Search found 464 matches

by oliver_denom
Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:53 pm
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Is this a loophole?
Replies: 10
Views: 5716

Re: Is this a loophole?

This looks good to me, and why not? When we're literally talking about eternity, the absence of an ending, going on forever and ever, then the idea of eternal punishment looks absurd. There's literally nothing you could do in this short span that couldn't eventually be resolved after a trillion year...
by oliver_denom
Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:43 pm
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Divine Command Theory
Replies: 7
Views: 4118

Re: Divine Command Theory

There are a number of examples of this within Mormonism too: Jacob 2:24 - 30 - Polygamy is an abomination, unless God wills it. D&C 19:7 - It's okay to deceive people about "eternal punishment" JS to Nancy Rigdon - "That which is wrong under one circumstance, may be, and often is, right under anothe...
by oliver_denom
Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:29 am
Forum: Introductions
Topic: Forum Rules?
Replies: 14
Views: 8790

Re: Forum Rules?

I really enjoy swearing though. It's never in an angry way, more like happy little swears. I really, really love the F-word in all its variants. Can we have a rule that swearing is okay as long as it's fun?
by oliver_denom
Wed Nov 02, 2016 8:44 am
Forum: Support
Topic: Losing My Religion Playlist
Replies: 20
Views: 10546

Re: Losing My Religion Playlist

Here's my contribution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUd3-b8AlqY was it something that I said that turned your laughter into lead? did I pin too much of me onto you? or was I just too blind to see? it wasn't love but sympathy. but I still pinned all of my longing onto you you were dark and bitter...
by oliver_denom
Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:47 am
Forum: Support
Topic: Losing My Religion Playlist
Replies: 20
Views: 10546

Re: Losing My Religion Playlist

Really? You didn't put "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.? :lol: It did inspire the the title of the playlist. I can't pinpoint a specific reason, but it's not a song I really enjoy listening to. Nothing in the lyrics, it may be the composition of the song as a whole that doesn't work for me. I can't c...
by oliver_denom
Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:22 am
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Church's Communistic Structure Stifles Innovation
Replies: 11
Views: 5620

Re: Church's Communistic Structure Stifles Innovation

Also, I'm not sure "communistic" is the right word for the church's structure, except in the sense of how communism was actually implemented by the Soviet Union or Red China. Maybe rigid and authoritarian, but not generically communist as envisioned by Marx and Engels, or even the Book of Mormon in...
by oliver_denom
Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:19 am
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Church's Communistic Structure Stifles Innovation
Replies: 11
Views: 5620

Re: Church's Communistic Structure Stifles Innovation

The church's strength is also its weakness - a prophet could receive revelation to make significant changes in the church, but if the prophet believes the previous prophets were also inspired by God himself, it would be hard for the current leader to conclude that they might have been wrong and in ...
by oliver_denom
Wed Nov 02, 2016 6:36 am
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Church's Communistic Structure Stifles Innovation
Replies: 11
Views: 5620

Church's Communistic Structure Stifles Innovation

It's interesting to compare the innovation occurring in American religion that seems to be passing Mormonism by. In a culture that is increasingly leaving organized religion, other churches have begun experimenting with different organizations and offerings to attract the "un-churched". For a vast m...
by oliver_denom
Tue Nov 01, 2016 4:44 pm
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: Politics Post - Evan McMullin
Replies: 45
Views: 21972

Re: Politics Post - Evan McMullin

I don’t think creating more parties is the solution either. Perhaps we should move away from even having political parties. Then the proportional representation you’re talking about would be irrelevant. Everyone is independent. Each state still has two Senators they elect, and they would have the s...
by oliver_denom
Tue Nov 01, 2016 4:28 pm
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Why the church opposes equality - Moral Foundation Theory
Replies: 6
Views: 4136

