Hans Castorp!?!?! Come on down....

[_bcspace]

protsac snah

Shucks. That won't work and I'll probably never read The Magic Mountain either.

[_Equality]

I dig your blog, too, Hans. I liked your post about Luther and grace. I once wrote a graduate paper on Luther and humanism, which introduced me to the works of Erasmus. Are you an Erasmus fan?

It seemed to me, especially in the 70s, that Mormonism was a laboratory demonstration of the problem of reconciling religion and modernity, a process that had splintered Protestantism in the 19th and 20th centuries and seemed to be rocking even the Barque of Peter.

Interesting thought. Might be worthy of its own thread (perhaps in the celestial forum?).

[_MsJack]

Thank you, Stak.

Here's the story in a (okay, large) nutshell.

I'm a never-Mo. My first exposure to Mormonism was the Mormon pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. (Yes, I am that old.) I dug the Arnold Friberg paintings and the angel on the spire, and took home a couple of pamphlets. They fascinated me, and I did a little reading but not much more. A few years later, in college, I met a grad student (also a Never Mo) who was interested in Mormonism and knew a relative of one of the GAs. He clued me into some of the more unusual LDS doctrines, and I started to read more about the church. Then I took a course in American philosophy which approached Joseph Smith as the unacknowledged realization of Emerson's call for a new, American revelation. By this point I was hooked.

I acquired (and even read) books about Mormonism, subscribed when I could afford it to Mormon journals, and when the net appeared, followed Mormon blogs and discussion boards. I've been lurking around here for quite a few years. I have a few Mormon (mostly ex-Mormon) acquaintances, and I once had a conversation with Elder Oaks's violinist daughter (we were sitting next to each other on the subway; I was reading the Book of Mormon). My only Mormon-related professional experience was copyediting Harold Bloom's The American Religion (yes, I left in all those weird capitalizations).

So that's most of the how. The why follows.

Now as to the why . . .

In the first place, I've always been interested in the strange and unusual, and believe me, to a half Southern WASP-half Jewish boy in New York, Mormonism is plenty of both.

Second, it embodies a lot of what America was and is about, for good and bad. There's a good deal that's familiar amidst all the outlandishness.

Third, I had become very interested in the history of religion and in theology. It seemed to me, especially in the 70s, that Mormonism was a laboratory demonstration of the problem of reconciling religion and modernity, a process that had splintered Protestantism in the 19th and 20th centuries and seemed to be rocking even the Barque of Peter.

And fourth, but by no means last, it's so bloody interesting!

Fascinating. Thank you for sharing your story, Hans. I always enjoy running into fellow never-Mo's who have taken an interest in Mormonism and comparing notes on why we're here.

[_hans castorp]

Fascinating. Thank you for sharing your story, Hans. I always enjoy running into fellow never-Mo's who have taken an interest in Mormonism and comparing notes on why we're here.

Thanks, MsJack. Your having been a never-Mo at BYU (and evangelical to boot) really fascinates me.

hc

[_MsJack]

Thanks, MsJack. Your having been a never-Mo at BYU (and evangelical to boot) really fascinates me.

I've blogged quite a bit about my journey to and time at BYU starting here. If you'd like a shorter summary though, I can do that.

Welcome to MDB!

P. S. -- My stepmother is a Catholic. Not super-devout, but definitely believing. So there's a little bit of Catholicism in my family (although she's a relatively recent addition to the family).

[_hans castorp]

Thanks, MsJack. Your having been a never-Mo at BYU (and evangelical to boot) really fascinates me.

I've blogged quite a bit about my journey to and time at BYU starting here. If you'd like a/ shorter summary though, I can do that.

Welcome to MDB!

P. S. -- My stepmother is a Catholic. Not super-devout, but definitely believing. So there's a little bit of Catholicism in my family (although she's a relatively recent addition to the family).

Thanks again. As I said, I've been lurking about for years, and I've read many of your posts here and on your blogs. Lots of very good reading.

I'm the only Catholic in either my mother's or my father's families; my wife converted to the church (Catholic, that is) early in our marriage (she was raised a Lutheran--her father is a retired pastor). I'm blogging about some of this here. My churchy and other whining and complaining can be found here.

hc

[_thews]

Now as to the why . . .

