Last night PostSecret included another Mormon-related card. This one is interesting in that it generated quite a bit of searching for the blog behind the “Faking It” sentiment. A number of links showing up in the search engines turn out to be malware, but the actual link is listed here after the jump… (more…)
I have heard Obadiah say, “I choose to believe.” I have also heard other Mormons speak of their faith as a choice. Like Obadiah, these other Mormons seem to be well read enough to recognize their religion is not without historical or theological problems, but they still feel there is sufficient evidence in their lives to make the choice of belief. None of these Mormons deny the contribution of environmental influences to that choice, but only insist that such influences are not fully determining, and, therefore, do not render the act of choosing a mere delusion of agency.
It’s not like I wanted to be a monster. Often one arrives here unwillingly, organically. In my case, I served an LDS mission among evangelical Christians and found their critiques of my tradition fairly easy to fend off. At some point in my early twenties I wanted to become a “servant of my Father in Heaven” by becoming a competent defender of my tradition. Unfortunately, in Mormonism, as one ties down one loose end, five more pop up in the process. For me, as the years rolled by and I studied more and more, the tapestry of my tradition didn’t just unravel—it dissolved. (more…)
Interesting article in Nature this week reporting on Italian researchers and their findings with brain surgery affecting spiritual experiences. (more…)
I have a problem with the assertion that one way of knowing is superior to another way of knowing.
The “spiritual” way of knowing is claimed as a form of experience, but of what kind is this experience if it is not had through the five senses? How can we be sure that a spiritual substance has moved through us delivering its own special brand of experience instead of the experience being produced by uncommon brain activity brought about through a particular neurochemical admixture. It seems certain that certain people can produce these experiences at will (either through training or by means of a genetic predisposition), but why is this means of perception unavailable as an autonomic function to the majority of humanity? (more…)
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