approached by Mormons

I have just been apprehend quite rudely by a young Mormon wanting to discuss the gospel. I informed him that unfortunately i was in a rush and couldn't spare the time. So for his benefit I thought I'd blog my thoughts on the subject so that I'm better prepared for the next time this inevitably happens.

I would say theologically speaking i most closely fall in to is agnostic theist, in that i believe in a supreme creator but believe it is inherently beyond human ability to understand that being. Personally I add the extra point that such a being having such abilities would not need such cheap tricks as engraved tablets or golden plates . Not to detract from the greatness of historic figures like Jesus who brought a morality to a world that needed it, but they were just great men. Let's not forget that historic evidence points to Jesus divinity being introduced in a committee in Rome long after his death . The very idea of organised religion is the antithesis of an all powerful being , descriptions that were allegory and meant to teach important moral lessons or cover gaps in knowledge,taken as the actual words of god hence hinting at gods nature.

That's even before we start to talk about the uglier sides of organised religion, the you must convert unbelievers (here read increase the religions numbers by conversion), you must be fruitful (here read increase the religions numbers through birth), you must not be homosexual (again here read increase the religions numbers through birth) and death to unbelievers (here read decrease the number opposed to the religion.) Shouldn't the message speak for itself? Shouldn't the message ring true in some deep part of our psyche without these viral methods?

Then onto the moral debate i'm a secular humanist when it comes to that. Morality comes from human thought not a divine source. Thou shall not kill hits home with any normal adjusted Psyche, but than religion corrupts that to be unless they don't agree with you (see Islamic fundamentalists, see death sentences for adultery, see killing abortion doctors etc.) Thou shalt not steal hits home with most to and do to others as you would have done to you. (again lets just look at how much of the worlds poverty the Vatican could wipe out????) However these aren't divine messages they are all intellectual, arrived at through empathy and thought. These are the ground stone of societies, in a more barbaric time religious penalties were needed to keep those that did not emphasis with their victims inline. The scholars of them time knew noone would stop for example eating pork which at a time before refrigerators and proper hygiene must have caused many deaths just if they said, so they proscribed the edict as coming from a divine source.

As you may have guessed i don't like being preached at, especially by people who don't understand the issues but would rather just parrot something some long dead scholar wrote.