I thought Rudy wore the stilettos. Don't tell me Mitt's a crossdresser, too....
Posted on 02/07/2007 12:00:36 PM PST by theothercheek
The Stiletto is not a theologian, and does not have an informed opinion on whether Mormonism is a religion or a cult; if it is a religion, whether it is a Christian religion; or whether any beliefs or customs of its adherents are outside societal norms in the US. There are people who have strong opinions on these questions, but The Stiletto readily admits she is not knowledgeable enough to be among them.
However, there is one Mormon practice The Stiletto finds extremely disrespectful to people of other faiths, baptizing the dead by proxy:
The Mormons, a United States-based denomination officially named the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), encourage members to baptise [sic] the dead by proxy in the belief they are helping the deceased attain full access to heaven.
Church members are told to focus on their ancestors, a rite understandable in a relatively new denomination founded in 1830. But so many now perform the rituals for celebrities, heroes and perfect strangers that the practice has spun out of control.
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Mao Zedong, King Herod, Al Capone and Mickey Mouse have all appeared for a short time in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) for proxy baptisms, said Helen Radkey, an IGI researcher.
"It seems that any kind of name at all may be submitted," said Radkey from Salt Lake City, where the LDS is based. The IGI also accepts names for rites that "seal" spouses in eternal marriage or parents and children in eternal families.
This has outraged Jews and baffled Christians who see it as usurping the memory of their departed relatives. The LDS says it cannot stem the tide of dead baptised [sic] in its own temples.
The Stiletto will never consider giving her vote to Mitt Romney unless he unequivocally repudiates these proxy baptisms and uses his vaunted leadership skills to impel the Mormon hierarchy to abandon it immediately and eternally.
Someone who died a Jew in a Nazi concentration camp "becomes" a Mormon years after death – without his consent, obviously, but also without the consent of his living descendants. Ditto Armenian Christians killed by Ottoman Turks. Imagine the emotional trauma proxy baptism causes surviving relatives and descendants of these victims.
Changing the religion of someone who was murdered in the Genocide or the Holocaust by proxy baptism is annihilating him a second time. The Stiletto will refrain from foisting her religious beliefs on Mormons – but in return she insists that they keep their mitts off her ancestors.
The U.S. Constitution declares that all men are created equal – which means The Stiletto’s religion is neither inferior nor invalid, as compared to Mormonism. But this arrogant and odious practice of proxy baptism suggests that Mormons judge their beliefs superior to everyone else's. In a pluralistic, multiethnic nation as ours, anyone who believes (s)he follows "the one true" religion is de facto unfit to be president.
NOTE: In case I did not put the link in correctly, this is the second item in a feature called "The Daily Blade, and follows an article titled "In Serious Denial."
Yes, the proxy baptisms ... and Joseph Smith.
Mormonism is just so new the warts have not dissolved into history.
Who gives a rat's patootie what the Stilleto's opinions are??? Fifteen minutes of fame we suppose?
That's a bizarre argument.
This means that anyone who takes the Gospel as Gospel is disqualified from the nation's highest elective office.
It's the theological equivalent of having the dead vote.
I have noticed this in my genealogy research. I wondered why it happened since I know my ancestors were Baptists.
Hehe! I love it, quite funny. I must start reading the Stiletto!
This is bigoted nonsense.
I thought Rudy wore the stilettos. Don't tell me Mitt's a crossdresser, too....
TheDon, does, for one. You, however, do not have to read this. Go do whatever more important thing you have to do. Really, it's OK - I won't be offended or anyting.
I will vote for the best candidate, regardless of his or her religious affiliation. The candidate could be my mirror image theologically, but if his policies seem unwise to me, I will not vote for him.
Likewise, Romney's LDS background may disqualify him from entering the pulpit at my church, but it does not disqualify him from being a good President. Mitt Romney's adherence to LDS doctrines is irrelevant for the purposes of his election.
I've not heard of the Stiletto? Is that you?
If you were Jewish or Armenian and your ancestors were murdered because of their faith, you would not think this was nonsense. It is very traumatic to the survivors/descendants - and very disrespectful of other people's religions.
The dead are dead. If Mormonism is false then a Mormon proxy baptism has no effect and an intelligent person can shrug it off.
If Mormonism is the truth then they are doing the dead a favor.
Either way I can't see any reason why anyone should be upset - other than someone whose loved one has died recently.
The other thing is just garbage. You are only qualified to be President if you believe what you believe might be wrong? If you believe you are right you're disqualified? What kind of stupid nonsense is that? If "The Stiletto" doesn't believe in her own religion, that's her problem. She doesn't need to project it onto others.
If the Mormons do not stop this practice, The Stiletto will become a Mormon after death. So will you.
Excellent, edpc.
That depends on whether Romney is an apologist for the LDS church. Have you ever tried to hold a discussion with one of those people? However, that should show up in his policies, so overall I agree with you.
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