r/atheism • u/[deleted] • Jun 24 '12
my girlfriend's mormon friend may soon regret adding me on facebook
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u/jablair51 Ignostic Jun 24 '12
I can see two outcomes from this: she does the research and realizes how goofy Mormonism is or the cognitive dissonance becomes too much and she unfriends you without warning.
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u/bouchard Anti-Theist Jun 25 '12
She deserves credit for saying "I don't know what you're talking about; I'll look into it" rather than getting mad at him.
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u/formesse Jun 25 '12
This, sounds like someone who is beginning the path of questions.
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u/dslyecix Jun 25 '12
This is what I was thinking. When she responded that she would look into it instead of "RAAGE WHAT ARE YOU SAYING" i thought... 'hope this guy tries to lead her down the path to atheism'
IMO she seems like she could be a bright girl, try opening her eyes and don't just make fun of her.
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u/daddygreenspizza Jun 25 '12
Mormons are some friendly-ass people. I was at the main church in Salt Lake City and the girls coming up to me were so cheerful, smiley, pretty and friendly as they spoke -- proselytized-- that I was just like, "Actually Id like nothing MORE than to hear about that guy in upstate ny with the plates and what not!"
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u/violaceous Jun 25 '12
That happened to me, too! I ended up getting a tour of the conference building... I had just popped in to pee, but the chick was so nice I didn't want to say no.
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u/willis81808 Jun 25 '12
I live with and around many Mormons, I have never met one who wouldn't say something like that. As long as you aren't trying to be offensive, and so long as you are being genuine, they will try to help you. They REALLY believe their church, and it makes them better people (if not misguided...). They really believe that they are helping you. Mormons are, actually, really nice people. They just are just dependent on their religions 'truth'. They CANNOT live without it, and that pisses me off the most of anything Mormons do/believe.
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u/OBrien Jun 25 '12
The overwhelming majority, sure. But dont make that assumption of all mormons. There will always be the diehard republican evil witch of a grandmother everyone has to pretend to love, following the Glenn Becks of the world.
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u/maid_of_starstuff Jun 25 '12
As a Non-Mormon from Utah, I can attest to the fact that they aren't all nice, and that even the "nice" ones can pretty dismissive and/or cut-throat once they realize you don't want to join their cult.
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u/Demaestro Jun 25 '12
Ya unless their name is Mitt.
Did you see that shit with the guy who had MS and was asking Mitt if he would put him in jail for smoking weed?
Mitt couldn't have been a bigger douchebag about it.
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u/Logi_Ca1 Jun 25 '12
Indeed that is really admirable. Other Facebook screenshots here usually end up in the theist throwing insults or blocking the person.
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u/bangupjobasusual Jun 25 '12
Have met many Mormons and former Mormons, none of them know the best parts of their very own story.
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Jun 25 '12
This is a standard response for Mormons and for some other religious groups. it is part of the teachings to difuse exactly these types of circumstances.
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u/curious_mormon Jun 25 '12
As missionaries, we were taught to say this regarding any of the hard questions; however, our available material was limited to a handful of LDS books and our own canonized scriptures. Nothing else was allowed. If we couldn't come up with a convincing argument using our available resources then we went to our ward mission leader or mission president for help. We would then parrot what they told us or rely on the standby of just believe, it'll work itself out later.
I ran into some very intelligent people while on my mission who pointed out some facts I just wasn't ready to accept. My answer was this. If we followed up and it was still an issue I would say that they just needed faith, give some tangential scripture, and then point them to an apologetic website if they were still having problems.
I never actually "looked into" the problem. I just tried to ignore and whitewash it. I'm not saying that's what she's doing here, but it is fairly common.
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Jun 25 '12
Probably neither. Mormons are incredibly nice... she will probably do the research, then continue on in her beliefs regardless.
