Is this just a Pro-Christinaity forum?

[Miss_Sunshine]

Seems as of lately, alot more people are coming in here and saying things against christianity. And I see people saying that "you haven't seen the light" or "it's sad that you don't believe in God" or something like that.

I personally think that's crap. I would like to come in here and have a nice discussion about why I don't agree with organized religion, but I know that I would get a bunch of people posting and saying "God is wonderful, you haven't seen the light"

I feel looked down upon because I'm not "into" God.

That's all....I've said mine...carry on please.

[Leezard]

Well, I suppose that just like any other board there are going to be people that post things that annoy you but I do know there are some good people here to have quality discussions with, it may take some browsing to find them and you may have to deal with the people you don't like very much. I think when you've got a strong concentration of Christians like we do here this board probably does come across as majorly Christian because we all have very common beliefs.

What kind of things would you like to discuss? We've talked about other religions and had people here who aren't Christians, who believe in other religions and it's been great talking to them and getting to know them and what they believe. It's possible, just may take some patience in dealing with what you don't like.

[bluehorizonx10]

I personally think that's crap. I would like to come in here and have a nice discussion about why I don't agree with organized religion,

Laurie, we have all kinds of religions and faiths on this board and for the most part we can discuss issues without knock down drag out fights. But notice that this is the Faith and Religion board, so this is what we discuss. If you are totally against any religion why come here anyway?

We don't look down on anyone, or in our faith and belief we aren't supposed to. If it seems that way, I'm sorry you feel that way because for myself I certainly do not look down on you or anyone. I'd like to stay as humble as God wants me to. That means I am to love everyone and respect everyone, although sometimes I'm sure I fail as we all do as human beings. All I can say in truth is I try my very best to treat everyone equal and love everybody.

[tiger_rascal]

As opposed to Anti-Christianity?

This is a Faith and Religion forum. Therefore, this forum can not be anti any faith or religion.

People can post here about how they do not agree with organized religion, and often times that raises questions and concerns due to misconceptions about the religions that are being looked down upon.

We have had some wonderful discussions in this forum in the past. Atheists and Agnostics often bring up very interesting discussions. I strongly encourage more members of varying faiths and religions, and even those who do not have a religion, to post in this forum. Faith encompasses a lot, including science.

Feel free to create a post about organized religion and how you disagree with them, Im sure other members will discuss the issue with you. A key word to remember is respect. Discussing about how people disagree with organized religion is different than bashing specific religions and their members.

With that said, have fun! :biggrin:

[TrueB&B_BritFan]

if you think people "look down" on you... don't let it get to you... it has nothing to do w/ YOU... THEY are really the ones w/ the problem... just a thought..

[DecemberDream]

It seems like this board revolves around Christianity and Catholicism. I'm on my way to becoming Jewish and I don't like the lack of Judaism subjects on here. Not to mention any other religions that aren't covered here. Frankly this should be all the Christianity board or something similar to that.

[oldernow]

It seems like this board revolves around Christianity and Catholicism. I'm on my way to becoming Jewish and I don't like the lack of Judaism subjects on here. Not to mention any other religions that aren't covered here. Frankly this should be all the Christianity board or something similar to that.

There are alot of atheists or unbelievers who post in this forum also. Whether you realize it or not it is through the Jews that we have the Bible. They are a large part of the faith that we have. It is through the Jews that we have Jesus Christ.

[bekahbeans]

There are a lot of Christians on this board, hence there will be a lot of posts about Christianity. There have been plenty of discussions about non-Christian things, as well as people posting with different religions.

However, discussions need to be approavhed with an element of respect. If there are a lot of Christians on a board, and someone comes in simply trashing the religion with no real attempt to respectfully discuss an issue than they're not going to be met with a lot of tolerance, just as if a Christian went onto a board that had a lot of Hindus and trashed their religion.

[bombastical]

Originally posted by Miss_Sunshine
Seems as of lately, alot more people are coming in here and saying things against christianity. And I see people saying that "you haven't seen the light" or "it's sad that you don't believe in God" or something like that.

I personally think that's crap. I would like to come in here and have a nice discussion about why I don't agree with organized religion, but I know that I would get a bunch of people posting and saying "God is wonderful, you haven't seen the light"

I feel looked down upon because I'm not "into" God.

That's all....I've said mine...carry on please.

I agree. And I think when most new people come in to browse and possibly post, they probably figured it's more of a Christian discussion forum than anything (I know that's what I thought).

I'm agnostic by the way. I have not seen the light, unless you count the lamp sitting next to me. ;)

[DoubleEdgeSword]

I'm not a Christian, but I sure have learned an awful lot about Christianity since visiting this board. I've read the Bible more in the past few months than in the past 20 years. Well, it hasn't changed my mind about becoming a Christian; if anything it has given me an even more focused view of the fundamental differences I have with Christian tenets.

