Do we ask the right question?

[Spirit of Light]

When I look at the different discussion and debats in the forum i start to ask my self.
Do we ask the right questions?
Why do we try to disprove other peoples belief or lack of belief?
Is it ok for a religious person (no matter what religion we follow) to say to an atheist, You are wrong.
Or is it ok for an atheist to say to a religious person, your belief is wrong?

I have begun to think we all asking the wrong questions toward each others.
Why do I as a buddhist have to "Defend" my own belief toward someone who does not belive? Or why would i "attack" a non beliver? And yes i done that before, with result of both being not happy in the end.

So maybe insted of attacking each others with, You are wrong because.... or GOD does not exist because no evidence. Maybe we need to say, I do not have all the answers but this is my belief. then when asked. Why do you belive/not belive this?

Can we get a more calm and good discussion without hurting each others?

Or am i being naive thinking we al can come to a equal acceptance that some belive and some dont?

 

[Remté]

I am too lazy to write "I believe...." or "I don't know everything (obviously) but I think...." before each sentence or post. Besides, I find it kind of boring to read those preludes some people write. Like I know you don't know everything and I know what you write is" just your opinion" so get on with it.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Some people just don't appreciate the engaged value brought about by a good old mosh pit.

 

[Earthling]

I think we have to follow our hearts, in a sense. Be ourselves but always try new approaches. I think there are too many variables just to say to oneself either "I want to be a nice guy" or "I want to be a hard ***" all of the time, but rather, whichever one of the two and many other approaches the specific case may call for.

Think of it like this. There are perhaps at least three possible conclusions when it comes to the question of God's existence. Let's say I'm a reporter and I've gathered one qualified representative from each of those possibilities to interview on a global T.V. show or podcast. Do you want me asking the tough questions or do you want me to try and foster harmony between the three, never pressing or offending. Always nice and innocuous.

And consider the importance of the subject. If the atheists are wrong then they may convince hundreds of thousands of people that there is no God and those people will miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. On the other hand if the theists are wrong they could convince hundreds of thousands of people that there is a God and those people will waste their lives away under some illusion that causes divisiveness, ignorance and guilt all through this, the only life we have. The third guy may be of the opinion that, yes, there's a god but you guys all have it wrong. In addition to possibly being right and showing everyone the proper way or path, this fellow is also a really cool person and remarkably handsome. Imagine if he were silenced by harsh or overly unimaginative questions from the reporter . . . hundreds of thousands of people would miss out on his wisdom and beauty. Uh . . . the reporter and that third fellow, um, maybe could be the same like Clark Kent who worked for a newspaper and Superman who was, like, from another world, but I digress.

Anyway . . . what was the question?

I think we should be nice when it calls for it and tough when it calls for it and not take ourselves too seriously from the start. And try to be creative in our approach as well. All this while realizing that the other guy with the opposing opinion is up against the same thing with the same considerations.

And try to keep it as short as possible.

 

[Earthling]

Some people just don't appreciate the engaged value brought about by a good old mosh pit.

Now you're talkin'!

Through chaos I know calm meaning . . .

 

[Shadow Link]

Do we ask the right questions?

It was important to Voltaire...

 

[PureX]

Can we get a more calm and good discussion without hurting each other?

You are assuming that we all come here for an actual discussion. Sadly, I don't think that's the case. I think a lot of people come here to ratify their own sense of righteousness, and to shore up or inflate their own egos. It's unfortunate, but that's just the way it is.

 

[Spirit of Light]

You are assuming that we all come here for an actual discussion. Sadly, I don't think that's the case. I think a lot of people come here to ratify their own sense of righteousness, and to shore up or inflate their own egos. It's unfortunate, but that's just the way it is.

I can not speak for others, but personally did come here to learn and maybe give some advice where i would be able to, i would never come to a place like this to boost any ego, i working on letting go of the ego fully

 

[SalixIncendium]

Do we ask the right questions?

I do my best to be impeccable with my word and ask for what I want. Is it always a question the recipient wishes to hear? Probably not.

Why do we try to disprove other peoples belief or lack of belief?

We? I simply do not do that.

Is it ok for a religious person (no matter what religion we follow) to say to an atheist, You are wrong.
Or is it ok for an atheist to say to a religious person, your belief is wrong?

As I see it, if ones belief brings harm to another, then yes, I feel it is acceptable to say that another's belief is wrong, or at the very least, question that belief. Otherwise, if one's belief affects only that person, then no, it is not acceptable.