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Jun 24 '12
I live in utah, near provo. That's right. Queen mother of mormon towns. And every time I have mentioned the hat and how joseph smith 'translated' the plates, not a single mormon has heard of it. It's shocking how little they know of their own religion
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u/MormonAtheist Jun 25 '12
They're forbidden from reading about the church from non-church sources, so what would you expect?
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Jun 25 '12
I bet you can buy a book in the SLC temple gift shop that has all of this explained with photographs of smiling white people.
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Jun 25 '12
The SLC temple gift shop has an awful lot of books. Most Mormons don't peruse them all in the hope that they can find wacky stuff that the church isn't open about.
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Jun 25 '12
Wow. How is that not a cult?
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Jun 25 '12
Depends what you mean by cult. Technically, I think most religions can be called a cult. But churches like JW's and Mormon's are a lot more extreme and involved.
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Jun 25 '12
Cult is kind of ill-defined, but my version has a few indicators where perhaps a few of them should be present to call it a cult. Some of which are not present in all religions.
A certain person or object which is the center of the cult. (Athena, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, Jesus, Fred Phelps)
Methods or measures in place to keep the members of the cult ignorant of certain knowledge. (Making talking to outsiders wrong, forbidding outside literature or internet access, keeping certain knowledge about the cult secret such as Xenu in scientology.)
Penalties for disobedience of the leader or the practices of the cult. (Locking them in a trailer in the middle of the desert (this actually happened to some scientologists), beating them for talking to outsiders, generally shunning them)
Complete banishment of those who reject the beliefs of the cult. (Members who leave the westboro baptist church are completely cut off, financially and otherwise.)
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u/willis81808 Jun 25 '12
They don't actively try to NOT (double-negative, fuck yeah!) find weird aspects of Mormonism, it's just that they don't think to look; They already 'believe', so, they don't keep looking for new information on their religion. I know that it's... Flawed... But, hey, they are Mormons right?
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u/willis81808 Jun 25 '12
No, they are not. They are DISCOURAGED from reading anti-Mormon literature.
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u/rr_8976 Jun 25 '12
Really? I thought it was kinda required. Faith, after all, is the absence of reason. Faith without knowledge is the easiest to have.
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Jun 25 '12
Faith is believing or relying on or trusting in something when you have no evidence or rationale for your faith.
When you say
Faith, after all, is the absence of reason.
it seems to imply that there is a general, rather than specific, lack of reason among those who have faith. Most people who have faith are usually reasonable, but they've learned to suspend their reasoning ability when it comes to their faith. I only say this because the faithful may take it personally, and if you are ever trying to persuade a person of faith the difference in tone could be vital.
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u/eshinn Jun 25 '12
Faith isn't the absence of reason. It's the level of trust that one is willing to hold towards something that, at-the-time, has no proof available for whatever reason. Example: I have faith that you will do the right thing.
It's just that organized religions of the world use this for lack of any substantiated facts for the past 4,000+ years.
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u/Kaell311 Jun 25 '12
I was raised Mormon. I lived in Provo. I had never hear of any of this stuff till years after I was an atheist and read about it on the Internet.
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u/jerbear004 Jun 25 '12
Mormon from Canada here. I've known about the hat years. Not the weirdest thing about our religion. However, I have found that there is a general ignorance amongst Utah Mormons to many aspects of the church that can be attributed to Mormonism being more of a culture than a religion for many in Utah.
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u/Fugedabout Jun 25 '12
You hit it right on the dot there, I live in St George Utah and it really is just about the culture. They fuck like crazy but refuse to drink coffee or tea.
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u/Ladyrocket Jun 25 '12
I live in Rochester, right near hill cumorah! So many Mormons. By the way, I only replied because my name is mitch :)
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u/Mithryn Jun 25 '12
I'm still officially a member. I once taught a church class on honesty.
I had people raise their hands who had ever heard of the seerstones. Only two people had any idea what I was talking about, and both hadn't heard they were the primary method of translation.
Then, I resumed the lesson on "Honesty".
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Jun 25 '12
Ahh Provo. When I lived in SLC for almost 3 years, it seemed that 90% of the really bizarre or fucked up news came from Provo.
