotics and vaccines, jet aircraft, electronics, wireless
communication, and even moonwalks. How did these technologies come
about? Did NASA engineers design the Saturn V rocket based on
feelings? Would you rather ride to the moon in a rocket designed by a
scientists doing what they felt would work, or by scientists testing
the laws of physics and performing calculations on the forces
involved? Why?
History has shown us again and again that humans are fallible. Members
of the Church sometimes mock science because scientists once believed
that the Sun orbited the Earth. Yet, that is science's very strength!
Scientists only believed that the Sun orbited the earth because the
evidence was lacking. As soon as better evidence was available,
science was able to admit that it was wrong and come closer to the
truth. The ability to admit error is an essential first step to
approaching truth.
So, what makes feelings so unreliable compared to science? Humans are,
unfortunately, notorious for their cognitive shortcomings -- the
famous scientist Richard Feynman said "The first principle is that you
must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." Are
we really that easy to fool? Well, if we look as Islam vs
Christianity, these two religions are mutually exclusive -- if one is
true, the other must be false. Either way, hundreds of millions of
people have been fooled. So many people are so wrong about something
so important as the correct religion -- this cannot be disputed.
Science has identified a number of human cognitive and logical
failures called fallacies. It's become readily apparent that our
brains are not perfect machines, and make a lot of mistakes. A good
example of this is sleight-of-hand magic: we are always surprised or
amazed at the tricks a magician performs, because we don't know how
they do it. Magicians fool our brains into incorrect expectations.
When we see them appear to saw someone in half, our brains say that
the blade must be passing through the unlucky assistant's body. But we
are fooled. Fallacies go beyond magic tricks, too: we often experience
them in our daily lives. Fortunately, you can learn to identify your
own mental mistakes and as you do so, you can find ways to work around
them.
This isn't a new concept. You've been discovering your own broken
thought processes and fixing them since you were a child. The first
time you found out someone lied to you, you became less trusting of
that person. The first time you injured yourself, you learned that you
were not invincible, and took steps to protect yourself from the same
injury in the future. As we grow into adulthood though, the fallacies
tend to become more subtle and hard to notice. Fortunately, we have
lots of scientists doing empirical tests to identify these fallacies,
so we don't always have to learn the hard way -- hopefully, we can
avoid being swindled by a con man by spotting his tricks before we
invest in his scheme.
I'd like to explore one of these fallacies (there are a lot more).
This fallacy, called Circular Reasoning, is fairly obvious when the
circle is small: someone might claim that Joe is a good speaker,
because he has a knack for effective communication. Even though the
word "because" is used, it is followed by a simple repeat of the same
claim rather than any real supporting evidence.
It gets harder when the circle gets bigger. If I claim that "Ford
makes the best cars because they have the best engineers working for
them", that seems reasonable. It's not until I go on to make a
separate claim that "those engineers are the best in the business
because they work at Ford", that the circular fallacy is revealed. And
when the chain of reasoning gets to be 3 or more separate links deep
before coming around to the beginning again, it becomes easier to miss
the connection.
Let's ask a few questions of a hypothetical member of the Church:
Why do you have a testimony of the Church? "Because I prayed and had a
warm, peaceful feeling."
What makes you think that a warm, peaceful feeling is an answer to
prayer? "That's what the scriptures teach."
So how do you know the scriptures are true? "Because I have a
testimony from the Holy Ghost."
And how did you get a testimony from the Holy Ghost? "Because I prayed
and had a warm, peaceful feeling."
What makes you think that a warm, peaceful feeling is an answer to
prayer? "That's what the scriptures teach."
Did you see the answers start to repeat? Can you see the error in
reasoning? All the above is saying is "The scriptures are true because
the scriptures are true". Nothing there actually supports the
conclusion that the scriptures really are true.
Circular reasoning isn't a problem if at least one of the claims can
be verified outside the circle. There's nothing wrong with the above
member's belief if he or she can confirm through other sources that
the scriptures are true, or show through other methods that feelings
are valid answers to prayers.
Let's take the second one -- feelings. I've already mentioned that
hundreds of millions of Christians and Muslims have opposing feelings
on what the correct religion is, so there are at least several hundred
million examples of why feelings are not reliable tests for truth.
Now, a member of the LDS Church might claim that his or her feelings
are somehow different, stronger, better, or more real. This is hard
for me to accept, given the large numbers of religiously-motivated
suicide bombers that Islam has produced. Of course, I do not agree
with the bombers, but no-one can question the strength of their
convictions. (Ah, but, maybe those Muslims were deceived by Satan.
Okay -- but Muslims think that Mormons are deceived. How can someone
on the outside tell which side is right? Neither Mormons nor Muslims
can claim a superior argument. If anything, position of Islam is
stronger, as they vastly outnumber Mormons.)
How about the other one -- can we confirm the scriptures are true from
sources outside of the scriptures? From Wikipedia: "Archaeological
discoveries in the nineteenth and twentieth century have supported few
of the Old Testament's historical narratives and refuted many of the
others." "...the only two events subject to 'almost universal assent'
are that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and was crucified by
the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate. There is a significant
debate about his nature, his actions and his sayings..." "Many
scholars doubt that the Gospels were written by eye-witnesses as their
attributions seem to suggest: there is too much evidence of reworking
oral traditions and of straight borrowing from other Gospels to make
this likely." "The Pauline epistles are the thirteen New Testament
books which present Paul the Apostle as their author. Six of the
letters are disputed. Four are thought by most modern scholars to be
pseudepigraphic, i.e., not actually written by Paul." "...Mormons hold
the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of
their faith. However, this view finds no acceptance outside of
Mormonism. The theory that the Book of Mormon is an ancient American
history is considered to fall outside academic credibility." "The Book
of Mormon mentions several animals, plants, and technologies for which
there is no evidence in pre-Columbian America." "...no Semitic
language is spoken natively in the Americas today and there is no
evidence that any Native American language has been influenced by any
Semitic language at any point in its history." "Several authors have
published works that suggest that current studies of genetic
anthropology using DNA evidence do not provide support for the Book of
Mormon." "The Book of Abraham papyri were thought lost in the 1871
Great Chicago Fire. However, in 1966 several fragments of the papyri
were found in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York, and in the LDS Church archives. They are now referred to as the
Joseph Smith Papyri. Upon examination by professional Mormon and
non-Mormon Egyptologists, these fragments were found to bear no
resemblance to Smith's interpretation, and were identified as common
Egyptian funerary texts, dating to about the first century BC."
It seems that there is little evidence supporting the Bible, none
supporting the Book of Mormon, and some actually refuting the Book of
Abraham. However, in my experience, most members of the Church are not
aware of these facts (I was not, until recently), and thus appear to
believe in the Church without evidence.
Can one still believe in something without evidence? Certainly.
Scientists do it every time they propose a new hypothesis. But this is
a temporary situation; the hypothesis is then followed by observations
and tests. To remain in the belief stage without bothering to search
for evidence is to remain ignorant. (What harm is there in holding
beliefs that have no evidence to back them up? Well, if you believe
things without evidence, then I have a bridge to sell you, and after
that, aliens are standing by to abduct you. You will constantly find
yourself in trouble if your standards for belief are set so low. A
healthy dose of skepticism will help protect you from all manner of
blunders. All skepticism means is, "I refuse to believe without good
evidence". Skepticism is to default to disbelief, unless and until
there is a clear reason to believe. We are all already skeptics at
some level -- take, for example, Santa Claus. You are already don't
believe in Santa, though you might believe if you saw his sleigh
flying behind reindeer with your own eyes and you could be sure there
wasn't a holographic projector nearby. So, you are a Santa skeptic.
This is healthy, because it means you aren't gullible.)
Moving forward, if the evidence supports the hypothesis, and if the
observations and tests are repeatable, the hypothesis becomes a theory
and the belief is justified. On the other hand, if evidence refutes
the hypothesis, the belief must be discarded, no matter how attractive
it may have been.
The belief in an afterlife is comforting -- it brings a warm, peaceful
feeling. But without supporting evidence, this feeling is no more
"true" than the warm, wonderful feeling one gets when thinking about
having a million dollars.
Good feelings after praying is not the only source of faith. The Book
of Mormon teaches that faith is like a seed -- plant it, water it, and
see what grows. If the result is good, the Church is true. If the
results are bad, the Church is false. It's an invitation to try out
the religion, and see how it changes your life. It's an entirely
reasonable and, I daresay, even scientific approach. But does it hold
up?
Before we look at the evidence, we need to be aware of another
fallacy: confirmation bias. That is, if you have a pre-existing
belief, you tend to give credence to evidence supporting your belief
and low (or no) credibility to evidence refuting it.
To give you an example, Church members love to tell "warm fuzzies"
about how they lost some money, prayed, and found it. These reinforce
the belief that Church is true because a prayer was answered. But
somehow, if the prayer was not answered, this negative result is
quietly ignored! Everyone seems to forget that the unanswered prayer
was ever said. This is confirmation bias: only evidence that supports
the pre-supposed conclusion is paid any attention. This leads to
incorrect conclusions, because the evaluated results are not the same
as what actually happened in reality. (There is also a double
standard: when the lost money fails to turn up, excuses are made. "Oh,
God is just testing us." A good scientific test either supports or
refutes a belief based on the same standard. A double standard means
that prayers being answered cannot be used as a method of determining
truth, because none of the possible outcomes can ever possibly refute
the truthfulness of the Church.)
