Memes

Let's assume I didn't know about vaccines and I went to ask for advice to someone. How would I know if what they told me was good advice?

I would ask myself, are they an authority on the subject? Where do they draw the advice from? Who says they are an authority? What did they have to do to earn that authority? Do other authorities say the same?

Are mormons authorities on logic? Why trust advice about logic from someone that doesn't follow logic?

A liar can say that lying is bad. A killer can say that killing is bad. It just so happens that the advice is good, in spite of who said it.

Yes, how dare I punch down on the poor Mormon Church!

And not just any reddit, but 2010 reddit – in both the best and the worst ways.

Reminds me of the rabbi whose congregation complained about his many vices, saying that he's supposed to be better, he's supposed to show them the way. So he brought them to the edge of the town and showed them a direction sign.

"Does it show you the way? It does. And do you want it to go anywhere?"

Does he write his world building on golden plates?

Perhaps he dictates his stories using a seer stone while staring into a hat?

What you said (and such defenses of religion) makes me think: If I see someone ready to jump off a bridge, and I can stop them against their will, should I? I mean, inside their brain they are ending their suffering. They don't see value in life. But I do. Whose worldview is more important?

What if it was drugs, should I stop them? What if it was drinking every weekend? What if it was refusing to go outside without a mask in the middle of a pandemic?

What if it was following the cult of their parents, which encourages abuse & discrimination of women, opression of minorities, supression & regression of scientific advances and further indoctrination of future generations? If I have the power to get someone out of their cult against their will, should I?

Or what if it was continuing to feed a system that brainwashes people into thinking that monetary gain is what's important in life, that the system is infallible, and no alternatives exist?

Should we act against what we perceive as wrong, even if it's against the will of other persons? Where do we draw the line? Who decides what is right and what is wrong?

Not that this is a competition, but both score about equally high on the BITE model for identifying cults.

Blood transfusions and birthday celebrations are the work of the devil?

Say it isn’t so!