DiscussMormonism.com

See link below.

http://www.slate.com/id/2178568/

Rollo: You beat me to it. I was just going to post that same link to the article. It is scathing, but seeing as it's written by Christopher Hitchens, that's not really a surprise.

An excerpt from the article:

christopher hitchens wrote:It ought to be borne in mind that Romney is not a mere rank-and-file Mormon. His family is, and has been for generations, part of the dynastic leadership of the mad cult invented by the convicted fraud Joseph Smith. It is not just legitimate that he be asked about the beliefs that he has not just held, but has caused to be spread and caused to be inculcated into children. It is essential.

silentkid wrote:Rollo: You beat me to it. I was just going to post that same link to the article. It is scathing, but seeing as it's written by Christopher Hitchens, that's not really a surprise.

An excerpt from the article:

christopher hitchens wrote:It ought to be borne in mind that Romney is not a mere rank-and-file Mormon. His family is, and has been for generations, part of the dynastic leadership of the mad cult invented by the convicted fraud Joseph Smith. It is not just legitimate that he be asked about the beliefs that he has not just held, but has caused to be spread and caused to be inculcated into children. It is essential.

No one called old Bush out for being part of the mad cult invented by the convicted and executed fraud Jesus (of a CAPITAL CRIME).....let alone how he might have shared them with others.

silentkid wrote:Rollo: You beat me to it. I was just going to post that same link to the article. It is scathing, but seeing as it's written by Christopher Hitchens, that's not really a surprise.

An excerpt from the article:

christopher hitchens wrote:It ought to be borne in mind that Romney is not a mere rank-and-file Mormon. His family is, and has been for generations, part of the dynastic leadership of the mad cult invented by the convicted fraud Joseph Smith. It is not just legitimate that he be asked about the beliefs that he has not just held, but has caused to be spread and caused to be inculcated into children. It is essential.

Interesting. I can understand in the political arena that this sort of grandiosity and catastrophizing takes place. I'm a bit of an exmo dissonant here, but I like Mitt. I think he'd make a good leader. He's got what it takes to be respected by other world leaders, and has shown he can turn a flailing "company" around.

And I'm a democrat!

Now here's the dissonance: I agree that Joseph started what we might call a "mad cult" in 1830; and I agree he was a fraud and a liar. I even agree that Brigham continued the cultish nature of the church here to Zion. But I don't see today's LDS church as being much more of a "cult" than any other Christian religion. It has survived because it has changed drastically through the years. It has evolved as necessary to the times. AND, when I left, they didn't send any Danites after me, didn't threaten me with any harm (other than my damnation in the hereafter), and have never been outwardly aggressive towards me or my inactive children.

I think Mitt is the same. He has changed with what has been necessary. Perhaps he learned that from his Mormonism, who knows?! But I actually see this trait as a good thing for a leader. I definitely do not think he will take orders from Salt Lake. He might "give" them a few subtle suggestions, but I'm not at all worried he will rule the country from a theocratic style. Frankly, I think he will/would be more normal than most of the last 5 or 6 presidents have been!

IMHO.

I agree that Romney ought to be forthright about his religion and quit dodging the questions, not because he has any special obligation (after all, your average Christian buys into beliefs equally wonky), but because he will probably lose the nomination if he does not. Whether it is right to ask or not, people want to know. Whether they have a right to it or not, people want to be assured that Romney is safe.

Then again, I don't really want him to win the nomination, so maybe he should keep dodging these questions.

Personally, I think many of these bones to pick over a candidate's religion are stupid. It especially infuriates me to hear people with idiotic Christian beliefs rip into Romney for having different theological ideas. Who cares whether your imaginary friend is three headed or three people who hang out? Give me a break.

The problem with pandering to the Religious Right in this country is that once you win, there's an expectation that you'll deliver the goods for them. To some degree, the RR have been kind of mad with Bush because they don't think he's followed up on his end of the bargain.

The expectation, and the pressure will surely be there on Mitt, if he's elected, to deliver the goods for the Religious Right he's turned to in trying to get nominated. And he'll have to deliver them something or else kiss bye-bye to his chances for re-election.

I kind of like Mitt in some ways, but his major u-turn on social issues, with the apparent explanation for it being simple politics, is a huge turn-off for me, and having put his fate into the hands of the Religious Right, I fear what he'd be willing to do to appease them so that he gets another shot at it four years later.

Trevor wrote:I agree that Romney ought to be forthright about his religion and quit dodging the questions, not because he has any special obligation (after all, your average Christian buys into beliefs equally wonky), but because he will probably lose the nomination if he does not. Whether it is right to ask or not, people want to know. Whether they have a right to it or not, people want to be assured that Romney is safe.

Then again, I don't really want him to win the nomination, so maybe he should keep dodging these questions.

Personally, I think many of these bones to pick over a candidate's religion are stupid. It especially infuriates me to hear people with idiotic Christian beliefs rip into Romney for having different theological ideas. Who cares whether your imaginary friend is three headed or three people who hang out? Give me a break.

Is it hard to find information on Mormons? There are those who want to know and will find out on their own, those who have a casual interest but not enough to do anything about it (they're irrelevant), and those who want him to to use it against him. I think the third category is the reason he doesn't.

The Nehor wrote:No one called old Bush out for being part of the mad cult invented by the convicted and executed fraud Jesus (of a CAPITAL CRIME).....let alone how he might have shared them with others.

Hitchens actually does call out the Bush Administration numerous times (and Christianity in general) in his book, god is not Great. He doesn't state it in the exact terms you used above, but it's there. I agree with your sentiment, though. If one is going to call early Mormonism a cult, he/she needs to apply the same label to early christianity.

The Nehor wrote:

silentkid wrote:Rollo: You beat me to it. I was just going to post that same link to the article. It is scathing, but seeing as it's written by Christopher Hitchens, that's not really a surprise.

An excerpt from the article:

christopher hitchens wrote:It ought to be borne in mind that Romney is not a mere rank-and-file Mormon. His family is, and has been for generations, part of the dynastic leadership of the mad cult invented by the convicted fraud Joseph Smith. It is not just legitimate that he be asked about the beliefs that he has not just held, but has caused to be spread and caused to be inculcated into children. It is essential.

No one called old Bush out for being part of the mad cult invented by the convicted and executed fraud Jesus (of a CAPITAL CRIME).....let alone how he might have shared them with others.

That is because religous bigotry against Mormons is still ok.

Hitchens is an self inflated egotistical assh.....He is not worth much time at all.

silentkid wrote:

The Nehor wrote:No one called old Bush out for being part of the mad cult invented by the convicted and executed fraud Jesus (of a CAPITAL CRIME).....let alone how he might have shared them with others.

Hitchens actually does call out the Bush Administration numerous times (and Christianity in general) in his book, god is not Great. He doesn't state it in the exact terms you used above, but it's there. I agree with your sentiment, though. If one is going to call early Mormonism a cult, he/she needs to apply the same label to early christianity.

the Book god is not great is a worthless rant full of distortions and part truths. Hitchens is an idiot. He does not serve the atheist view well.