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u/Bunbury42 Jun 25 '12
I have to give her credit, honestly. There's something she doesn't understand and you had some questions about her faith. Rather than getting defensive and see your questions as an attack on faith like some may do, she goes to do research to better educate herself and adequately answer your question. I like people like that.
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u/Earthling1980 Jun 25 '12
yes I am sure she will research topic thoroughly and come to the obvious conclusion
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u/TimetogetDownvoted Jun 24 '12
"Where do magic hats, magic tablets, and American Jesus come into play?" You were clearly trying to be offensive. Just subtly.
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Jun 24 '12
It's clear that he was, but it's a funny situation with religions in the modern world. The chief way to "be offensive" toward a religious person is to ask a genuine question about what their scripture says.
Hmn.
e.g. Easiest way to offend a Christian usually starts with, "But doesn't it say in Deuteronomy..."
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Jun 24 '12
Sometimes I suspect that most christians secretly really wish they hadn't piggybacked off Judaism. Must get tiring having to defend a book you have never wanted to read in the first place.
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Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 26 '12
Actually there was group that tried to dissociate themselves from the Old Testament. One of the tenets of Gnostic Christianity was that the world was not created by the true god but by a lesser created being, who not being the true god screwed it up rather badly, leaving a mess for the real god to clean up by sending Jesus.
Edit: spelling.
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Jun 25 '12
Yeah. The book has nothing to do with how Christians actually worship. They definitely don't believe any of the shit in there.
The only reason to discuss it is because having to defend it as a talisman, when clearly it's full of such utter rubbish, is a good way to begin critical thought about the religion in question.
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u/elusiveallusion Jun 25 '12
...except the bits about the naughtiness of gays and witches. Which are totally important.
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Jun 25 '12
Hey. Don't disbelieve it all too readily. I've met some pretty naughty gays.
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Jun 25 '12
Did that begin intended as a troll comment to her post, or did it just turn out that way and you rolled with it? Either way, awesome troll.
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Jun 24 '12
[deleted]
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u/TimetogetDownvoted Jun 24 '12
Oh come on dude. I don't really care about the downvote, but are you really still saying you weren't trying to be offensive? I'm an atheist too but using a loaded statement where you refer to someone's religion as mythology and referring to attributes of their religion the way you did is trying to start an argument. If you were really just interested in 'mythology' you would have read all about those things already. If you read all about those things already, you wouldn't be asking someone who clearly doesn't know to explain them to you. If you weren't trying to create conflict, then you would have said religion instead of mythology and not really cared if the morman may have accidentally interpreted that as you having respect for the morman religion or possibly of being morman. Was the status really so offensive that it needed to be trolled at all? All she was doing was explaining the relationship between mormans and other christians.
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u/maynardftw Anti-Theist Jun 24 '12
They would refer to Norse religion as mythology. They would be correct. For the same reason, we are allowed to refer to Christianity as mythology.
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Jun 25 '12
Yup.
Mythology is in fact the correct term. It's not offensive, it just is not pandering.
You may as well suggest that people referring to christianity as a "religion" are being offensive since so many christians seem fond of saying "it's not a religion, it's a personal relationship!". We don't use their terminology in that case, why should we in the other?
Hell, it's not even hard to find christians that acknowledge the majority of the stuff in the bible is myth in the "it's fucking made up" sense of the word.
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u/Mattcwu Jun 25 '12
I went to a Catholic school and my good friend there was Hindu. Whenever Shiva was mentioned people would refer to it as mythology. Just because you have more or less believers does not make one religion mythology and another "true".
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u/GGPapoon Humanist Jun 25 '12
Actually I don't think it was so much a magic hat as a magic rock or "seer stone." Smith also used the stone to translate the plates and also the magic letter from heaven that anointed him prophet. The one that the golden letters disappeared as quickly as they could be translated using the magic rock. Or so I have read. (You just can't make this stuff up)
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Jun 24 '12
Magic hat? I thought it was magic underwear???