In the first place, I've always been interested in the strange and unusual, and believe me, to a half Southern WASP-half Jewish boy in New York, Mormonism is plenty of both.

Second, it embodies a lot of what America was and is about, for good and bad. There's a good deal that's familiar amidst all the outlandishness.

Third, I had become very interested in the history of religion and in theology. It seemed to me, especially in the 70s, that Mormonism was a laboratory demonstration of the problem of reconciling religion and modernity, a process that had splintered Protestantism in the 19th and 20th centuries and seemed to be rocking even the Barque of Peter.

And fourth, but by no means last, it's so bloody interesting!

Out of curiosity Hans, what aspect of Mormonism is the most interesting to you? Being born Mormon and having a pioneer lineage back to the beginning (I have multiple polygamous grandmothers in the family tree), I confess I don't post here because I find it interesting. We all have our axes and reasons to champion a cause in a discussion, so if I were to peel the onion back a few layers and take a third-party perspective, I guess I'd have to answer that it is interesting how the truth is kept from the LDS members with the advent of the internet. What aspect of Mormonism most intrigues you?

[_hans castorp]

Out of curiosity Hans, what aspect of Mormonism is the most interesting to you? Being born Mormon and having a pioneer lineage back to the beginning (I have multiple polygamous grandmothers in the family tree), I confess I don't post here because I find it interesting. We all have our axes and reasons to champion a cause in a discussion, so if I were to peel the onion back a few layers and take a third-party perspective, I guess I'd have to answer that it is interesting how the truth is kept from the LDS members with the advent of the internet. What aspect of Mormonism most intrigues you?

Good question. There's so much that interests me . . .

If we're talking about contemporary Mormonism, I'm interested in how an authoritarian institution, with a wagonload of doctrinal propositions and historical assertions that are very vulnerable to critique, sustains itself in modernity, and conversely, how thinking members negotiate their relationship with the church.

I'm also fascinated by conversions: Why do people (and I've heard and read things from some very bright ones) become Mormons? How do they deal with the historical difficulties and doctrinal oddities? So far, most of the examples I've found joined the church for social reasons, as adolescents or before or just after marriage to a member. How many come as a result of a real process of investigation?

If we're talking about history, the origin and development of Mormon distinctives is also of interest. Why did Mormonism appeal to to its 19th-century converts? What was there in the religion or the culture of the early republic that allowed it to thrive? Why did people believe JSJr and his book? And, of course, there's a great deal more.

In addition, the fact that Mormonism is so far from my own real life allows me to look at things and test out ideas without the emotional freight my own beliefs carry.

And face it, you guys are interesting, because of your struggles with your heritage. I've had my own, much less intense, problems with heritage. My father's family is Southern; I was raised with stories of my great-grandmother sitting on her porch weeping while the guns of the battle of Atlanta fired in the distance. A great-great grandmother shot a Union soldier in her kitchen during Sherman's March to the Sea. These stories had a great effect on me when I was a boy growing up in New York, with none of my Southern relatives around me; they gave me a sense of connection with the past. So I venerated Lee and even Jefferson Davis, sang "The Bonnie Blue Flag" and made my parents take me to battlefields and historic houses on our vacations. But when I got older, I learned that the all that chivalry and courage, all the bittersweet memories of the "Lost Cause," were built on the bleeding backs of slaves. How could I keep my affection for my Southern roots once I knew that?

At the end of the day we are what we are. And what you are and have been and will be is very interesting, to me at least.

hc

[_hans castorp]

I dig your blog, too, Hans. I liked your post about Luther and grace. I once wrote a graduate paper on Luther and humanism, which introduced me to the works of Erasmus. Are you an Erasmus fan?

Sorry to take so long to answer, Equality. Actually, I don't like Erasmus particularly. I prefer edgier folks; not so good for civil peace, maybe, but much more readable. Anyway, the poor guy got pwned by Luther: See The Bondage of the Will.

hc

[_zeezrom]

Man I love this board sometimes.

my job is to get you to love it all the time but I've failed thus far.