Frustration Part I

Category: , By Christian
I try not to get frustrated with people. I try to be patient with them and where they are at. God knows people have been patient with me throughout my life. And yet, every once in a while somebody makes a statement that I just can't deal with.

This particular instance happened last week. I had just gotten out of my car at a church where I was going to recruit some volunteers to work with our kids this year, when I noticed it. There was a minivan with huge adhesive letters filling up almost the entirety of the back window. In huge bold letters it read, "The Book of Mormon is FICTION". Unfortunately, I can't do "FICTION" justice without a picture and I didn't think to snap one with my phone. It was huge. So huge that it took up half of the window itself. To add a nice artistic touch to the message, the faithful Christian had also placed decals of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and Joseph Smith in the areas not covered by huge lettering.

Arrrg.

I encourage all of my fellow Christ-followers to please, please, please think through an appropriate response to the Mormon faith. That particular institution is doing a great job right now of running a PR campaign that positions it as a community within the realm of Evangelical Christianity that is a supportive community for people join. The group brings with it a bunch of baggage, but they are emphasizing Jesus and racial diversity in a way that is very appealing and mainstream. Really, it's probably one of the best advertising campaigns I've seen in a long time from a faith group. This push is well timed with the rise of Mitt Romney as a Presidential front runner, and there is going to be a lot of discussion in the coming year concerning The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

So be prepared. Be prepared to engage in discussion in a civilized and graceful manner. I personally think that The LDS Church is not fully within the realm of orthodoxy when it comes to the Christian community, but I also don't think it does us any good to enter the discussion like a bull in a china shop. Verbal violence and arrogance are going to make people look foolish. And yet, because the subject is going to be raised in the context of a Presidential race the violent speech will be encouraged across the airwaves and on the net and in print and in emails. Prepare yourself for the discussion, but make sure it's graceful and nuanced. And please. Do not advertise your position on a bumper sticker, with window stickers, and with pugnacious sayings accompanied by cartoon characters.

Fair Dinkum
 

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