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At 10/31/06 04:06 AM, cellardoor6 wrote:

At 10/31/06 12:44 AM, troubles1 wrote:

At 10/30/06 04:09 AM, cellardoor6 wrote:

I can see why many people believe that Christianity is an intolerant faith.

Cellar, my respect for you just jumped several levels! As a Catholic, Mormon and Mason I have received much criticism from many evangelical/protestant types...

You're both Catholic AND Mormon? Thats odd. Free Masonry isn't really a religion though.

I am a journeyman when it comes to religions. I was raised Catholic, but for awhile I was a member of the Mormon church. I enjoy studying religion; when I was stationed in Korea there was a Buddhist temple that I visited several times and got to know what it was about. I've had Baptist preacher friends, Lutheren, etc. I also enjoy history and reading about how the church and the Bible came about.

Thanks for noting Freemasonry isn't really a religion! More respect points for Cellar! The thing is many people who are not in Masonry think it is a religion, a heretical one. I was just commenting on how I've got three strikes against me when talking to a close-minded fundamentalist! The thing is to be a Mason you must believe in God; whether you call him Yaweh, Jehovah or Allah. You must be a Jew, Christian or Muslim. We teach good men to be better men through Biblical allegory; so what goes on in a Masonic temple could be found in any church. But, we are a charitable fraternity and not religion.

At 10/31/06 03:59 PM, TheMason wrote: The thing is many people who are not in Masonry think it is a religion, a heretical one.

That goes for anything people don't understand. Rather than try to find an understanding behind the way it works (as with Mormons) they would rather just say "IT'S EVIL, THEY HAVE MULTIPLE PARTNERS, THEY ARE HERETICS, etc..." I think it's easier for those kinds of people to just do that (point fingers and make accusations) rather than actually doing some research and ask people who actually know and are involved. The ability of people to readily jump the gun when they don't understand something, is a real and large issue. It is in part for this reason some people refuse to give gays rights, refuse to strike compromises and refuse to understand other political ideologies.

Of course, there are also people who understand some things but still don't agree. At least they are infored enough to make a decision rather than to jump from introduction to conclusion.

At 11/1/06 04:32 PM, EnragedSephiroth wrote:

At 10/31/06 03:59 PM, TheMason wrote: I think it's easier for those kinds of people to just do that (point fingers and make accusations) rather than actually doing some research and ask people who actually know and are involved. The ability of people to readily jump the gun when they don't understand something, is a real and large issue.

There is also a certain comfort in the idea that there are evil people/organizations out there against which we must buffer our faith/society against. This gives us the freedom to be lazy and not analyze our own shortcommings or where our beliefs/norms come from. I think it is a form of denial mixed with fear and laziness...

mormonism is full of contradictions... i know because for a while i was into it myself when i went to the states a few years back and found the book of mormon in a hotel room in utah... i began reading it out of curiosity, and i didn't even make it through the first book... it was clean full of contradictions... my final opinion was that joseph smith was high or under some influence when he compiled his writings...

At 11/2/06 04:58 PM, EternalRabbit wrote: mormonism is full of contradictions... i know because for a while i was into it myself when i went to the states a few years back and found the book of mormon in a hotel room in utah... i began reading it out of curiosity, and i didn't even make it through the first book...

1) How does that differentiate it from the rest of Christianity?

2) How can you say you know and was into it when you then say you didn't even make it through the first book?