Pumping Up Book Sales
Richard Bushman, a renowned Mormon Scholar, gave a lecture recently at Utah State University. His talk centered around the Mormon “gold tablets”. The you know that ones that were delivered by an angel to Joseph Smith telling of Jewish people settling in the USA way before European explorers arrived and the effect of all holy relics on all religions. What I find interesting is Richard – a Mormon – says the while the existence of the tablets is in question, he wants to elevate them to the level of other holy relics like the Shroud of Turin, Arc of the Covenant, and the Holy Grail… Three items that have not a shred of evidence for existing (or authenticity in the shroud’s case)… Richard goes on to say:
The plates walk a fine line between magic and religion, between enchantment and disenchantment, between fraud and religious genius. They make the claim that the supernatural has entered into the natural world. [the plates are either] the fatal flaw or the most palpable evidence of its authenticity.
This just plain irks me. Trying to give the invisible gold tablets legitimacy compared to other items that do not exist. Richard’s attempts to prove the tablets is completely backwards though. You don’t set out with a premise and try to prove it real… unless you want to be wrong an awful lot of the time. What can I say? “Religious scholars” of any variety generally tick me off. Especially when they give talks, oh, right about the time their new book comes out.
Pope Urges People to Stop the Violence
Ratzinger, the Catholic Pope has been visiting Mexico for the first time. During his speech in Leon, Mexico, he made a plea for the people of Mexico to resist the temptation of cartel money. Especially since over 50,000 people have been killed there in the last few years – mostly due to drug violence. Ratzinger spoke to a crowd, saying:
We must do whatever is possible to combat this destructive evil against humanity and our youth. It is the responsibility of the Church to educate consciences, to teach moral responsibility and to unmask the evil, to unmask this idolatry of money which enslaves man, to unmask the false promises, the lies, the fraud that is behind drugs.
This sounds perfectly reasonable. Until I toss in this CIA Factbook tidbit that says close to 80% of Mexico is already Catholic. I’m sure that the drug cartels are not filled with the the remaining 20%. Then I ask, what have the the Catholics been teaching their flocks all these centuries?
Heck, from what I’ve found, the cartel leaders profess their Catholicism and donate large sums of money to their local Catholic churches. What’s wrong with this picture? I admit, I have a voice in the back of my head saying with all those deaths, donations from the public must be down. A lot. This violence is nothing new in Mexico. Why does he only now visit and take an interest in it…
Come on, Ratzinger. Far to little. Waaaaay to late. Put your money where your mouth is. Stop taking funds from the cartels and start pumping money into programs to help the people.
Shout Out: Jen McCreight
Jen – of Blag Hag fame – got a photo in a rather inflammatory USA Today piece. Anyone spot Dustin in an uncredited national news photo? Please post a link below if you find one. =)
I hope to see each and every one of you at the Northwest Free-thought Convention close to Seattle, Washington in a few days!
~Wesley