Eventually, I'll settle on something that I like. But for now...the sidebar is on the left, and all the little buttons at the bottom are in a different order. God help us all...
Forward, photos, captions, and blog by Chris Hickey. Actual article by the brilliant and lovely Kyleen Russell.
***
Do you ever think condescending thoughts about people when they're trying their hardest at something? Do you assume mental superiority over someone because of what they wear, listen to, or do for fun? Do you continually find yourself wishing people would just shut up and do it your (clearly superior) way? If you've answered yes to any or all of these questions, than you, dear reader, are probably anasshole jerk.
Just kidding. What it really means is that you are a sinful human being (or, if you're not religious, it just means you're human and therefore not perfect), and at least you're keeping it to yourself. I hope.
image: timberry.bplans.com
"I AM BETTER THAN ALL OF YOU! WEIRDOS"
"..." "I meant, 'You're all really unique in ways that are different than me, and I appreciate that about all of you.'"
But how do we change, or at least control, these negative thoughts and emotions? How do we stop being secretly horrible people? Or, if we can't and a bad thought slips out for everyone to hear, what can disguise our obviously abhorrent inner attitude?
I have no idea. Originally, I wrote a list of silly, obviously fake tips on how to be a less horrible person, concluding with the message, "Don't try to fake it; just focus on being better.". However, after reading and rereading what Kyleen wrote, I decided it would be better for her chunk of our coauthored masterpiece to be the main focus, because not only is it wonderfully written, but it also takes a much more contemplative approach to the topic of our inner demons of pride and vulgar frames of mind.
So, without further ado...
***
Imagine if your thoughts were amplified for the world to hear.
How majorly would that suck, right? Oh, how we fear transparency.
We scramble through the labyrinth that is social tact, pining to appear likable and nice—but let’s face it. Half the time, we say nice things while actually thinking rude, degrading thoughts.
Externally, you could be the sweetest, most gracious person on the planet, but explore the inner neighborhood of your body, locate the address of your soul and ring the doorbell—you’ll probably be greeted by a chauvinistic smart-ass. Why? Because even the “nicest” people are often mean and rude…at least in the privacy of their head. Even Mother Teresa was probably a bitch.
image: time.com
Pharisee.
Wait, what?
It boils down to human nature; we have rudeness ingrained in our DNA. However, I am in no way condoning this. It would be absurd to nonchalantly accept and be content with all terrible things simply because they’re inherently human. That’s such a cop-out. Like, “Mass genocide and female-genital-mutilation and rape and nuclear wars really suck. But, hey, it’s human nature! We can’t do anything about it. Oh well!”
But anyways, what is the point of saying something if our thoughts don’t truly align with it? We have grown complacent with our external, insincere kindness and internal rudeness.
How many times do we give a hollow compliment, simply in hopes of being perceived as a kind person?
External: “Oh my gosh, you look so great! Where did you get that outfit? It’s terrific!”
Internal: “Oh my god, is Hellen Keller your stylist? I would never wear that in a million years.
Giving dishonest compliments for the sake of appearing “nice” is…well, not nice.
(And it’s not better to say the offensive thing you’re thinking just for honesty’s sake. The goal is to transform your offensive thought into a genuinely kind thought.)
image: fit.webmd.com
"Hey dweeb! I like your sweater! It counteracts your lameness!"
So why do we pretend to be kind? How can we be GENUINE? How can we say loving things and actually mean them sans any hidden rude thoughts?
Or does the inherent hypocrisy, rudeness, and passive-aggression of mankind conquer everyone—even the people who are seemingly sweet and sincere? Is there a way to synchronize one’s thoughts and words?
image: wannabehacks.co.uk
For people who don’t possess the power of the Holy Spirit, probably not. They can try and try and try and try (times infinity) to overcome their corrupt mind, but they will fail. They can gargle the mantra: “I will not think bad thoughts. I will not think bad thoughts” in their mouths forever, but they will fail.