I do, however, understand better what certain posters on this board believe and why they believe it. And that's a good thing. Tolerance and understanding are always good things.

And, yeah.. I can understand when non-Christians get rubbed the wrong way when Christians say, "You haven't seen the light," or something similar. I do find it condescending. And although I know that those who say it are strong in their convictions, it does come across as holier than thou. And that is my first and foremost problem with Christianity. Christians believe that their way is the only way. I completely disagree with any religion that believes it is the only true religion.

But having said that, I've found some really great people here... some very smart, very thoughtful, very caring people. And I enjoy the debates.

Stick around. You may be surprised what you can learn.
:)

[Leezard]

Originally posted by DecemberDream
It seems like this board revolves around Christianity and Catholicism. I'm on my way to becoming Jewish and I don't like the lack of Judaism subjects on here. Not to mention any other religions that aren't covered here. Frankly this should be all the Christianity board or something similar to that.

A good majority of us are Christians, that's just a fact of this board. Some don't agree with other religions and aren't good at having a conversation with others that believe differently but there are some who are great to have conversations with. If you want to talk about Judaism then get some conversations started, that's how things work around here. None of us read minds so it's impossible for us to start conversations that others want to happen. As far as I know no one has been booted from this board because they aren't a Christian and I can't ever see that happening. If you want to talk about something then start a thread, it's really that simple :)

[Mattio]

Originally posted by DoubleEdgeSword
I completely disagree with any religion that believes it is the only true religion.
I'm the opposite. If you don't believe yours is THE faith, then why are you bothering?

[DoubleEdgeSword]

What am I bothering? Was that a rhetorical question, or were you directing it at me?

[butterfly]

Sounds like a rhetorical question to me, DES.

As most of you will know by now, I have deep misgivings about coming across as condescending. I really don't mean to, and I don't love or respect anyone any less because they aren't Christians, it's just that sometimes I feel that people would benefit from hearing what I've got to say about stuff that's happened to me. I knew I'd run into this problem, so at first I tried not to tell anyone about what happened to me, but I was so happy I couldn't stay silent. It's as if I'd read a good book or seen a good film, and felt the urge to recommend it to my friends. Nobody would have this problem if we were saying "You haven't seen The Return Of The King? You don't know what you're missing!".

A lot of people see Christianity and religion in general as a bad thing. Where does that come from? It may come from a genuinely bad experience, as in the case of my friend who posts as Allie Lowell, but more often it seems to be from bad publicity and misconceptions which have arisen from the misuse of Christianity over the centuries. We as Christians are supposed to "spread the word" after all. Nobody minds advertising for shampoo or household cleaning products, so why not advertising for God?

As for people of other religions, I see other religions as different ways of looking at the same thing. Religions are more similar than they are different. I believe they're all right to a certain extent. Is there anything significant in any religion that flatly contradicts anything in any of the others? I don't know enough to answer that question, but I've never had any problems with the ideologies of anyone with a religion other than mine.

Anyway, just 4 months ago, I was someone who hadn't "seen the light". I wouldn't have taken offence at someone who spoke about me like that, I'd ask them about their beliefs and I'd have tried to learn something from them, even if it ultimately proved to be something I ended up disagreeing with, it would still have been worth hearing. Maybe in my case there would have been some envy involved, because I've always felt that the questions of "Why am I here?", "Is there life after death?" and so on are the most important issues in my life. I confess that it puzzles me that some people just don't seem to be interested in asking those questions at all, or that they come way down the list, just after the question of whether the new Dido album is any good.

Just my opinions.

[Xephakin]

I believe I brought forth a thread like this a few months ago:

http://talk.livedaily.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=332666

and the funny thing is, the thread ID ends in 666 :eek:

[Keronothnetophobia]

Originally posted by Miss_Sunshine
I feel looked down upon because I'm not "into" God.
No one looks down upon you because you're not "into" God. But if you feel that way...then maybe the problem lies within your heart.

I can't tell you what you feel but that statement was a very powerful one. If you feel ashamed about not being into God or if you feel as if you're the only one then I think the faith and religion forum is just the place for you.

If you feel like there is that hole in your heart. That gap in your life. Then maybe you should look more into religion. I'm not saying go totally Christian and do your life by the Bible. Only you can make that decition.

But you really need to discover what's in your heart and what religion YOU agree with.

:D

[bombastical]

Originally posted by Keronothnetophobia
No one looks down upon you because you're not "into" God. But if you feel that way...then maybe the problem lies within your heart.

I can't tell you what you feel but that statement was a very powerful one. If you feel ashamed about not being into God or if you feel as if you're the only one then I think the faith and religion forum is just the place for you.

