Quite frankly Jason you are blind or biased.
Oh of course. I happen to even slightly dispute you. Amazing. All I said was that it was not totally fair to judge the man based on one short post here. Look marg, you are all for evidence and you are concluding that Eric is a wonderful boy and that wonderful non imposing you would have raised him quite successfully. And maybe you would have. All I said is that you just don't know nor do you have the total picture which of course is true.
Now just how that hell is that biased or blind?
Eric and his dad aren't the main issue, they are only one example which may or may not be typical of others who were sent to the Utah Boys Ranch, so I don't want to keep focussing on them.
Well it is an open board. You are the one that brought up how horrible Eric's religiously fanatical father is.
But to address your post, keep in mind Eric's step dad sent him over 2 states away, when he just turned 16, with no contact of former friends and social network. Im not sure how much contact Eric had with family but apparently in the first year not much. That's drastic measures. So what did Eric do that was so terribly wrong. He must have been an absolutely terrible out of control teen.
Yes I read that and I think I already have commented about three times that perosnally I would not have done such things with my child and that based only on what Eric has posted, not hearing out the other side, it seemed egregious to say the least.
Let's read what Eric's step dad says:
"He is quite young and inexperienced and I think if and when he matures a bit in the next ten to twenty years or so, he will see things quite differently that he does at this time. He's not fundamentally a bad person and he's as lot more cocky in print that he is in a face to face encounter. This forum is one way for him to vent and work out some of the bigger questions he's wrestling with. I have high hopes for him long-term."
So what do we know Jason..even his dad acknowledges he's not a bad person, he's not even cocky. According to the dad he's simply immature with some big questions he's wrestling with. When he says "big questions" he's probably talking mainly about Mormonism . He's not describing a terribly delinquent or a severely emotionally troubled young individual. In fact he's got high hopes for him, so he knows full well his son has potential to be quite successful..as long as he "repents and returns" his step dad's words.
Yep
He writes:
I won't confess his sins but at the risk of stating the obvious, let's just say that if he loved God more than the things of the world he would be a very strong Latter-day Saint.
We can see here that Mormonism is a big issue for the step-dad. It almost seems to be his entire concern.
Yes it is for many LDS parents but some, if not most seem quite able to work through such things without draconian measures. It is sad that Erics step dad did not.
He writes:
As it is, the "world" has his attention at this time. I hope he will in time realize the path he is on has only brought him much pain, much sorrow, and much deprivation.
So the dad knows he's been deprived. And what would be the cause of that deprivation? They were not a poor family, it cost close to $106,000 to sent Eric to the place. DCP & Ed Snow solicited him for money. by the way, that fact indicates his extreme loyality to the church.
Yes many devote LDS are loyal to the Church as are many other religious people. I know in your view that such people are rather flawed, fanatics and so on. You point that out frequently.
And his issue with his now 23 year old son is that the world has his attention? Shouldn't someone at 23 be allowed to make their own choices, regarding sex, alcohol and religion?
Sure a 23 year old ought to be able to make their own choices on such things. All a parent can do that disagrees with such actions can do is withdraw material support and if they choose not to follow New Testament directive they can withdraw love and friendship. Personally I think such a course would be a poor path to follow.
He writes:
God is at the helm and God will not be mocked. Eventually every knee shall bow before Christ and every tongue will confess his Messiahship. And that includes my son and every self-professed atheist on this list.
So the man knows he's writing to atheists, he doesn't have the maturity to keep these fanatical religious thoughts to himself.
Why is he immature when he shares his fanatical views? You may disagree and of course we know you believe religious people are benighted fanatics, you point this out often, but he certainly is free to express them.
He writes:
When he finally gets tired of sin, I thnk he will make the right decisions, repent and return. And we will welcome him with open arms.
What sin? Having sex? Eric is 23 does he have to be married to have sex.? Alcohol is not against the law, can he not drink occasionally?
Well yea I think his step dad thinks these things are sin. You of course are free to disagree. But he is free to express it and may at the same time view you as an amoral hedonist.
Grass shouldn't be against the law, but there is lots of ignorance about it, frankly it's not worse than alcohol for occasional recreational use.
Well guess what, I agree with you.
And one should be able to choose their own religious beliefs or lack of them, but I don't get the impression Eric's dad can accept "atheism" in his family. I get the impression if Eric would be religious like him... then he will accept him.
Yep his dad seems pretty harsh and I agree with you on that but is is based only on some limited things I see here. Maybe the step dad was having a bad day, maybe he was angry and embarrased by the public display and this created some poor judgment on his posting here. I don't know. I do not know him. Do you? Of course not. Yet you have psychoanalyzed the man based on a few paragraphs.
And you think Mormons are harsh in their judgment others.
Ok Jason, as I said I prefer not to focus on his step dad and him.
Ok
Then I assume I won't be hearing more from you on this thread.