A sense of being an oppressed minority.

Some denominations are based on having been persecuted, sometimes with actual persecution. It's odd that they see this as "we must defense ourselves, because we have been persecuted", rather than, "we know how you feel and will defend you from persecution, because we have been persecuted, too." My Persecution is More Relevant Than Your Persecution.

It's kind of hard to have sympathy for the Christians in the Roman Colosseum when you've got the Inquisition to put up against it.

wrod. Also, welcome to my world.

It's Mormon thing, too, all about the "We were driven out into the wilderness!", which is actually true. But they don't see the corollary to driving others out into metaphorical wildernesses. It's a willful blindness that really annoys me, and freaks out the True Believers when I bring it up.

Yeah, Andrew Sullivan said yesterday on his blog that the one Republican he wanted to hear from on the issue was Mitt Romney.

My Persecution is More Relevant Than Your Persecution.

I love Passover because the Haggadah we use puts heavy emphasis on empathy for those suffering. "As long as there is slavery, none are free". And the pouring out of wine for the plagues, and God smacking down the angels during the Red Sea thing by saying "My creatures are perishing, and you rejoice?"

The point is not the Oppression Olympics. The point is opening up, not closing down. The point is not the suffering, but one's response.

My condolences to you and Wallybee and her family-of-of-choice, bt.

My second cousin is actually a big-deal theology prof at BYU, Connie.(And my mother's Perfect "Why can't you be more like...Cousin.) we...don't talk. But I do know something about that. Also, he visited us when I was a kid and apparently found Gentile ketchup fascinating...a theological schism I didn't know about...maybe Heinz sounds too ethnic? Seriously, if you're Christian, and Lutherans are cross-cultural for you, you officially do not get out enough. Especially Easter Sunday Lutherans like we were.

Also, he visited us when I was a kid and apparently found Gentile ketchup fascinating

Huh - is HFCS on the list of Mormon Don'ts along with caffiene and alcohol?

Not that I know of...but I think he spent so little time with non-Mormons that we were a little anthropology, in general. He did watch us eat...I just mentioned ketchup cause Neil Simon says K's are funny.

I don't know where he gets off on being weird about ketchup, I think it's considered its own food group in Utah.

also, the Word of Wisdom, ie, the source of the food and drink rules, is obeyed more in theory. Very few restaurants have caffeine-free options for soft drinks, and no one's complaining. I am not the only one who declares you'll take my diet Coke from my cold dead fingers. And pointing out the chocolate contains caffeine makes them very twitchy and quick to point out, "Well, the Word of Wisdom is actually referring to alcohol and hot drinks."