sharing vs. proselytising

[Eddi]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

Because I no longer want to proselytise

It is enough for me that I myself hold my beliefs

I no longer have any desire to spread them

But I do want to be able to share and express my beliefs if people are interested

Because they are a part of who I am

Come to think of it, I share and express my beliefs here on RF without proselytising...

So it must be possible!

But would I do so if these forums weren't devoted to the debate and discussion of religion?

No, I wouldn't

Although I may mention them in passing, were the discussion to turn towards religion. In such an instance I think it would be legitimate to share and express my religious beliefs

And if I was talking about myself then I think it would be legitimate to mention them, as they are a part of who I am

 

[Ashoka]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

Definitely. You can let someone know what you believe without forcing it on them.

 

[Secret Chief]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

Because I no longer want to proselytise

It is enough for me that I myself hold my beliefs

I no longer have any desire to spread them

But I do want to be able to share and express my beliefs if people are interested

Because they are a part of who I am

Come to think of it, I share and express my beliefs here on RF without proselytising...

So it must be possible!

But would I do so if these forums weren't devoted to the debate and discussion of religion?

No, I wouldn't

Although I may mention them in passing, were the discussion to turn towards religion. In such an instance I think it would be legitimate to share and express my religious beliefs

And if I was talking about myself then I think it would be legitimate to mention them, as they are a part of who I am

Sure thing. I'm occasionally moved to post something about Buddhism, but I've generally regretted it! I'm no fan of proselytising so wouldn't want to engage in it myself. In the real world I've virtually never mentioned it and prefer not to.

 

[sun rise]

RF is predicated on the ability of people to share along with rule 8 which forbids preaching.

While it can of course get to be a grey area, I think it's working well in practice.

 

[Subduction Zone]

I prefer sharing. I tend to disagree most strongly with people when they claim to know. But it is very hard to deny a belief and how one follows it.

 

[Lain]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

What do you mean by proselytizing?

 

[Eddi]

What do you mean by proselytizing?

Trying to convince someone to change their beliefs to the beliefs that you yourself hold

 

[Lain]

Trying to convince someone to change their beliefs to the beliefs that you yourself hold

It is possible to share that you think a thing without trying to persuade another that they should also then.

 

[Nakosis]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

Because I no longer want to proselytise

It is enough for me that I myself hold my beliefs

I no longer have any desire to spread them

But I do want to be able to share and express my beliefs if people are interested

Because they are a part of who I am

Come to think of it, I share and express my beliefs here on RF without proselytising...

So it must be possible!

But would I do so if these forums weren't devoted to the debate and discussion of religion?

No, I wouldn't

Although I may mention them in passing, were the discussion to turn towards religion. In such an instance I think it would be legitimate to share and express my religious beliefs

And if I was talking about myself then I think it would be legitimate to mention them, as they are a part of who I am

IDK, but I suspect in the debates areas the forum guardians have to be a little more tolerant.
After all is defending what one beliefs the same as proselytizing?
In any good discussion I am trying to covert someone to my way of thinking.
I may not say that you ought to be an atheist but my general support of atheism in discussions implies it.

Perhaps as long as we promote our beliefs as opinions and not truths, we get away with it.

 

[PureX]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

Why would you even want to? Why should the public care about your religious beliefs?

Because I no longer want to proselytise

It is enough for me that I myself hold my beliefs

I no longer have any desire to spread them

But I do want to be able to share and express my beliefs if people are interested

Because they are a part of who I am

Expressing and sharing your experience of being you is the function of art, not religion. But if that is really what you wish to do, then share it all, not just the religions experience. Because you are more than your religion.

Here is a good example: in this song by Patty Griffin, she is sharing her experience and understanding of the 'feminine divine'. She was raised catholic and was taught that Mary the mother of Jesus represented the feminine attributes of God. And Patty's grandmother was named Mary. Also, Patty's mother, to her, exemplified the love of God in a feminine form: nurturing, supporting, forgiving. So all these thoughts and memories and ideas combined to create a song called "Mary" that expressed how Patty perceived and experienced God through the female maternal nature. The song is NOT about religion, and preaches nothing. It's simply the result of a woman expressing her own experience of being who she is, and sharing it with us.

Come to think of it, I share and express my beliefs here on RF without proselytising...

So it must be possible!

But would I do so if these forums weren't devoted to the debate and discussion of religion?

No, I wouldn't

Although I may mention them in passing, were the discussion to turn towards religion. In such an instance I think it would be legitimate to share and express my religious beliefs

And if I was talking about myself then I think it would be legitimate to mention them, as they are a part of who I am

I think it is legitimate to mention them, too, but not if you single them out, and hold back the rest of yourself. (This site is a unique situation where we can focus exclusively on religious ideals if we want to. But in the real world this is not necessarily so.)

 

[Vinayaka]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

Because I no longer want to proselytise

It is enough for me that I myself hold my beliefs

I no longer have any desire to spread them

But I do want to be able to share and express my beliefs if people are interested

Because they are a part of who I am

Come to think of it, I share and express my beliefs here on RF without proselytising...

So it must be possible!

