Meditation 133
The Book of Mormon: A Work of Fiction
by JT
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Friday, I was at my computer irritably dealing with the latest round of unsolicited correspondence from a supposedly Christian minister who has taken on the task of periodically advising me of my dire prospects in the afterlife.[1] I was interrupted by the doorbell.
Just my luck! Already dealing with one religious fruitcake electronically, I was getting my quarterly[2] visitation from the Mormons. The only thing lacking to complete the moment would be a further interruption by the annual phone call from the Knights of Columbus begging in vain for money to support their charities.[3]
Seeing that it was a couple of Mormon missionaries, I grabbed a card I keep handy by the door and handed it to them before they could get started. The card has printed on it:
"First, prove to me objectively that there is a god, any god. Only then do we need to discuss which particular deistic religion, cult, sect, or denomination happens to have the minor details correct." [4]
After puzzling over it for a minute, one of them said to me:
"So you don't believe in God?"
I replied:
"That's the whole point of the card. If you can't address that issue, then we have nothing to talk about."
You could almost see the gears turning over in his mind as he struggled to come up with something appropriate to say. Finally, he solved the problem, at least to his own satisfaction, and out came:
"Have you read the Book of Mormon?"
He did not expect my answer:
"Forty years ago. And it doesn't address the issue at hand! Goodbye."
and I firmly closed the door.
The Book of Mormon does not address the issue. It provides absolutely no evidence for the existence of god, or God, or gods. But we can look at the believers in this book and find evidence for the infinite gullibility of man when it comes to spiritual matters. Because the Book of Mormon is nothing more than a work of fiction.
It is different from the Old Testament, from the New Testament, from the Koran. These books at least have some basis in reality. They refer to real places. They refer to some real historical people. They refer to some real historical events. At least some elements of each of these books can be verified through independent historical records and archeological research. It is understandable, given there are some verifiable facts in these ancient books, that some people would accept that the unverifiable elements are also true.
But the Book of Mormon lacks even that link with reality. There is no archeological evidence. There is no historical evidence. There is no support in any of the oral traditions of any native American peoples. Yet millions of people actually believe this book to be true. Still, it is only a work of fiction.
Mormons who come to my door are on a doomed mission. They cannot succeed. In the highly unlikely event they actually meet the first part of the challenge and manage to prove to me the existence of a god, they can do nothing to address the second part. The "minor details" that differentiate Mormonism from other religious beliefs are based on nothing more than fiction.
Footnote:
- This problem is now solved, I think. He is now on my blocked senders list. I will see no more of his junk unless he changes his email address to evade the block. And that would give me pretty solid proof of harassment should he follow up on his lunatic threat of charging me with harassment for responding to his unrequested hate mail.
- One of the few negatives of living in Southern Alberta. The Mormon belt stretches up to here from Utah.
- I have never understood these calls. The KofC is a men's Catholic organization. Yet, it is always a woman asking for money. It is a great deal for the Knights. Their wives do the fundraising. Other people give the money. And the men just sit back and rack up bonus points with the Pope for their good works.
- Feel free to prepare similar cards yourself on postcard stock - or pick up an 8-pack from our store. They work equally well on Jehovah's Witnesses.