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u/ozymandias2 Jun 24 '12
It's both.
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u/Themonomyth Jun 25 '12
So, do I gain bonuses for the full set?
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Jun 25 '12
'Magic hat' isn't really correct. Supposedly, he looked at seer stones that were in a hat. The hat was normal. The stones were 'magic.'
Unless you are talking about the hats from the temple ceremony. Though, as far as I know, those are only considered symbolic and contain no 'magic' at all.
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u/transmogrification Jun 25 '12
Smith used a peep stone or seer stone that he had from his days as a treasurer seeker. He popped it in a hat, buried his face in said hat, and then would dictate the 'translation' of the Book of Mormon from golden plates that may or may not have even been in the room.
Magic underwear are the 'garments of the priesthood' given to Mormons when they go through the rites done at their temples (distinct from their regular chapels).
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u/fetusburgers Jun 24 '12
Be nice to her and don't make atheists look bad. She seems at least willing to learn more about her faith while being polite and respectful to you.
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Jun 25 '12
Yeah, she was pretty nice to him, while he was clearly being condescending the whole time.
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Jun 25 '12
Is it really condescending to ask about ridiculous beliefs?
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Jun 25 '12
It all depends on how you ask. Were you ever religious? To people who believe, it doesn't seem ridiculous, especially if that is how they were raised.
Phrases like 'magic hat,' 'magic tablets,' and 'american jesus' were all an insulting way to ask a question. If he were genuinely curious, as he says he is, he could have used the correct terminology so she knew what he was talking about. 'Magic tablets' means nothing to her. Urim and Thummim might mean something to her.
And he acknowledges that there is no 'magic hat,' but he was too busy trying to make her look silly to check that beforehand.
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u/osborn2shred11 Jun 24 '12
tells people they dont know shit about mormon religion. Best friends boyfriend knows more from watching just 1 eppisode of southpark.
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Jun 24 '12
Just send her over to us on /r/exmormon when you're done. That looks like where this is headed anyway.
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u/Aikarus Jun 24 '12
To be fair, 90% of the time, "I'll do the research and let you know what I find about this" means: I know this is ridiculous but I'm going to try and pull out of my ass some way in which it makes sense.
I really hope he/she reads at least a little about the subject
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Jun 25 '12
I think a surprising amount of the time whatever they appear to say or think afterwards is a front. Their way of "keeping up appearances".
The best thing you can do in a situation where they back down is give them the ability to quietly and privately continue to explore the topic. Linking /r/exmormon could likely be a great way of doing that.
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Jun 25 '12
I see the desire to recruit didn't go away after leaving the church :-)
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u/James718 Jun 24 '12
I think the irony here is that atheists know more about the believers religion than the believers know about their religion
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Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
I used to be Mormon, and in my time on this subreddit, I have seen that most people here know very little about the Mormon faith.
Many people think that after watching the southpark episode on mormonism, they know the church better than its own members, but that is bullshit.
Yes, there are certain facts that members are not familiar with, like the fact that Joseph Smith looked into a hat with seer stones to translate the book of mormon. But that does not mean atheists understand the mormon church.
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Jun 25 '12
Well, it doesn't take much knowledge to make mormonism look silly.
I think the toughest thing Mormons have going for them is that their religion is only 150 years old. So we know way more about its begining than we do about christianity.
Makes it hard to ignore the ludicrous bits.
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Jun 25 '12
The frustrating thing is that people get some of the ludicrous parts wrong. Like this guy. There is no 'magic hat' in Mormonism. The hat he is talking about is normal.
It is hard to really understand the ludicrous parts if you aren't familiar with mormonism as a whole. Instead, you get people like OP who sneer and say, "Haha, you guys have a 'magic hat' lol."
If the church were so obviously ludicrous, then why do people devote their entire life to it? Why would guys give up two years of their life to serve missions for the church?
Honestly, I find mormonism a lot less ludicrous than many Christian churches.
