Recognizing special pleading and identity protection in our religious and political ideas.

How a 30 minutes chat with a member of bad religion helped me understand that questions and doubt were not problematic. But signs of growth.

In a meme that popped up on my social media page a right wing activist questioned the creation of West Virginia during the Civil War and used a historically illiterate argument to feed false narratives that the Civil War really wasn’t about slavery at all.

I came across a video from Tanner Yost directed at people who have left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's a very emotional appeal, filmed in front of an LDS temple with somber music and a message that those who have left have rejected the "most true church" and need to return and be "healed." I want to respond to that message, but also to the way the message is constructed, because there's an important difference between making an argument for why someone should believe something and emotionally framing disagreement as evidence that something is wrong with the person who disagrees.

The churches system will only facilitate abuse. Fighting to remove mandatory reporting shows a desire to protect the institution and not victims. You cannot trust the LDS Church to do What's best for your kids if they know abuse is happening.