I was at my ex-wife's house today and there was a copy of Ensign, May 2010. On the cover is Monson with an old woman I don't know, perhaps his wife. But the look on his face is hilarious. His smile is so fake, he looks like a hyena growling as it jealously guards a kill. He looks like he's ready to snap someone fingers off. Imagine the look on a cat's face when it is hissing at a dog. I l
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My friend Deen Chatterjee has a BOM on the bookshelf in his office. It's an older one, blue with the golden Moroni on the front. It's in pristine condition, unexamined by anyone, especially him. I'd like to show Deen the reference about "white and delightsome." As a non-caucasian, he'll appreciate it. As a professional philosopher, he'll tell lots of folks in high places about i
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Funny how the poster used his/her religious beliefs to go an a tirade about what YOU will know in the future. Then, this person just wants to be left alone in their belief? I'm sorry, as soon as someone uses their religion as a moral authority over me, then their religious beliefs are very much my business, and subject to my unrestricted scrutiny.
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A lot of people come out of Mormonism with a bad attitude toward moralistic authority. Who can blame them? But it's a problem when people turn to moral anarchy, as if the absense of Mormonism in their lives has taken away all of the ordinary moral duties that human beings do without having to be told. I've known a lot of exmos who seem to have an anything-goes existence. But the absence of re
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In all of my years of advocacy and political activism, I'd have to say that the most powerful tool I've ever used is public shame. I think there is good cause to use this tool in your case. It takes a lot of nerve to publicly shame the LDS Church, but it hits them right in the soft underbelly. If everything works right, it's like giving the LDS Church a swift and well-connected kick in the gro
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Please also note, Christina, that the fact that human rights DO conflict is not a reason that they OUGHT to conflict. That's the difference between a scientific judgment and a moral judgment. It's a logical fallacy to confuse the two.
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Cristina Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Actually individual and human rights do conflict > with one another all the time. Human rights don't > come with affirmative "duties" to protect the > rights of others and freedom itself extends to the > right to individual liberty even if you exercise > your liberty to deprive others of
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Right. Bacon and eggs require at least an apron. (ouch!)
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Also, the question of whether "force" is being used is not completely settled. I think if society is making significant moral demands, especially in a way that jeopardizes free choice, we have to consider the factor of duress. I don't think there's any question at this point that women in FLDS society are experiencing duress as a result of polygamy. Their options are extremely limite
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I think the argument against moral imperatives concerning marriage is better if I just stick with the polygamy example. The more I think about it, the more I can come up with examples of encouraging monogamous marriage that we already accept. But, you win some you lose some. However, the situation is still much more sticky when we consider the question of legalizing polygamy. Looking at it
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Since I've been digging in the theoretical depths lately, something really important occurred to me. It isn't that I've never given it any thought, but it has me wondering. First of all, I assume that human rights cannot conflict with one another. Simply, if I am exercising my human rights, those rights come to an end the moment that doing so comes at a cost to the rights of anyone else. I
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