How do we combat confirmation bias? In addition to looking for
evidence that supports your belief, look for evidence that refutes it.
"A good reporter gets at least two sides of every story". When you're
looking to buy a Ford, you don't just talk to the Ford dealership --
you don't even just talk to people who own and love Fords. You talk to
people that have owned and hated Fords. Why? Well, the dealership and
people who love Fords are biased, and the people who hate Fords are
biased -- but if you get the viewpoint from all parties, you can start
to see through and eliminate the bias and get closer to the actual
truth about Ford automobiles.
The same goes for the truth on any matter. To suggest that only
"approved" Mormon sources can be used to get the truth about Mormonism
is fallacious, because those approved sources are all biased. Is
"anti-Mormon literature" also biased? Yes. That's why you should
examine both pro- and anti- material: only then can you begin to see
the bias present on both sides. And once the bias is detected and
accounted for, you can make a more objective choice given the two
bodies of evidence.
Honest investigation does raise the scary possibility that you're
wrong -- but that's exactly how science has gotten to where it is
today. If you've flushed a toilet, flicked on a light switch, traveled
by car or airplane, ever been to a doctor or hospital, or used a
computer/tablet/smartphone, you have already seen the "good fruits" of
science and the progress that results from the ability to throw out
outdated beliefs.
The fact is, the methodology of science has succeeded in truth-seeking
every area of life. If you seek truth as well, you can use it as a
tool to your advantage.
LDS are taught that they should not study "anti-Mormon literature"
because they might "lose their testimony". On the contrary, Mormon
testimonies will be forever weak if they only have half the
information -- that's a whopping big blind spot. The only way to
"know" the Church is true is to investigate ALL of the available
evidence.
"If we have the truth, [it] cannot be harmed by investigation. If we
have not the truth, it ought to be harmed." -- J. Reuben Clark,
counselor in the First Presidency
So there you have it -- you have permission from the First Presidency
to look at all of the available evidence, pro and con. If the truth is
that the Church is true, great! You will have cemented your testimony.
Full investigation is required if you are to make any claim to honesty
when you say "I KNOW the Church is true". Without fully investigating
all the information about the Church, the best you can say is "I
BELIEVE the Church is true."
There's one more problem with the human brain I need to mention.
Whenever you try to hold two conflicting ideas at the same time, the
brain feels something called "cognitive dissonance." For example, if
you believe that smoking is bad, but if you keep smoking anyway, you
will feel bad about it. Similarly, if you believe that the Church is
true, but you find compelling evidence that says it's false, you will
feel bad. That's not because of the presence of Satan, it's because
your brain has a hard time reconciling two opposing ideas. The good
news is, this cognitive dissonance can be resolved: simply continue to
gather evidence until you see a clear answer, either way. And if there
is no clear answer, consider the skeptic's creed.
As for me personally, I see that the Church requires huge investments
in time and money. It also controls every aspect of life -- even down
to what to eat and what to wear. This is a serious level of
commitment, so I require comparable levels of clear and compelling
evidence before I believe (a few subtle hints here and there are not
enough). Of course, how high you set your own personal standards is
your choice.
If you wish to be sure about the Church, may I suggest some places to
search for evidence? I'll admit that these do have some bias, but I am
not aware of any outright falsehoods.
http://www.lds.org/topics/
http://www.lds.org/topics/
http://www.lds.org/topics/
http://www.MormonThink.com
http://cesletter.com/
belief or trust in someone or something; belief in the existence of
God; strong religious feelings or beliefs; a system of religious
beliefs". A belief, in turn, is defined as "a feeling of being sure
that someone or something exists or that something is true; a feeling
that something is good, right, or valuable; a feeling of trust in the
worth or ability of someone".
So, at least according to the dictionary, faith is based on feelings.
How does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints define faith?
Well, the Book of Mormon says that faith is the belief in things that
are not seen, but which are true. But how does one know that they are
true?
For many unseen things, we have evidence. Air, for example, is
virtually invisible to human eyes. But we can see the effects of wind,
and we know what happens when we are deprived of air. So we can make
observations and perform experiments as evidence for the existence of
air. We can have faith in air. But, how do we gather evidence for
other unseen things, such as God?
The Church teaches that a testimony can come from a witness of the
Holy Ghost. So, there is an empirical test. The Holy Ghost can be used
to test for the existence of God. How does the Holy Ghost communicate?
Well, for most people it is a warm, peaceful feeling. So, it would
seem that the Church agrees with the dictionary -- faith is based on
feelings.
Are feelings a reliable method of obtaining truth? In comparison,
science has given us indoor plumbing, electric lights, automobiles,
antibiotics and vaccines, jet aircraft, electronics, wireless
communication, and even moonwalks. How did these technologies come
about? Did NASA engineers design the Saturn V rocket based on
feelings? Would you rather ride to the moon in a rocket designed by a
scientists doing what they felt would work, or by scientists testing
the laws of physics and performing calculations on the forces
involved? Why?
History has shown us again and again that humans are fallible. Members
of the Church sometimes mock science because scientists once believed
that the Sun orbited the Earth. Yet, that is science's very strength!
Scientists only believed that the Sun orbited the earth because the
evidence was lacking. As soon as better evidence was available,
science was able to admit that it was wrong and come closer to the
truth. The ability to admit error is an essential first step to
approaching truth.
So, what makes feelings so unreliable compared to science? Humans are,
unfortunately, notorious for their cognitive shortcomings -- the
famous scientist Richard Feynman said "The first principle is that you
must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." Are
we really that easy to fool? Well, if we look as Islam vs
Christianity, these two religions are mutually exclusive -- if one is
true, the other must be false. Either way, hundreds of millions of
people have been fooled. So many people are so wrong about something
so important as the correct religion -- this cannot be disputed.
Science has identified a number of human cognitive and logical
failures called fallacies. It's become readily apparent that our
brains are not perfect machines, and make a lot of mistakes. A good
example of this is sleight-of-hand magic: we are always surprised or
amazed at the tricks a magician performs, because we don't know how
they do it. Magicians fool our brains into incorrect expectations.
When we see them appear to saw someone in half, our brains say that
the blade must be passing through the unlucky assistant's body. But we
are fooled. Fallacies go beyond magic tricks, too: we often experience
them in our daily lives. Fortunately, you can learn to identify your
own mental mistakes and as you do so, you can find ways to work around
them.
This isn't a new concept. You've been discovering your own broken
thought processes and fixing them since you were a child. The first
time you found out someone lied to you, you became less trusting of
that person. The first time you injured yourself, you learned that you
were not invincible, and took steps to protect yourself from the same
injury in the future. As we grow into adulthood though, the fallacies
tend to become more subtle and hard to notice. Fortunately, we have
lots of scientists doing empirical tests to identify these fallacies,
so we don't always have to learn the hard way -- hopefully, we can
avoid being swindled by a con man by spotting his tricks before we
invest in his scheme.
I'd like to explore one of these fallacies (there are a lot more).
This fallacy, called Circular Reasoning, is fairly obvious when the
circle is small: someone might claim that Joe is a good speaker,
because he has a knack for effective communication. Even though the
word "because" is used, it is followed by a simple repeat of the same
claim rather than any real supporting evidence.
It gets harder when the circle gets bigger. If I claim that "Ford
makes the best cars because they have the best engineers working for
them", that seems reasonable. It's not until I go on to make a
separate claim that "those engineers are the best in the business
because they work at Ford", that the circular fallacy is revealed. And
when the chain of reasoning gets to be 3 or more separate links deep
before coming around to the beginning again, it becomes easier to miss
the connection.
Let's ask a few questions of a hypothetical member of the Church:
Why do you have a testimony of the Church? "Because I prayed and had a
warm, peaceful feeling."
What makes you think that a warm, peaceful feeling is an answer to
prayer? "That's what the scriptures teach."
So how do you know the scriptures are true? "Because I have a
testimony from the Holy Ghost."
And how did you get a testimony from the Holy Ghost? "Because I prayed
and had a warm, peaceful feeling."
What makes you think that a warm, peaceful feeling is an answer to
prayer? "That's what the scriptures teach."
Did you see the answers start to repeat? Can you see the error in
reasoning? All the above is saying is "The scriptures are true because
the scriptures are true". Nothing there actually supports the
conclusion that the scriptures really are true.
Circular reasoning isn't a problem if at least one of the claims can
be verified outside the circle. There's nothing wrong with the above
member's belief if he or she can confirm through other sources that
the scriptures are true, or show through other methods that feelings
are valid answers to prayers.
Let's take the second one -- feelings. I've already mentioned that
hundreds of millions of Christians and Muslims have opposing feelings
on what the correct religion is, so there are at least several hundred
million examples of why feelings are not reliable tests for truth.
Now, a member of the LDS Church might claim that his or her feelings
are somehow different, stronger, better, or more real. This is hard
for me to accept, given the large numbers of religiously-motivated
suicide bombers that Islam has produced. Of course, I do not agree
with the bombers, but no-one can question the strength of their
convictions. (Ah, but, maybe those Muslims were deceived by Satan.