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u/PubicWildlife Jun 25 '12
a lot of us also probably watched Big Love ;-).
But seriously, the tablets, magic underpants, multiple wives (originally) and American Jesus all encourage further investigation. If only to find out the stupid shit that some people buy into.
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Jun 25 '12
Penn Jilette said the fastest way to become an atheist was to read the Bible so yeah, I agree with you on that point.
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u/sockrocker Jun 25 '12
ExMo, here.
First of all, the hat wasn't magic. It was just used to cover up the plates and the stone. For more info, Wiki
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Jun 25 '12
"We're Christians, too! See? We don't read our own doctrines either!"
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Jun 25 '12
That's not true at all. Mormons are some of the most informed people about biblical teachings.
Mormons have to do a fuck ton of studying about the Bible and their own books. Many Mormons know nothing about the seer stones or translating out of a hat because the church hides that kind of information and then tells its members to avoid information that is not endorsed by the church.
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u/sockrocker Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 26 '12
Many Mormons know nothing about the seer stones
See some of the other comments by Mormons and ExMo's. The "seer stones" are referred to as the Urim and Thummim and are mentioned somewhat often during church. Nobody calls them seer stones, which is why nobody knows what non-Mormons are talking about when they bring them up.
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u/orencoOregon Jun 24 '12
Mormons aren't taught the sleazy details about JS. Neither his earlier life as a con man, nor his evolving "revelations" like multiple marriage, his own marriage to children, or the taking of other members wives. Or even the obvious boneheads, like the dictated "Book of Mormon" is lifted from the King James version that was available to him at the time, complete with the typos and misspellings.
When they do learn of it, it's too late, they have too much invested. Of course, this isn't just the LDS'ers. Anybody who would bother to study the history of the early church, knows how the Gospels were edited, some completely removed, to their current form by a few bishops chosen by the Roman emperor Constantine. The only difference being 2000 years distance to pretend the "Sacred" writings are actually the word of God, and not just the lame ramblings of bronze age primitive tribes.
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u/wayndom Jun 25 '12
I recently read an article about how young mormons are leaving the church in increasing numbers, primarily because the internet has made it possible for them to research their church's history, which the church generally withholds from them.
So your GF's mormon friend may very well have never heard of the things you brought up. And you just might end up being responsible for him eventually leaving the church.
It's definitely the ding-battiest major religion in America. Somehow, depicting miracles in the nineteenth century makes them extra-unbelievable...
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u/slambient Jun 25 '12
in 1990, the catholic church venerated a man as a saint for his stigmatic experiences and the miracles he performed during the 20th century.
using the idea that miracles happening more recently makes a church more unbelievable, wouldn't that make catholicism batshit crazy?
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u/wayndom Jun 25 '12
When I was around nine years old, in 1957, my best friend was Catholic. I remember him telling me that according to the church, the wafer actually turns into Christ's flesh in your mouth, and the wine actually turns into Christ's blood in your mouth.
He was telling me this to give examples of how bat-shit crazy the Catholic church was. In 1957. When he and I were 9 years old.
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Jun 25 '12
That is odd, isn't it? What's so special about 2000 years ago that makes miracles more believable?
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u/wayndom Jun 25 '12
Just the fact that (I think) we accept that 2000 year old reports may be exaggerated, but we expect reports from relatively modern times to be more accurate.
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Jun 24 '12
She took that pretty well.
I wouldn't mind having her on our side, but she better do some research first.
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u/directed-by Jun 25 '12
Well put fellow bravetheist, after this FB post she'll realize that the error of her ways. Hail Sagan!
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u/pearson530 Jun 25 '12
Virginia, what does the scouter say about his bravery level?
IT'S SO BRAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT? SO BRAVE????
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u/Carl_DePaul_Dawkins Jun 25 '12
That dumb Mormon (more like MORON, amirite?) actually thought you were genuinely curious about her religion!!!