It cannot be accomplished by human strength. However, if we DO know the Holy Spirit, there is a solution; there is hope. Only through the Holy Spirit’s power can we genuinely be kind and rid ourselves of offensive, hypocritical thoughts.
The Bible tells us to take every thought captive: “We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10: 5 NLV)
The Bible commands us to think on things that are true, right, and pure. (Philippians 4:8)
The Bible commands us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12: 1)
So, I am not writing this to encourage distrust of people who compliment you or listen to your problems. That’s not the point. There are plenty of people who daily, moment-by-moment, ask the Holy Spirit to purify their thoughts and, as a result of that, actually mean the kind things they say. I just want to be one of those people, and you probably do too. Please. Understand that I am NOT promoting cynicism.
I am simply discussing this because I know for a fact everyone struggles with it, and I want to remind/challenge people to surrender their thoughts to God. The mind is so freaking important.
Basically, hypocrisy blows.
Perhaps we should try to be genuinely kind.
image: farm5.staticflickr.com
Or, if that's too hard, you can always just live as a nomad. If there's no people around, how can you be mean to anyone? Oh, who am I kidding. You're human. You'll find a way.
My goal with this article is not to insult Mormonism, but to show why I would never believe it, and why maybe - just maybe - Christianity is preferable.
***
Are Mormons Christians? They say they are! So why shouldn't they be? They believe in Jesus, and that he is the son of God, and that he died for our sins...and that he came to North America after he was resurrected? What?
image: theflagpole.com
It looked exactly like this.
Mormons are people. Usually, they are wonderful people. They are kind, loving, and according to their commercials, they do many things that other humans do like art and ride bikes to work and tell jokes. One of my very favorite musicians of all time is a Mormon. The United States almost had a Mormon President!
The one thing that I've yet to hear a Mormon admit in any one of their public appearances or commercials is that they are aware of and accept the many contradictions between their core beliefs and history.
The New Testament is the most historically reliable collection of ancient texts that exists. It contains hundreds, possibly thousands verified eyewitness accounts of the events it describes. It is all written by either first or second generation storytellers and shows no evidence of legendary development, and because it is written so early, it is nearly inconceivable that any legendary development could have occurred. It contains numerous references to historically known people and places, and there are numerous other ancient works which confirm the existence of the people and places within (there are just as many secular ancient authors who reference Jesus as there are secular ancient authors who mention Tiberius Caesar, the Roman Emperor at the time of Jesus).
Also, we have thousands of fragments that add up to many whole New Testaments that date back to within a few hundred years of the original manuscripts. These fragments come from multiple places across the Middle East (one of the earliest writings was found in Egypt). They have all been copied with immense precision, with almost no errors to be found anywhere, including things like spelling and punctuation. This is very important, because we know the Bible exists.
image: seanmcdaniel100.wordpress.com
The Book of Mormon is said to have been translated from Revised Egyptian (a language that shows no evidence of having ever existed) by one man, Joseph Smith. He is said to have found it on some golden plates in a hill near his home in New York after being led to them by the angel Moroni (who took them back to heaven with him when Joseph was done translating, because of course he did). There were exactly 11 witnesses that said that the plates existed, the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses (all of the first three took back their affirmation during Joseph's lifetime, although two did claim to go back to Mormonism before they died). There are no outside sources, or archaeological evidence, to confirm any of the people or places in the Book of Mormon that are not from the Bible.
Not to mention the numerous and somewhat massive incongruities between the Bible and the Book of Mormon. The style of writing is much more similar to Renaissance or even 18th/19th century literature. It references animals and technologies that did not exist in America at the time. Even though most in the LDS church would view the Book of Mormon as a history of the Native Americans, all genetic evidence points to most Native American peoples having originated somewhere in Russia, not the Middle East.
image: twincities.com
But look at how nice and well dressed he is! Surely he speaks truth!