Okay -- but Muslims think that Mormons are deceived. How can someone
on the outside tell which side is right? Neither Mormons nor Muslims
can claim a superior argument. If anything, position of Islam is
stronger, as they vastly outnumber Mormons.)
How about the other one -- can we confirm the scriptures are true from
sources outside of the scriptures? From Wikipedia: "Archaeological
discoveries in the nineteenth and twentieth century have supported few
of the Old Testament's historical narratives and refuted many of the
others." "...the only two events subject to 'almost universal assent'
are that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and was crucified by
the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate. There is a significant
debate about his nature, his actions and his sayings..." "Many
scholars doubt that the Gospels were written by eye-witnesses as their
attributions seem to suggest: there is too much evidence of reworking
oral traditions and of straight borrowing from other Gospels to make
this likely." "The Pauline epistles are the thirteen New Testament
books which present Paul the Apostle as their author. Six of the
letters are disputed. Four are thought by most modern scholars to be
pseudepigraphic, i.e., not actually written by Paul." "...Mormons hold
the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of
their faith. However, this view finds no acceptance outside of
Mormonism. The theory that the Book of Mormon is an ancient American
history is considered to fall outside academic credibility." "The Book
of Mormon mentions several animals, plants, and technologies for which
there is no evidence in pre-Columbian America." "...no Semitic
language is spoken natively in the Americas today and there is no
evidence that any Native American language has been influenced by any
Semitic language at any point in its history." "Several authors have
published works that suggest that current studies of genetic
anthropology using DNA evidence do not provide support for the Book of
Mormon." "The Book of Abraham papyri were thought lost in the 1871
Great Chicago Fire. However, in 1966 several fragments of the papyri
were found in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York, and in the LDS Church archives. They are now referred to as the
Joseph Smith Papyri. Upon examination by professional Mormon and
non-Mormon Egyptologists, these fragments were found to bear no
resemblance to Smith's interpretation, and were identified as common
Egyptian funerary texts, dating to about the first century BC."
It seems that there is little evidence supporting the Bible, none
supporting the Book of Mormon, and some actually refuting the Book of
Abraham. However, in my experience, most members of the Church are not
aware of these facts (I was not, until recently), and thus appear to
believe in the Church without evidence.
Can one still believe in something without evidence? Certainly.
Scientists do it every time they propose a new hypothesis. But this is
a temporary situation; the hypothesis is then followed by observations
and tests. To remain in the belief stage without bothering to search
for evidence is to remain ignorant. (What harm is there in holding
beliefs that have no evidence to back them up? Well, if you believe
things without evidence, then I have a bridge to sell you, and after
that, aliens are standing by to abduct you. You will constantly find
yourself in trouble if your standards for belief are set so low. A
healthy dose of skepticism will help protect you from all manner of
blunders. All skepticism means is, "I refuse to believe without good
evidence". Skepticism is to default to disbelief, unless and until
there is a clear reason to believe. We are all already skeptics at
some level -- take, for example, Santa Claus. You are already don't
believe in Santa, though you might believe if you saw his sleigh
flying behind reindeer with your own eyes and you could be sure there
wasn't a holographic projector nearby. So, you are a Santa skeptic.
This is healthy, because it means you aren't gullible.)
Moving forward, if the evidence supports the hypothesis, and if the
observations and tests are repeatable, the hypothesis becomes a theory
and the belief is justified. On the other hand, if evidence refutes
the hypothesis, the belief must be discarded, no matter how attractive
it may have been.
The belief in an afterlife is comforting -- it brings a warm, peaceful
feeling. But without supporting evidence, this feeling is no more
"true" than the warm, wonderful feeling one gets when thinking about
having a million dollars.
Good feelings after praying is not the only source of faith. The Book
of Mormon teaches that faith is like a seed -- plant it, water it, and
see what grows. If the result is good, the Church is true. If the
results are bad, the Church is false. It's an invitation to try out
the religion, and see how it changes your life. It's an entirely
reasonable and, I daresay, even scientific approach. But does it hold
up?
Before we look at the evidence, we need to be aware of another
fallacy: confirmation bias. That is, if you have a pre-existing
belief, you tend to give credence to evidence supporting your belief
and low (or no) credibility to evidence refuting it.
To give you an example, Church members love to tell "warm fuzzies"
about how they lost some money, prayed, and found it. These reinforce
the belief that Church is true because a prayer was answered. But
somehow, if the prayer was not answered, this negative result is
quietly ignored! Everyone seems to forget that the unanswered prayer
was ever said. This is confirmation bias: only evidence that supports
the pre-supposed conclusion is paid any attention. This leads to
incorrect conclusions, because the evaluated results are not the same
as what actually happened in reality. (There is also a double
standard: when the lost money fails to turn up, excuses are made. "Oh,
God is just testing us." A good scientific test either supports or
refutes a belief based on the same standard. A double standard means
that prayers being answered cannot be used as a method of determining
truth, because none of the possible outcomes can ever possibly refute
the truthfulness of the Church.)
How do we combat confirmation bias? In addition to looking for
evidence that supports your belief, look for evidence that refutes it.
"A good reporter gets at least two sides of every story". When you're
looking to buy a Ford, you don't just talk to the Ford dealership --
you don't even just talk to people who own and love Fords. You talk to
people that have owned and hated Fords. Why? Well, the dealership and
people who love Fords are biased, and the people who hate Fords are
biased -- but if you get the viewpoint from all parties, you can start
to see through and eliminate the bias and get closer to the actual
truth about Ford automobiles.
The same goes for the truth on any matter. To suggest that only
"approved" Mormon sources can be used to get the truth about Mormonism
is fallacious, because those approved sources are all biased. Is
"anti-Mormon literature" also biased? Yes. That's why you should
examine both pro- and anti- material: only then can you begin to see
the bias present on both sides. And once the bias is detected and
accounted for, you can make a more objective choice given the two
bodies of evidence.
Honest investigation does raise the scary possibility that you're
wrong -- but that's exactly how science has gotten to where it is
today. If you've flushed a toilet, flicked on a light switch, traveled
by car or airplane, ever been to a doctor or hospital, or used a
computer/tablet/smartphone, you have already seen the "good fruits" of
science and the progress that results from the ability to throw out
outdated beliefs.
The fact is, the methodology of science has succeeded in truth-seeking
every area of life. If you seek truth as well, you can use it as a
tool to your advantage.
LDS are taught that they should not study "anti-Mormon literature"
because they might "lose their testimony". On the contrary, Mormon
testimonies will be forever weak if they only have half the
information -- that's a whopping big blind spot. The only way to
"know" the Church is true is to investigate ALL of the available
evidence.
"If we have the truth, [it] cannot be harmed by investigation. If we
have not the truth, it ought to be harmed." -- J. Reuben Clark,
counselor in the First Presidency
So there you have it -- you have permission from the First Presidency
to look at all of the available evidence, pro and con. If the truth is
that the Church is true, great! You will have cemented your testimony.
Full investigation is required if you are to make any claim to honesty
when you say "I KNOW the Church is true". Without fully investigating
all the information about the Church, the best you can say is "I
BELIEVE the Church is true."
There's one more problem with the human brain I need to mention.
Whenever you try to hold two conflicting ideas at the same time, the
brain feels something called "cognitive dissonance." For example, if
you believe that smoking is bad, but if you keep smoking anyway, you
will feel bad about it. Similarly, if you believe that the Church is
true, but you find compelling evidence that says it's false, you will
feel bad. That's not because of the presence of Satan, it's because
your brain has a hard time reconciling two opposing ideas. The good
news is, this cognitive dissonance can be resolved: simply continue to
gather evidence until you see a clear answer, either way. And if there
is no clear answer, consider the skeptic's creed.
As for me personally, I see that the Church requires huge investments
in time and money. It also controls every aspect of life -- even down
to what to eat and what to wear. This is a serious level of
commitment, so I require comparable levels of clear and compelling
evidence before I believe (a few subtle hints here and there are not
enough). Of course, how high you set your own personal standards is
your choice.
If you wish to be sure about the Church, may I suggest some places to
search for evidence? I'll admit that these do have some bias, but I am
not aware of any outright falsehoods.
http://www.lds.org/topics/
http://www.lds.org/topics/
http://www.lds.org/topics/
http://www.MormonThink.com
http://cesletter.com/
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Double Speak in the LDS Church
Are you confused about the official doctrine and teachings of the LDS Church? Do you notice how some members act one way and some act completely opposite, yet both believe they are following the church teachings to the letter? Do you wonder why? You are not alone. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is notorious for giving a variety of answers to the same question, even in official channels. Teachings and doctrine change over time, even though members are taught that eternal truths never change. The following are some examples of this double-speak, morphing teachings, and doctrine that individual members interpret differently.
1. Obedience/Free Agency : LDS teachings are based in the idea that we fought a war in heaven before we were born. The gist of this battle was whether or not we should be able to choose what we do of our own accord (God's plan) or whether we would be forced to be good in order to return to God's presence untainted by sin (Satan's plan). The originator of Mormonism, Joseph Smith said of his followers, "I teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves." It is a grand idea to understand and study an issue, then use your intellect to choose what to do in any given situation.