But would I do so if these forums weren't devoted to the debate and discussion of religion?

No, I wouldn't

Although I may mention them in passing, were the discussion to turn towards religion. In such an instance I think it would be legitimate to share and express my religious beliefs

And if I was talking about myself then I think it would be legitimate to mention them, as they are a part of who I am

For me, this is simple. If they ask, answer. If they don't, don't.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

Yes. As somebody mentioned, it's not proselytizing if you are asked what you believe. And not proselytization if it's merely explanatory, such as why you don't eat lobster or cheeseburgers if you keep kosher.

It becomes proselytizing when the purpose is to promote the belief.

I no longer want to proselytise

I don't consider what you do here proselytizing. I wouldn't mind if it were, but RF does. To me, proselytizing is like commercials, and your posting has nothing in common with that. All you do is explain that you consider the world a simulation, and some original (to me) views of what God means in that context. You mention Christianity, but barely speak of it.

 

[Jeremiah Ames]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

Because I no longer want to proselytise

It is enough for me that I myself hold my beliefs

I no longer have any desire to spread them

But I do want to be able to share and express my beliefs if people are interested

Because they are a part of who I am

Come to think of it, I share and express my beliefs here on RF without proselytising...

So it must be possible!

But would I do so if these forums weren't devoted to the debate and discussion of religion?

No, I wouldn't

Although I may mention them in passing, were the discussion to turn towards religion. In such an instance I think it would be legitimate to share and express my religious beliefs

And if I was talking about myself then I think it would be legitimate to mention them, as they are a part of who I am

You are very wise.

If only Christians could learn that people do not want to constantly hear about their “belief in Jesus”

I believe we should live OUR OWN life according to our beliefs, NOT attempt to make the rest of the world in our “image”.

 

[Windwalker]

 

[Suave]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

Because I no longer want to proselytise

It is enough for me that I myself hold my beliefs

I no longer have any desire to spread them

But I do want to be able to share and express my beliefs if people are interested

Because they are a part of who I am

Come to think of it, I share and express my beliefs here on RF without proselytising...

So it must be possible!

But would I do so if these forums weren't devoted to the debate and discussion of religion?

No, I wouldn't

Although I may mention them in passing, were the discussion to turn towards religion. In such an instance I think it would be legitimate to share and express my religious beliefs

And if I was talking about myself then I think it would be legitimate to mention them, as they are a part of who I am

"Unfortunately, nobody can be told what the Matrix is, you have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland. And I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

 

[Firelight]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?
Because I no longer want to proselytise
It is enough for me that I myself hold my beliefs
I no longer have any desire to spread them
But I do want to be able to share and express my beliefs if people are interested
Because they are a part of who I am
Come to think of it, I share and express my beliefs here on RF without proselytising...
So it must be possible!
But would I do so if these forums weren't devoted to the debate and discussion of religion?
No, I wouldn't
Although I may mention them in passing, were the discussion to turn towards religion. In such an instance I think it would be legitimate to share and express my religious beliefs
And if I was talking about myself then I think it would be legitimate to mention them, as they are a part of who I am

You can share your religious beliefs whenever and wherever you wish unless there is some law or rule against it.

Sharing your religious beliefs, or letting them be known publicly or privately is not proselytizing. Either is inviting someone to an event.

There will always be vocal naysayers to all things religious just waiting to unleash their angry opinion and hate onto others, but do not let them discourage or scare you away from sharing. Live your life as you please, the naysayers certainly live theirs as they please.

 

[rational experiences]

A belief is stated to be a belief.

An experience is examined by a human as a human is not a belief. It is a thesis. Thesis meant tried to explain yet cannot wholly explain.

Which then causes sharing and further theorising thinking.

To think we learn is a human teaching.

 

[AlexanderG]

Some good comments here. And yes, there's a big difference.

1. You can describe your beliefs to someone. You can talk about how your beliefs motivate you, or explain why your beliefs forbid or mandate certain practices. If this information comes up organically due to the direction of the conversation or a particular circumstance, then it can be appreciated because it can help people feel empowered to interact with you in a way that respects your reasonable personal preferences. All of us usually like to avoid putting our foot in our mouth or accidentally causing offense.

2. Generally, people do not welcome unsolicited attempts to convince them that they should change their mind and believe what you believe. It's obnoxious and socially awkward. When such attempts are paired with personal insults confidently asserted by a stranger, "You just want to sin," "You know god is real but you're in rebellion," "You have no hope in life," then it becomes extremely offensive and repugnant. This kind of proselytizing seems more about the religious person reassuring themselves against their own doubts, rather than trying to convince someone else; it's gross to feel like you're standing there being inaccurately insulted, just so that someone else can feel better about themselves because at least they aren't as bad as you apparently are.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Is it possible to passively make your religious beliefs public without engaging in proselytising?

It's all about intent. What do you hope to accomplish in making your religious views public?

 

[pearl]

Although I may mention them in passing, were the discussion to turn towards religion. In such an instance I think it would be legitimate to share and express my religious beliefs

As long as you are open and listening, respectively, to the other religious views, its dialogue, not proselytizing.