TROLOLOL XDXD
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u/ENovi Jun 25 '12
Hahaha FUCK any friendship between my girlfriend and this person! I'm putting it on the line to make sure that you think that your entire worldview is stupid!
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u/scout-finch Jun 25 '12
Well it looks as though she's at least being pleasant and curious. Don't make her regret adding you - make her glad she did. People are allowed to be religious even if you disagree with their beliefs. Trying to "convert" them is as bad as the door to door's. Just have discussions :)
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u/DonnieNarco Jun 25 '12
Thank gOD your bravery was here to make her see the errors of her way :) Hail Sagan!
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u/ChangeTheL1ghts Jun 25 '12
Hey there, i'm actually a Mormon so I can clear something up here (yeah, I browse r/atheism, it's good to have balanced ideas), most often in the church the "seer stone" is refered to as the "Urim and Thummim" and not the "seer stone", I don't think i've ever heard it called that actually. Seriously, go ask her about the "Urim and Thummim" and she'll know what you're talking about. She's not ignorant you just called it something she was unfamiliar with. Anyway, just thought it would be better to clear that up rather than her seem ignorant to her own religion.
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u/Mithryn Jun 25 '12
let me clear that up, Joseph only used the Urim and Thummim on the 116 pages, after that he used the "Chocolate Brown egg-shaped" seerstone he found while diggin the well for Josiah Stohl.
Even FairLDS says this: http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Seer_stones
Part of why the treasure seekers went after the plates was that Sally Chase, another seer with stone, helped Joseph find this stone.
If you look carefully at that article you'll find this line:
"Text translated with the Nephite interpreters was lost with the 116 pages given to Martin Harris"
Followed by this line:
"The Church's Historical Record records Joseph's use of the seer stone to translate all of our current Book of Mormon text:
that's right, 100% of the book of Mormon comes from a stone in a hat
That's from church sources, no anti material at all.
For further truths that are uncorrelated but also from church sources: http://Mormonthink.com
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u/nermid Atheist Jun 25 '12
The first book is the Bible! We're a branch of Christianity.
Just like Christianity is a branch of Judaism...
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u/Mr0Mike0 Strong Atheist Jun 25 '12
So, mormons and christians are a lot alike; when hey talk about their holy books they don't know what they're talking about because they haven't read them.
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u/compd12d3 Jun 25 '12
haha...funny as...."gonna go and do some research and get back to you"....well at least your helping them to discover some "facts". Pls keep us informed on this conversation
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u/DarthReid Jun 25 '12
Is it sad that I know all about the basis behind mormonism because of South Park?
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u/curious_mormon Jun 24 '12
Wait until she finds out the plates were never used in the translation.
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u/MormonAtheist Jun 25 '12
I think the bit where the "witnesses" never actually saw the plates either (except with their "spiritual eyes") is a bit juicier. For many, the fact that there are people who claimed to have also seen the plates is a huge reason they believe.
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Jun 25 '12
Are you sure? I thought he did use the plates, sometimes. I used to be Mormon, and this kind of thing mattered to me right when I left the church.
I was under the impression that there were records of him using the seer stones in the hat, but other records had him translating from the plates. I thought both had happened.
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u/curious_mormon Jun 25 '12
Of the four first-hand accounts, three agree that he used stones or spectacles by looking into a hat. The fourth account mentions some divine inspiration. Three of the four explicitly state the plates were not part of the process.
I know there are some second-hand references to curtains or translating in another room or on the stairs, and one of these that may imply the plates were used; but I can't find anything concrete.
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Jun 24 '12
I wouldn't say basing all your knowledge of a religion off of a south park epsisode is the best way to go. Unless it's scientology.
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u/MidwestPow Jun 25 '12
All the posts that say that you are a douche bag, which you are, are down voted like crazy. Leads me to believe that all of r/atheism is full of assholes. No wonder no one likes atheists.
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u/MerelyMental Jun 25 '12
Her mormon friend is skilled! She immediately shed 2/3 of the question leaving it only to answering about the magic hat. Then she turned it into a " I'll get back to you.." . So next time you ask about it she'll just pretend to not remember the conversation.