On the other hand, members are taught that free agency is given in order to choose righteousness, wickedness or any of the "gray areas" are not options if you want to be saved in the kingdom of God. You do not get to choose what personal righteousness is to you, either. Choosing the right means doing what the leaders of the church tell you to do. This is the exercising free agency, they teach. Proper exercise of free agency is choosing to obey everything the leaders of the church instruct members to do, even if it is wrong. Yes, you read that right. Even if it is wrong. As in the following example from General Conference in April 2002: "One of the sneaky ploys of the adversary is to have us believe that unquestioning obedience to the principles and commandments of God is blind obedience. His goal is to have us believe that we should be following our own worldly ways and selfish ambitions. This he does by persuading us that “blindly” following the prophets and obeying the commandments is not thinking for ourselves. He teaches that it is not intelligent to do something just because we are told to do so by a living prophet or by prophets who speak to us from the scriptures."
Somehow you are supposed to believe that unquestioning obedience is not blind obedience? What is unquestioning obedience? It is obeying without looking at the options, without considering the consequences. It is obeying without looking around. Like doing something with blinders on. What is blind obedience? It is obeying without looking at the options and consequences. Like doing something with blinders on. Sounds like the same thing to me.
"Always keep your eye on the President of the church, and if he ever tells you to do anything, even if it is wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it." --Heber J Grant
2. Prophets are human and are therefore imperfect. They do not always speak for God. Members are required to obey the prophet in all his words.
"The Lord will never let his mouthpiece lead the people astray." --Heber J Grant
"When the prophet speaks the debate is over." --N Eldon Tanner, August 1979 Ensign
2. Tithing -- tithing has morphed from voluntary contribution to 2% of your increase (what's left over after necessities are paid) to 10% of income before feeding, clothing, and housing your family. What constitutes income varies by area and local leader's teachings and counsel. Most often it is paid on gross income. It is sometimes paid on welfare, social security, unemployment income, and gift monies.
4. The church will stay out of politics, but they will tell you how to vote if they think it is important (women suffrage, state lotteries, gay marriage, etc)
5. We are Gods in embryo. By living the gospel, men can become Gods in the afterlife, reigning on and creating their own planets, populating them with their own spirit children.
“As man is now, God once was; as God is now man may be.” --Lorenzo Snow
Q: …about that, God the Father was once a man as we were. This is something that Christian writers are always addressing. Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are?
A: I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it. I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don’t know. I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don’t know a lot about it and I don’t know that others know a lot about it.
(Interview with Gordon B. Hinkley, August 4, 1997 edition of Time magazine)
6. Caffeine is forbidden, no it's not.
Various church magazine articles and conference talks reference how it is appropriate for Mormons to not partake of any drink containing caffeine (chocolate is conspicuously absent). Thus many Mormons grow up learning that caffiene is forbidden by the church. However, the following shows the church's official position.
“With reference to cola drinks, the Church has never officially taken a position on this matter, but the leaders of the Church have advised, and we do now specifically advise, against the use of any drink containing harmful habit-forming drugs under circumstances that would result in acquiring the habit. Any beverage that contains ingredients harmful to the body should be avoided.” -- Priesthood Bulletin of February 1972 (volume 8, number 1)
"While we are counseled against taking addictive substances or harmful drugs, the Word of Wisdom does not specifically prohibit caffeine. However, I believe that if we follow the spirit of the Word of Wisdom, we will be very careful about what we consume, particularly any substance that can have a negative impact on our bodies. This is true regarding any drug, substance, or even food that may be damaging to one’s health. This includes caffeine. Think of all the problems that excessive caffeine use causes that could be avoided by following this counsel." --(December 2008 Ensign "The Energy Drink Epidemic")
****This page will be updated as I have time/think of things to add.
1. Obedience/Free Agency : LDS teachings are based in the idea that we fought a war in heaven before we were born. The gist of this battle was whether or not we should be able to choose what we do of our own accord (God's plan) or whether we would be forced to be good in order to return to God's presence untainted by sin (Satan's plan). The originator of Mormonism, Joseph Smith said of his followers, "I teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves." It is a grand idea to understand and study an issue, then use your intellect to choose what to do in any given situation.
On the other hand, members are taught that free agency is given in order to choose righteousness, wickedness or any of the "gray areas" are not options if you want to be saved in the kingdom of God. You do not get to choose what personal righteousness is to you, either. Choosing the right means doing what the leaders of the church tell you to do. This is the exercising free agency, they teach. Proper exercise of free agency is choosing to obey everything the leaders of the church instruct members to do, even if it is wrong. Yes, you read that right. Even if it is wrong. As in the following example from General Conference in April 2002: "One of the sneaky ploys of the adversary is to have us believe that unquestioning obedience to the principles and commandments of God is blind obedience. His goal is to have us believe that we should be following our own worldly ways and selfish ambitions. This he does by persuading us that “blindly” following the prophets and obeying the commandments is not thinking for ourselves. He teaches that it is not intelligent to do something just because we are told to do so by a living prophet or by prophets who speak to us from the scriptures."
Somehow you are supposed to believe that unquestioning obedience is not blind obedience? What is unquestioning obedience? It is obeying without looking at the options, without considering the consequences. It is obeying without looking around. Like doing something with blinders on. What is blind obedience? It is obeying without looking at the options and consequences. Like doing something with blinders on. Sounds like the same thing to me.
"Always keep your eye on the President of the church, and if he ever tells you to do anything, even if it is wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it." --Heber J Grant
vs.
“We have heard men who hold the
priesthood remark that they would do anything they were told to do by
those who preside over them [even] if they knew it was wrong; but such
obedience as this is worse than folly to us; it is slavery in the
extreme; and the man who would thus willingly degrade himself, should
not claim a rank among intelligent beings, until he turns from his
folly. A man of God would despise the idea. Others, in the extreme
exercise of their almighty authority have taught that such obedience was
necessary, and that no matter what the saints were told do by their
presidents they should do it without any questions. When Elders of
Israel will so far indulge in these extreme notions of obedience as to
teach them to the people, it is generally because they have it in their
hearts to do wrong themselves.” --Joseph Smith. (Millennial Star, vol. 14, #38, p 593-595)2. Prophets are human and are therefore imperfect. They do not always speak for God. Members are required to obey the prophet in all his words.
"The Lord will never let his mouthpiece lead the people astray." --Heber J Grant
"When the prophet speaks the debate is over." --N Eldon Tanner, August 1979 Ensign
2. Tithing -- tithing has morphed from voluntary contribution to 2% of your increase (what's left over after necessities are paid) to 10% of income before feeding, clothing, and housing your family. What constitutes income varies by area and local leader's teachings and counsel. Most often it is paid on gross income. It is sometimes paid on welfare, social security, unemployment income, and gift monies.
4. The church will stay out of politics, but they will tell you how to vote if they think it is important (women suffrage, state lotteries, gay marriage, etc)
5. We are Gods in embryo. By living the gospel, men can become Gods in the afterlife, reigning on and creating their own planets, populating them with their own spirit children.
“As man is now, God once was; as God is now man may be.” --Lorenzo Snow
Q: …about that, God the Father was once a man as we were. This is something that Christian writers are always addressing. Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are?
A: I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it. I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don’t know. I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don’t know a lot about it and I don’t know that others know a lot about it.
(Interview with Gordon B. Hinkley, August 4, 1997 edition of Time magazine)
6. Caffeine is forbidden, no it's not.
Various church magazine articles and conference talks reference how it is appropriate for Mormons to not partake of any drink containing caffeine (chocolate is conspicuously absent). Thus many Mormons grow up learning that caffiene is forbidden by the church. However, the following shows the church's official position.
“With reference to cola drinks, the Church has never officially taken a position on this matter, but the leaders of the Church have advised, and we do now specifically advise, against the use of any drink containing harmful habit-forming drugs under circumstances that would result in acquiring the habit. Any beverage that contains ingredients harmful to the body should be avoided.” -- Priesthood Bulletin of February 1972 (volume 8, number 1)
"While we are counseled against taking addictive substances or harmful drugs, the Word of Wisdom does not specifically prohibit caffeine. However, I believe that if we follow the spirit of the Word of Wisdom, we will be very careful about what we consume, particularly any substance that can have a negative impact on our bodies. This is true regarding any drug, substance, or even food that may be damaging to one’s health. This includes caffeine. Think of all the problems that excessive caffeine use causes that could be avoided by following this counsel." --(December 2008 Ensign "The Energy Drink Epidemic")
****This page will be updated as I have time/think of things to add.
Monday, April 21, 2014
How the LDS Church controls your thoughts
According to the idea that "where much is given, much is required", the church requires much from its members. This is not just a way to mold better people, but is actually a control mechanism to keep the church constantly in your thoughts, and to devote nearly all your time, energies, and money to the church. The idea is to make the church your life. By doing so, it is extremely difficult to leave the church, because you are stunted in your development. You remain a child, not knowing how to behave and act for yourself. You are literally nothing without the church. The following are many ways in which the church works to become foremost in the minds of its members.the list is not in any particular order, just items as I remember them.
