Sunday in Outer Blogness: Countdown to Conference Commentary Edition!
Today my RSS reader was full of open threads and live-blogging of General Conference! While some commentary and especially laughs are already rolling in, experience tells me that if anything interesting at all gets said at conference, the awesome/exciting conference commentary will be next week‘s SiOB. (The most exciting things so far have been that some women attended satellite sessions of priesthood, plus another predictable PR blunder from the CoJCoL-dS.) And if nothing interesting gets said, then next week’s SiOB will be back to normal. But for today we can sit back and enjoy a relaxing Sunday.
Some redditors showed how the proofs of the Book of Mormon also prove the truthfulness of Harry Potter. But — being a good atheist and everything — I’m one step ahead of them!! Yesterday, I wrote yet another scathing critical analysis of Harry Potter! (Yes, it’s a sickness I know, but this is the last one. I hope…)
Remember how the Mormons did that ad campaign about how normal Mormons are? Well, guess who else’s reputation has dropped so low that they’re making ads to try to convince people they’re normal: the Republicans! I think this kind of marketing is actually kind of counter-productive.
This week’s big theological question concerns masturbation: is it OK for medical reasons? Other fun topics include tough choices, the beard revolution, and who was more valiant in the pre-existence!
More serious church topics include debating the Book of Abraham and that strange type of “equality” the CoJCoL-dS offers.
In this week’s faith journeys, Emma Smith came out as an unbeliever to her parents, and Knotty is enjoying some religious music.
And lots of folks in the fringes of Mormonism are simply talking about other topics, like no-bake muffins, helping abuse victims, visiting Florence, and how awesome it is to be car-free!!
(Also Brett Cottrell has a new book out — I need to get more details because he’s calling it a “debut novel” — and it sounds very similar to his earlier book — so I’m guessing he re-worked after finding a publisher.)
Have a great Sunday!
Wow! I swear when I wrote about whether or not it was okay to masturbate for medical reasons, I had no idea the church was even going to address the issue. I no longer live in a place where I could watch General Conference, even if I wanted to. I guess I was pretty inspired this week!
@1 It was actually a satire piece, but it is quite a coincidence, isn’t it?
Hi,
You’re right! The End of the World is Rye, the new book, is a new version of my debut book The Valley of Fire. Rosarium Publishing picked it up, revised and rebranded it.
Cheers,
Brett Cottrell
@3 Sounds good. Send me the details, and I’ll update your page on MAA Books.
I note the official website states that “Nevertheless, respectful coexistence is possible with those with differing values.” I thought that was an odd formulation for describing how one lives with neighbors and friends and countrymen. As an old Cold Warrior, I remember how we used to talk about coexistence between the superpower blocs, i.e., “Let’s not nuke each other this week.” So the church’s pronouncement sounded a bit like, “Well, I guess we can let gays live, and maybe even talk to them, like, from a distance. Maybe wave. But not invite one to lunch.”
So I Googled the expression, and found that apparently they’re reading Pope Francis there in SLC’s little “Vatican” enclave, because here’s how “peaceful coexistence” seems to have become “respectful coexistence.” Note that Francis is talking about people who, in the past have massacred one another in large numbers repeatedly over the centuries with devout conviction and zest.
POPE FRANCIS
“In effect, there is no shortage in the world, of contexts in which coexistence is difficult. Often, political or economic motives overlap with cultural and religious differences, leveraging over misunderstandings and errors of the past. It all risks causing divisions and fear. There is only one path to overcome this fear, and that is dialogue, an encounter based on friendship and respect.â€
The Pope added that dialogue doesn’t mean forsaking a Christian identity, but rather it enhances it. Taking a cue from his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, he called on Christians to share the joys of their faith with other religions. Not to impose it on them, but to build an “authentic relationship.â€
He also explained that inter-religious dialogue can help fight against secularization, and push for greater religious freedom. The future, he said, is in the “respectful coexistence of diversity,†and not in muting the different voices of religion.