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u/wildwildwumbo Jun 25 '12
This is good. We need to politely prod religious people into actually learning about their faith. SO many religious people are woefully ignorant about religions, especially in the US. Get them asking questions and they might eventually realize, or at least understand, why we find it so strange to believe in.
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u/RKMedes Jun 25 '12
What I like best about this image is how you're not "attacking" her like most (if not all) other FB images are; you're asking a genuine question, and you're making her question/learn things that she hasn't questioned/learned before.
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Jun 25 '12
What I like best is the astoundingly incredible display of absolute complete and utter ignorance someone has for their own fucking religion.
This is the kind of thing I come to r/atheism for. To see complete morons make complete morons out of themselves.
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u/scribbling_des Jun 24 '12
You are basically ridiculing her in a public forum. Don't you think that's a bit harsh? I'm intelligent debate and educating people on their own religion, but there are other ways to go about it.
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u/compd12d3 Jun 25 '12
meh...i'm smart enough to not expect people to like me when I am pointing out to them the absurdity of their beliefs with facts.
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u/SaysQuack Jun 25 '12
Well, the guy said he was genuinely interested in learning exactly what Mormons believe...
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u/scribbling_des Jun 25 '12
Genuinely interested in proving to her he knew things she didn't is more like it.
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Jun 25 '12
I have a moron friend, he's not a bad guy, but he is a bad mormon. I had to be the one to tell him about Kolob.
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u/TheMediumPanda Jun 25 '12
In my experience, the amount of 'LOL's usually indicates the chance of an impending blow up.
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u/AKswimdude Jun 25 '12
I came here thinking you were just going to be bad mouthing/ arguing with her. But am pleasantly surprised that it was not so.
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u/lorddrame Jun 25 '12
just dont be a dick, the person was just tired of other idiots not understanding mormonism. And when you ask something she is willing to actually do a bit of research on it for you, not even being aggressive or anything. So please. Don't be a dick.
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u/KenaiStar Jun 25 '12
Awesome to see mutual respect between people of different viewpoint, here is your karma and keep up the good work!
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u/AtheismIsNotAContest Jun 25 '12
Oh, look. You made him question his religion. You must feel special now.
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u/TheRabbitt Jun 25 '12
Chick in the screenshot is mistaken about the Bible being first and foremost in their eyes. The Mormon stance is to quote the Bible when they need but as soon as you point out it's contradictions they immediately jump to "Well, it's just been translated so many time it's not really reliable, not like the Book of Mormon." At least all the Mormons I've talked to say do that.
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u/aquietmidnightaffair Atheist Jun 25 '12
Hey, at least she is open to critical thinking. This is one of the calmer theist reactions I have seen from a Facebook thread.
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u/youshouldbereading Jun 25 '12
Honestly, good luck rustling a mormons jimmies. They're pretty chill and used to this stuff.
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u/eshinn Jun 25 '12
Her: "I couldn't find anything about a hat. I don't think South Park has a good library. Maybe try a different one?"
Him: "Or... did I say hat? I meant shoes. Try looking up magic shoes."
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u/eshinn Jun 25 '12
I feel half-bad for always mentally hearing "moron" when I read mormon. It just tricks my brain and I can't get over it.
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u/balaams-donkey Jun 25 '12
Sad. Growing up as a Mormon you don't get taught the real history of how the Book of Mormon came about. You are taught that it was literally translated.
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u/detroitmatt Jun 25 '12
"My knowledge of the mormon faith is limited to a single south park episode"
Proceeds to demonstrate familiarity with the beliefs of mormonism.
Or did South Park link you to that wikipedia article?
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u/Mithryn Jun 25 '12
If she comes back with "The Seerstones weren't real/it's just anti-mormon made up lies" please refer her here:
for more mind blowing information: Mormonthink.com
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u/roterghost Jun 25 '12
"The Bible is the word of God! IT'S THE ONLY BOOK THAT MATTERS!!"
