This is not a religious discussion (after all those aren't allowed on the furum ;) ) but rather this is a thread dedicated to the pros and cons of religious discussions. If anyone starts spouting about how their god can kick any other gods' ass I will delete the thread myself. The point of this thread is to explore the idea of a religious discussion without discussing religion (did I really need to restate it? Probably... :( ).

Let me start:

Pros:
1. Developing an understanding of other people and their beliefs as well as possible insights into daily life.

Cons:
1. The immaturity of some people will rear its' ugly head in the form of fanaticism and the fear of new ideas.

Please feel free to add to this very short list of pros and cons.

*edit* for the spelling of merits in the title... thanks. :p

You mean a discussion on World Religions? Kind of like what is taught in colleges today?

Its religion 101?

This is not a religious discussion (after all those aren't allowed on the furum ;) ) but rather this is a thread dedicated to the pros and cons of religious discussions. If anyone starts spouting about how their god can kick any other gods' ass I will delete the thread myself. The point of this thread is to explore the idea of a religious discussion without discussing religion (did I really need to restate it? Probably... :( ).

Let me start:

Pros:
1. Developing an understanding of other people and their beliefs as well as possible insights into daily life.
2. Dispelling common stereotypes and misconceptions.

Cons:
1. The immaturity of some people will rear its' ugly head in the form of fanaticism and the fear of new ideas.
2. Reinforcing common stereotypes and misconceptions.

Please feel free to add to this very short list of pros and cons.

(And BTW, it's "Merits")

Um...

Cons: Threads like these are too hard to keep open and bring the worst out in certain people.

Pros: :eek:

yeah and soon as discussions start, its stopped by a Mod.

1. Developing an understanding of other people and their beliefs as well as possible insights into daily life.
2. Dispelling common stereotypes and misconceptions.
3. People of like-faith can learn from one-another.

Cons:
1. The immaturity of some people will rear its' ugly head in the form of fanaticism and the fear of new ideas.
2. Reinforcing common stereotypes and misconceptions.
3. There are children on the forums. Immature people will reply with absolutes, and simply resort to insults and the like when confronted.

Any HINT of religion OR politics and people go absolutely SPASTIC, which is why I find it odd that politics are allowed, but religion is not. I personally don't like discussing either one because the haters JUMP on topics like this just to maintain their qualifications for being an asshole. They smell adversity like a shark smells blood.

watch......you'll see :rolleyes:

Any HINT of religion OR politics and people go absolutely SPASTIC, which is why I find it odd that politics are allowed, but religion is not. I personally don't like discussing either one because the haters JUMP on topics like this just to maintain their qualifications for being an asshole. They smell adversity like a shark smells blood.

watch......you'll see :rolleyes:


LOL I'm waiting to see Hitler come into the discussions. Seems he gets into a lot of discussions.

1. Developing an understanding of other people and their beliefs as well as possible insights into daily life.
2. Dispelling common stereotypes and misconceptions.
3. People of like-faith can learn from one-another.

Cons:
1. The immaturity of some people will rear its' ugly head in the form of fanaticism and the fear of new ideas.
2.Reinforcing common stereotypes and misconceptions.
3. There are children on the forums. Immature people will reply with absolutes, and simply resort to insults and the like when confronted.

Same.

1. Developing an understanding of other people and their beliefs as well as possible insights into daily life.
2. Dispelling common stereotypes and misconceptions.
3. People of like-faith can learn from one-another.
4. Strengthening your own beliefs by having to research them further in order to even have a discussion.
Cons:
1. The immaturity of some people will rear its' ugly head in the form of fanaticism and the fear of new ideas.
2. Reinforcing common stereotypes and misconceptions.
3. There are children on the forums. Immature people will reply with absolutes, and simply resort to insults and the like when confronted.
4. Realizing that what you have always been taught as a child is actually not "set in stone" about religion.

Any HINT of religion OR politics and people go absolutely SPASTIC, which is why I find it odd that politics are allowed, but religion is not. I personally don't like discussing either one because the haters JUMP on topics like this just to maintain their qualifications for being an asshole. They smell adversity like a shark smells blood.

watch......you'll see :rolleyes:

Haha He said Haters...

