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So, being of the opinion that all religion, including Atheism, is perfectly acceptable and that all beliefs should be accepted makes me a fundamentalist. Okay...
There's more than one way to be fundamental.
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If you bothered to read, I never once mentioned Atheism, which I am fine with. There is a big difference between Atheism and anti-theism. An Atheist is someone who just is not intrested in religion and does not belief in GOD, which is fine, and I have never said anything against.
Who told you atheists do not have an interest in religion? Somebody gave you the wrong definition for atheist. An atheist is simply somebody who does not believe in deities. The end. I'm an atheist, and I do have an interest in religion. I don't believe in it, but I do have an interest. Somehow I doubt I'm the only one of my kind.
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Anti-Theists, on the other hand, are those "Dawkin's Witnesses" who run around attacking people's belief in ANYTHING. I have been cursed out and called a "idiot, delusional" etc etc etc by so many people because I believe that GOD does exist and that all religions lead to it, and why?...because, they claim, they "are against fundamentalism"
And I've been cursed out for not believing, my husband lost his job earlier this year because of not believing.. you know what? Sh.t happens. I don't come on here starting threads saying that every preacher is a hypocritical a..hat because there might be exceptions to the rule. You shouldn't paint tiny people with broad brushes because you know what? You just might splash somebody with the wrong color.
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Kind of hard to read something in a "neutral tone" when people say things like "God is stupid fairy tale" and "Xtains are delusional".
If you read my posts you would see that a bulk of it, four paragraphs I think, is just me talking about how I love the study of religion...the anti-theists, on the other hand, never seem to mention love of anything but are overwhelmingly negative.
Again, that's a very broad generalization that you can't fairly claim. If somebody is opposed to religion, and you're discussing religion with them, of COURSE they're going to take a negative stance. That doesn't mean they're completely love-less or without any positive aspects in their lives.
Wha is your problem with the abbreviation of Christian to Xian/Xtian? Chi or X has been a very widely accepted symbol for Christ for a long, long time (Possibly as far back as the first century AD.) There's nothing negative or derogatory about the abbreviation.
Xtian is used as a detorgatory term. I don't call non-believers "ASAGS" (atheists and agnostics) because it doesn't sound right.
The chi (x) was never used by it's self but was always accompined by a rho (p) So, unless someone is calling Christians XPians, it makes no sense.
Wha is your problem with the abbreviation of Christian to Xian/Xtian? Chi or X has been a very widely accepted symbol for Christ for a long, long time (Possibly as far back as the first century AD.) There's nothing negative or derogatory about the abbreviation.
I was going to ask the same thing. I was taught (by my christian mother) that it was just an abbreviation. I do the same thing for Christmas (Xmas) when I am feeling too lazy to type the whole word.
Anyway, I see a lot of hostility on both sides, mostly online and not so much in person. I think it's just par for the course with the internet.
Edited to add: I was taught that the X was an abbreviation for the cross (christ), hence the reason it could be shortened to xtain and xmas. I didn't know it came from "chi". So maybe not everyone who uses that abbreviation is intentionally being derogatory.
Indeed. There are no shortage of Empiricist Fundemantalist on this board. However, someone who does not think that their view is the only correct view is, by definition, not a fundamentalist.
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Who told you atheists do not have an interest in religion?
As in an intrest in it in their lives, not an intrest in religion period.
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And I've been cursed out for not believing, my husband lost his job earlier this year because of not believing.. you know what? Sh.t happens. I don't come on here starting threads saying that every preacher is a hypocritical a..hat because there might be exceptions to the rule.
And at no point in this thread did I say anything bad about Atheists. All I am saying is that anti-theists are what they are. I would not mind if someone started a thread against fundies.
Just as their is a difference between a general believer and a fundie there is a difference between an atheists and an anti-theists.
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Again, that's a very broad generalization that you can't fairly claim. If somebody is opposed to religion, and you're discussing religion with them, of COURSE they're going to take a negative stance.
So, a thread is starting say "God is xyz" and someone comes on and goes off on "gawd is a fairy tale blah blah blah..." the question is, why even go to that thread? Why preach how much you don't believe in God with a ferocity that would match any Christian evangelist? Why not just ignore the thread?
