Sam: I've tried to keep away from offensive remarks with everyone on this board. If I see someone say something antagonistic towards me, I tend to walk away for a couple of hours and see how I feel then. This is why an ass like myself is still here after 5 years. That said, how can you possibly call anyone stupid? Your extremely short-sighted views never allow you the opportunity to grasp a new idea. I guess in your case you really did take to heart the book entitled "I learned everything I needed to know by Kindergarten." Good luck to you. You obviously need it. (And don't you dare ever tell a family member to tell another family member off. A-hole or not, they will always be in each others lives. Acceptance is crucial.) Acceptance of others, fish. Learn it.
I'm sorry. I'm not following your reasoning. Exactly what do you feel I'm missing with the assumption?
Fatty, I like you but you need to back up. SF's never said anything here anywhere near as offensive as your statement about finding a Mormon life unacceptable. That's about the most religously intolerant thing I've read here -- including all the incredible hateful stuff towards Islam. Not to mention the site's run by a Mormon. You don't just need to walk away for a while before posting, you need a serious editor. Might wanna ease up on the Mind Erasers too.
The Mormon thing's what outlaw was talking about FFB. Amazing that you had the gall to preach "acceptance of others" right after calling Mormons unacceptable.
Why fatty, apparently your conception of irony has reached a state of nonrecognition regarding shortsightedness. Regardless I appreciate your kind wishes. While I see you harbor a differing view vis a vis the counsel I proffered, fortunately for you (though not for society) you're immune from being bound by such. So you can just chill for a bit and be a happy lil' camper.
Other than the fact that I sometimes invite them in when they knock on my door, I don't know what my affiliation with the Morman church is. What did you mean by this one? Did your brother join the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"? Or did he join a "Church of Christ"? There's a difference. I'm just trying to make sure we're on the same page.
I think Joseph Smith originally (1830's?) called his church the Church of Christ, but later changed the name to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Smith's church and the congregation now known as the Church of Christ are not the same thing. The latter was founded in (I believe) the 1950's. That's the only link I'm aware of between the two. I don't think it's anything close to a Roman Catholic/Lutheran kind of thing.
TraJ: Didn't know there was a difference........ If there is you need it to be known. Secondly, my brother is in "Church of Christ". At the very least, you have to find your marriage proceedings "unusual"? Or do y'all have options?
Actually, each church of Christ is completely self-governing, so I wouldn't be surprised if the ceremonies differ significantly from place to place. We don't have any headquarters to decide these kinds of things for us. When I perform a wedding ceremony, I decide what to put in it -- with the help of the bride and groom. Most of them just leave it up to me, although I do sometimes get vows that are specially written. Since I only do weddings as a favor (I have no desire to be a "hired gun" for the occasion ), I usually know the couples pretty well already.
See? And now you're reacting the way my brother reacted recently! I don't get it! The wedding he had had his new wife say he would be in control of everything. His new wife was to be as respectful as possible to him... etc... Don't get me wrong, TraJ, I love these ideas for dating. But not for a wife. Wives need to be stong, and their vows offended me.[/i] I'm one of the few conservatives on this board, and I was freaked out, as was every person who went to the wedding. BELIEVE ME, I wasn't the only one. My Bro's out in Kingwood now, however, and as a God-fearing man as well as a true Christian, I would love to go to one of your services with my brother. (Granted, it may take a month to get him away from the wife and kids at his church, but I can guarantee he'll be willing to go with me.) As I said, older brother's do have their perks. Also, TraJ: While I'm willing to see how your denomination works, I'm an Episcopalian. I won't change that. Others in my family have done so. I won't. But I would find it Fascinating to have you both, in unison, tell me the reasons for converting. (BTW, you have a .01 chance on me, but my sister has recently gone, and my parents just went for Easter.)
Your brother sounds like he wants you to be strong and live strong...in his eyes. We show our love in different ways with different people. This isn't some stranger with another perspective on life, he's blood. You've had no choice but to grow up together. For your girlfriend, it's business, and it should be treated as such. It could end up ugly, but whatever happens he's still your brother. You know what he's like and his method of thinking. He probably thinks on the ground that you owe him a lot, but don't give in to cutting him off. For that slim chance that he doesn't realize he's selfish in his line of thought, I think that would be worth pursuing. The influence of family works both ways. If the thought of your brother makes your blood boil long after this situation, then he isn't entirely cut off from your life.
TraJ, I grew up church of Christ and that's the church I'm planning on going back to first. The only unorthodox thing about my church that I can think of is the fact that we never had any musicical instruments in the church. As far as an affiliation with the Mormons or special wedding ceremonies, that's all news to me. You're exactly right about each church being its own entity. A past girlfriend's parents both grew up in churches of Christ and had nothing but evil things to say about how they were treated growing up. Yet all the sermons I can remember from mine dealt with Jesus' and God's love for us. No fire and brimstone stuff. Thanks for the comments guys. I've decided not to respond to him. It's just not worth it. Nothing I could ever say to him will ever warrant a response from him other than the one he already gave, unless of course I agreed with him completely. The first line of his e-mail told me that. As far as RM95's Girl's job, I told her to do what she feels most comfortable doing. If she doesn't want to look for another job, then she doesn't have to. Just tell my brother to keep her out of anything. However, I don't see how anyone would want to work for someone like that. If Sprint knew what he was doing, he'd be fired pretty quick, I'd imagine. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Plus, they're losing at least one customer when my contract is up.
Good luck with all that Rm95. Sprint sucks anyway. Speaking of Mormons/religion, you should check out the movie "Latter Days" at the Angelika Theatre downtown. It's really good! watch the trailer
My Father grew up COC but converted to Catholicism when he was around 35. I think he would disagree with you. In my family's experience, in the COC you are judged by the actions of your family members and such. It is crazy. My Grandfather was not allowed to hold some post in the church because his other son, an astro-physicist, became an atheist. I'm not saying other churches are perfect by any means, but that type of stuff would drive me out in a heartbeat.
RM95, Lots of comments concerning "intolerance" here, but the primary intolerant one is, of course, your brother. I've seen my own father put up with stuff like this from his brother. It's put some distance between them, for sure, but my dad typically just walks away from it and tries to make sure they stay in touch, at least vaguely. I'm happy lots of people on this BBS are saying "oh, that's really unusual -- don't judge all Christians by this" et cetera. I don't think we can judge all of anybody from your brother, but more and more people believe it's okay to act that way. Seriously, more and more people. I see it in more and more of my relatives, for sure, and I see more of it leaking into mainstream TV. I have a buddy in San Jose who's about 70, and I asked him (at an Easter picnic this weekend -- freaking 40 degrees F in golden gate park, natch) what he thought of this trend. He said he thinks it goes in big cycles in this country, with sweeping "revivals" of zealous feelings showing up every 30-40 years or so. Interesting. Anyway, best of luck with this. I'm sure your gal would find another job, no problem, in the worst possible outcome. But if he makes things hard for her, she's got a *damned* good case (no pun intended, what with the rotting of your soul and all that ).
Wanted to add one more thing. I'm extremely happy for my brother and his family. I'm excited for them that they're able to have the relationship they have with God. I've never told them any different. He's the one that's never respected where I am in my life.
Fatty lambasting the Mormon church due to a false association with the Church of Christ while criticizing others for being intolerant and ignorant = quality entertainment.
