Molly recently left a comment here that, I think, expresses a question on a lot of people minds: Must admit to having trouble understanding why Joanna Brooks is taken so seriously. Her work is very softball, and frequently skirts meaty issues or downplays legitimate problems completely. This was largely in response to the fact that ...
The following is an article I wrote for the October / November 2011 issue of Free Inquiry (the magazine of the Council for Secular Humanism), reposted here with permission from the editors. The Oct/Nov issue is a special issue on Mormonism, and one other MSP regular also contributed to it. I am an atheist, but ...
Troy tried to buck me up after my latest mini-meltdown over l’affaire Lyman and it reminded me that I need to remember to catch Tabloid (91% “Fresh”!) at my earliest convenience. Here’s Troy riffin’ at Sunstone (go show their Youtube channel some love) on his role in the Errol Morris documentary and his thoughts on ...
1) Local Memphis TV news report mocks Mitt Romney’s Mormon beliefs (and ace reporter* Ben Ferguson reminds viewers why some folks prefer to avoid the Bible Belt). The cringe begins at 03:21: 2) Local musical director (and LDS church member) Steve Danielson offers his opinion of the Tony-winning Broadway musical. 3) 89-year old Church of ...
To recap recent discussions, ProfXM says: To me it seems like it might be a good idea, but it also requires that religions not be exclusive, which, of course, many are. So, rather than being a good idea, it seems more like a futile idea. And I say that as someone who fully embraces the ...
Back in October 2008, I posted a public response to an email that a Mormon friend of mine received and then forwarded on to me for comment: Enough with the Emails from Mormon McVeigh Wannabes. An excerpt from my message to the Mormon author of that email rant: I’m very concerned, Brian, by the lack ...
It’s been almost a year since we last discussed civil discourse and our goals at Main Street Plaza. As our community grows and evolves, we need to discuss whether/how our goals and policies should evolve. As you probably know, Hellmut and Solistics started this blog in March of 2007 with the idea of providing a ...
If you have to ban somebody over religious differences, it is probably a good idea to wait until the debate about what constitutes a bad religion is over. When you argue that religion provides a special path to the truth, you are not helping yourself by prohibiting your rhetorical opponent’s speech. You see, people who ...
I knew we had faithful Mormons reading this blog, but ProfXM’s thread on “feeling the Spirit” really brought them out of lurking!! So, today, I’d like to open a new thread where the faithful can introduce themselves and the rest of us can welcome them! I want to reiterate that Main Street Plaza is a ...
I think that Kevin Barney was sincerely interested in finding answers when he first posed the question. The trouble is that when you ask a question on the Internet, there’s a danger that you’ll get responses from people who have actual, first-hand experience. Then the double-trouble is that it’s hard to answer that question in ...
We’ve just gotten yet another comment asking the above question. I feel like we’ve answered this on MSP about a million times — it’s probably our biggest “FAQ” — but I don’t think we have one go-to post where people give their various answers and explanations. Mine’s a little like Jonathan’s: it’s basically a fun ...
We’ve posted quite a lot about 8: The Mormon Proposition here; all positive. However — whether or not the film deserves accolades exclusively — I’d prefer to avoid the danger of falling into the group-think echo-chamber. To that end, I’d like to point you to a civil and detailed mixed review by faithful Mormon TT. ...
Hey, Mormons: Wilco Tango Foxtrot? (Comments are now closed at the original post, so please comment below) Serious kudos to The Millennial Star and John Fowles for taking on this topic in this M* guest post: Harry Reid fireside canceled because of politics IMHO, it’s a pitch-perfect response to this outrageous situation, and ought to ...
I posted this elsewhere not too long ago, and it seemed to get positive feedback, so I thought I would share this experience here and get your thoughts about it. During a conversation with my wife in the car after meeting some fantastic believing/disaffected couples for dinner last week, I realized something that has somehow ...
We don’t need to stoop to insults to win debates; reality is on our side. And there are many people out there who are willing to listen to logic and evidence, when presented reasonably and in good faith. We should always presume that people who disagree with us are amenable to reasonable discussion, until proven ...