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Why do you do this?

Tarheeler

Argumentative Curmudgeon
Premium Member
In another thread I made the comment that quite often inter-faith dialogue ends up as a platform to chastise and prove people wrong. To me, it should be an opportunity to learn about other religions, teach about your own, and to make a real effort to understand how your neighbor relates to God and to the world.

So, why do you come here and do this?

Do you see it as chance to attack religions you see as being wrong and act as a champion of your faith?
Do you see it as a chance to proselytize?
Do you see it as a chance to learn and to teach?
Or is it something else?
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
To some degree it must be because some of us sincerely believe some paths to be all-out destructive and deserve denouncement. But that of course is not a very good justification, or at least it does not lead to much in the way of results.
 

Tarheeler

Argumentative Curmudgeon
Premium Member
To some degree it must be because some of us sincerely believe some paths to be all-out destructive and deserve denouncement. But that of course is not a very good justification, or at least it does not lead to much in the way of results.

But why do you do it, Luis?
 

Asha

Member
I can only say why I think why people do it to me

Personaly I love to talk to people of other faiths,
I love to hear why and how another religion fullfills a persons needs, and how they relate to god.
It is only because of my faith and exploring my own relationship with God that I can understand that others may need different relationship them selves.

But many times I experience that people feel threatened by this, and will begin to defend their position as if acknowledging the existance of two faiths is automaticaly sugesting that there is a right and a wrong !!!

No, No, I just want to share love of God, but many times people cant understand this?
''I cant share love of God with you because you dont know my God ,'''
none the less I know what it is to love God, I value it, god is dear to my heart.

this love we have, the respect the reverence, is it not the same ?
then why cant we talk freely with each other ?

to me there is one answer that shows through

uncertanty,

Those who are certain in their faith do not need to fear another, nor to defend .
Nor do they need to convert.

If your faith helps you be a better person then I am happy.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
In another thread I made the comment that quite often inter-faith dialogue ends up as a platform to chastise and prove people wrong. To me, it should be an opportunity to learn about other religions, teach about your own, and to make a real effort to understand how your neighbor relates to God and to the world.

So, why do you come here and do this?

Do you see it as chance to attack religions you see as being wrong and act as a champion of your faith?
Do you see it as a chance to proselytize?
Do you see it as a chance to learn and to teach?
Or is it something else?

On some issues, I see it as a way to make my own beliefs better. If I debate with someone, then I expose my own position to scrutiny. Sometimes, my opponent will point out a problem with my beliefs that I hadn't recognized myself.

On other issues, particularly on ones where I have strong moral views, I feel like if I don't stand up to speak out against to some offensive or harmful position, then I'm part of the problem. IMO, some views shouldn't go unopposed.
 

Badran

Veteran Member
Premium Member
I came here as a religious theist trying to learn about different faiths and more importantly, watch people with different experiences than the narrow one my real life offers. I also came here to see how my faith holds up to my perception of reality; how it holds up to criticism, to handling the different situations life offers, how accurately it's portrayal of things is, etc. Finally, to do the same for others, naturally.

I've learned quite a lot by doing that, and it helped me adjust my world view to fit more with the standards i wanted to have and the life i wanted to live. Another part of the value of such dialogue here is the personal perspective from which some of the issues discussed here get addressed with, which is severely less found in real life social scenarios.

It's result with me is probably not inline with what your OP is worded to be aimed at, but i figured i'd share it anyway due to it's relevancy in the part that describes what were my goals to coming here as a religious theist.
 

Tarheeler

Argumentative Curmudgeon
Premium Member
I came here as a Muslim trying to learn about different faiths and more importantly, watch people with different experiences than the narrow one my real life offers. I also came here to see how my faith holds up to my perception of reality; how it holds up to criticism, to handling the different situations life offers, how accurately it's portrayal of things is, etc. Finally, to do the same for others, naturally.

I've learned quite a lot by doing that, and it helped me adjust my world view to fit more with the standards i wanted to have and the life i wanted to live. Another part of the value of such dialogue here is the personal perspective from which some of the issues discussed here get addressed with, which is severely less found in real life social scenarios.

It's result with me is probably not inline with what your OP is worded to be aimed at, but i figured i'd share it anyway due to it's relevancy in the part that describes what were my goals to coming here as a religious theist.

It's exactly what it was aimed at: Why we come here and talk about different religions. There was no way I could cover all possible reasons in an OP, so I tried to leave it open for people to state their own reasons.

:D
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Do you see it as chance to attack religions you see as being wrong and act as a champion of your faith?

I hope not; I hope I don't do that. At least not deliberately to faiths I have no experience in. I'll admit to criticizing aspects of religions I've adhered to.

Do you see it as a chance to proselytize?

No, that ain't cool. Teaching and sharing yes, proselytizing no.

Do you see it as a chance to learn and to teach?

I hope so. I've learned a hell of a lot since being here, positive and not-so-positive things.

Or is it something else?

Sometimes for the lulz. Many lulz have been had. :D
 

Badran

Veteran Member
Premium Member
It's exactly what it was aimed at: Why we come here and talk about different religions. There was no way I could cover all possible reasons in an OP, so I tried to leave it open for people to state their own reasons.

:D

Cool, i'm glad it was part of what you wanted.

I was just worried i might be ruining your thread. :D
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
I came here as a religious theist trying to learn about different faiths and more importantly, watch people with different experiences than the narrow one my real life offers. I also came here to see how my faith holds up to my perception of reality; how it holds up to criticism, to handling the different situations life offers, how accurately it's portrayal of things is, etc. Finally, to do the same for others, naturally.

I've learned quite a lot by doing that, and it helped me adjust my world view to fit more with the standards i wanted to have and the life i wanted to live. Another part of the value of such dialogue here is the personal perspective from which some of the issues discussed here get addressed with, which is severely less found in real life social scenarios.

