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Who are these religious people? Do you have examples?
In fact most religious people online who make their position known outside of a religious-type forum.
I'm not suggesting people should not have their beliefs dissected, discussed etc as that would be pointless. But when the sole purpose is to mock and criticise when the reverse (should it occur) is almost considered an insult, you can then see why people feel the need to say "I respect peoples' right to an opinion".
Ok, so what kind of thing and where? I'm trying to get some context around this.
Obviously I have no issue with atheism (why would I?) and in my view people can believe (or disbelieve) in whatever they want, we're all human. But there are some followers of New Atheism who feel they have a need to either remove or verbally attack any traces of religion in their lives, and this includes people they come across who profess their faith.
At work I have a colleague who is so anti-religion it's almost embarrassing. If someone says 'bless you' after he sneezes he really goes off on one. Around Christmas time he never ever writes it that way - it's always 'Xmas'. Last year I mentioned that my daughter was gong to be in the school Nativity play, and this was his cue for exaggerated and dramatic 'tuts' and eye-rolls.
I guess I could approach HR about it, no idea if anything could be done but I'm not bothered, his views do not encroach on my life in any way and even if they did, it's a big world, tolerance is key.
Have a look on any 'Humanist' or similar forum about discussion on religion. It could be argued that's like letting a chicken in to a room full of foxes but this is my point, there are some who feel almost a pathological need to attack, abuse or desperately try to find fault in anyone's beliefs, even when that person or their beliefs do not encroach on that individual's existence whatsoever.
There are some atheists I know who actively want me to lose my faith. They come out with the old chestnut that religious belief has held back scientific advancement over the years etc. Ok the latter I can see sense in but how would making me (or anyone else) lose our faith benefit society? Just over a year ago my father passed away. It brings me enormous comfort to think of the whole incident in terms of my religious beliefs and put in that context. Yet there are people (Richard Dawkins and co are perfect examples) who feel it's their duty to strip me of that comfort?
How effing arrogant can someone get?
No. Are you trying to avoid answering the point?
Because you're in possession of your faculties, presumably,
Some religious folk feel the need to duck making rebuttals and avoid following their opinions to unwelcome conclusions.
As far as I can see there isn't one.
Again, case in point. Why on earth would you say something like that if not to be mocking and patronising? You are aware I'm a Christian, a believer and that in my view God created everything. No way am I expecting you to agree with it (as always, your call, and not judging) yet you choose to question my sanity. That's the attitude of New Atheism that just makes me shake my head.
I think it's more a case of you wanting to steer this conversation in to a certain direction that gets me backed in to a corner.
Obviously, for most people, badly.
Lol.
Then I suggest, with all due respect, you're choosing not to see it. I'm not comparing your partner to history's most barbaric individuals. I'm attempting to highlight the logical conclusions of your stance on this particular matter. I don't suspect I'm going to change your mind, certainly not here and now, but this debate may be instructive for others reading.
To quickly reiterate: your position appears to be, as best I can tell, that you universally respect people's beliefs and/or their right to hold those beliefs, depending on how I stress the counter argument. These are two separate positions as I see it: the former being that beliefs themselves should be respected (bearing in mind I'm not talking exclusively about religious beliefs) and the latter that holding beliefs should be respected. The latter position I don't really take as actually being a stance of any substance, perhaps you're advocating not wiping people's minds - though if you could ever envisage a situation where murder would be justified then I suspect even this faint position would be violated.
I find the former of these two stances to be deeply immoral and destructive. And I think it's made worse by its being passed off as an ostensibly moral position.
Dude, with all the best will in the world, you're telling me God creates tins of beans. You kind of just circumvented my conversational tolerance on that one. I'm friends with numerous Christians and not one of them would ever advance the position that God creates tins of beans.
"Bring forth thy Holy Beans of Heinz"
It's not my place as I see it to regulate others' beliefs or even actions, but then that's just me. I will tolerate others' views, but it doesn't mean I must agree with them.