1. Music -- repetitive songs taught since primary age (1 1/2years old) get stuck in your head, reminding you that you are a child (I am a child of God), that you are not "worthy" of heaven on your own (various songs about Jesus), that it is your duty to spread the "gospel", and to remind you of certain other behaviors expected of you (pray, read the scriptures, rest on Sunday, etc).
2. Sunday monopolization --3 hour long church -- monopolizes your Sunday so that it is difficult to really rest or gather with friends and family. Many members also attend various extra meetings every Sunday. Also, the charge to "keep the sabbath holy" by abstaining not only from work, but from recreational activities as well
3. Assigned congregations according to geography -- you are not smart enough to choose who you want to attend church with or where. You must go where you are assigned. If you disregard this, you may not hold callings or hold a current temple recommend (because you are not sustaining your local leaders).
4. The stigma of refusing "callings" -- the idea that people are called to certain roles within the church by revelation, that a calling will help you be a better person, that by saying "no", you are somehow not strong enough, worthy enough, or have enough faith. Callings are the regular care and maintenance of everything in your congregation. They include everything from Bishop to handing out programs before Sacrament Meeting each Sunday. Many members teach a class every Sunday (and have to find their own substitutes if they are going to be gone on a particular Sunday). Callings may be performed weekly (also there is the time of preparing for a calling ahead of time), or more often during the week. Callings are not compensated for, and even bishops have a regular 40 hour a week job outside of church. More examples of callings are: Presidencies of each of the auxiliary sub-organizations, librarians, family history consultants, scout leaders, clerks, ward newsletter preparers, clergy working at the prisons, etc. Many people have more than one calling, especially in small wards and branches.
5. Monday night "Family Home Evening" -- a church meeting held in your home each week to indoctrinate your family, including 2 prayers, song, lesson, activity and treat. Billed as a way to stay connected to your family and a way to make your family obey the precepts of the church so your children will not "stray". There is much emphasis put on parents "teaching" their families so that they will stay together forever.
6. Weekday church meetings -- Tuesday night Relief Society for the women (once a month, but more recently implemented as many more social club-type activities much more often), Wednesday night Young Men and Young Women for the teenagers, weekly cub scouts, twice monthly activity days for girls (ages 8-11), various correlation meetings (usually monthly), bishopric meetings and bishop youth council before church on Sundays.
7. Fast and testimony meeting -- members are encouraged to speak impromptu about their faith and beliefs, using the words "I know" during Sacrament meeting. Most wards leave about 15 minutes at the end of Relief Society Meeting as well for the bearing of testimonies on this day. Members are expected to go without food our drink for two meals. Money "saved" from this exercise is to be paid to the church as fast offerings, although fast offerings are encouraged to be much more than the amount saved from skipping two meals. Members are encouraged to give as much as they are able. Don't worry if you forget to pay your fast offering! Young men are assigned to go to every member that day with a special envelope in which their fast offering can be gathered.
8. Giving "talks" -- members are called to give speeches about church topics in front of the congregation. Each ward usually cycles through active members starting at age 12 -- this in place of a regular sermon by a studied preacher.
9. Age driven worthiness goals -- setting church-driven goals since the age of 8 -- memorizing the articles of faith before age 12, accomplishing certain set goals to earn rewards (Faith in God, Young Women in Excellence, Cub and Boy Scouts (church oriented)), young men advance in Priesthood offices every 2 years.
10. Serving Missions as young adults is expected, and paid for by each individual "serving" -- A missionary is immersed in gospel dogma every hour of the day, overworked and under-rested (getting up at 6am, not going to bed until 10pm, working the whole time). Don't be fooled by "preparation day" either. A missionary has only a few hours a week (certainly not a whole day) to themselves to take care of laundry, write home, and "rest". Contact with family and friends is forbidden except in weekly letters and emails, calls are allowed twice a year (on Mother's Day and Christmas). Missionaries are not allowed to return home for important family events such as weddings and funerals.
11. tithing - 10% of gross (if you are really righteous, because you want to be blessed on the gross not the net) income is paid to the church. Yearly, you are "encouraged" to attend tithing settlement where you declare whether or not you pay a full tithe, you can of course give the balance of your tithe to a member of the bishopric at that time and declare yourself a full tithe payer. Tithing is required as the first thing out of your paycheck, even if you can not afford food or housing, "the Lord requires you to pay your tithing". One of the questions asked for a temple recommend interview is if you pay a full tithe. You must pay a full tithe to be able to attend temple, to receive the full blessings of the gospel, to be saved in the highest heaven after you die, to be counted in "the first resurrection", in order to be with your loved ones after this life, and to be able to witness a temple wedding ceremony.
12. Controlling clothing you wear -- Underwear and modesty-- an endowed member (somebody who has been through the temple) must purchase their underwear from the church (called garments). Outer clothing must cover the underwear completely without adjusting the underwear (no tucking, folding or safety pins allowed). Underwear is only supposed to be removed for a few specific purposes then replaced as soon as possible (sex and swimming being the most commonly accepted reasons), women wear bras on top of the underwear (garments must be closest to the skin) (individual Mormons may fudge this one as well). As you deal with underwear several times a day in bathroom duties, tugging it to keep it in place, or even just seeing the lines through the outer clothing, it places the church constantly in your mind. Persons who have not been endowed are told to wear their clothing as if they are wearing the garments, this is modest, they are told -- shorts and dresses past the knee, sleeves on shirts, dresses and blouses. Also as far as swimming goes, girls and women are told to wear a "modest one-piece" swimsuit (bikinis are inappropriate). Boys and men are not told what they can or can not wear, and as such follow the local trends of being topless with swim trunks.
13. Daily duties -- family prayer and scripture study, individual prayer and scripture study, always keeping a prayer in your heart. Liken the scriptures to your life. Search for answers to life's questions in the scriptures. Use music to overcome any bad thoughts or temptations.
14. The Holy Ghost -- Mormons are taught they are special because they have the Gift of the Holy Ghost which will guide them in their lives, if they live worthy of it. They believe that persons who are not members have the "Light of Christ" (intuition) which is vastly inferior. Also that the Holy Ghost's only role to non-members is to witness of truth. The Holy Ghost is meant to be that which we feel as intuition that prompts us to help people, warns us of danger and testifies of truth. The Holy Ghost will only tell you things that are found in Mormon dogma. If you get a "prompting" to murder your grandma, of course that is not the Holy Ghost, even if you feel it with the same feeling and mechanisms you get when you feel inspired to shovel your neighbor's walk. Similarly, if you pray to know if the Mormon church is true (the mechanism encouraged to gain a testimony of the church), and you get the feeling it is, that is the Holy Ghost testifying of the truth of it. If, however, you get the feeling the Mormon church is wrong or evil, that can not be the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the Golden Standard for Mormons, yet it is biased before the test is even run. If you feel doubt about sketchy things, of course this is the Holy Ghost warning you. If you feel doubt about the church, it is Satan trying to pull you away.
15. Controlling sexuality -- No "sexual relations" with anybody you are not legally married to -- this includes "necking and petting" (basically heavy kissing and touching of private parts). It also includes inducing sexual feelings in yourself. No porn. No masturbation. When you do have sex, it is not an anything goes policy. You are encouraged to pray with your partner and invite the Holy Ghost into your union. You are told not to engage in any unnatural or unholy practice, the definition of which is left vague and open to inconsistent interpretation by local leaders. Some bishops go so far as to outline what you can not do. There was even a time the First Presidency of the church sent out a letter stating that oral sex was unholy. If you have garments, you are supposed to put them on immediately after having sex.
16. Controlling movies you watch and music you listen to -- Rated R movies are taboo (see the strength of youth pamphlet) as is music "that drives the spirit away".
17. Controlling diet through "the word of wisdom" -- even though the Mormon scriptures define it as optional and not a commandment, it has nevertheless become required for temple attendance. The "dos" are largely (if not completely) ignored and the "don'ts" actually preached against in church are not exactly what are outlined in scripture. For example, alcohol in all forms is forbidden by the church, even though beer is specifically allowed in the scripture. Also, hot chocolate is allowed and iced tea and iced coffee are not, even though the scripture only proscribes "hot drinks".
18. Worthiness interviews and Personal Priesthood Interviews-- Youth are required to have a yearly interview with the bishop to determine their worthiness to hold callings within their age groups, pass the sacrament (boys), and attend the temple. Questions are asked ranging from belief, to outside affiliation with "apostate" groups to individual sexuality. There are a set of questions, but bishops are encouraged to use the Holy Ghost as a guide for more probing questions. Adults are required to have interviews biannually with a member of the bishopric and again with a member of the stake presidency in order to retain a temple recommend. Again questions are asked in order to probe belief and sexual behaviors.
19. Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching -- each person is assigned a partner and a few families to visit each month in order to give a gospel lesson and assess any needs exhibited.
20. Sign ups and assignments -- Various assignments are given or sign up sheets passed around. Some examples are: being assigned to clean the ward building (everybody gets one or two weekends during the year), assigned to work in the church cannery or orchard or whatever (sometimes this is sent as a sign up sheet, though seldom enough members sign up to fill the slots and the time ends up being assigned anyway), sign up to feed the missionaries a meal (and to be solicited for referrals), preparing and taking a meal to somebody who just had a baby or just got out of the hospital, bringing a food item to a ward party, etc.