It's result with me is probably not inline with what your OP is worded to be aimed at, but i figured i'd share it anyway due to it's relevancy in the part that describes what were my goals to coming here as a religious theist.

When I first came here, I was married to a Catholic who was dead-set on raising whatever kids we would have in the Catholic Church and was just as dead-set about not discussing whether this was a good idea (which should've been a big warning sign right there, but hindsight is 20/20). When I first came here, I saw this place as somewhere where I could throw around different thoughts that were going through my head, and try to find answers on my own to the objections and concerns that my wife refused to address. To someone not familiar with that background, I suppose it might've appeared like I was unfairly harping on the Catholics or being combative.
 

Levite

Higher and Higher
I agree with Tarheeler's OP: I come here to learn about other religions, teach about my religion, and participate in discussion and debate with fellow Jews about things Jewish.

Too much interfaith dialogue here ends up in either bashing or proselytizing or both, though. And I think that has to do with fundamentalism-- whether religious or atheist.
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
But why do you do it, Luis?

Let's see...

In another thread I made the comment that quite often inter-faith dialogue ends up as a platform to chastise and prove people wrong. To me, it should be an opportunity to learn about other religions, teach about your own, and to make a real effort to understand how your neighbor relates to God and to the world.

So, why do you come here and do this?

I suppose it comes down to how certain I am of the good faith of others, and how bad a need I feel to attain just the right level of aggressiveness and language to be certain of being understood by those I speak with.

Sometimes it is better to be certain that I offended someone than to be in doubt of whether I was understood at all. Although there are of course serious dangers involved, and they must be considered.


Do you see it as chance to attack religions you see as being wrong and act as a champion of your faith?

To a point. Not so much in defense of my positions as in denounce of others, personally. I am a very, very judgmental person. Unbearably so, even.


Do you see it as a chance to proselytize?

Not much of one. It is very difficult to get results that way, by putting people in the defensive.

However, there are situations when pointing out that I have a certain level of abhorrance for a certain belief or stance is better than letting people assume otherwise.

Quite frankly, it happens more often with political stances than with beliefs proper.


Do you see it as a chance to learn and to teach?

Yes. Sometimes I have no other way of learning, in fact.

It does not always pay off; I have long given up on understanding certain proud beliefs.

Generally speaking, it takes a certain level of my contempt to get an accusation from me. And a much higher level of that same contempt to not receive even that. I do not spend my time addressing people that I find truly in the wrong. Not even to condemn them.
 
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Saint Frankenstein

Here for the ride
Premium Member
Religion is one of my very favorite subjects and I enjoy talking about it. I like to learn the views of others and share my own. I also enjoy finding like-minded people for support since I often struggle in my beliefs.
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
I And I think that has to do with fundamentalism-- whether religious or atheist.

I guess this is something that I still need to understand: what would atheist fundamentalism be like and how come people swear to have found it in existence.
 

Boyd

Member
In another thread I made the comment that quite often inter-faith dialogue ends up as a platform to chastise and prove people wrong. To me, it should be an opportunity to learn about other religions, teach about your own, and to make a real effort to understand how your neighbor relates to God and to the world.

So, why do you come here and do this?

Do you see it as chance to attack religions you see as being wrong and act as a champion of your faith?
Do you see it as a chance to proselytize?
Do you see it as a chance to learn and to teach?
Or is it something else?

I know I'm relatively new here, but the reason I come here is for a chance to learn and teach. Being retired now, I do miss the teaching aspect of my career. I get a little of it from working at my local UU church (so I guess I'm semi-retired). I also find teaching to be a great way to learn more about various perspectives, and polish my own views.

That, and I get bored, and this provides me with one more outlet. The reading is often much lighter than the journals or books I spend my time with, so it is a welcomed past time for me.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
I guess this is something that I still need to understand: what would atheist fundamentalism be like and how come people swear to have found it in existence.

Me too. In my experience, if you took the most inoffensive liberal pastor's most inoffensive and boring sermon in praise of faith and rewrote it to be just as strongly against faith instead, you'd have something much worse than what people typically label as "atheist fundamentalism".
 

Asha

Member
I Just dont get this Debating thing ?

and come on..... ''to teach '' who teaches who shares ?

what ever happened to .....' there but for the grace of god go I ' ?
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
In another thread I made the comment that quite often inter-faith dialogue ends up as a platform to chastise and prove people wrong. To me, it should be an opportunity to learn about other religions, teach about your own, and to make a real effort to understand how your neighbor relates to God and to the world.

I think we all know that not everybody comes here with this sort of purpose in mind. Even those of us who do will occasionally get caught up in the passions of the moment and forget ourselves. There's a reason why I never change that first line in my signature: it's as much a reminder to myself as it is to others.

I think it becomes especially difficult when there are views presented that you feel are flat out wrong. For example, if someone struts in and starts saying things about your religion that are not true of overgeneralized, it's difficult to avoid stepping on a platform to correct them (aka, prove them wrong). It takes a particular sort of character to be able to undertake such corrections without coming off as an ***.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
I guess this is something that I still need to understand: what would atheist fundamentalism be like and how come people swear to have found it in existence.

Three words: Madalyn Murray O'Hair.

However, she did help get mandatory bible readings out of public schools, which violates the First Amendment.
 

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
When I first came here, it was with the intention of advancing a particular belief system and defending it from perceived misconceptions. A lot of my views have changed since then, and now I consider being here an opportunity to test my views against criticism in debate as well as an opportunity to learn about other people's perspectives and beliefs.

My stances on certain topics are probably as likely to change as my stance regarding the shape of the Earth or racial equality, but I still like to debate them to see where other people are coming from.
 
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