A review of News discussing Mormons December 2008

I found an interesting article on Crosswalk.com written by a Richard Abanes. It appears the December 13, 2008 article is a regurgitation of an article he wrote in the Summer of 2005. It was an interseting article calling for more civil dialogue, no need for shouting matches. He ends the article quoting Daniel C. Peterson, who in 2003 said: “[Some] take this as just, ‘it’s a competition, you can score points.’ You know, you can ‘win on this’—gratify your ego by defeating somebody on that point or something. That’s not what it’s really about. Resist that temptation.” There is only one other thing I would add to his list, an evangelical lowers their credibility when they try to sell their pejorative publications in the middle of their articles/discussions. You can read his full article here.

The California Prop 8 issue continues to be big news, I find it interesting that the LGBT groups in San Francisco are attacking the evangelical groups that are defending the Mormons. (I am actually surprised at the number of LGBT news sites that have plastered their articles with Mormon bashing news.) Overall authors are drudging up the same old statements to make Mormons seem crazy. In fact, one newspaper writer wrote up about some quote by a Mormon that people lived on the Moon. Of course, it was the New York Times that years before a Mormon said it, proclaimed that one day we would meet the people on the moon. So why doesn't the newspaper writer take any heat for being part of a crazy group that believed people lived on the Moon? Anyway, the PoliGazette does an interesting job disecting how newspaper writers propogate misconceptions about Mormons.

This was a kind of funny snippet from a newspaper in Arizona called The Daily Courier: "Dec. 8, 1958 A group of us has been studying various religions. Out here in the West we find Mormonism particularly interesting because of their zeal and growth."

Another humorous commentary about Christian music and Mormonism can be found at Belief.net In fact, I couldn't help but chuckle as I read about the "Jesus fish stamp of approval" when choosing music. Due to a misunderstanding about a joke the author told about "You might be a christian music fan if...", the author has to explain the joke to the reader. It's a fun read click here.

So this band called the "Killers" has an interesting personality in Brandon Flowers. This article comes from the UK and can be found here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I appreciate your words. I removed that snippet reference to my books -- It was actually a left over from a missing chart that was initially on the web version. That's why it looked rather oddly placed in the middle of the article. But thanks for calling that to my attention.

peace,

R.A.

Fleeting_Thoughts said...

The article does look better now. I have a tendency to discount authors that sell their materials. I think it all started when I first read the book "The Celestine Prophecy". A friend of mine wanted me to read it.

I got to the end of the book and there was an order form for more copies and for two other books by the author. The book was supposed to be a spiritual saga, it looked more like a cheap marketing ploy to me.

Anyhow, I appreciate your comment and will check out your book. I appreciate the title change, the book seems a little more appealing to a Mormon audience.

I wish you the best,
Fleeting Thoughts