Raz, you are just saying that because you don't know anything and don't want to show how dumb you are by posting what you think! :D :D BTW, I'm in touch with a realtor as of this afternoon and will be contacting you before the month is out.

Pros: You get the chance to research the other religions and learn why they believe what they do.

You broaden your horizons and become more informed, and maybe even become a little smarter in the process.

Cons: It has a tendency to make you angry because it deals with your innermost thoughts and feelings. When someone argues them you tend to get in a tizzy.

1. Developing an understanding of other people and their beliefs as well as possible insights into daily life.
2. Dispelling common stereotypes and misconceptions.
3. People of like-faith can learn from one-another.
4. Strengthening your own beliefs by having to research them further in order to even have a discussion.
5. Religious tollerance is only possible through education.
Cons:
1. The immaturity of some people will rear its' ugly head in the form of fanaticism and the fear of new ideas.
2. Reinforcing common stereotypes and misconceptions.
3. There are children on the forums. Immature people will reply with absolutes, and simply resort to insults and the like when confronted.
4. Realizing that what you have always been taught as a child is actually not "set in stone" about religion.
5. Many people don't understand how to be tollerant of new ideas.

finding common grounds and dispelling stereotypes on religion is a great way to expand your mind. When you realize the person you're yelling at in a religious discussion actually not only feels the same way about morality but the same way about god is enlightening, and refreshing. I think open religious discussion can be civil and especially good for obscure religious beliefs, theres a ton of stereotypes that need to be dispelled for a lot of religions.

I have a rule I live by. There are four topics I do not bring up for general discussion, nor do I engage in conversations about these topics. They are: religion, politics, gun-control, and abortion. Of course my very close friends and family know how I feel about them, but I avoid them with everyone else. The reason? Most people feel so passionately one way or the other about them, that the conversation usually turns into either a shouting match where no one is listening to the other person, or someone gets their nose bent out of shape. You're not going to change their mind, and they won't change yours. If everyone were mature enough to gain understanding and insight into the other person's views rather than react to them, I'm pretty sure I'd think I'd been abducted and was living on another planet.

LOL I'm waiting to see Hitler come into the discussions. Seems he gets into a lot of discussions.

I CALL GOODWIN'S LAW! THREAD OVER!

I lived in Italy for 6 years and the first thing my Italian friends taught me was not to discuss 3 things; they always result in arguments.

1. Religion
2. Politics
3. Calcio (soccer)

It would be great if EVERYONE could be reasonably mature enough to have conversations about anything without getting overly defense and emotional. I guess in a perfect world....

I have a rule I live by. There are four topics I do not bring up for general discussion, nor do I engage in conversations about these topics. They are: religion, politics, gun-control, and abortion. Of course my very close friends and family know how I feel about them, but I avoid them with everyone else. The reason? Most people feel so passionately one way or the other about them, that the conversation usually turns into either a shouting match where no one is listening to the other person, or someone gets their nose bent out of shape. You're not going to change their mind, and they won't change yours. If everyone were mature enough to gain understanding and insight into the other person's views rather than react to them, I'm pretty sure I'd think I'd been abducted and was living on another planet.


I once debated gun control with Mad Ronin.......I've been afraid ever since then. :D

Gun Control/Right to Bear arms... yeah that's a minefield on some forums.

I once debated gun control with Mad Ronin.......I've been afraid ever since then. :D

Hehehe......exactly :)

Love your sig, by the way. Great movie.

I say only dicuss religion and politics if you know what you are talking about and not pull stuff out of your ass.

I was like this before, but i made an effort and improved.

I once debated gun control with Mad Ronin.......I've been afraid ever since then. :D
That's funny, I'm not. ;) :D :p

It is interesting that the only peaceful solution is ignorance... haven't we grown as a society to a point where religion, albeit a matter of faith, is a taboo subject that everyone would afraid to discuss. No wonder there is so much controversy over the questions put forth by "In god we trust" on our money and re-written into our Pledge of Allegiance. How are we expected to get along and come to a common ground if we cannot work towards an understanding of each other? Wouldn't the very idea of having an open discussion (note I did not say argument I am assuming that no one is wrong in their personal beliefs but rather everyone is correct in their own personal understanding of a superintelligence or lack thereof) be enlightening for those who chose to participate respectfully.

