Sunday in Outer Blogness: Mom Strikes Back Edition!

There seemed to be a lot of posts (and exhibits) about feminism this past week. Topics included women’s bodies and what they choose to wear on them. Also, power dynamics between women and men, not to mention women’s speech, women’s invisibility, with a dash of discussion on race and transgender issues. A father wonders how he can be part of the feminist movement (hint: not this). Is it all somehow connected with all of the horror stories about Mothers’ Day? (Unless you didn’t go to Sacrament Meeting.)

It looks like the faithful are doing some “boundary maintenance” again. Huntsman described his Mormon membership a little too vaguely for some people’s tastes, leading other people to wonder why he can’t just be sorta Mormon. Y’know, like John Dehlin. Oh. Oh, yeah, this.

Next up, some insightful ideas and discussion topics! The prodigal son reinterpreted. Is religion “natural,” and — if so — what should we conclude about it? Does civility mean silence? What a disturbing parody. Let’s have more discussion of the fun doctrines! And answer me this: If the Book of Mormon is anti-Mormon dreck, is it better or worse than EFY and Thor?

Oh, and some folks are coming out!

What a wild week it’s been!! I hope you’re all having as much fun listening to the Book of Mormon soundtrack as I am, and that you’ll all tell us which is your favorite song!

chanson

C. L. Hanson is the friendly Swiss-French-American ExMormon atheist mom living in Switzerland! Follow me on mastadon at @chanson@social.linux.pizza or see "letters from a broad" for further adventures!!

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5 Responses

  1. Chino Blanco says:

    Wow, Tal Bachman really, seriously, totally hated Thor. My son and I were a bit meh after watching, but c’mon, Tal, isn’t Jotunheim (home of the Frost Giants) one of the nine realms? I thought Dad made it pretty clear he didn’t want Thor trashing Asgard or any of the realms. And, yeah, S.H.I.E.L.D. let Thor go after his break-in … so they could follow him, duh. That said, I agree with the criticism of S.H.I.E.L.D. and/or the U.S military being AWOL during the battle with the Destroyer. As fight sequences go, that one was kinda weak, and would’ve benefited from some classic footage of alien tech blowing up U.S. tanks.

    Minor quibbles with Bachman aside, I think the real message for us and our kids is that even though Thor is fiction (as are his powers), the film contemplates a correct principle:

    True miracles and Godly power are wholly compatible with true science.

    Brigham Young taught:

    It is hard to get the people to believe that God is a scientific character, that He lives by science or strict law, that by this He is, and by law he was made what He is; and will remain to all eternity because of His faithful adherence to law. It is a most difficult thing to make the people believe that every art and science and all wisdom comes from Him, and that He is their Author.

    [Journal of Discourses, vol. 13, pg. 302, 13 Nov 1870].

    There are parallels between the fictional Thor’s journey and our own.

    We have both been sent to Earth by our fathers to learn humility, peacemaking, and selflessness (Abraham 3:22-25).

    God chastens us out of love, for our profit, that we may return and receive glory from him (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, Hebrews 12:9-10, D&C 95:1).

    There is no greater love than to be willing to die for one’s friends (John 15:13).

    How cool is it that our journey, unlike Thor’s, is totally not fictional?

  2. chanson says:

    That is great! Do all Meridian Magazine movie reviews have a doctrinal message?

  3. Chino Blanco says:

    I think you’d have to ask the Pauline Kael of the Meridian set, aka Mormon Movie Guy, but it does look like both his recent reviews delve into deep doctrine. For example, check out MMG’s suggested Gospel discussion re Vin Diesel’s Fast Five (some scrolling at the link req’d):

    Family matters most; encourage others to attend church; take care of your children (D&C 75:28). Despite what is seen in movies, in reality there is very little honor among thieves (John 10:10). The Lord does not condone killing for vengeance (Romans 12:19) though he is merciful to those who do so without knowlege of His law (Alma 24: 7-12). He delights in the chastity of women (Jacob 2:28).

    Fascinating stuff. Too bad he forgot to mention that Paul Walker was raised LDS. Or maybe Mormon Movie Guy intentionally avoids any mention of famous exmos like Paul.

    Anyway, I’m glad you asked the question, because — in a bizarre twist — Meridian Mag has actually urged against this sort of thing:

    The Sin of Drawing Upon Inappropriate Material. Members often want to share insights that they have gained from popular culture and attempt to relate them to gospel principles. Regardless of a speaker’s sincerity, equating the “Force” from Star Wars with the influence of the Holy Ghost is probably not appropriate. For whatever reason, Star Wars, Star Trek and James Bond seem to resonate with many speakers, prompting them to share insights they have learned from these shows in sacrament meeting. Such use of popular cultural icons, however, typically will only detract from the spirit of the meeting.

    Then again, they’re talking about Sac Meeting, not a movie review; and everybody knows the Force is not the Holy Ghost, it’s the Priesthood. Duh.

  4. chanson says:

    That is too funny!

  5. kuri says:

    “God is a space alien” was actually one of the things I liked about Mormon theology back when I was a believer.

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