Funny how that selective enforcement works, no?

Scroll down to comments 62.

Now, that's been Howard's schtick ever since he appeared on the 'Nacle.  In fact, he's tolerated or even encouraged by the permas at T&S and elsewhere (M*, I'm guessing, just deletes him if he ever makes it through their moderation gauntlet of doom).

So, T&S doesn't really care if Howard breaks those rules, they only send out the voice of warning when people violate those rules against Howard.  Howard is untouchable, you guys. He's like the id of the 'Nacle or something; they all want to be like him, but he ruins every conversation he enters.

Based on the General Conference reaction in the 'Nacle

Elder Oaks is the new Elder Packer.

Doesn't matter he wasn't the only apostle to emphasize opposition to same sex marriage or commitment to chastity, he's the one in the crosshairs of the liberal pseudo-intelligent types who think their thinking is more think-like Godthink.

Kevin Barney declares it isn't "natural" to keep commandments.

Of course, it isn't.  That's why the "natural man" (or woman) doesn't keep the commandments.  Of course, Kevin seems okay with that. 

Well, Kevin & co., continue to be "natural" and insist on "naturalness."  The Book of Mormon is quite clear on where the "natural" person's final destination will be.  (hint: it's not the presence of God).

BCC declares we need more people like them in church

"If the church wants to retain and grow, it has to have enough “cool” people in it."

That's likely untrue, as the churches obsessed with being cool (i.e., mainline protestants) are declining in both percentage and absolute numbers, as well as influence.

However, this is proof, as I've always said, that the 'Nacle (BCC in particular, but nearly all the other blogs as well) is the cool kids clique you always hated in school but secretly wanted to be a member of. 

If I see that "Howard" has posted a lot of comments

If I see that "Howard" has posted a lot of comments on a particular thread on any Bloggernacle post, I tremble in fear.

Most discussion threads in the 'Nacle are wastes of time, and their value is near zero.

Howard, however, with his snide passive-aggressive progressive self-righteousness, actually creates negative value. Reading his comments doesn't just waste time, it actively steals values from time you spend doing valuable things.

Me, I'm the disembodied embodiement of the discontent on and of the Bloggernacle and its various subsideries and spin-offs.  I have to read it all (the horror - the horror).  You, on the other hand, might find your productive morning suddenly losing all it's value because you chose to read Howard's take over of a thread.

Steve Evans: "they sound stupid and hateful"

You mean like 95% of the content at the blog beast you created?

And really, Steve: "It takes particular insight to be able to voice disagreement intelligently with the Church without sounding like a typical disgruntled DAMU denizen — most of those able to do so are already permas here."

Nope.  BCC is basically the DAMU-lite, and insight is rare to non-existent among any of your permas.  If you had any real insight, you'd realize BCC actively cultivate the stupid and hateful crowd.

And then, when we insist

that we should enter the Celestial realm, despite having done very little to actually build the kingdom (being too busy building up our online reputations as well), God can also learn to say "no."

Screwtape would be proud.

At BCC, Screwtape must be handling their cases personally. You can read that book and see just how it works.

Case in point:  Compare this post to Screwtape Letter 10.

A few points of comparison:

Screwtape: "your patient has made some very desirable new acquaintances and that you seem to have used this event in a really promising manner. I gather that the middle-aged married couple who called at his office are just the sort of people we want him to know - rich, smart, superficially intellectual, and brightly sceptical about everything in the world."

BCC: "I found myself being drawn away from art and into classes on religion, sexuality, and philosophy. I found that academia both gave me tools with which to think about religion with nuance but also allowed me to have a safe space for my questions and critiques to be engaged."

Screwtape: "Sooner or later, however, the real nature of his new friends must become clear to him, and then your tactics must depend on the patient's intelligence. If he is a big enough fool you can get him to realise the character of the friends only while they are absent; their presence can be made to sweep away all criticism. If this succeeds, he can be induced to live, as I have known many humans live, for quite long periods, two parallel lives; he will not only appear to be, but actually be, a different man in each of the circles he frequents. Failing this, there is a subtler and more entertaining method. He can be made to take a positive pleasure in the perception that the two sides of his life are inconsistent. This is done by exploiting his vanity. He can be taught to enjoy kneeling beside the grocer on Sunday just because he remembers that the grocer could not possibly understand the urbane and mocking world which he inhabited on Saturday evening; and contrariwise, to enjoy the bawdy and blasphemy over the coffee with these admirable friends all the more because he is aware of a "deeper", "spiritual" world within him which they cannot understand."

BCC: "During this year, I put a strict divide between my religious and academic worlds. Eventually as I progressed in my degree, I relaxed my boundaries between my religious and academic worlds, cautiously allowing them to ever so slightly bleed into one another. Negotiating between those worlds is still a delicate balance that I will probably continue to work on throughout my entire life. Yet I can’t help notice that the way that my unique position of both academically digesting religion and being an active participant affected the way is embodied in which I framed both of these images."