I have begun to think we all asking the wrong questions toward each others.
Why do I as a buddhist have to "Defend" my own belief toward someone who does not belive? Or why would i "attack" a non beliver? And yes i done that before, with result of both being not happy in the end.

As a Buddhist, you probably shouldn't have to defend your belief. However, if you believed human sacrifice was necessary to become closer to God, then yes, you would likely need to defend that.

Can we get a more calm and good discussion without hurting each others?

I'm sure "we" can. But it all comes down to choice.

Or am i being naive thinking we al can come to a equal acceptance that some belive and some dont?

There are those that, IMO, have not matured enough in their spirituality to tolerate or accept the worldviews of others. As I see it, people are in different places in their spiritual development, so yes, it's probably naive to hold everyone to the same standard in that regard.

 

[Brickjectivity]

When I look at the different discussion and debats in the forum i start to ask my self.
Do we ask the right questions?
Why do we try to disprove other peoples belief or lack of belief?
Is it ok for a religious person (no matter what religion we follow) to say to an atheist, You are wrong.
Or is it ok for an atheist to say to a religious person, your belief is wrong?

I have begun to think we all asking the wrong questions toward each others.
Why do I as a buddhist have to "Defend" my own belief toward someone who does not belive? Or why would i "attack" a non beliver? And yes i done that before, with result of both being not happy in the end.

So maybe insted of attacking each others with, You are wrong because.... or GOD does not exist because no evidence. Maybe we need to say, I do not have all the answers but this is my belief. then when asked. Why do you belive/not belive this?

Can we get a more calm and good discussion without hurting each others?

Or am i being naive thinking we al can come to a equal acceptance that some belive and some dont?

Some people think more clearly by arguing, and sometimes it helps to argue with another person. Its like the difference between playing chess with yourself and someone else. One thing that I learned, eventually, through online dialogue was that I and other people don't listen. We just don't. We can, however, learn to repeat another's argument in our own words. Then sometimes that argument can become ours, or we can understand it better. People generally don't listen to anything we don't already agree about.

One way of expressing love for other people is to listen to them. There is an energy cost, especially if its hard to understand; and there is no guarantee that what they are saying will be useful to you. I guess you could say that what a debate venue offers, ironically, is the opportunity to be very, very nice.

 

[syo]

When I look at the different discussion and debats in the forum i start to ask my self.
Do we ask the right questions?
Why do we try to disprove other peoples belief or lack of belief?
Is it ok for a religious person (no matter what religion we follow) to say to an atheist, You are wrong.
Or is it ok for an atheist to say to a religious person, your belief is wrong?

I have begun to think we all asking the wrong questions toward each others.
Why do I as a buddhist have to "Defend" my own belief toward someone who does not belive? Or why would i "attack" a non beliver? And yes i done that before, with result of both being not happy in the end.

So maybe insted of attacking each others with, You are wrong because.... or GOD does not exist because no evidence. Maybe we need to say, I do not have all the answers but this is my belief. then when asked. Why do you belive/not belive this?

Can we get a more calm and good discussion without hurting each others?

Or am i being naive thinking we al can come to a equal acceptance that some belive and some dont?

Well noone attacked me it's a nice forum.

 

[Vinayaka]

Or am i being naive thinking we al can come to a equal acceptance that some belive and some dont?

Yes, I think you're naive. Some mindsets are so programmed it's nigh impossible to move to even accepting the rights of others to believe what they believe.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Yes, I think you're naive. Some mindsets are so programmed it's nigh impossible to move to even accepting the rights of others to believe what they believe.

Personally i think others can belive what they want, i can not deside what they should or should not belive, But when asked i can say my understanding of the topic, but i don`t own the right to say i am the one who are correct or my belief is the only correct.

 

[Vinayaka]

Personally i think others can belive what they want, i can not deside what they should or should not belive, But when asked i can say my understanding of the topic, but i don`t own the right to say i am the one who are correct or my belief is the only correct.

Many of us think as you do, and accept other's right to believe as they wish.
Others want everyone to agree with them.
Still others, in the middle somewhere, are sneaky about it, saying they are okay with other peoples' beliefs, but prove, when the discussion goes further, they actually aren't.

I know I've lowered my expectations substantially after engaging a few folks in some longer discussions.

 

[icehorse]

Why do we try to disprove other peoples belief or lack of belief?
I

If religious folk had good records concerning human rights, and if they kept their religious ideas out of politics, I wouldn't debate them.

 

[Spirit of Light]

It is true that religion and politics does not go hand in hand.