Ways of practicing fellowship and collaboration across religious divides in Internet discussions?

[Jim]

Part of what I think the world urgently needs is to see genuine heart-to-heart friendships, and people encouraging and supporting each other and doing community service together, across all the widest ideological divides, not only between religions but also within them. I think that the more we practice that in Internet discussions, the better it will be for all of us, and for all people everywhere. I see endless, aimless, fruitless debating as one way for people to get to know each other and have fun together. Kitchen-sink conversations across those lines can be another way. Anything that people are doing in these forums and others, might be a way of doing that, if it's across the widest ideological divides. Still, I would like to see it go beyond socializing more, and happening a lot more on a deeper level, more fruitful and beneficial for all of us and for all people everywhere.

One example that I've seen of collaboration across those divides is exchanging ideas and experiences about challenges we're all facing, like how to prepare our children for the different beliefs and clashes between them that they'll be seeing. I think I've also seen people encouraging and supporting each other across those divides, with various kinds of life issues. What other ideas and examples does anyone have about how we can practice friendship and collaboration on a deeper, more fruitful and beneficial level, across the widest ideological divides, in Internet discussions?

 

[Jim]

Street teaching, and heckling street teachers and throwing tomatoes at them, can also be ways for people to get to know each other and have fun together.

Has There Ever Been an Actual Case of Someone Being Pelted With Tomatoes During a Performance?

 

[Jim]

I'm thinking now that I will be learning and trying new ideas about what to do in Internet discussions, and talking about my experiences with them. I do hope that some other people will post some ideas and examples about how our discussions across the widest ideological divides could be more fruitful and beneficial for all of us, and for all people everywhere.

 

[Jim]

For a week or more now, I've been practicing trying to really understand what people are saying, and with friendly comments and questions to try to deepen my understanding of it. That's the best way I can think of now to learn as much as I can from each conversation, and for each person to get some encouragement and support from each conversation, for whatever good they might be trying to do. I've also been practicing two ideas from a list I made a long time ago. One is to pray before posting, and another is to remember a verse from my scriptures about what I'm doing. It's been like a magical mystery tour for me, or like my house being picked up and carried off to the land of Oz.

For now that's my best idea of what to try to do in Interned discussions, to help make them more fruitful and beneficial for all of us, and for all people everywhere: Try to really understand what people are saying and learn from it, and to do whatever I can think of for the other person to get some encouragement and support from the conversation, for whatever good they might be trying to do.

 

[pearl]

Try to really understand what people are saying and learn from it,

Requires the art of 'listening' for true dialogue as opposed to debate.

 

[Jim]

Just now I realized that I need to remember that what a person says in the OP of a thread might not be what they really want to talk about, and even if it is, that might change as the conversation evolves.

 

[Jim]

Suddenly I feel burned out, and I've lost interest in all the things I wanted to do here. I never meant to be here so long in the first place. It's too time-consuming and mind-consuming, and it takes too much away from the rest of my life. My priorities are offline, or least that's where I want my priorities to be. I see now that some of rhe discussions here might be more fruitful and beneficial than I thought, and if I stayed here I would want to read and post more in those discussions. I would still be practicing and promoting discussions where we would all be learning more, and getting more encouragement and support, for whatever good we're doing and trying to do offline, but I think I would spend more time in the discussions that are already happening, that look to me like they might be doing the most good, whether it's offline or not.

 

[Sirona]

With all due respect, I think the idea of artificially "leveling out" differences between religions is not worth striving for, and it certainly cannot be achieved by one person alone. People can't even agree on which food they like best, so why should we all agree on the same religion? Debates can be good chances for learning something as long as they are held politely.

@Jim possibly finding a Bahai congregation in a bigger city is an option for you to find people who share your interests.

The internet was created for debates and cat pictures.

 

[Jim]

@Sirona I don’t see you talking to me at all in that post. Maybe you’re confusing me with some other people. It looks like you aren’t seeing me at all, because you’re substituting some stereotype of a Baha’i in my place.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

you’re substituting some stereotype of a Baha’i in my place.

Jim, I would like a picture of that.

What is a stereotype Baha'i? Maybe the first criteria would be stuck in a City.....Ha ha

Regards Tony

 

[Sirona]

@Sirona I don’t see you talking to me at all in that post. Maybe you’re confusing me with some other people. It looks like you aren’t seeing me at all, because you’re substituting some stereotype of a Baha’i in my place.

Actually, I wasn't kidding. I have to travel more than one hour to a bigger city in order to attend the service at my Hare Krishna congregation. In the same city, the Bahais host a monthly interfaith meeting. Achieving a goal or performing a religious activity in a group is quite different from being with one's computer only.

 

[Jim]

@Sirona I didn’t think you were kidding.

 

[Jim]

Sirona, none of this has anything to do with me. Maybe you didn't intend for it to. Did you? I've never said, or thought, anything like leveling out differences between religions, or agreeing on the same religion.

With all due respect, I think the idea of artificially "leveling out" differences between religions is not worth striving for, and it certainly cannot be achieved by one person alone. People can't even agree on which food they like best, so why should we all agree on the same religion? Debates can be good chances for learning something as long as they are held politely.

 

[Jim]

Achieving a goal or performing a religious activity in a group is quite different from being with one's computer only.

Did I say or do something that made you want to insult me?

 

[Sirona]

The best way to find a friend is to act like one.

Discussions can be useful if they are held politely.

 

[Jim]

I might have just learned something I never thought of before, about Internet discussions, which should have been obvious to me. When someone quotes me in a post, that doesn't always mean that they're talking to me, and people don't always read the OP before posting in a thread. That explains a lot for me. That solves a lot of mysteries for me.