I see so much hostility, and I think it might be the way people were raised.
I was raised in the exact same environment as my two sisters. One sister has been a lifelong fundamentalist and the other one is not a believer. Of course despite the 666 tatoo on my forehead I'm an atheist but not a very hostile one. I don't think it's the way we are raised. I think it's something that's very different in the way we perceive things. It just seems to be in my nature to question everything and not to take anything for granted or accept it without any evidence. I'm just naturally skeptical and religion can't answer the questions I have.
So, a thread is starting say "God is xyz" and someone comes on and goes off on "gawd is a fairy tale blah blah blah..." the question is, why even go to that thread? Why preach how much you don't believe in God with a ferocity that would match any Christian evangelist? Why not just ignore the thread?
Of course you could switch off your 'puter and go play with your trainset in the basement if the "battle of the wits" here gets too much for you.
We have as much right to postulate our POV as do you. Can't take the heat? Stay out of the kitchen.
I understand...well, on an intellectuall level I do, but not on an emotional one. That is what I am getting at: I was rasied around people who believed in GOD, but I never actually saw or talked to a real life fundy until I was nineteen.
Imagine spending your whole life around people who just respected other beliefs and were truly in love with God. I mean, I use to go accross town when I was twelve years old to the occult shop and, a few blocks away from it, I would sit in Zazen with a odd collection of old hippies and punk rock looking weirdoes behind a cafe. Imagine having a father who said, many times, "son, go ahead and study religion, but just remember one thing: question everything and go with you gut, and not what anyone tells you or anything you read"
As I said, my upringing was the exact opposite of so many hardcore critics of religion so, I suppose I have a different prospective.
The childhood you describe is practically the exact opposite of mine. My parents raised me to be not just a Christian, but a far-right fundamentalist Christian. I was taught that our particular denomination of Christianity was the correct one, and others were probably going to Hell. I would hear my dad rant and rave about everyone who wasn't exactly like him (he still does this), and all my friend's parents were the same way. In fact, as I grew older, I noticed that nearly everyone I knew was this way, so for the longest I just assumed that's what Christians were supposed to be like. It took quite a while for me to overcome what I was taught as a child, but eventually I did. And I've met some Christians who are more reminiscent of that guy in the New Testament who said to be humble and kind. Of course, the Christians I've met like that were almost exclusively from other parts of the country, not here. It would be pretty easy for me to be bitter toward Christianity, and sometimes I have to catch myself and calm down, more in real life than on this forum. When you're almost constantly surrounded by people who are as far opposite from you as possible in every imaginable way, and you can't afford to move somewhere different, it's hard not to be frustrated and angry all the time. Luckily, I can escape by going out in nature and observing animals who are usually more reasonable than us crazy humans.
Wha is your problem with the abbreviation of Christian to Xian/Xtian? Chi or X has been a very widely accepted symbol for Christ for a long, long time (Possibly as far back as the first century AD.) There's nothing negative or derogatory about the abbreviation.
I think a problem with it is it's calling people something they don't call themselves or even would call themselves. Generally it's best to call people what they want to be called, when you know what that is, if you want a discussion.
Still I'd say "Xtian/Xian" is fairly benign. My problem with it is that it might be confusing. When I first saw "Xian" online I wasn't entirely certain what it meant. I was pretty sure it was "Christian", but "Xian" is also an ancient capital of China. Besides no one in historical or anthropological writing would use "Xian" so I didn't understand the use. The only thing I could think is some are uncomfortable writing the word "Christ" for some reason. One person online once told me Orthodox Jews have some kind of taboo against writing the word "Christ", but almost immediately an Orthodox Jewish person told him that's rubbish.
I would say "Christer" somehow strikes me as a bit more obnoxious. I can't totally explain why. Part of it is context. I think it's generally used in more angry or disruptive posts and I haven't seen it used in calm ones. Also things that end in "er" or "ard" sometimes have an epithet quality to them like the n-word.
I have tried to explain to vic in several threads that as soon as the christians quit trying to make laws based on THEIR religion, I, and others will leave them alone.
But, vic keeps asking the question.
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