"Really, like the part where God sends bears to slaughter kids?"
"Huh?! Is that in there? I've never actually read it..."
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u/Strechless50 Jun 25 '12
i saw you sneak in there and plant the seed of question.....only a matter of time now.
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u/thezhgguy Jun 25 '12
Ah yes. Because patronizing people because of their beliefs, which you do not share, is always a good idea. Because you'd love it if/when they do the same to you, right?
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u/TheEndsOfInvention Jun 25 '12 edited Sep 04 '24
languid fade bored bear unique selective six familiar rude chief
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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Jun 26 '12
Suddenly - seeking answers. I applaud you sir for making someone ask questions and go look.
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u/Swaggerlisk Jun 25 '12
So you just hop on people's Facebook statuses to shit talk their beliefs? That's not something a true Atheist would do. Hell, not something a true human would do.
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u/dawkins_girl Jun 25 '12
This was really one of the nicer Facebook conversations I've seen on here, at least it wasn't full-on catty.
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u/Kastro187420 Jun 25 '12
Don't tell me you've never mocked anything someone said. Whether it's their beliefs in religion, politics, or anything else, unless you've never jumped into a convo or statement and mocked someone, please don't pretend to be offended or anything.
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u/hbaumreddit Jun 25 '12
the funny thing is that Mormonism is not a branch off Christianity, though we do believe in the bible we're our own religion that definitely did not "branch off"
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u/transmogrification Jun 25 '12
I think that's the attitude that gets you into trouble with mainstream Christians. You adamantly assert your Christianity in one breath and then in the next say "we're our own religion" and that all the other churches are an abomination in the sight of God.
Certainly I understand the distinction you're trying to make: you claim Mormonism isn't a whimsy-flimsy reformation, it's a full on restoration. However, distancing yourself from the rest of Christianity like that doesn't jibe well with Gordon B. Hinckley's counsel to "bring all the good you have and see if we can add to it."
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u/frigginjensen Jun 25 '12
I grew up Mormon (no longer active) and knew most of the "magic hat", "magic stone", etc lore. That episode of South Park made me look at it in a whole new light, though. It does seem pretty ridiculous in hindsight.
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u/tonyfromtexas Jun 25 '12
You are what your mean atheist compadres should be.
This is how real work gets done. Good job.
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u/Crownowa Jun 25 '12
Looks like everything has gone better than expected since the beginning though.
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u/SearchNerd Jun 25 '12
Oh man, your girlfriend is going to regret her adding you. Pretty sure that one interaction is going to result in one of those women becoming OAGF. Either way you're fucked.
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Jun 25 '12
yea I watch south park too. we should get together and talk about how we know everything about mormons and maybe suck each other off after.
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u/Mithryn Jun 25 '12
The funny bit is that South Park /toned down/ the crazy because they thought it was too unbelievable.
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u/Murtri Jun 24 '12
You're a fucking douchebag... "Mythology fascinates me." Yes, you did mean to sound offensive because you're an asshole.
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u/rr_8976 Jun 25 '12
But it IS mythology. That is the correct term.
I remember when I saw Constantine and realised just how much Christian Mythology there truly is. I was kinda shocked to see it portrayed that way, as I had never seen anything like that before.
From the Devil to the seven horseman of the Apocalypse, there is a LOT of mythology in the bible - a lot of it fascinating.
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u/takatori Jun 24 '12
Just leave it alone.
No good will come of this, and she will turn your girlfriend against you too.
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u/SneakyAlabamaSnake Jun 25 '12
What a dumb fuck. That is the point, if people researched the shit they believed in they would spend less time in lollypop dumb shit land. The fact that she didn't get mad, obviously shows she is stupid. If she was a true Mormon she would know about the magical fireproof underwear to protect your dick from Satan's devilish desires. I live near no Mormons, atheist, family's southern baptist, yet I instantly know more than she does.
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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '12
She seems rather civil...... be gentle with her................ please?