21. Girls camp & scout camp -- several days away from parents and family focusing mostly (in the case of girls camp) on indoctrination.
22. Seminary and Institute -- Daily scripture lessons for those in high school and college.
23. Beards, tattoos, and piercings -- for important callings in the church (bishops, stake presidents, mission presidents, general authorities), facial hair is highly frowned upon, and in many cases strictly forbidden. Tattoos are frowned upon as are more than "one pair of modest earrings" for girls and women. Men are strictly discouraged from being pierced.
24. Weddings -- in the United States, couples are required to wait one year after a civil marriage to have a temple marriage (that seals them forever to their spouse). If a couple does not want to wait a year, they must have their wedding in the temple.In other countries, the temple ceremony may take place immediately following a civil ceremony. "Unworthy" family members may not be present at the wedding (each guest must be a member of the church in good standing holding a temple recommend). The exchanging of rings is not part of the ceremony. There are no vows to one another (only that the man accepts the woman as his wife, and the woman gives herself to him as his wife). No walking down an aisle or fathers giving their daughters away.
25. Funerals -- Funerals are glorified church meeting with a "life sketch" included. It is an opportunity for church members to preach at the attendees. It includes prayers, songs and sermons.
26. Temple attendance -- members are encouraged to attend the temple at least once a month to participate in ordinances in behalf of those who have died. The ordinances are: baptism, confirmation, initiatory (washing and anointing), endowment, sealing of families.
27. Information Control -- history is rewritten in a positive light and according to current church dogma. Very specific faith building experiences are shared in order to build faith (for example in Primary lesson manuals). Some stories are only historical as urban legends or theory, but presented as fact if they are uplifting, spiritual, and build faith in the church.
28. Every Member a Missionary -- This is actually quite unpopular among members and non-members alike. It boils down to making every interaction with a non-member a "missionary moment". Friendships among the two groups are highly unlikely to develop as it reduces the non-member to a "project". There is always the ulterior motive as a component of such friendships of finding opportunities to introduce Mormonism. This why Mormons tend to stay within their own group. Such friendships are painful to Mormon and non-Mormon alike.
29. Separate but Equal -- The idea that women are submissive to men. This is even sealed as a covenant in the temple. Men covenant to obey God. Women covenant to obey their husbands as their husbands obey God. Women veil their faces in the temple ceremony, whereas men do not. Women are not allowed to serve in high callings in the church. Any calling a woman serves in is overseen by men. The priesthood is reserved for men (while women have the calling of caring for children). A woman covenants to give herself to her husband when she is sealed (married), the husband covenants to take her as his wife. After children graduate from primary (turn 12), one of the hours of church is held as a segregated by sex meeting. There are some movements within the church to correct a few of these inequalities, but so far have not gained much traction (the Ordain Women Movement and the Wear Pants to Church Movement). Most women in the church say they are content in their role to be wives, mothers, and teachers of children.
1. Music -- repetitive songs taught since primary age (1 1/2years old) get stuck in your head, reminding you that you are a child (I am a child of God), that you are not "worthy" of heaven on your own (various songs about Jesus), that it is your duty to spread the "gospel", and to remind you of certain other behaviors expected of you (pray, read the scriptures, rest on Sunday, etc).
2. Sunday monopolization --3 hour long church -- monopolizes your Sunday so that it is difficult to really rest or gather with friends and family. Many members also attend various extra meetings every Sunday. Also, the charge to "keep the sabbath holy" by abstaining not only from work, but from recreational activities as well
3. Assigned congregations according to geography -- you are not smart enough to choose who you want to attend church with or where. You must go where you are assigned. If you disregard this, you may not hold callings or hold a current temple recommend (because you are not sustaining your local leaders).
4. The stigma of refusing "callings" -- the idea that people are called to certain roles within the church by revelation, that a calling will help you be a better person, that by saying "no", you are somehow not strong enough, worthy enough, or have enough faith. Callings are the regular care and maintenance of everything in your congregation. They include everything from Bishop to handing out programs before Sacrament Meeting each Sunday. Many members teach a class every Sunday (and have to find their own substitutes if they are going to be gone on a particular Sunday). Callings may be performed weekly (also there is the time of preparing for a calling ahead of time), or more often during the week. Callings are not compensated for, and even bishops have a regular 40 hour a week job outside of church. More examples of callings are: Presidencies of each of the auxiliary sub-organizations, librarians, family history consultants, scout leaders, clerks, ward newsletter preparers, clergy working at the prisons, etc. Many people have more than one calling, especially in small wards and branches.
5. Monday night "Family Home Evening" -- a church meeting held in your home each week to indoctrinate your family, including 2 prayers, song, lesson, activity and treat. Billed as a way to stay connected to your family and a way to make your family obey the precepts of the church so your children will not "stray". There is much emphasis put on parents "teaching" their families so that they will stay together forever.
6. Weekday church meetings -- Tuesday night Relief Society for the women (once a month, but more recently implemented as many more social club-type activities much more often), Wednesday night Young Men and Young Women for the teenagers, weekly cub scouts, twice monthly activity days for girls (ages 8-11), various correlation meetings (usually monthly), bishopric meetings and bishop youth council before church on Sundays.
7. Fast and testimony meeting -- members are encouraged to speak impromptu about their faith and beliefs, using the words "I know" during Sacrament meeting. Most wards leave about 15 minutes at the end of Relief Society Meeting as well for the bearing of testimonies on this day. Members are expected to go without food our drink for two meals. Money "saved" from this exercise is to be paid to the church as fast offerings, although fast offerings are encouraged to be much more than the amount saved from skipping two meals. Members are encouraged to give as much as they are able. Don't worry if you forget to pay your fast offering! Young men are assigned to go to every member that day with a special envelope in which their fast offering can be gathered.
8. Giving "talks" -- members are called to give speeches about church topics in front of the congregation. Each ward usually cycles through active members starting at age 12 -- this in place of a regular sermon by a studied preacher.
9. Age driven worthiness goals -- setting church-driven goals since the age of 8 -- memorizing the articles of faith before age 12, accomplishing certain set goals to earn rewards (Faith in God, Young Women in Excellence, Cub and Boy Scouts (church oriented)), young men advance in Priesthood offices every 2 years.
10. Serving Missions as young adults is expected, and paid for by each individual "serving" -- A missionary is immersed in gospel dogma every hour of the day, overworked and under-rested (getting up at 6am, not going to bed until 10pm, working the whole time). Don't be fooled by "preparation day" either. A missionary has only a few hours a week (certainly not a whole day) to themselves to take care of laundry, write home, and "rest". Contact with family and friends is forbidden except in weekly letters and emails, calls are allowed twice a year (on Mother's Day and Christmas). Missionaries are not allowed to return home for important family events such as weddings and funerals.
11. tithing - 10% of gross (if you are really righteous, because you want to be blessed on the gross not the net) income is paid to the church. Yearly, you are "encouraged" to attend tithing settlement where you declare whether or not you pay a full tithe, you can of course give the balance of your tithe to a member of the bishopric at that time and declare yourself a full tithe payer. Tithing is required as the first thing out of your paycheck, even if you can not afford food or housing, "the Lord requires you to pay your tithing". One of the questions asked for a temple recommend interview is if you pay a full tithe. You must pay a full tithe to be able to attend temple, to receive the full blessings of the gospel, to be saved in the highest heaven after you die, to be counted in "the first resurrection", in order to be with your loved ones after this life, and to be able to witness a temple wedding ceremony.
12. Controlling clothing you wear -- Underwear and modesty-- an endowed member (somebody who has been through the temple) must purchase their underwear from the church (called garments). Outer clothing must cover the underwear completely without adjusting the underwear (no tucking, folding or safety pins allowed). Underwear is only supposed to be removed for a few specific purposes then replaced as soon as possible (sex and swimming being the most commonly accepted reasons), women wear bras on top of the underwear (garments must be closest to the skin) (individual Mormons may fudge this one as well). As you deal with underwear several times a day in bathroom duties, tugging it to keep it in place, or even just seeing the lines through the outer clothing, it places the church constantly in your mind. Persons who have not been endowed are told to wear their clothing as if they are wearing the garments, this is modest, they are told -- shorts and dresses past the knee, sleeves on shirts, dresses and blouses. Also as far as swimming goes, girls and women are told to wear a "modest one-piece" swimsuit (bikinis are inappropriate). Boys and men are not told what they can or can not wear, and as such follow the local trends of being topless with swim trunks.
13. Daily duties -- family prayer and scripture study, individual prayer and scripture study, always keeping a prayer in your heart. Liken the scriptures to your life. Search for answers to life's questions in the scriptures. Use music to overcome any bad thoughts or temptations.
