TrickWithAKnife wrote:
People here aren't going to act weird because I don't share their beliefs, are they? I'd hate for people to ignore anything I do just because I don't share their personal beliefs.
Perish the thought... have you read through this thread? We have representatives of all kinds of religious belief here! I guess I can only speak for myself, but I think would be kind of ridiculous to disassociate myself from somebody on the basis of their philosophy alone (that is, as long as that philosophy didn't cause them to be inherently dangerous). If I was afraid of conflicting ideas I would be obliged to commit suicide because my head is full of them.
Admittedly I do twitch at some of the thoughts expressed and have to refrain from starting up (friendly) discussions because it's off-topic for the forum and I know they inherently lead to trouble... but the twitching's because I care about the people involved, not because I want to win arguments.
I really do like this thread though... it's interesting to see the forum demographic concerning this, and how people's religious stances and outlook affect the kind of stories they tell and the way they tell them.
"It is [the writer's] privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past."
— William Faulkner
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MarineScripter wrote:Non-denominational Christian. I love my faith but am frustrated by all the Bible-bangers and freeze-ray leaders out there, who do a terrific job of giving Christianity a bad name.
Same. Every time I see those Westboro guys on TV I just want to go up to them, give them all an enormous hug and remind them what it's all about. They seem to have forgotten... somehow...
Hey, I always want to go up to them, but perhaps not for a hug haha. You're setting a better example here. I'm friends with an atheist, though, who finds religion annoying. I like her side of it better than those who make Christianity different than what it should be.
MarineScripter wrote:
Hey, I always want to go up to them, but perhaps not for a hug haha. You're setting a better example here.
You know the saying... the people that deserve love the least need it the most. (Even if it kills us to administer it to them...)
I honestly didn't realize they were a real church until fairly recently. I sincerely thought they were just hateful trolls. I watched a couple of documentaries about them and my heart just broke for the families, especially the children. The man in control is absolutely insane, but I think the families are a different story...
"It is [the writer's] privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past."
— William Faulkner
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MarineScripter wrote:
Hey, I always want to go up to them, but perhaps not for a hug haha. You're setting a better example here.
You know the saying... the people that deserve love the least need it the most. (Even if it kills us to administer it to them...)
I honestly didn't realize they were a real church until fairly recently. I sincerely thought they were just hateful trolls. I watched a couple of documentaries about them and my heart just broke for the families, especially the children. The man in control is absolutely insane, but I think the families are a different story...
MarineScripter wrote:
Hey, I always want to go up to them, but perhaps not for a hug haha. You're setting a better example here.
You know the saying... the people that deserve love the least need it the most. (Even if it kills us to administer it to them...)
I honestly didn't realize they were a real church until fairly recently. I sincerely thought they were just hateful trolls. I watched a couple of documentaries about them and my heart just broke for the families, especially the children. The man in control is absolutely insane, but I think the families are a different story...
Hmm, I can agree with you on that one. I doubt I'd be angry if I had the chance of actually meeting one of them, and my sympathy overrules any annoyance I could generate myself.
After studying quite a bit of Christian history and reading quite a bit of back-and-forth between traditions, my outlook on things has changed considerably and I've begun to attend an Eastern Orthodox church as a catechumen.
I am not looking forward to the impending discussions with my parents, who are Calvinist Protestants.
Those who pray, pray for me!
"It is [the writer's] privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past."
— William Faulkner
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Sapphi wrote:I am not looking forward to the impending discussions with my parents, who are Calvinist Protestants.
Remind them of the Gospel? Mark 9:38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is on our part. 41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
That seems as definitive an answer to any intertradition conflict as I can think of.
They're just extremely stubborn and difficult when it comes to things like this. When we moved here, we attended the same church as my extended family, despite the fact that my parents didn't agree with all the teaching. My friend recently told me her mother comes home and complains about how my parents are always causing trouble during the lessons. I know they've gotten a cease-and-desist letter before from the administration because of the trouble they were making by arguing against a core position of that church. They're so argumentative, in fact, that when I started getting philosophical on them, they thought I was just trying to be difficult and blew me off.
Oh well... here's hoping they come around and at least don't suspect I'm converting to paganism
"It is [the writer's] privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past."
— William Faulkner
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Officially I'm Church of England, and I dig identifying as that because I'm interested in the history of the Church of England. However, I know the Church has made a few Not Okay calls when it comes to minorities. I'm pretty agnostic. I believe in taking the Bible with a grain of salt, while respecting some of the values it teaches and respecting its figures like Jehovah and Mary. And Jesus, obviously. Jesus is a bro. (Unless it's White Jesus. I hate that guy.)
A concept I really enjoy the idea of recently is pandeism. From Wikipedia:
Pandeism or pan-deism is a term describing beliefs coherently incorporating or mixing logically reconcilable elements of pantheism (that "God", or a metaphysically equivalent creator deity, is identical to the universe) and deism (that the creator-god who designed the universe no longer exists in a status where it can be reached, and can instead be confirmed only by reason). It is therefore most particularly the belief that the creator of the universe actually became the universe, and so ceased to exist as a separate and conscious entity.
I think lots of my forays into religious identity are clouded by existential death angst, which makes me a bit biased and desperate for salvation, so I try not to overthink it too much, even if that sounds ignorant.
well, I'm not chatolic, notwhistanding my country; In actuality I'm of Hebrew heritage, and I'm definitively Neopagan, with strong ties with the city on Seven Hills...
I guess I can only speak for myself, but I think would be kind of ridiculous to disassociate myself from somebody on the basis of their philosophy alone (that is, as long as that philosophy didn't cause them to be inherently dangerous). If I was afraid of conflicting ideas I would be obliged to commit suicide because my head is full of them. 
