beastie wrote:You've studied psychology, you should know something about genuine apologies. This isn't one. You are still avoiding responsibility for your own words. You have blamed me, and then you stated that your words were "perceived" as being insulting. Then, later, you say that you don't "call people idiots or morons".
Did you read the word "snipe?" Lots of things are said in conversations which if youy take only the word, you get an insult out of it. There is repartee, you know. And in the
context I was not calling you dumb. We do have a problem on a message board where we can't see faces and hear tones of voices. Things said lightly are perceived differently if we can see the person. That is one of the reasons why I lobbied for the use of smilies. Smilies do to a written message what facial expression and tone of voice can do to an oral one.
beastie, I did not mean you were dumb, an idiot or a moron. Good grief, you have your own website! I think you are probably very intelligent. Okay now?
Just to be clear, if I were serious when I told a person I would dumb down or use shorter syllables, that would be insulting. I was not serious.
beastie wrote:
In regards to your question about what's really hateful - the statement I view as the most malicious and hateful is the one in which you state, and still affirm, that people who fight against the church are satan's minions. That is not only malicious and hateful, but also incredibly narrow-minded. Let's just focus on the most obvious example of people actively fighting against the church - EVs who assert that Mormons are going to hell and try to warn others and save them.
Just like, most of the time, I assume Mormons genuinely believe their own truth claims, I assume that EV mean what they say, as well. So, in reality, although their delivery may lack expertise, if they genuinely believe Mormons are going to hell - and I think they do - then they believe they are doing God's work to help people stay away from Mormonism. These are their genuine beliefs, and if they really do believe Mormons will go to hell, they actually have a moral responsibility to intervene, just like Mormons feel they have a moral responsibility to do missionary work.
In fact, that's an excellent correlary - if an EV asserts that Mormon missionaries are satan's minions, would that be hateful and intolerant?
Any Christian denomination, if they are strict scripturalists, have to believe in the polar camps idea. It is in the scriptures. There is a war going on for the souls of men. There are only two sides. This does not presuppose that everyone understands this. But understand it or not, it is a fact.
The difference is in battle tactics. We teach the truth as we see it. Anyone who wants to believe can chose to join. Others teach hatred. There are whole mnistries who aren't FOR anything, but only AGAINST Mormons. That is what is hateful. I don't stand out on street corners and call people Satan's minions. Those people who teach their own truths have noquarrel with me. As long as you are teaching gospel truths, bringing people closer to the Savior, closer to living moral lives, doing good, you are on the Lord's side. Anyone who teaches othesr to hate is on Satan's side. That is not a hateful thing to say. It is acknowledging the situation.
Moniker claiemd it is hateful to say someone is evil. I think those who perform evil behaviors have earned it.