Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You know what? I had to look up Sufism and Sikhism WAY more closely...Guru Nanak was way more Hindu than Muslim.
Thank you for correcting me.
It is difficult for an outsider to really understand the intricacies of a religion.
I see in my research I was not the only one confused.
Oh my...I am really getting into Sufis and Sikhs...they are so similar...thus the common online discussions about them.
Guru Nanak a 'hero' of mine for decades, along with Rumi..and the Sufis, agree on so many things...like me, ha...there is a thin line between religions.
You have the Divine Presence and then you have the Divine Presence.
I started as an Evangelical Christian. Then I became a Liberal Theist for several years.
Now I've settled on Liberal Christianity, which could be applied to many different denominations.
I am learning to have a live-and-let-live attitude. People living in the western hemisphere should certainly follow an eastern religion if they wish. On the other hand, I like the idea of Muslims converting to Christianity as they enter the west. Why? Because it's really about cultures understanding more about each other, which is what is really happening beneath the surface.
I wonder if Evangelical Christians are sometimes mistakenly labeled as Fundamentalist?
"fundamentalist" is more of a set of personality traits to me. narrow minded, black/white, literal thinking, and so forth. They have lists on educational sites that give the formal names to fundamental-think type people. I think "evangelical" is a type of christian. so yeah, they can overlap.
I would think that as people grow up and they leave the more evangelical type churches, the concentration becomes more fundamentalist-think type person.
the one thing about atheism is that their isn't a central dogma that we follow so it doesn't give the fundy-think personality disorder something to latch onto. These personalities will latch onto something, like far left thinking or far right thinking, but they (the group) don't tend to be as large under a flag the flag atheism. IMO anyway.
religion? well these personality disorders can latch onto and form up under a common theme. The sub group (sect if you will) can be quite large. And since its more of a continuum type distribution, some of the more functional personality-disorders can seem quite legit to us regulars; making them even more dangerous. again, In my opinion.
Arach...you speak of personality disorders...interesting.
My thing, if we are talking about pathology, is we all have an innate need to 'survive', thus, wanting comfort, peace or happiness, safety and security'...whatever floats someone's boat is fine with me!
This has been said a million times: it is when someone's answer that fulfills these needs...are then
'pushed upon' another.
Atheists or Fundies or fitness junkies...each person finds their own way to live here happily.
Good for everyone that figures it out..."Now leave me alone, unless I ask ya why you are so happy
all the time." "Oh, and leave your judgments and warnings of the hell you believe in at the front door! Or your judgments that I am a fool for knowing and experiencing God."
Talk about how happy you are...that's fine. Enthusiasm is great.
I was bought by the blood and cross of Jesus Christ and was reborn by His Spirit , and will endure to the end ...... believe in Father God, Son Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit and the virgin birth , as I had a spiritual witness of all of these
Arach...you speak of personality disorders...interesting.
My thing, if we are talking about pathology, is we all have an innate need to 'survive', thus, wanting comfort, peace or happiness, safety and security'...whatever floats someone's boat is fine with me!
This has been said a million times: it is when someone's answer that fulfills these needs...are then
'pushed upon' another.
Atheists or Fundies or fitness junkies...each person finds their own way to live here happily.
Good for everyone that figures it out..."Now leave me alone, unless I ask ya why you are so happy
all the time." "Oh, and leave your judgments and warnings of the hell you believe in at the front door! Or your judgments that I am a fool for knowing and experiencing God."
Talk about how happy you are...that's fine. Enthusiasm is great.
I wasn't going to post here, since what kind of person an atheist might be isn't important. Just the atheism. It's why we are 'wolves' (1) while the believers all mill around baaaing in chorus, we do sometimes snarl at each other as we are all different. Just don't believe the god -claim.
I can see how the Christians (of various kinds - and even the irreligious former Christians who are still emotionally attached to it) cast around for something to bash atheism with. And 'Fundy/ extremism' (directed against the atheism that is not only speaking out but has an agenda to drive religion from society) sounds convincing - to them, anyway, just as 'No God is a faith -claim'. Which of course it isn't, but you try to tell a Christian apologist or "Agnostic" Atheist - basher with fingers jammed in the ears.
What we are trying to do is stop what we have being eradicated - a society based on humanist morals and validated evidence, and NOT on Faith -based supersition and the rule of One religion. This is ineveryone's interests - even Christians. But because they feel unutterably comfy when everyone around them professes Christianity too, the idea of lip -service not being paid to Their professed Creed by the whole nation alarms them, and so they lash out at atheism.
(1) I was just thinking of a sort of visual scene of the sheep in wolves' clothing (pointy - ears and all) trying to infiltrate the pack.. 'they'll never see through through this disguise...careful...your cross is dangling out..."
Arach...you speak of personality disorders...interesting.
My thing, if we are talking about pathology, is we all have an innate need to 'survive', thus, wanting comfort, peace or happiness, safety and security'...whatever floats someone's boat is fine with me!
This has been said a million times: it is when someone's answer that fulfills these needs...are then
'pushed upon' another.
Atheists or Fundies or fitness junkies...each person finds their own way to live here happily.
Good for everyone that figures it out..."Now leave me alone, unless I ask ya why you are so happy
all the time." "Oh, and leave your judgments and warnings of the hell you believe in at the front door! Or your judgments that I am a fool for knowing and experiencing God."
Talk about how happy you are...that's fine. Enthusiasm is great.
you are exactly right. I add, if we are going to talk about it, talk to what we know.
I rarely focus on the weapon of abuse, I usually focus on the people doing the abuse. When we focus on the the people we can start to make some very real predictions.
I use science and schools because that's what I know. The people that ran our public schools, over the last 25 years, in the north east united states have utterly destroyed them; to the point that we may never recover.
throwing money at the system or blaming everybody else won't work. taking that money, training them to be parents, helping people to open stores, and start manufacturing plants is far better. Help them police their own.
I feel the same goes for religion. talking about each claim and how valid it is will self correct the religion over time. The only thing anti-religion is about is stopping religion. It has no concern for how the universe works. sure, if the science can be use ...use it. But they also feel that if the science weakens the selling of their sect of atheism ... it needs to be shut down ...hard.
anti-god is so bad, it takes one step further. People that have bought into that dogma are trying to indoctrinate people into thinking that we must deny, shun, and minimize any science that believers can use as a springboard.
can you imagine Miss H ..."don't let them have a springboard to learn.", That base dogma has shocked me to the core so very much I have not left this cite.
Your wilful misunderstanding of why the 'First cause' argument (while really irrelevant to the religion debate) cannot be allowed to pass as Believers use it as a the leap of faith to the Bible, gets more perverse every time you mention it. Like it was some shocking Atheist deception to subvert all of society. Folks, don't let Arach and his dishonest alarmism fool you.
Blocking 'First cause' is indeed a tactic, but is needed to stop Bible (or Quran) - believers cheating.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"Oh, and leave your judgments and warnings of the hell you believe in at the front door! Or your judgments that I am a fool for knowing and experiencing God."
(1) while the believers all mill around baaaing in chorus, we do sometimes snarl at each other as we are all different. Just don't believe the god -claim.
