Equanimity

[Pete in Panama]

I didnt mean to say most atheists. Sorry if that is what it seems like.

huh, rereading ur post I find that you in fact did not say "most atheists". You said they were the most hostile, in which case I can see ur point.

You thought u'd made a mistake but u were in error because u actually had not made a mistake. I think...

 

[Pete in Panama]

I totally agree. I just don't think of that as 'debate'. I think of it as conversation.

That word "debate" has come to mean anything that folks want it to mean. Years ago a debate was a presentation of advocates for two opposing points of view, kind of like our adversarial court system. Nowadays it can mean some kind of goofy one sided press conference where the biased hosts ridicule the side they hate.

Personally I'm kind of glad that this is a "Religious Forum" and not a "Religious Debate Platform".

 

[Yerda]

I do pretty well at religious debates. Politics? As they say, that's a "work in progress" because I can go from calm to boiling in milliseconds.

I feel that.

 

[crossfire]

In perusing the religious debates forum, it appears that some members wear their emotions on their sleeves, so to speak. Religious debates on RF range from passionate to downright hostile.

Do you feel you can approach a religious debate with equanimity?

Is there value in doing so?

Why or why not?

It depends on what you are trying to achieve. For instance, if your goal is to overcome delusion, oftentimes it is necessary for your delusion to be called up and become manifest in order to become aware of it, so a passionate, heated debate (tempered with a healthy dose of good humor) might be a good way to achieve this.

If you are just looking to test ideas, then of course equanimity would be a calmer route to go.

I'm pretty comfortable using either tool, but understand that not everyone is.

 

[Revoltingest]

I do pretty well at religious debates. Politics? As they say, that's a "work in progress" because I can go from calm to boiling in milliseconds.

Is "boiling" a kind of biting?

 

[osgart]

Equanimity is exactly how I feel about RF. I don't feel justified in getting upset about opposing worldviews. Life is challenging.

I do get offended by certain kinds of moralities sometimes. There are universals about how to treat others.

 

[Revoltingest]

Equanimity is exactly how I feel about RF. I don't feel justified in getting upset about opposing worldviews. Life is challenging.

I do get offended by certain kinds of moralities sometimes. There are universals about how to treat others.

Mean posters raise my hackles.

 

[anna.]

In perusing the religious debates forum, it appears that some members wear their emotions on their sleeves, so to speak. Religious debates on RF range from passionate to downright hostile.

Do you feel you can approach a religious debate with equanimity?

Is there value in doing so?

Why or why not?

I've been on far nastier forums than this one, all of them American Christian/right-wing dominated or controlled. This place seems far more blessed with equanimity than some other places!

I've had my share of beat-downs, so over the years I became desensitized to insults. But is that a good thing, to have to harden one's shell to let it all run off? I remember telling a friend that I wanted to be strong but I didn't want to be hardened. I don't know if I was successful. Your environment changes you.

 

[sun rise]

Is "boiling" a kind of biting?

yup