I was going to stay quiet but I just couldn't resist.

Marla Swoffer posted on being discerning about those who choose to call themselves Christians (namely Mormons).

A commenter on Marla blog commented: "I really cannot believe someone who would call themselves a Christian is so religious-racist, to coin a new phrase..."

Equating Godly discernment with racism may be...well, I'm not sure I have words...but let's have a look at some real religious-racism, Mormon style.

"Cain slew his brother. Cain might have been killed, and that would have put termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be and the Lord put a mark on him, which is the flat nose and black skin" Brigham Young (second prophet and President of the Mormon Church)

"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so." Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 10, page 110.

"Had I anything to do with the negro , I would confine them by strict law to their own species and put them on a national equalization.'' Joseph Smith (founder, first prophet and president of the Mormon Church), History of the Church, Volume 5, pages 218 - 219.

"Racial degeneration, resulting In differences In appearance and spiritual aptitude, has arisen since the fall. We know the circumstances under which the posterity of Cain (and later of Ham) were cursed with what we call negroid racial characteristics." Mormon Doctrine, page 616.

.As a result of his rebellion, Cain was cursed with a dark skin; he became the father of the negroes, and those spirits who are not worthy to receive the priesthood are born through his lineage." Mormon Doctrine, page 109.

To illustrate: Cain Ham, and the whole negro race have _ cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry." Mormon Doctrine, page 114.

"Not only was Cain called upon to suffer, but because of his wickedness he became the father of an inferior race. A curse placed upon him and that curse has been continued through his lineage and must do so while time endures. Millions of souls have come into this world cursed with a black skin and have been denied the privilege of Priesthood and the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel. These are the descendants of Cain. Moreover, they have been made to feel their inferiority and have been separated from the rest of mankind from the beginning.... we will also hope that blessings may eventually be given to our negro brethren, for they are our brethren—children of God—not withstanding their black covering emblematical of eternal darkness. " The Way to Perfection, pages 101-102.