My last post asserted that God is a jerk. I think the evidence supports that assertions pretty well. But maybe he’s a jerk with a really great sense of humor? Maybe everything seems so ridiculous to us because it amuses him to watch us run around and be scared and…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: the gun issue, again edition.
I missed a lot of the details of what happened in Boston (since I was on a nearly Internet-free vacation in Austria), but from my blog reading this morning, I find another national tragedy, and another round of discussion of gun legislation. Apparently, some simple points like background checks (widely…
Once You Figure Out God Is a Jerk
So, I heard some years ago that religious people tend to be happier and healthier. It didn’t especially jive with my experience, but hey, it’s what the scientific data say, right? Here’s an interesting piece from the NY Times, corroborating and explaining some of the benefits of “religious attendance” [or]…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: the Lord’s side edition!
Blogland has had a week to chew on the latest General Conference, and it looks like the most memorable image is this one (courtesy of Boyd K. Packer’s values and GyeongnamStyle’s styling): Yes, it is the dreaded Tolerance Trap! Here’s BKS’s dire warning about tolerating families like these and Just…
the feminists are coming, the feminists are coming!
There’s lots going on at LDS Inc. regarding women. Â Obviously the big news is that a woman finally got to say a prayer in conference, which the church is claiming was already on the schedule and had nothing to do with the petitions and letters. Â Of course, in her prayer…
The Social Psychology of Mormon Heteropatriarchy
Sometimes my own life corresponds to the current news cycle. There’s been a spat of conversations regarding how GOP in Congress are slowing coming out in support of gay marriage because they have gay children themselves. But then Mormon congresspeople are holding out with the idea: “Of course I love…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: A Woman Prayed in Conference Edition!!!
Yes, at this latest semi-annual General Conference, in addition to the usual topics, something interesting happened: a woman prayed!! Maybe you saw it live, but don’t miss Donna’s preview and Matsby’s replay!! Of course gender roles are still with us, but people are analyzing how this change happened and getting…
“Imagine a Church where your beloved grandmother is your stake president.”
Great interview by Joanna Brooks of Kate Kelly who launched ordainwomen.org. I REALLY hope momentum builds on this issue. On Tuesday, I ran into a female missionary on my campus. Since I just left a course on “feminist international political economy,” I couldn’t help but give her an earful. She…
Toxic Perfectionism
Evidently some mormon women suffer from toxic perfectionism. So on top of being the angel in the home, they are trying to be too perfect; keep a spotless home, cook a scrumptious, frugal, healthy meal, raise perfectly coiffed children. It’s not only mormon women who suffer from unrealistic expectations (of…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Gay Family Easter Edition!
I was expecting that this week would be a standard round-up of posts about Easter — but the Supreme Court of the US spared us from this fate!! Particularly, the liminal Mormon part of Facebook exploded with battles over marriage equality. (I’m not linking to all, but if you check…