14. The Holy Ghost -- Mormons are taught they are special because they have the Gift of the Holy Ghost which will guide them in their lives, if they live worthy of it. They believe that persons who are not members have the "Light of Christ" (intuition) which is vastly inferior. Also that the Holy Ghost's only role to non-members is to witness of truth. The Holy Ghost is meant to be that which we feel as intuition that prompts us to help people, warns us of danger and testifies of truth. The Holy Ghost will only tell you things that are found in Mormon dogma. If you get a "prompting" to murder your grandma, of course that is not the Holy Ghost, even if you feel it with the same feeling and mechanisms you get when you feel inspired to shovel your neighbor's walk. Similarly, if you pray to know if the Mormon church is true (the mechanism encouraged to gain a testimony of the church), and you get the feeling it is, that is the Holy Ghost testifying of the truth of it. If, however, you get the feeling the Mormon church is wrong or evil, that can not be the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the Golden Standard for Mormons, yet it is biased before the test is even run. If you feel doubt about sketchy things, of course this is the Holy Ghost warning you. If you feel doubt about the church, it is Satan trying to pull you away.
15. Controlling sexuality -- No "sexual relations" with anybody you are not legally married to -- this includes "necking and petting" (basically heavy kissing and touching of private parts). It also includes inducing sexual feelings in yourself. No porn. No masturbation. When you do have sex, it is not an anything goes policy. You are encouraged to pray with your partner and invite the Holy Ghost into your union. You are told not to engage in any unnatural or unholy practice, the definition of which is left vague and open to inconsistent interpretation by local leaders. Some bishops go so far as to outline what you can not do. There was even a time the First Presidency of the church sent out a letter stating that oral sex was unholy. If you have garments, you are supposed to put them on immediately after having sex.
16. Controlling movies you watch and music you listen to -- Rated R movies are taboo (see the strength of youth pamphlet) as is music "that drives the spirit away".
17. Controlling diet through "the word of wisdom" -- even though the Mormon scriptures define it as optional and not a commandment, it has nevertheless become required for temple attendance. The "dos" are largely (if not completely) ignored and the "don'ts" actually preached against in church are not exactly what are outlined in scripture. For example, alcohol in all forms is forbidden by the church, even though beer is specifically allowed in the scripture. Also, hot chocolate is allowed and iced tea and iced coffee are not, even though the scripture only proscribes "hot drinks".
18. Worthiness interviews and Personal Priesthood Interviews-- Youth are required to have a yearly interview with the bishop to determine their worthiness to hold callings within their age groups, pass the sacrament (boys), and attend the temple. Questions are asked ranging from belief, to outside affiliation with "apostate" groups to individual sexuality. There are a set of questions, but bishops are encouraged to use the Holy Ghost as a guide for more probing questions. Adults are required to have interviews biannually with a member of the bishopric and again with a member of the stake presidency in order to retain a temple recommend. Again questions are asked in order to probe belief and sexual behaviors.
19. Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching -- each person is assigned a partner and a few families to visit each month in order to give a gospel lesson and assess any needs exhibited.
20. Sign ups and assignments -- Various assignments are given or sign up sheets passed around. Some examples are: being assigned to clean the ward building (everybody gets one or two weekends during the year), assigned to work in the church cannery or orchard or whatever (sometimes this is sent as a sign up sheet, though seldom enough members sign up to fill the slots and the time ends up being assigned anyway), sign up to feed the missionaries a meal (and to be solicited for referrals), preparing and taking a meal to somebody who just had a baby or just got out of the hospital, bringing a food item to a ward party, etc.
21. Girls camp & scout camp -- several days away from parents and family focusing mostly (in the case of girls camp) on indoctrination.
22. Seminary and Institute -- Daily scripture lessons for those in high school and college.
23. Beards, tattoos, and piercings -- for important callings in the church (bishops, stake presidents, mission presidents, general authorities), facial hair is highly frowned upon, and in many cases strictly forbidden. Tattoos are frowned upon as are more than "one pair of modest earrings" for girls and women. Men are strictly discouraged from being pierced.
24. Weddings -- in the United States, couples are required to wait one year after a civil marriage to have a temple marriage (that seals them forever to their spouse). If a couple does not want to wait a year, they must have their wedding in the temple.In other countries, the temple ceremony may take place immediately following a civil ceremony. "Unworthy" family members may not be present at the wedding (each guest must be a member of the church in good standing holding a temple recommend). The exchanging of rings is not part of the ceremony. There are no vows to one another (only that the man accepts the woman as his wife, and the woman gives herself to him as his wife). No walking down an aisle or fathers giving their daughters away.
25. Funerals -- Funerals are glorified church meeting with a "life sketch" included. It is an opportunity for church members to preach at the attendees. It includes prayers, songs and sermons.
26. Temple attendance -- members are encouraged to attend the temple at least once a month to participate in ordinances in behalf of those who have died. The ordinances are: baptism, confirmation, initiatory (washing and anointing), endowment, sealing of families.
27. Information Control -- history is rewritten in a positive light and according to current church dogma. Very specific faith building experiences are shared in order to build faith (for example in Primary lesson manuals). Some stories are only historical as urban legends or theory, but presented as fact if they are uplifting, spiritual, and build faith in the church.
28. Every Member a Missionary -- This is actually quite unpopular among members and non-members alike. It boils down to making every interaction with a non-member a "missionary moment". Friendships among the two groups are highly unlikely to develop as it reduces the non-member to a "project". There is always the ulterior motive as a component of such friendships of finding opportunities to introduce Mormonism. This why Mormons tend to stay within their own group. Such friendships are painful to Mormon and non-Mormon alike.
29. Separate but Equal -- The idea that women are submissive to men. This is even sealed as a covenant in the temple. Men covenant to obey God. Women covenant to obey their husbands as their husbands obey God. Women veil their faces in the temple ceremony, whereas men do not. Women are not allowed to serve in high callings in the church. Any calling a woman serves in is overseen by men. The priesthood is reserved for men (while women have the calling of caring for children). A woman covenants to give herself to her husband when she is sealed (married), the husband covenants to take her as his wife. After children graduate from primary (turn 12), one of the hours of church is held as a segregated by sex meeting. There are some movements within the church to correct a few of these inequalities, but so far have not gained much traction (the Ordain Women Movement and the Wear Pants to Church Movement). Most women in the church say they are content in their role to be wives, mothers, and teachers of children.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
LDS Take --Sin and Repentance
Webster's dictionary defines transgression and sin pretty much the same: "an offense against religious or moral law" and "infringement or violation of a law, command, or duty"
Growing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I was taught there is a distinction between sin and transgression.
“… We celebrate Eve’s act and honor her wisdom and courage in the great episode called the Fall. … Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said: ‘I never speak of the part Eve took in this fall as a sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin. … This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin.’ …
“This suggested contrast between a sin and a transgression reminds us of the careful wording in the second article of faith: “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression” (italics added). It also echoes a familiar distinction in the law. Some acts, like murder, are crimes because they are inherently wrong. Other acts, like operating without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited. Under these distinctions, the act that produced the Fall was not a sin—inherently wrong—but a transgression—wrong because it was formally prohibited. These words are not always used to denote something different, but this distinction seems meaningful in the circumstances of the Fall” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1993, 98; or Ensign, Nov. 1993, 73).
“This suggested contrast between a sin and a transgression reminds us of the careful wording in the second article of faith: “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression” (italics added). It also echoes a familiar distinction in the law. Some acts, like murder, are crimes because they are inherently wrong. Other acts, like operating without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited. Under these distinctions, the act that produced the Fall was not a sin—inherently wrong—but a transgression—wrong because it was formally prohibited. These words are not always used to denote something different, but this distinction seems meaningful in the circumstances of the Fall” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1993, 98; or Ensign, Nov. 1993, 73).
Elder Dallin H Oaks also taught there is a difference between sins and mistakes:
"In teaching the Saints not to accuse one another, the Prophet said, “What many people call sin is not sin” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, [1976], 193). I believe that the large category of actions that are mistakes rather than sins illustrates the truth of that statement. If we would be more understanding of one another’s mistakes, being satisfied merely to correct and not to chasten or call to repentance, we would surely promote loving and living together in greater peace and harmony."
Bearing these things in mind, it really irks me when people say that we sin every day, implying there is not a day that goes by that we do not need to pray for forgiveness. [It's not just the LDS that say this.] Not everything we do that has bad consequences is sin. I think it is stupid to imply that no matter what we do in a day, we are sinning. Are there really so many commandments and laws that we cannot remember them all?
Ok. Let's say we do sin every single day. So, now what? We have to repent. How is repentance executed?
- Recognize your sin
- Feel sorrow for your sin
- Forsake your sin
- Confess your sin
- Make restitution
- Forgive others
- Keep the commandments-- including paying tithing, keeping the Sabbath Holy, obeying the Word of Wisdom, Sustaining Church Authorities, being kind to others, and praying
If you don't do all these things, say the LDS, you have not repented. You are still guilty of your sin. Say your sin was being angry with somebody. You can't just apologize and work on your anger issues-- you have to do a whole lot more. That sin will follow you your whole life if you don't obey all the commandments from that time forth. Since you sin every day, you are never obeying all the commandments, therefore you will never fully repent.
The idea that we are always sinners and can't fully repent can do a lot of damage to our self-worth. We are always made to feel guilty about everything we do. We are never good enough. You might say it keeps us humble, that's why we need a Savior.
LDS say "Jesus suffered for our sins, that we might not suffer if we would repent." Yet, as shown above, repentance is impossible. According to the LDS, not only did Jesus suffer, but so must I, because I can not ever fully repent.
Not only am I a horrible sinner, even if I try to be a good person, and in need of a Savior to save me from myself, I will also suffer for every wrong that I commit. In this case, what good is a Savior? And what good am I?
