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| What percentage would you say is fringe on this American flag? |
It’s really hard to be inactive when all the members of my church are so damn nice to me!
I keep hearing talk about how members of The Church of JesusChrist of Latter-day Saints are intolerant and would never befriend those who don’t believe in the teachings of Joseph Smith.
Actually, that’s true. I’d bet about 1-2 percent of the active Mormon community are lunatics who think they’re going to the celestial kingdom, and everyone else is going to the less-desirable other two kingdoms. These fringe delusion-driven hate mongers aren’t just limited to the LDS faith.
I need to fire off a quick review to that 2 percent. You get a year living in a house with one person of every religion on earth, and I get to tape it and air it “Big Brother” style. You also get to pick up your New Testament and read John 13:35.
Fine, I’ll just tell you what it says. Abridged, this guy named Jesus Christ basically said his newest commandment (that’s actually more important than any other commandment) is to “love one another.”
But it’s the 98 percent that’s on my mind. They are so giving and don’t care that I am not at church every week. They only seem interested in one thing: my well-being and the well-being of none other than my same-sex partner. Now that’s what I call being Christ-like.
And yet, the focus seems to remain on that lunatic fringe.
My wallet contains exactly $48 in cash and two Christmas checks totaling $125. That’s all yours if you can produce to me any religion, organization, club, demographic or political party that doesn’t include a psychotic fringe.
What’s sad is these over-the-top fringe members somehow seem to be the representation of any entity. I mean, what’s the first thing you think of when I say, “Neo-Nazi?” Wait, that’s actually a really bad example.
But when I say, “Catholic,” I’d bet $173 that most people would conjure up images of priests and alter boys. When I say “Jewish,” how many of you think of money-hoarding show-biz types? And be honest with yourself; what do you think when I say the word “Muslim?”
So what if the members of my church are being nice to me just to get me back to church? In a way that shows they care about me even more. Who would have ever thought people would actually want to spend eternity with me? The fact is the majority of Mormons, and of all other faiths, are good, kind people. They are accepting of everyone and their motives aren’t to hate but to love.
It’s just that we all pay attention to the fringe. My pledge is to stop identifying groups their fringe members. So what do you say; shall we do this one together?
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| The best resolution to make this year? To make no more resolutions! |
You know what's cool? They are open and loving to people who are "fringe" people in the real world but aren't perceived as members of their faith, yet are intolerant and belittling toward those who profess to follow their faith and yet are a little off the beaten path in terms of outspokenness.
ReplyDeleteYou know how many times I've been invited to Church in the last 7 years? Not once that I can recall. I've been told a bunch of times that I should go, but not a single solitary time has someone said to me, "Hey, Casey! I'd like you to come to church with me!" Or even the more commandly-type "you should come with me." I'd take the offer if it was extended, too.
Maybe I should pretend I'm gay for awhile. If I made up something "extreme" about myself like that, maybe folks would consider me a more dynamic individual and I'd be more on their social awareness radar. You're even more outspoken than I am yet the same group of people I've felt slighted by my entire life treat you the way the scriptures tell them to treat people while I feel like the ultimate outcast.
Long story short: I'm trying to live with the fact I'm not a very popular person despite how awesome I think I am.
I will agree with you we as a society focus on the fringe weirdos in any given group far too often. Take Raiders fans, for example. Anyone in the sports world will tell you they are loud, obnoxious, rude, and thuggish. Yet while there are examples of criminal behavior in that specific fanbase, the vast majority of Raiders fans are just people from Oakland (or LA thirty years ago). Regular, ordinary folk cheering for their football team.
It's too bad the fringe whack jobs tend to get so much attention. It's why the fringe whack jobs run the two major political parties in the country, instead of someone who more accurately represents the cast majority of people who might actually be in that party.