I find the Jewish indignation about Baptism for the Dead

[MikeWaters]

in behalf of Jews, quite humorous.

First off, I have never met a practicing Jew. I probably have, but not one that ever talked about it.

What do they care about what some weirdo cult does on its own? Give me a break.

What do PLO and Hamas say about our baptism of the dead? (so I can decide which side to support).

[SeattleUte]

I agree. Who cares. If you don't believe in it why care.

[Surfah]

I don't understand it either. If you don't believe it, who cares. If you do believe it, it'll get done sometime. The last shall be first and the first shall be last maybe.

[non sequitur]

To me it's not an issue of whether they should be offended. Clearly some people are offended. While I don't agree that you need to appease every group that gets offended, it doesn't hurt to be a little sensitive to another group's point of view. The thing that does bother me is the attitude of many of the people on CougarBoard today -- the attitude of "Hey, we'll do what we want. GET OVER IT!" It's boorish and insensitive.

[MikeWaters]

Sensitivity is overrated. Esp. if you like omelets. Because the eggs must be cracked.

[Surfah]

Originally Posted by non sequitur

To me it's not an issue of whether they should be offended. Clearly some people are offended. While I don't agree that you need to appease every group that gets offended, it doesn't hurt to be a little sensitive to another group's point of view. The thing that does bother me is the attitude of many of the people on CougarBoard today -- the attitude of "Hey, we'll do what we want. GET OVER IT!" It's boorish and insensitive.

I agree. If the Jews don't want us to, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't oblige them. To me it's not a big deal.

[The_Tick]

So what would you say if the Catholic church asked us to no longer perform baptisms on dead Catholics?

[Archaea]

I don't perceive a sensible middle ground.

Some relative is baptising people. Jewish religionists believe it is unnecessary.

We shouldn't go about offending them but what middle ground do we have if we believe in the practice?

[BigFatMeanie]

Originally Posted by Archaea

I don't perceive a sensible middle ground.

Some relative is baptising people. Jewish religionists believe it is unnecessary.

We shouldn't go about offending them but what middle ground do we have if we believe in the practice?

I asked one of the non-Mormon guys that works for me his opinions on it. He hates the fact that Mormons could possibly proxy-baptize his dead ancestors. He couldn't really explain to me why he hates the idea. Mostly he just blusters about it being "arrogant."

Perhaps the perceived arrogance of it is really what bothers people the most? The same type of backlash comes with proclaiming "the only true church". It just puts people off.

That being said, I pretty much say "ditto" to Archea's thoughts - I don't think Mormons should stop the practice just because others find it distasteful. Perhaps just being "more discrete" about it (if that's even possible)? I'm not sure but I think there are now restrictions in place that you can't submit names of certain classes of people (not sure what those classes are) for ordinance work unless you are a descendant.

[non sequitur]

Originally Posted by Archaea

I don't perceive a sensible middle ground.

Some relative is baptising people. Jewish religionists believe it is unnecessary.

We shouldn't go about offending them but what middle ground do we have if we believe in the practice?

I believe there is a middle ground, and I think the Church has sought out that middle ground. If I'm not mistaken, Church officials have met with leaders of the Jewish community and have given certain assurances. I think most of the problems have occurred when those assurances were not met.