IRONY - A DEFINITION
a literary technique, originally used in Greek
tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions are
clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character.
You may have heard it said that when you point a finger at someone, be aware that three fingers are pointing back at yourself. Jesus, with the same thought in mind, put it this way: ‘Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?’ Matthew 7:3
We
can all be guilty of this. We all have our blind spots. We can easily miss the
irony in our words and fail to see that the very thing we point out in others
can equally be applied to ourselves.
As fallen
human beings we are sometimes unable, or unwilling, to see the speck in our own
eyes. When this happens to me, I usually get a tug from the Holy Spirit
pointing out my hypocrisy, with the challenge to retract or repent.
But
I want to suggest that this is not the case for those in cults. Sure, members
of cults are fallen and, like the rest of us, are unable or unwilling to spot
their flaws, but for them something else is going on. What would that be?
CONVICTION
“A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die
for.” Howard G. Hendricks
Because
cult members have become convinced that their group and its leaders have the
truth from God, they cannot see that the advice/critique they offer to others, also
applies to themselves. They fail to spot the irony in their own advice.
CASE
IN POINT
I recently watched a short video on the YouTube
Channel LDS Living. It was entitled: Keith Erekson's 5-Minute Fireside:
Real vs. Rumor: Distinguishing the Difference[1]
Plugging his new book ‘Real vs. Rumor’, Erekson seeks to help Mormons distinguish between truth and error, between fact and fiction with regards to what is said and taught about the LDS Church.
The write up for the book says this:
Real vs. Rumor explores Latter-day myths, rumors, and Church
history to demonstrate how to think critically about the information that
swirls around us. Each chapter brims with illuminating examples from scripture,
history, and popular culture. By thoughtfully combining study and faith to
investigate myths and rumors, you will deepen your discipleship, avoid
deception, understand tough topics, and see the hand of God in history and in
your own life.
We
can certainly agree with Erekson that we need to be critical thinkers and not
just swallow all the information swirling around us. So, what in his video,
does he suggest Mormons do?
THE
IRONY IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE
He
begins by using this quote from former President of the Church, Harold B. Lee:
‘It never ceases to amaze me how gullible
some of our church members are.’
Yes, I know, the irony!
Knowing all that we know about Mormon belief and practice, this ‘ironic’
statement is totally lost on both Lee and Erekson. But we shouldn’t be
surprised. Once a person accepts that Joseph Smith was the Prophet of the
Restoration, then all that follows must be true - right?
Erekson says that: ‘We need to develop good thinking skills to accompany
divine inspiration.’ This, he says, will help a Mormon discern between that
which is real and that which is rumour.
I SMELL A RAT
His suggested defence against rumour is what he calls ‘The Sniff Test’. Here
he offers some tips to help Mormons spot what is real and what is rumour.
i) You
should be suspicious if something is presented to you without a source.
Erekson
is correct, we do indeed need to check the source of anything presented to us.
So let us apply that to something often presented to us by the Mormons - the
Book of Mormon.
What is the source of the Book of Mormon? Well, several theories have been put forward. It is beyond reasonable doubt that a major source was the King James Bible itself. In numerous places the Book of Mormon uses it verbatim.
Another suggested source is
known as the ‘Spalding Theory’. This theory postulates that the Book of Mormon
finds its origin in an unpublished novel by Samuel Spalding, written about the ancient
inhabitants of America. It is claimed that this was used as the basis of the
Book of Mormon. A further theory is the idea that Joseph Smith used ideas from
several writings that were circulating in his day.
All of these possible sources for the
Book of Mormon may pass Erekson’s ‘sniff test’, but these sources should
lead to the conclusion that the Book of Mormon is at worst not Real and
at best Rumour.
Erekson continues his 'sniff test' by asking a
second question:
ii)
Is there more emotion than substance?
A former Mormon Missionary named Lance, answers
why he believes the Book of Mormon is true:
I have known for a
long time that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, but only in the last
couple of years, while serving as a Mormon missionary, was I finally able to
put into words the way that my answer came. There is a promise given by Moroni
at the end of the Book of Mormon that if a person reads, ponders, and prays to
know the Book of Mormon is true, the truth will be manifest to them by the
power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3-5)[2]
By a ‘burning in the bosom’ Lance came to know
that the Book of Mormon is true. Now did he come to that conclusion because of
an emotional experience or because of substantive reasoning? If Erekson’s
advice is to be believed, and followed, then the Book of Mormon fails the
‘sniff test’.
Should the Book of Mormon be regarded as the Word of God because a person feels it is or, after rigorous examination? Is the belief that the Book of Mormon is truly of God based on emotion or substance? It has to be believed by emotion because, when analysed, there is no substance to it.
Erekson continues to offer further ‘sniff tests’ but, as we see from his first two points, Mormonism itself is not ‘real’
but ‘rumour’. O the irony!
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