Dec
24
Three Embarrassing Religious/Biblical Goofs I Made Online
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.” — usually attributed to Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain
In case you haven’t guessed, I (sometimes) enjoy reading and learning about Christian theology and church history, etc. But, as tends to happen in life, sometimes I think I know more than I do. Or, maybe I just forget to double-check some fact. And then I either realize it too late or someone calls me on it. Ever happen to you?
Well, something recently jogged my memory about such a time when I really embarrassed myself on Facebook. That in turn got me thinking about other online exchanges I’ve had over the years, and I remembered a couple more times that I metaphorically faceplanted on a religious matter. (Fortunately, none of them were in face-to-face conversations, ‘cuz I would have been even more embarrassed.) Nevertheless, I said to myself, “Hey! Why not share your idiocy with any family, friends, foes, or strangers who come across your blog? (Not that previous readers will be all that surprised.) That’ll be fun!”
So,…
1) The earliest instance happened many, many moons ago; not sure I’d even started the “A View from the Right” blog, yet. If I recall, I was semi-randomly surfing through some blogs and decided to leave a comment on a particular post and ended up in a brief back-n-forth with the blogger. I think the topic had to do with religion(s), because I remember either stating or implying that Mormonism is monotheistic. D’oh!
Needless to say, I did not know what I was talking about. It may seem monotheistic at a surface level, but that ain’t all there is. As I have learned in the intervening years, Mormonism teaches that the God they refer to here on Earth was actually a man (an incarnated spirit being) on another planet. Faithful Mormon males can potentially become gods themselves (and their wives become goddesses), each with his own planet to rule. It’s an ongoing cycle, so there have been untold numbers of gods, and more pre-existing spirits continue to attain godhood (see Doctrines & Covenants 132:20).
Mormonism is probably the most polytheistic religion there is. (Hinduism only claims about 330 million gods.)
2) I saw a comment — on Facebook, I think — in which someone mentioned Abel as being among the biblical prophets. This just did not sound right to me. I mean, the details that the Bible provides about Abel are rather limited, right? Genesis 4 tells us he was the second son (likely the second child) born to Adam and Eve. He became a shepherd and, unlike that of his older brother Cain (a farmer), God approved of Abel’s sacrificial offering. Cain’s jealousy resulted in his luring Abel out into a field, where the elder killed the younger.
In my ignorance, I challenged the person who posted this. He promptly pointed me to Matt. 23:29-39, which I had completely forgotten about. This is the last of the Seven Woes that Jesus unleashed upon the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. I will quote the central portion:
“34 This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and hound from town to town. 35 So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.” — Matt. 23:34-35 (HCSB)
Granted, sages and scribes are mentioned here, too, along with prophets. The three are not equivalent, though there was some overlap. But, most of the larger passage is about “prophets”, so I am willing to accept that both of the martyrs listed — Abel (from the first book in the Jewish Tanakh) and Zechariah (from the last book in the Jewish Tanakh) — were considered prophets of God.
3) When someone on Facebook mentioned the Orthodox Catholic Church, I “corrected” him, thinking he was somehow conflating the Roman Catholic and Orthodox branches of Christianity. As I recall, the name and profile pic of the individual in question indicated that he might live (or have grown up) in an area of the world with various Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches and thus might have a better handle on that stuff than I did (or do now). It would have been smart of me to do a quick bit of research — even Wikipedia would be sufficient — to see if maybe he was referring to some church I wasn’t aware of.
But, I was confident in my ignorance and did not bother to double-check. If I had, I would have discovered (as he then pointed out) that the Orthodox Catholic Church is indeed a valid term that can actually refer to different churches or groups of churches, both Western and Eastern. In any case, when I realized my error and expressed my chagrin, he was kind enough to let it go.
Goofs like that are what keep ya humble, lemmetellya. Hopefully, I’ve learned a couple lessons since these incidents, yet I’m sure there will be more in my future.
If you got a chuckle or two over these, consider them my Christmas gift to you. And, if you have a similar anecdote to share, please do. 🙂
Merry Christmas!
