I don’t know if “fraudulant” is the right word. Syncretic, maybe. Fraudulant would imply he knew he was promoting something that was a lie, and he could very well believe in what he said.
1 Like
I think we can safely say he was fraudulent in light of his approximately thirty criminal actions, even before we look at his peering into a hat at a stone.
3 Likes
He was fraudulent on the banking charges, which he was convicted of. He was also lynched by an angry mob. But @kupfernigk referred to his religion, not his crimes.
I don’t know how much the negative reaction by his neighbors plays into his criminal activities, though, as the Mormons were really hated. That being said, I don’t know if some of the other communal sects around at that time got quite the same treatment. No one was murdering the Onedians or the Shakers in the streets as far as I can remember of 19th century religious history in the US…
I defy anybody to read the account of the magic goggles and the translation and to tell me with a straight face that Smith genuinely believed in what he was doing, unless he was severely schizophrenic or manic.
However, the Book of Mormon, regardless of Smith’s state of mind when he wrote it, is fraudulent. It refers to events that did not take place and which no non-Mormon archaeologist accepts for a moment.
2 Likes
That makes him either fraudulent or severely delusional, and his past actions should be taken into account when making
such a judgement.
Considering he translated an Egyptian burial document into the book of Abraham and translated so-called gold plates which were never seen by anyone else, by looking at a stone in a hat, I do think it’s safe to say he knew exactly what he was doing and was therefore fraudulent.
1 Like
I dunno. Not really eager to go down the road of defending Joseph Smith, cause I don’t subscribe to his faith or anything. My point was that fraud implies intent, and he could have been delusional. In the 19th religions were being founded by the dozens, especially these millennialist, utopian ones. Were the Boxer’s fraudulent or delusional? Were the Shakers or Onedians? Were the leaders of various anti-colonial Sufis in places like the Sudan fraudulent or delusional? What are the outcomes of each of these movements?
To bring it back to Kim Davis, is she fraudulent or merely delusional? People keep saying she’s only doing this for the money she can generate, but is she? We only have her (likely unreliable) word to go on that she’s doing this out of faith and not in search of a book deal. Even though I think she’s a terrible person, this can’t be an easy means of getting a book deal.
So, I don’t know where that leaves this little interlude. I think one of the key debates about Smith has been whether he was a visionary or a fraud, and I don’t think that’s a settled debate, in part because of the insistence of Mormon historians who write from the POV of his correctness and those who write assuming he was only a fraud, out to fleece his followers and sleep with as many women as possible.
1 Like
Leviticus 20:10 hasn’t been ruled on by the Supreme Court and in any case implementing it would violate the separation of church and state.
1 Like
2030 is far too soon for the US outside the scientific community to consider adopting the metric system. I expect it to be the issue of whether the First Amendment covers the right to drive a car yourself, as a freedom of expression issue. Because real Christians drive without seat belts, lights or turn signals so God can show his love by not letting them crash, and forcing them into self driving cars is taking away God’s omnipotence.
Kim Davis will stay in jail until she agrees to follow the law and issue marriage licenses to everyone, or resigns/is removed from office. The decision to remain in jail is hers. For Kim Davis and her sycophantic supplicant supporters, here’s a helpful flowchart:
7 Likes
In fairness, Paul might actually have been against committed, loving, same-sex relationships; as part of his broader Issues RE: all matters carnal; but they wouldn’t necessarily have been any bigger than his issues with heterosexual relationships.
1 Like
Involving immigration authorities with any aspect of local law enforcement results in huge populations of citizens, residents & documented/undocumented people refusing to call police, talk to police under any circumstance. Makes such populations a hotbed for organized crime & generally abusive behaviour with, for the people in that population, no recourse except criminality.
Sanctuary cities are just picking policy that works. The people that complain about them probably don’t live in them or are sufficiently insulated form the social costs of policy that creates an even more stratified society.
The wingnut right wingers are correct to complain about sanctuary cities if their intent is taken into consideration. They want to visit harm on large populations of people they can’t see.
3 Likes
I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again. Tell them that under the metric system 5.5 inches is actually an incredibly huge 14 cm.
They’ll get on board.
6 Likes
For a moment there, I thought you meant Rand Paul. Lol
1 Like
I got given a Chick tract in Dublin this weekend!
3 Likes
Nooooo!!! really? Which one?
1 Like
This was your life, which is apparently the most popular one on the site. It cites whispering as a sin, and reminds you that God can hear you thinking about the ball game when you’re in church.
It’s the first time I’ve been given a tract into my hands (by a group who got into a shouting match with my wife at a pro-choice stall at Pride this year), but I have another one that I found on the street in my neighbourhood.
4 Likes
Weird… I wonder who was passing them out?
Dublin’s one thing; I’d be entertained to see 'em handing them out in Belfast…
2 Likes
I misread that 5th panel as ‘Arse’ at first.
I did a quick google for them and couldn’t find anything. They’re out almost every week in identical blue hoodies with a verse reference from Matthew printed on the back. I assumed they were Catholic until I got the chick tract (though they might not know about such classics as The Death Cookie). Of course, if they are evangelicals I wonder if they realise that Ireland is increasingly secular, and the vast majority of people who are still religious are staunchly Catholic.
Then again, I see Jehovah’s witnesses at some of the major public transport hubs every day, so maybe the various Christian sects see their chance to nab some people who still believe but are disillusioned with the Church.
4 Likes