If you feel like there is that hole in your heart. That gap in your life. Then maybe you should look more into religion. I'm not saying go totally Christian and do your life by the Bible. Only you can make that decition.

But you really need to discover what's in your heart and what religion YOU agree with.

:D

Ohhhhh myyyyy.

I don't think the original poster meant she feels a "hole in her heart." I think she was implying that those who do believe in God are unbelievably condescending in how they treat nonbelievers.

[pinky]

I agree. She didn't say she was ashamed about not believing in God. She said she felt that others were looking down on her for that.

And THAT is a decidedly un-Christian thing to do.

[Keronothnetophobia]

Originally posted by pinky
I agree. She didn't say she was ashamed about not believing in God. She said she felt that others were looking down on her for that.

And THAT is a decidedly UN-Christian thing to do.
Yes.... Certainly it is an UN-Christian thing to do. And unfortunately...People have this misconception in their mind that all Christian's are self-righteous and think they are better than people who aren't "into" God.

But I'm not one of those Christian's and I actually consider myself to be a liberal Christian because my Christian ways and idea's would definitely offend some of those "strict" Christians.

But no…I've NEVER looked down upon someone for not being a Christian. And if someone is looking down upon you for something...and you admit to it...that signifies shame in my book.

Maybe she doesn't feel shame. But that statement seemed very powerful to me and I really think she's looking for that one thing. If not…she can just look past my statement...!:D

[MerrySunshine]

Speaking as a Christian, I often feel like I'm being pre-judged and misjudged by those who are not Christians because they THINK that I look down on them, purely based upon the fact that I'm a Christian. Though I've said nothing and done nothing to them, though they know me not, they label me as closed-minded and condescending. I do agree that there are people out there in the Christian community that are, in fact, condescending. But blanket statements that all folks who follow Christ are condescending are overstatements and generalizations based upon the lowest common denominator. It hurts when any group gets a generalization slapped on them. People of color are hurt by generalization; immigrants are hurt by generalization; women and men are hurt by generalization; teenagers are hurt by generalization. The religious are hurt by generalization too . . . as are the nonbelievers. I agree with what DES said earlier and it bears repeating.

Tolerance and understanding are always good things.

That's a two way street. The religious person should aspire to tolerance and understanding of the nonreligious. And the nonreligious person should aspire to tolerance and understanding of the nonreligious. That means that none of us should prejudge each other but take each other person by person. And, by the way, tolerance does not mean that you have to agree with everything the person says or believes. Tolerance means that you should be willing to accept that that other person says and believes things that may be differ from your own comments and beliefs. It's very easy to be tolerant of those who are like us. Those who differ from us . . . that's the hard part. That's the challenge. :) Let's all try harder, eh?

[Miss_Sunshine]

Originally posted by bombastical
Ohhhhh myyyyy.

I don't think the original poster meant she feels a "hole in her heart." I think she was implying that those who do believe in God are unbelievably condescending in how they treat nonbelievers.
Yes, thank you :)

[Miss_Sunshine]

Originally posted by Keronothnetophobia
Yes.... Certainly it is an UN-Christian thing to do. And unfortunately...People have this misconception in their mind that all Christian's are self-righteous and think they are better than people who aren't "into" God.

there are just some things I've read on this board are condescending in a way. Not to me...to others because they don't "get it" or "don't believe"

I don't have that misconception April, I don't judge people who are religious. I say things based on what I see.

Gosh, I was stupid to think this wouldn't start something. Sorry :o

[Miss_Sunshine]

Originally posted by Xephakin
I believe I brought forth a thread like this a few months ago:

http://talk.livedaily.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=332666

and the funny thing is, the thread ID ends in 666 :eek:
yes, thanks Josh :p

haha

[tiger_rascal]

Your first paragraph seems to back others up, but the rest of your post seems personal.

Originally posted by Miss_Sunshine
Seems as of lately, alot more people are coming in here and saying things against christianity. And I see people saying that "you haven't seen the light" or "it's sad that you don't believe in God" or something like that.

I personally think that's crap. I would like to come in here and have a nice discussion about why I don't agree with organized religion, but I know that I would get a bunch of people posting and saying "God is wonderful, you haven't seen the light"

I feel looked down upon because I'm not "into" God.

That's all....I've said mine...carry on please.

Im sorry you feel that way.

[butterfly]

I think the question at the heart of this is how the more religiously inclined of us can ever know when the non-religious people we encounter in life are non-religious because they want to believe deep down but have trouble looking past the material world into more spiritual things and might feel antagonistic towards us out of envy (there are people like that, I know because I used to be one), or because they are genuinely happy with not believing in God.

I accept that people do fall into the latter category, although I personally have trouble understanding how people can value their lives and yet not want to look into the possibility of living forever. Still, that's probably my problem.