John C needs a new headline writer

Let me fix that for you:

John C's title: "Actually reading Nephi"

Better title:  "Speculating wildly about Nephi's psychology based on my idiosyncratic reactions to the actual text, which doesn't really support my forced readings"

(He even admits this: "this is speculation based on the tiniest textual clues" - his entire argument hinges on such speculations).

Here's a secret for you

There is something off-putting with the way many liberal Mormons engage in blogging. If it isn’t bathed a condescending attitude - well, actually it is.

 Here is a revelation for you: your suppossedly superior knowledge and insight at places like BCC, FMH, and elsewhere are boring and way more than a little bit creepy, folks.

Howard, at least, is honest.

He admits he dates non-Mormons because they put out more.

The (Bar)Nacle's General Conference reactions would be boring if they weren't so predictable

And it goes a little something like this:

Normal Member: So, Elder Bednar rearrfirmed marriage as only between a man and a woman, and then ...

Nacle'er: WOMEN PRAYED!!!!!

Normal Member: I really liked Oaks when he mentioned that Political Correctness . . .

Nacle'er: WOMEN PRAYED!!!!!

Normal Member: Holland said faith was better than doubt, and that doubt is not . . .

Nacle'er: WOMEN PRAYED!!!!!

Normal Member: The Priesthood session has several great talks about the duty of men . . . .

Nacle'er: WOMEN PRAYED!!!!!

Normal Member: The prophet really stressed obedience, including . . .

Nacle'er: WOMEN PRAYED!!!!!

Normal Member:  Then Packer reaffirmed . . .

Nacle'er: WOMEN PRAYED!!!!!

Yep - Same sex marriage in the temple and a female apostle are just a few years away!

Not that I'm saying she responds to social control

But notice how, after Alison Moore Smith posted something slightly conservative, which resulted in many commentators calling for her to be removed from T&S, she's stuck to pretty much very liberal posts that only get her praise from Tired & Socialist's native constiuency of might as well be NOMs?

Okay, yes I am.  It's quite clear she learned that a woman's place at T&S is to (boringly and predictably) challenge the evil patriarchy - not actually assert herself in any way that makes her stand out from the crowd.  On T&S, she's become quite the well behaved woman.

And I'm a high ranking member of Obama's administration

Well, if Kaimi can declare that he is something he clearly isn't (anymore), I can declare that I am whatever.

This isn't "big tent" Mormonism, so much as leaving behind bigoted, narrow views of living inside enclosed spaces and this deciding that wearing a yarmaluke makes you an hindu/atheist hybrid that lives on one of Jupiter's moon that you have all to yourself while monkey's furiously type on bags of poo thinking they're typewriters from Damascas - wait, where was I?

Stop it! Stop it!

If you have a testimony, don't let people know it too often.  Religion is fine and all, if it's practiced only occasionally and in private between consenting adults.

Ashes to Ashes

Karen H. complains about someone engaging her in a religous discusson:

"I can understand why someone would feel obligated to try and actually drum up some interest in God.  However, what was so easy to see when I was on the other end of the equation, is that I had no interest in what she was selling because she clearly had no interest in me.  It was a self-gratifying exercise for her."

You mean, Karen, like what 99.9% of the posts on the bloggernacle do?  It's lame when your acquaintance does it, but when everyone at BCC, etc. does the exact same thing, you don't mind at all?

Let me fix that for you, Dave.

Dave states on comment 7 in this thread:
"The MA crew decided to list only blogs that posted primarily on LDS topics (not that simply had an LDS author) and that operate from a generally faithful perspective. Bloggers who want aggregated posts from blogs that operate from a generally critical or negative perspective about the Church will have to find a different site or aggregator."

Let me fix that for you:
"The MA crew decided to list only blogs that [were mostly by written by our friends] and that operate from a generally faithful [to the Bloggernacle] perspective. Bloggers who want aggrega[vating] posts from blogs that operate from a[n extremely] critical or negative perspective about the Church will [easily] find [them on the MA]."

(Also - MA suppossedly relaunched, but many of the "Big Daddies" are defunct and don't post. hrmm...)

Odd Parallels

Therefore, I told them in effect, write and tell church leaders that you do not like what they are doing in ERA politics, and that if their missionaries come to your door you will say that you are not interested in a church that is fighting your civil rights.

-Sonia Johnson

I cannot, in good conscience, recommend that my gay friends investigate the church.

-John C.

I am Mormon right down to my toenails.

-Sonia Johnson

I say all this because I believe the Church is true.  For that matter, I know it is.  

-John C

This is going to end well.

[Yeah, I'm back baby!]

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