> Brett Said:
> >I was surprised that the question of "What is
> >Mormon?" provoked answers that spoke about
> >reproduction, family values, and other *social*
> >phenomenon. I would add to the above questions:
> >How can the truth of a belief be measured through
> >the social behavior of adherents (which would be
> >like saying that farmers are good neighbors so they
> >must be intelligent)?
>
This was I, the *social* phenomenon is the only capable definitions of a belief
system in my opinion. Otherwise, it is just information. In my opinion, beliefs
are demonstrated through actions. Most of us talk about beliefs, and many people
have feelings about issues, but the effect is felt through actions alone. In the
case I was mentioning, I gave my experiences with the Mormon population. For
some reason or other, the actions of this collection of people were very
similar. To say it was a social phenomenon is innacurate, to say it is Mormon
social phenomenon around McClellan street in Tucson Az would be more accurate as
more than 2 kids, abusive father's and the peculiar kindness were cases I ONLY
witnessed with these people. Not until I was much older did I realize the the
populate the Earth meme was in Catholicism, Islam, and several non-religious
cultures.
Also, just as a side note, If the entire Earth had to be populated by just a
single offshoot of Judiasm, I would pick Mormon first.
Sodom
Bill Roh