A few more points on the LDS perspective: If you commit a sin, repent of it, then commit it again, all your previous sins will return to you, because you have not truly repented. Also, there are tons of articles on LDS.org-- in their publications and magazines about how wonderful a gift repentance is. They teach it to the children in Primary classes as well. They teach it as if repentance is attainable. They teach that repentance is a daily chore. They never say that you cannot truly repent. They only state the steps and tell you how wonderful it is. With all the emphasis on the great gift of repentance, I wonder if any of them stop to consider its futility.
A few more points on the LDS perspective: If you commit a sin, repent of it, then commit it again, all your previous sins will return to you, because you have not truly repented. Also, there are tons of articles on LDS.org-- in their publications and magazines about how wonderful a gift repentance is. They teach it to the children in Primary classes as well. They teach it as if repentance is attainable. They teach that repentance is a daily chore. They never say that you cannot truly repent. They only state the steps and tell you how wonderful it is. With all the emphasis on the great gift of repentance, I wonder if any of them stop to consider its futility.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
The Parable of the Wheat and Tares
The Parable of the Wheat and Tares aka The Parable of the Weeds
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’
As I was reading through the New Testament, I came across this parable. I found it very interesting in light of my last few months. Jesus seems to be comparing this field with a false belief system. There is some truth there, but some untruths, some harmful components. Wheat and weeds. Jesus seems to be saying that harm can be done if the weeds are pulled out before the crop is mature.
I like to garden. There have been times when I have thought I should just leave the weeds in my garden. My crops will be stronger as they overcome the weeds and the harvest will be the same. When weeds are pulled, especially if they are as big or bigger than the crops, sometimes they take the crops out with them. However, if I leave the weeds, sometimes they kill the crops by becoming stronger and bigger, shading out my plants and stealing nutrients. Some weeds even look like the crops I want to keep, especially when they are small. When you pull the weeds, there is a risk to pulling out good crops, as they grow close together, sometimes even entangling themselves with one another. One might even come to think that the weed is necessary for the crop's survival.
When the weeds are removed, the crop is spindly and weak. We see the bare dirt and think of all we have lost. It takes time for the garden to recover, for the good plants to grow and flourish. We have to give them care and nourishment.They will recover, and when they do, they will be stronger than ever before.
In my life's garden, I would much rather pull my weeds out when I recognize them as such. I don't like
to live with weeds in my life. Sometimes raw truth hurts. It can seem to turn the world upside down. I have been
hurt by the truth, because it was not what I thought it was. It was disguised, but in the long run, truth does much more good than bad.
It's much more difficult to know what to do when it comes to other people. Sometimes weeds masquerade as good crops. We can be fooled into thinking that weeds will bring forth good fruit. When somebody points out that our prize crop of thorns will never bring forth roses, will we be angry or grateful that we don't have to waste time any longer on things that are worthless? Between spending time on false crops and feeling the emptiness of bare ground when the weeds are removed, there can be a lot of pain associated with cleaning up a garden. When you see your friends and family spending time nurturing weeds while their true crops could be so much bigger and brighter, what do you do? Will they appreciate you telling them they are wrong, or will they just get angry and continue in their delusions?
I think in this parable, Jesus is telling us that many people are not ready to see the weeds for what they are. He is saying it will do harm to remove the weeds before the people tending them are ready to recognize them. I can see his point.
Yet, as my garden grows with a lot less weeds and masquerading crops in it, I can see the bare spots begin to fill in. I can see the beauty of my garden develop. I can take the time to examine new weeds and recognize old weeds for what they are and remove them from my garden. I want that for my loved ones, I want to tell them about the weeds I am learning about. I want them to be able to pull them from their gardens, too. Alas, it seems I have to be careful. I have to check to see I am not offending them. I have to make sure I don't suggest their prize thorn-bush will not bring forth the expected roses. As much as I hate watching them waste time nourishing their cherished weeds, I cannot remove the delusion from them. Chances are, if I tried, they would hate me and think me a liar. I have to wait until they start seeing their own weeds for what they are, before I can give them the hope I have, that it's ok to get rid of their weeds, and reassure them that they still have crops in there that will continue to grow and mature.
The teachings of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the one Christians look to for the basis of their faith. We've all seen the WWJD jewelry to remind us to behave like Jesus, or for Mormons, the CTR jewelry, reminding us to Choose the Right like Jesus would want us to. The whole of western religion is built upon this deified man who lived two thousand years ago, yet there are only three small books in scripture that deal exclusively with the life of Jesus-- and much of that on deifying him. The life of this man has influenced countless lives, yet most boil it down to being "good" and loving each other. Is this all there is to it, or is there something more. Since I couldn't think of anything beyond that, I decided to go through the new testament and see what I could find from what Jesus taught. Here are my findings:
These are good things I believe can we learn from Jesus:
Love yourself.
These are good things I believe can we learn from Jesus:
Love yourself.
- Education is important (Matthew 4:4)
- Don't do stupid things (self-harm), even if you believe you are invincible. (Matthew 4:5-7, Luke 4:9-12)
- Be true to yourself. Don't sell your convictions for money, treasure, or power. (Matthew 4: 8-10, Luke 4:6-8)
- Have empathy, kindness, and seek to be better. (Matthew 5:3-11)
- Don't hide the good that is in you. It brings variety and joy to the lives of those around you. (Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 25:14-28)
- Be questioning. Search for answers. (Matthew 7:7-8)
- Don't dwell in the past. (Matthew 8:18-22)
- Be teachable. (Matthew 13:1-9; Mark 4:2-8; Luke 8:4-8)
- Don't be angry with people. If you have a disagreement, make up quickly before there are bad consequences. (Matthew 5:21-26)
- Don't judge others. (Matthew 7:1-6; Luke 6:37)
- Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Matthew 7:9-12)
- Relationships with other humans can be stronger than family ties. (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:33-34)
- Watch what you say! Only good things should come out of your mouth. (Matthew 15:11, Mark 7:15)
- Forgive always. (Matthew 18:21-22) [It is good for the peace of your being to not hold grudges. This does not mean you should let people abuse you or take advantage of you. It is possible to forgive without allowing situations to repeat.]
- Divorce is bad. (Matthew 19:1-12, Mark 10:1-12) [Ok, so in general, divorce is certainly not ideal, but there are many reasons it can be right for a couple. I think the point here is not to take your marriage covenants lightly.]
- Don't dwell on what others get. Life is not fair. (Matthew 20:1-16)
- Importance is gained by what you give others. Serve others. (Matthew 20:24-28)
- Take care of the people around you. (Matthew 25:31-45) [This should not mean to give to others to the point of your own impoverishment.]
- Don't brag about being good. (Matthew 6:1-18)
- Don't believe flatterers. Observe their "fruit" to know if they are good people. (Matthew 7:15-20, Luke 6:43-45)
- Tell the truth. Do what you say you will do. (Matthew 21:28-31)
- Only teach what you, yourself, live. (Matthew 23:1-12)
- Thoughts are as bad as actions. (Matthew 5:27-30) [Actually murdering somebody or committing adultery are way worse than just thinking about it. That said, however, it's probably a good thing to not let our thoughts/fantasies get the better of us. A stray thought isn't bad. Dwelling on certain thoughts can be bad for you psychologically, though, and might lead to the committing into action of those thoughts.]
- Let people take advantage of you. (Matthew 5:38-42; Luke 6:34) [What? No. Not good. Being a doormat only makes you a target for people without scruples. Bad advice.]
- Love your enemies. (Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36) [How about, "don't hold grudges"? Loving enemies would entail double think and cognitive dissonance. No, thank you!]
- Don't save money or dwell on its existence. In fact get rid of any material thing you have accumulated. God will take care of you. (Matthew 6:19-34; Matthew 19:16-30; Mark: 12:41-44; Luke 12:13-34) [This is just stupid. Save for a rainy day. Enjoy wealth, if you have it. Help others with your money, if you desire. If you don't have money, well sure, don't spend your strength worrying about it when you can (or can't) do something about it. Maybe this is just Jesus' way of trying to dispel worry and take a jab at rich people at the same time.]
- Love God with your whole might, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 37-40, Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:27) [I give love to those who are worthy of my love. It is a waste of energy and heart to do otherwise. I cannot love a God who I do not know even exists, and if he does exist, does not manifest himself to me. Also, as far as loving my neighbor as myself, sorry, but that is just not feasible. It would entail all sorts of psychological intricacies I cannot begin to deal with. I can, however, accept being kind to those around me.]
- Be a pacifist. (Matthew 26:52) [I believe you should defend yourself and your loved ones even unto death.]
- Be like a child. (Mark 10:13-16) [I can
understand how people interpret this to mean " be humble" and "be
teachable" and "be forgiving". I believe we should always be advancing.
We are constantly growing in our understanding, and that is a good
thing. We should not be gullible and always believing as a child is. We
learn as we develop, and that should never be discarded. It is best to
be ourselves and not childish.]
- You can do anything if you just believe. (recurrent theme) [While having positive thoughts can be important, you can NOT do anything just by believing.]
- The "kingdom of heaven" is worth giving up everything for. (recurrent theme) [Not for me.]
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