I've tried to read the Book of Mormon multiple times, and it always give me a headache. Literally. I actually get headaches from reading it. It's like a bad fan fiction of the Bible! Everything is kinda similar, but it's written so horribly that it is clear to me that God would not let it be his representation of Himself to humanity.
I don't believe the Bible because I'm a Christian; I'm a Christian because I believe the Bible. That's the key difference between blindly following and intrinsically understanding. If anyone can show me a way to reconcile the incongruities between the two texts, then give me a reason to believe that the Book of Mormon is necessary as apposed to just believing the Bible, and show me historical evidence for the narrative told in the Book of Mormon, then they will be the person who has a chance of converting me to their religion.
image: twincities.com
And they won't get to me through this guy.
And yes, Mormonism IS a different religion. There is no getting around that. Mormonism has many doctrinal differences that set it apart, such as...
- They reject the Holy Trinity; God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are three separate "spirit beings" who are "one in purpose".
- They believe we were all once "spirit beings", and that when we die we go to the spirit world until the Resurrection, where we will be reunited with our bodies.
- They believe that all receive a second chance after death, during a period of "learning and preparation", and that even most people do not go to Hell forever, but only for a short time.
- They believe in Baptism of the dead (some 300,000 Holocaust victims were baptized into Mormonism before a public outcry from the Jewish community put a stop to it).
- They deny original sin.
- They believe God has a physical body, as do all spirit beings.
...and many more. Put quite simply, Mormonism is an offshoot of Christianity, much in the same way Christianity was an offshoot of Judaism. However, one main difference in the way they spread is that Christianity spread because of persecution, and Mormonism fled because of persecution.
The early Mormons removed themselves from society, and when Joseph Smith was killed by a militia in Illinois, the small group of believers elected Brigham Young as their leader, and he led them to Utah, where they grew on their own for some time before moving out and preaching their gospel.
image: whitworthfamily.org
Also, this.
The early Christians boldly preached to anyone and everyone who would listen, and even though they were killed by the hundreds, their numbers increased exponentially. Thousands were killed or tortured for their faith just today, yet Christianity is spreading fastest in countries where it is dangerous to be a Christian.
I'm not intending to make Mormons sound cowardly, I'm simply making a comparison. And you have to wonder: Why would Christianity spread in the face of persecution, unless it was true?
No one will die for a lie that he knows to be a lie. Joseph Smith died jumping out of a window, trying to escape his murderers. If he was so sure of his destiny, as the Christian martyrs were and are, then why not face his assailants with pride and hope?
Yes, there are many LDS martyrs of recent years. There are also thousands of radical Muslim martyrs of late as well. While no one will die for a lie that he knows is a lie, one might die for a lie he believes to be the truth. This is the crucial difference. Just because some religion has martyrs doesn't mean it's true; it just means that they were made to believe it.
Obviously, a bunch of people think Mormonism is true. There are nearly 15 million Mormons in the world today, and that number is quickly growing. How are they converting so many, if there are this many things apparently wrong with the belief?
I'll tell you how: Miscommunication. Many Mormons think they are Christian because they don't know about these things. They become Mormons because they are looking for hope and a knowledge of the nature of God, and some Mormon missionary just gives them the bare bones of their beliefs.
The missionary probably doesn't even mention all the weirder stuff like the temple undergarments or the idea that we're all spirits but don't remember it (because that sounds really similar to Scientology). Essentially, they preach them the Christian Gospel, which is a large part of what Mormon beliefs are based off of. As soon as they decide they want to be Mormon, they are repeatedly told that they are actually Christians, but that other Christians don't think that they're Christians, and that counts as persecution, which is a good thing.
Or something.
Honestly, I'm not sure. That's just my theory. All I do know is that if Mormonism were more believable than Christianity, I'd be a Mormon. I'd say the same about Islam. Or Atheism. Or any other religion. I am a Christian because of evidence and logic.
In my opinion, Mormonism has neither of those things.
I really love this video. And it's relevant (if not somewhat offensive).