Re: Why the church opposes equality - Moral Foundation Theory

1-It is a violation of sanctity--if they truly believe gay marriage to be not simply malum prohibitum but actually malum in se , they would see it as degrading a holy institution. Following this logic, gay marriage is more evil than gay sex because it mocks the holy institution of eternal man/woman...
by oliver_denom
Tue Nov 01, 2016 2:10 pm
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Why the church opposes equality - Moral Foundation Theory
Replies: 6
Views: 4136

Why the church opposes equality - Moral Foundation Theory

This is something that's been on my mind a lot. Why has the church put so much energy, time, and money preaching against the cultural shift towards acceptance of homosexuality, equal gender rights (ERA / Title IX), and civil rights (priesthood ban)? The most common explanation is that the opposition...
by oliver_denom
Tue Nov 01, 2016 12:52 pm
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: Politics Post - Evan McMullin
Replies: 45
Views: 21972

Re: Politics Post - Evan McMullin

Corsair wrote:I have a non-LDS friend who refers to him as "Egghead McUtah" This pretty quickly encapsulates how most people feel about his candidacy.
He's got two very important qualifications:

1) He's Mormon
2) He isn't Trump or Clinton
by oliver_denom
Tue Nov 01, 2016 9:10 am
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: Politics Post - Evan McMullin
Replies: 45
Views: 21972

Re: Politics Post - Evan McMullin

The two-party system needs to be nuked, big time. The electoral system needs to be overhauled. I am so fed up with this campaign season, and I am genuinely concerned about what could happen after the election - no matter what the results. I feel the same way, which is why I've tried to avoid politi...
by oliver_denom
Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:47 am
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: Politics Post - Evan McMullin
Replies: 45
Views: 21972

Re: Politics Post - Evan McMullin

As a partisan democrat who supported Clinton in the primaries, I couldn't agree more. I think every republican should vote McMullen.
by oliver_denom
Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:15 pm
Forum: Support
Topic: At odds with Religious Community
Replies: 12
Views: 8582

Re: At odds with Religious Community

Somehow, and I have no idea how one gets there, I think it is possible to see the magician behind the curtain and positively participate. I just don’t know how. And it’s possible I’m just not the right kind of person for it. That's an interesting analogy. The scarecrow, lion, and tin man all knew t...
by oliver_denom
Mon Oct 31, 2016 1:56 pm
Forum: Support
Topic: At odds with Religious Community
Replies: 12
Views: 8582

Re: At odds with Religious Community

In the book Sapiens the author posits that primate communities larger than 150 individuals don't hold together because the members can't have a personal relationship with more people than that. He says that early humans had similar community size limitations, but that modern humans have overcome th...
by oliver_denom
Mon Oct 31, 2016 11:15 am
Forum: Support
Topic: At odds with Religious Community
Replies: 12
Views: 8582

Re: At odds with Religious Community

As introverted as I am, I do long for friendship and community, but I have always felt that the church only provides that conditionally - so long as I give up who I am and pretend to be someone else. What's concerning is that this requirement to "give up who I am" seems to be necessary for communit...
by oliver_denom
Mon Oct 31, 2016 10:21 am
Forum: Introductions
Topic: Explain your avatar choice
Replies: 109
Views: 55906

Re: Explain your avatar choice

This is a depiction of an alchemist attempting to square a circle, something we now know to be impossible because pi is irrational, but at the time people spent their lives working on a proof.
by oliver_denom
Mon Oct 31, 2016 10:17 am
Forum: Support
Topic: At odds with Religious Community
Replies: 12
Views: 8582

Re: At odds with Religious Community

My believing friends and family would condescendingly chuckle at this predicament all the while whistling past the demographic and doctrinal challenges of their own denominations. This is part of why I still attend my ward and don't go around preaching the CES Letter or MormonThink. Few members of ...
by oliver_denom
Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:27 am
Forum: Support
Topic: At odds with Religious Community
Replies: 12
Views: 8582

At odds with Religious Community

I'm not going to proofread this. Sorry for the turbulence. To give some context, I've just finished reading the following three books and they have me obsessing a bit over the idea of community: American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Putnam and Campbell The Righteous Mind: Why Good Pe...