Mormonism: The Modern Religion

Continuing my study of existentialism I was struck by the importance of feeling as a means of supporting truth.

I was reminded of a discussion of Christianity with my Mormon friend, and the question of how I knew that orthodox Christianity was true. This question is generally ammunition that naturalists use when attempting to ungird Christianity, so I was slightly surprised to hear it coming from a fellow theist.

After explaining my rationale for believing in Christ, my friend was obliged to answer the question "how do you know that Mormonism is true?"

The stunning response was "it feels right". "I prayed about it and it feels right."
It is impossible to argue with experience so I was left adrift in the sea of my mind looking for a response.

I now see that logic such as this as the greatest draw the present era. Naturalism has been stripped apart by deism and no longer stands on its own. At the same time, fatalism is something that most individuals seek to avoid. Finding truth by personally assigning meaning to them and trusting in feelings over empirical evidence is exactly what my friend used to justify the Mormon faith. Is it no surprise that our culture responds so quickly to that methodology? Maybe that is why there are over 13 million Mormons worldwide.

Mormonism offers truth, belonging and morality that can be ‘proven’ by feeling alone. What else could anyone in the modern era ask for?

Thanks L. for all your insight; I still pray for you.

Soren Said...

I have been reading on Existentialism and its prevalence in the current age. Many of its aspects have great appeal to the heart; mine in particular. Not only does it convey philosophical meaning, but it tugs at the needs that the my generation expresses through their art, relationships and general atmosphere.

Kierkegaard's attempt to revive dead orthodoxy, which birthed theistic existentialism, reach into the holes that the current church often leaves unfulfilled among my generation. The need for experience and the ability generally set aside absolutes for meaning defines my peers and a "more personal" faith seems to be the call of their hearts.

Broken families and empty homes have imprinted a void that only people or personalization can fill. When Christianity is viewed through the existential lens, it implants this need right where it is needed. This could be argued simply as contextualization: Betraying a relationship with God vs. Breaking his rules; Committing oneself to a person vs. Believing a set of propositions; Pleasing the Lord vs. Obeying the rules. How much more appealing the personalized list sounds.

It would be dangerous and utterly foolish to limit existentialism to such basic precepts. Particularly since Kierkegaard did not ultimately find the meaning he was searching for and my understanding of this philosophy is surface level at best.

Conversely the Church would claim that a personal relationship with Jesus has always been its goal. While this may be true, I now see 'The 4 Spiritual Laws' repackaged as 'Knowing God Personally' and as culture has moved beyond the modern, should not the church address it accordingly?

Absolute truth must remain, meaning must come from the Divine, Jesus is still the only way to God and knowing God is the only way to know ourselves. These are orthodoxy and cannot be moved. The question remains is the relationship with Jesus something new to this culture and that is why it is appealing to me, or is it a part of orthodoxy that has simply been readdressed?

Like all things, more study is needed to know.

Presidential Resume

I do not openly oppose George Bush. It is important to see things from all sides as well. This was sent to me in an email, and it is worth looking over if nothing else.
RESUME
GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20520

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
-Law Enforcement: I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's license suspended for 30 days. -My Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not available.
-Military: I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam .
-College: I graduated from Yale University with a low C average. I was a cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:
-I ran for U.S. Congress and lost.
-I began my career in the oil business in Midland Texas , in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas . The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.
-I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money.
-With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas .

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS :
-I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union . During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America .
-I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.
-I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history.
-With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida , and my father's appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President of the United States , after losing by over 500,000 votes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:
-I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.
-I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.
-I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.
-I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.
-I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.
-I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
-I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market. In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues.
-I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. -My "poorest millionaire, " Condoleezza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.
-I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President.
-I am the all-time U.S. and world record -holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.
-My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. history, Enron.
-My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.
-I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history. I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.
-I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.
-I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.
-I appointed more convicted criminals to my administration than any President in U.S. history.
-I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States Government.
-I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S. history.
-I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
-I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
-I refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. "prisoners of war" detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
-I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 US election)
-I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.
-I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history
-I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.
-I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind
-I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, preemptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. Citizens and the world community.
-I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime.
-In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.
-I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.
-I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD.
-I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
-All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed and unavailable for public view.
-All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
-All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review. I specified that my sealed documents will not be available for 50 years.

Divine Placement

In The Inward Journey by Gene Edwards, many ideas provoke new thoughts, but one in particular has been on my mind recently:

"I look around at the Christians whom I live with, whom I know and love so dearly. They really, truly love him ad would probably die for him today, even this minute...Some of my Christian friends who would willingly die for him today...still make terrible roommates, and husbands, and wives.
Suffering…unlike martyrdom can prove to be a mite hard on the soul...There are things martyrdom cannot do. Things only sorrow can do. Pain can take out of us that which will not yield to the divine by any other means. That which refuses to be replaced by divinity can sometimes be reached only by unjust suffering."

I love this. It frightens me for suffering, for I pray that I would not refuse what would be placed in my life by the Divine.

I know that is naive.

Most likely, much suffering awaits me...out there...somewhere...but I am content to know that it will be for God's glory through by sanctification..

Agree vs. Understand

I have heard a lot of religious dogmatism and cyclic politics in the past few days. Through it all I have been encouraged by a profound truth that I learned yesterday:

“If you aren’t attracted by a worldview, you don’t understand it”

I wish I could understand so many things, so much more deeply.

Man's Equity

With the passing of Heath Ledger, I continue to gain insight into humanity.

Today at work someone said, "[Ledger's death] is such a tragedy; he was such a good actor"

It was as if the skills of Ledger gave him value to humanity and his passing will be noted due to the loss of talent. Does not the eternal soul of Ledger, or at least his person, bear more worth than his career?

When people are qualified only by their addition to society, fallen humanism is truly at its height.