Re: Mormon church makes anti-war statement

["Stuart Lawrence" <stuartwl@xxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Hunter Gray" <hunterbadbear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

> Not a whit surprised at Michael Keaney, either -- although the abrupt
> emergence in this setting of several experts on Christianity in general
and
> Mormonism in particular is certainly intriguing if not startling.

Hunter, you are here just assailing others for simultaneously claiming
enough knowledge to make a statement about whether the LDS church is part of
"mainline Christianity" and for being interested in discussion on Marxism.
You're as vulnerable to this charge as anyone else.

> But, again, I doubt that Bro. Keaney has ever had any in-depth direct
> relationship or experience of any kind with Mormons or the LDS church as
an
> institution.  Google-searches only go so far. [Last I, personally, heard
> from him, he was endeavoring to mount some sort of defense of the Swedish
> Finns -- many of whom, of course, are gallingly elitist and culturally
> ethnocentric. Again, just confirmed by my Finnish/Saami spouse.]

You consistently dismiss any source of opinion but personal experience,
particularly your own and those of people close to you, as not credible.
You've repeatedly made gratuitous negative generalizations against the
Swedish-speaking minority in Finland and each time you have justified them
by referring to your Finnish wife as an unquestionable authority. I think
almost everyone reading this would want more to go on than your wife's
say-so before accepting an ethnic smear like that. Personal experience is
the impetus for inquiry, not the sum total of the evidence to be considered.

>  The  Spirit World perceptions of any theology are always fascinating to
> me -- but I take the general Native view that everyone goes to some sort
of
> future happiness.  When a visiting Catholic daughter-in-law raised a
> question recently about retroactive Mormon baptism, I pointed out that
> anyone in the Spirit World can undoubtedly -- and in gracious fashion --
> push that one away.

So just because your synthesis of spriritual beliefs is secure enough to
regard Mormon doctrines as unproblematic, you think they can be called
"mainline Christian?"

> A Mohawk direct ancestor of mine and culture hero, John Gray

>snip<

What is your point here? No one said that the Protestant/Catholic schism
wasn't significant, just that it doesn't represent a boundary for what is
"mainline Christian." Your ancestry, favorite Catholic saint, and hotel and
coffee-shop patronage habits are really pretty irrelevant and sound like a
lot of hot air that add nothing to this discussion.

Stuart



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