LDS Church to participate in public religion blog. HOW LONG?

The catch-all forum for general topics and debates. Minimal moderation. Rated PG to PG-13.
Post Reply
_Polygamy Porter
_Emeritus
Posts: 2204
Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2006 6:04 am

LDS Church to participate in public religion blog. HOW LONG?

Post by _Polygamy Porter »

On the 17th, the Mormon church made an announcement on their "mistakes/comments in/on the news" section of their website:
Church Participates in Religion Blog The blog is sponsored by the Washington Post and is called On Faith.

Image
The Mormon assigned to "participate" is Michael Otterson, who, surprise surprise, is the Director of Media Relations, a.k.a. Spin Doctor.

His bio can be found here.

So then, given the walk-on-egg-shells persona that the Mormon church carries while amongst the media, and with Mitt in the media spot light, one must wonder how long the COB will allow Otterson's "participation". Is this just a Mormon theology train wreck waiting to happen or what?
_moksha
_Emeritus
Posts: 22508
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:42 pm

What he has said....

Post by _moksha »

This is the only post I could find by Micheal Otterson on the above link, but I thought it apropos for this forum:

Engaging Without Rancor

There’s nothing wrong with believing you’re right, or having strong convictions. Yet in approaching religious conversations we have more options than dogmatic fundamentalism on the one hand, and freely negotiable theology on the other.

Jesus Christ’s own declarations reflect his clear understanding of who he was. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” He said. “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” On the face of it, that’s a pretty bold declaration that leaves little room for dialogue.

Yet Jesus engaged people from all levels of society – the poor and the wealthy, the rulers and the disenfranchised, men and women, children and the aged, the healthy and the sick, Jew and Gentile. Jesus talked to anyone He thought would listen, sometimes adding “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” For only one group of people – hypocrites who urged devotion to the letter of the law while seemingly dismissing the fundamentals of love of God and man – did Christ reserve his most condemnatory language.

It is perfectly possible to hold devoutly strong convictions and yet engage others in conversation. Since we can all learn from each other, disagreement does not have to mean being disagreeable, accusatory or demeaning. Neither must a firm opinion inevitably be accompanied by an attitude of self-righteousness. It’s always possible to find common ground and build from there – for instance, the universality of God’s love for his children, or seeing religion as a sanctuary for our most cherished values.

This is not putting style over substance. It is simply recognizing that people who aren’t willing to discuss things with mutual respect, even among those with whom they strongly disagree, will take themselves out of the conversation entirely.
Cry Heaven and let loose the Penguins of Peace
_Ray A

Re: LDS Church to participate in public religion blog. HOW L

Post by _Ray A »

Polygamy Porter wrote:The Mormon assigned to "participate" is Michael Otterson, who, surprise surprise, is the Director of Media Relations, a.k.a. Spin Doctor.

His bio can be found here.


Mike is looking old. I remember him as a young journalist in Sydney. Very talented writer.
Post Reply