I have had friends of many different faiths and even discussed those faiths with them at different times. We were able to have a comfortable conversation that included a level of respect and compassion for each others ideas. Are we so afraid of learning something about another way of thought that we can't discuss it in an open forum? I'm losing faith in the human race all the time. :(

Gun Control/Right to Bear arms... yeah that's a minefield on some forums.
The discussion was quite civil the last time we had it. I'd even go so far as to say educational.

The discussion was quite civil the last time we had it. I'd even go so far as to say educational.*end hi-jack* a new thread has already been created... ;)

I was like this before, but i made an effort and improved.
I was like this too, but I made no effort and haven't improved one bit, so I guess I still am.

I find that often where it turns ugly is the intersection of religion and politics. When people discuss how they practice their religion - pray, meditate, how often they go to church - people are passionate, but civil. When we start talking about how wars are waged in the name of religion or how one political body sanctions one religion or persecutes another (or should), it turns ugly. This isn't always true, especially when talking between people who have different religions, and one person contradicts the others preconceived notions of how religion "should" be practiced. Also people who belong to religious minorities are usually used to tempering their talk so as not to offend those who belong to the predominant religion. Those who belong to the predominant religion are often used to everyone sharing their views. But then, that's how it is with many things besides religion too.

Glad we are not in 500 AD then.

Glad we are not in 500 AD then.Or 500 BCE (Before Common Era) for Christ's sake... ;)

I meant the time frame when Europe only had one religion and if you didn't follow it you were beheaded!

I meant the time frame when Europe only had one religion and if you didn't follow it you were beheaded!
Actually, there were a lot of religions back then. Up until that time there were a lot of "Pagan" religions, especially among the Celts, Franks and in Gaul. Mithraism was big early in the millenium. After that time, many Jews immigrated to Europe. Muslims came on the scene after 800 mostly in Arab countries like Spain. The Inquisition started around what 1400 or something? And originally it was against Cathars and those "in" the Christian/Catholic church. After the 1400s they started on the Jews. (remember Mel Brooks' "History of the World"?)

I meant the time frame when Europe only had one religion and if you didn't follow it you were beheaded!I was simply making a joke based on the the use of AD as opposed to CE. Some college text are excepting the change in terms. :)

In Elizabethan times (1500s) they started the "religious wars" where you got beheaded if you weren't the right religion. Henry VIII did that alot, especially since he started the Church of England, and wanted everyone to join (the power of persuasion ;) ). They beheaded a lot of people, ostensibly because they were the wrong religion, but it was actually politically motivated.

incidentally, the troubles in Northern Ireland today stem from this same conflict.

In Elizabethan times (1500s) they started the "religious wars" where you got beheaded if you weren't the right religion. Henry VIII did that alot, especially since he started the Church of England, and wanted everyone to join (the power of persuasion ;) ). They beheaded a lot of people, ostensibly because they were the wrong religion, but it was actually politically motivated.

incidentally, the troubles in Northern Ireland today stem from this same conflict.And were it ok to discuss religion freely would the conflict in Ireland have ever happened at all?

And were it ok to discuss religion freely would the conflict in Ireland have ever happened at all?
Probably, but not over religion. Again, the argument was said to be religious, but actually the English actually wanted the land and the labor and the other resources. The king needed more land to give as gifts and rewards to his lords and earls, those guys would then farm the land and cut down the trees, using cheap Irish labor, then sell those products back to England. Later, as the Industrial Revolution started, the English set up factories in Belfast, used the Irish to work in them and sold the products in England. During this time a lot of Englishmen moved to Ireland and to this day Northern Ireland is a "colony" because of the large loyal English population. Religion was used as a means of separating people into English/Irish, Protestant/Catholic, Owners/Workers.

... the haters JUMP on topics like this just to maintain their qualifications for being an asshole. They smell adversity like a shark smells blood.

watch......you'll see :rolleyes:
IS NOT! (heh) :D

... Are we so afraid of learning something about another way of thought that we can't discuss it in an open forum? I'm losing faith in the human race all the time. :(
I think the Internet can bring out the more obnoxious people, and some impatience in most of us. If you're facing someone, you aren't very likely to tell them that their ideas are a Steaming Pile Of Horse Droppings. But on the Internet there's little disincentive to letting your excitement get the best of you.

... not that it's ever happened to ME, of course... ;)