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"Those who leave the church can't leave it alone..."

I stumbled upon this quote from Neal A. Maxwell when someone on Pharyngula linked to the FARMS website (referring to it as the Mormon version of the Discovery Institute):

"If the Church were not true, our enemies would be bored rather than threatened, and acquiescent rather than anxious. Hell is moved only when things move heavenward."

First off, this guy was straight loony! I mean, he believed in Hell! And Satan!

Second, the church's doctrine does bore me. It always did! That's why I ditched Sunday school and seminary. The only reason I feel threatened is that my wife almost left me when I left the church. I am sure as hell not threatened by your apologists, Jack.

Third, why in the name of reason should we be acquiescent when TSCC's teachings lead directly to nearly failed marriages, estranged parents/children, and total rejection by all former loved ones and friends? How many of you have had familial relations irreparably damaged because of your TBM relatives' refusal to accept your epiphany? How many of us would be willing to accept them if they would only accept us? On which side lies the "enmity," dear Brother Maxwell? The "Hell" you hope for is here on Earth for those of us who wish to break free of your chains.

Thanks for listening to the rant! That felt great.

1 member likes this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Markii on August 20, 2009 at 11:44pm

i enjoyed it- thank YOU! i've been dealing with this familial issue this past month having in-laws stay with us. goddamn.

Permalink Reply by Joey on August 21, 2009 at 6:31pm

You have had in-laws stay with you for the past month?

I'll second that goddamn.

Permalink Reply by Jon on August 21, 2009 at 9:22pm

I love that bit of logic from Mormons.

By that reasoning, the most offensive, the most disturbing, and the most ridiculous religion must be true.

Guess what, Neil? People object quite loudly and vocally to Scientology, but that doesn't mean there must be a Lord Xenu.

Permalink Reply by Joey on August 22, 2009 at 5:41pm

Ha! Love it. And you can take his impoverished reasoning a step further: the fact that the enemies of the Catholic church are enraged when evidence of covering up for known child rapists comes to light must mean that...Jebus is a pedophile?

Permalink Reply by Ben on August 27, 2009 at 1:09pm

Brilliant!

Permalink Reply by Realizer on August 22, 2009 at 12:19pm

I have a good friend in Eastern Utah who dropped out of THE CHURCH, His parents disowned him and won't even associate with his kids..(their Grandkids) this is UNREAL.....

Permalink Reply by Joey on August 28, 2009 at 10:18pm

I'm not trying to justify his parents' behavior (obviously), but I look at breaking away from the church as analogous to leaving your home country for a better life and more opportunity in a new land. You have to leave all of your family behind, you lose all that was familiar to you in your life, you don't speak the language, and you suffer a tremendous amount. But you wouldn't have missed it for anything.

Permalink Reply by Taylor James on October 25, 2009 at 10:54am

I so agree with your comments on this, those of us who are lucky have family who keep in touch who love us not because of a religion. Thanks for the analogy.

Permalink Reply by Ben on August 27, 2009 at 1:25pm

Exactly!! On which side is the real enmity? When I was trying to predict how my parents would react, I thought everything would be OK because supposedly they're taught to love unconditionally. To my surprise, instead of that, they looked for any excuse to kick me out of the house. I should have seen this coming though knowing the precedent that God supposedly made when he kicked out a third of the hosts of heaven. It's almost like they're thinking, "forget what Jesus said, if God can disown his children then we can do it too if our self righteousness is threatened!"

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