classic religious blunders
As I've been examining my own thoughts and feelings about the many, many different takes on the Twilight series, one thing keeps hitting me: I'm seeing the same kinds of missteps in outsiders looking at my religion that I've seen all of my life. I'll take a wild guess and say that people belonging to other less-than-mainstream religious groups see the same patterns, and maybe some I've missed.
You know how in the movie The Princess Bride there's that scene where Vizzini and the man in black are having the duel of wits (to the death!) for the Princess? Vizzini, in his moment of triumph, tells the man in black, "You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia!"
In the spirit of Vizzini's list of blunders, here's my own.
Classic Blunders in Making Statements about Mormonism (for non-Mormons):
1. Never trust someone who says s/he knows more about Mormonism than Mormons.
2. Never say that you're an expert on Mormons because you have Mormon friends or grew up among Mormons.
3. Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Never rely on an ex-Mormon and/or anti-Mormon as your sole source of information.
For the first blunder, I will say that there are definitely religion experts who know more about my church than a typical member. That kind of expertise is unusual, though. I've had people tell me in person what they think I believe based on a one-semester comparative religion class. Yes, really. Bonus 'blunder points' should be awarded if someone manages to imply that we as Mormons don't know our own beliefs, or that we've been brainwashed.
The second: sure, someone who grew up around a group of Mormons would know more than someone who didn't. Having Mormon friends isn't the same as belonging to the religion. (If this worked I'd be a great resource on evangelical Protestantism. I'm not.)
Finally, my favorite! Number three. Someone who has chosen to leave a religion is likely to have negative feelings about it, possibly very strong ones. Try substituting another religion in for that. How ridiculous would it seem to others if I were to glean all of my information on Catholicism from an ex-Catholic? Sure, s/he might be a useful source, but I shouldn't use that person as the only source.
In fact, one reason for making this list is to point out that these are classic blunders for discussion of any religion. So: put another religion in for any of those, please.
How to Make Blunders Less Likely in a Discussion About Other Religions:
1. Include multiple sources.
2. Know the bias of your sources. Try to avoid having the same bias in all your sources.
3. Be prepared for someone to be upset anyway. No matter what anyone tells you, Mormons [or insert other religious group] don't have a hive mind. What may seem fine to me could well be construed as offensive to someone else.
Vizzini’s classic blunder was trusting a man wearing a mask. You know, the movie The Princess Bride doesn't stand up well to an examination of gender treatment. Frak.
Still working on the Twilight post. This isn’t it.
eta 1: Stuff other Mormons have said about the book series.
eta 2: good advice in the comments from lady_ganesh
eta 3: I finished The Definitive Mormon Commentary on Twilight, Part I
You know how in the movie The Princess Bride there's that scene where Vizzini and the man in black are having the duel of wits (to the death!) for the Princess? Vizzini, in his moment of triumph, tells the man in black, "You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia!"
In the spirit of Vizzini's list of blunders, here's my own.
Classic Blunders in Making Statements about Mormonism (for non-Mormons):
1. Never trust someone who says s/he knows more about Mormonism than Mormons.
2. Never say that you're an expert on Mormons because you have Mormon friends or grew up among Mormons.
3. Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Never rely on an ex-Mormon and/or anti-Mormon as your sole source of information.
For the first blunder, I will say that there are definitely religion experts who know more about my church than a typical member. That kind of expertise is unusual, though. I've had people tell me in person what they think I believe based on a one-semester comparative religion class. Yes, really. Bonus 'blunder points' should be awarded if someone manages to imply that we as Mormons don't know our own beliefs, or that we've been brainwashed.
The second: sure, someone who grew up around a group of Mormons would know more than someone who didn't. Having Mormon friends isn't the same as belonging to the religion. (If this worked I'd be a great resource on evangelical Protestantism. I'm not.)
Finally, my favorite! Number three. Someone who has chosen to leave a religion is likely to have negative feelings about it, possibly very strong ones. Try substituting another religion in for that. How ridiculous would it seem to others if I were to glean all of my information on Catholicism from an ex-Catholic? Sure, s/he might be a useful source, but I shouldn't use that person as the only source.
In fact, one reason for making this list is to point out that these are classic blunders for discussion of any religion. So: put another religion in for any of those, please.
How to Make Blunders Less Likely in a Discussion About Other Religions:
1. Include multiple sources.
2. Know the bias of your sources. Try to avoid having the same bias in all your sources.
3. Be prepared for someone to be upset anyway. No matter what anyone tells you, Mormons [or insert other religious group] don't have a hive mind. What may seem fine to me could well be construed as offensive to someone else.
Vizzini’s classic blunder was trusting a man wearing a mask. You know, the movie The Princess Bride doesn't stand up well to an examination of gender treatment. Frak.
Still working on the Twilight post. This isn’t it.
eta 1: Stuff other Mormons have said about the book series.
eta 2: good advice in the comments from lady_ganesh
eta 3: I finished The Definitive Mormon Commentary on Twilight, Part I