I recently became aware in private conversations that at least a few RFers are not clear as to why we have DIRs. On the chance there might be others who are just as curious about DIRs as the two people who have PMed me about it, I would like to try to explain why we have DIRs in an as easy to understand manner as possible. So here goes...
Imagine a conversation between two people (let's name them, "Steph" and "Arun") who both share a firm belief in deity. Since Steph and Arun both share a firm belief in deity, that's not what they want in this case to discuss. Instead, they want to discuss whether deity is all knowing or not.
Please further imagine that Steph and Arun decide to have this conversation in the open religious debate section. What happens? Well, in this case, every time Steph and Arun say something about deity being all knowing or not all knowing, a third person, (let's call him Sunstone, the Marauding Atheist), a person who does not believe in deity all, objects to whatever they say.
If Steph or Arun say, "Deity is all knowing", then Sunstone, the Marauding Atheist, says, "But you can't know whether deity is all knowing or not all knowing because you haven't yet established whether your deity even exists."
And if Steph or Arun say, "Deity is not all knowing, then Sunstone, the Marauding Atheist, again says the same thing: "But you can't know whether deity is all knowing or not all knowing because you haven't yet established whether your deity even exists."
Again and again, Steph and Arun try to talk about whether deity is all knowing, and again and again Sunstone drags the conversation back down to whether deity exists.
You get the idea, I hope: Steph and Arun can't have a conversation about what they want to talk about without their conversation being constantly interrupted by Sunstone. And that's not fun for Steph and Arun.
To solve this problem, RF set up DIRs (Discuss Individual Religions) as places where people who share the same basic ideas can discuss things that go beyond the basics without always being dragged back down by Sunstone, the Marauding Atheist.
Neat, eh?
And that is pretty much the single most important reason for the DIRs. There are other, usually less important reasons, but that's the big one. I hope this helps to clear up any confusion there might be about why we have DIRs. Thanks for your attention!
Imagine a conversation between two people (let's name them, "Steph" and "Arun") who both share a firm belief in deity. Since Steph and Arun both share a firm belief in deity, that's not what they want in this case to discuss. Instead, they want to discuss whether deity is all knowing or not.
Please further imagine that Steph and Arun decide to have this conversation in the open religious debate section. What happens? Well, in this case, every time Steph and Arun say something about deity being all knowing or not all knowing, a third person, (let's call him Sunstone, the Marauding Atheist), a person who does not believe in deity all, objects to whatever they say.
If Steph or Arun say, "Deity is all knowing", then Sunstone, the Marauding Atheist, says, "But you can't know whether deity is all knowing or not all knowing because you haven't yet established whether your deity even exists."
And if Steph or Arun say, "Deity is not all knowing, then Sunstone, the Marauding Atheist, again says the same thing: "But you can't know whether deity is all knowing or not all knowing because you haven't yet established whether your deity even exists."
Again and again, Steph and Arun try to talk about whether deity is all knowing, and again and again Sunstone drags the conversation back down to whether deity exists.
You get the idea, I hope: Steph and Arun can't have a conversation about what they want to talk about without their conversation being constantly interrupted by Sunstone. And that's not fun for Steph and Arun.
To solve this problem, RF set up DIRs (Discuss Individual Religions) as places where people who share the same basic ideas can discuss things that go beyond the basics without always being dragged back down by Sunstone, the Marauding Atheist.
Neat, eh?
And that is pretty much the single most important reason for the DIRs. There are other, usually less important reasons, but that's the big one. I hope this helps to clear up any confusion there might be about why we have DIRs. Thanks for your attention!
