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The War on Christianity in America
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<blockquote data-quote="AETERNAM REX" data-source="post: 69970" data-attributes="member: 3949"><p>I'm not real familiar with Mr. Van Impe, but he himself seems to be somewhat radical.</p><p> </p><p>I don't consider myself a Christian, although I was raised in a predominately Christian family and community, and generally agree with a lot of the message. I see a lot of truths and good lessons in the bible, as well as other religious literature. Personally, I feel uncomfortable trying to categorize my beliefs and/or philosophy into this or that religion. Philosophy is something that is a personal choice, a demonstration of free will, and one that should be respected.</p><p> </p><p>I talk to religious folks and try to explore different philosophies. What I see is a lot of commonality within almost all of them. Much of the history and message is the same or very similar, ...or at least has <em>something</em> in common. I look at religion and I wonder what the universal truth is. I wonder why people use religion as an excuse to compete, fight, argue, and be violent instead of coming together and collecting their vast resources of knowledge to try to discern something greater, something universal.</p><p> </p><p>'My god can beat up your god' or 'I'm right and you're all wrong' ...just seems rather arrogant, bizarre, and silly to me. It is just very counterproductive and inefficient.</p><p> </p><p>I don't condone prejudice of any religion or group of people. I could care less what you believe, what color you are, who you marry, who (or what) you have sex with, etc. So long as you don't bother me, it's whatever. I don't mean that to suggest that I have no interest in people, just that I am over it, no hang-ups in that area. I've been a few places, and I've learned above all, that people are people no matter where you go. We all have a lot in common in spite of our cultural and/or individual differences.</p><p> </p><p>And while I seem to pick on Christians, it is because I am an American, ...and in the USA, Christianity is the predominant religion. The reality is that Christianity is somewhat problematic as it has become dominant to the point of imposing upon others. It isn't about Christianity per se', but rather freedom of religion. If we are to talk about religious conflict and secularism in other parts of the world, I would have equally as much to point out.</p><p> </p><p>With regard to radical Muslims, ...I could care less what they believe. The issue is that they are violating others. The Why in something is almost always relevant, so I won't suggest that it isn't about religion. But regardless of what they believe, it isn't a legitimate reason to justify killing people.</p><p> </p><p>Sam, you're obviously a good person with a reasonable outlook. You are a professed Christian who (if I were to guess) probably gets the real message. I know there are a lot of people like yourself out there who are more than happy to respect others' right to choose. I just wish there were more, as we may actually get somewhere as a species.</p><p> </p><p>I think law has a lot to do with it, as I mentioned in an above post. If there weren't the influence of religion into law, a lot of the current conflicts would be nonexistent. People wouldn't have the same concerns or feelings of their beliefs or lifestyle being threatened. I mean really, just look at what a mess it creates. People can't drink on Sunday, Christians are having to call marriage something different than what they believe, gay people are being told they are wrong and being denied civil rights and benefits, Cub Scouts groups are having to accept gay leaders against parents' wishes, non-Christians are having to take part in prayers to the Christian god at football games, etc, etc..</p><p> </p><p>What would it be like to see people openly talking about their religion in the interest of sharing and learning rather than arguing? What would it be like to see public areas with monuments dedicated to different beliefs, to celebrate cultural diversity in America? ...just a thought.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AETERNAM REX, post: 69970, member: 3949"] I'm not real familiar with Mr. Van Impe, but he himself seems to be somewhat radical. I don't consider myself a Christian, although I was raised in a predominately Christian family and community, and generally agree with a lot of the message. I see a lot of truths and good lessons in the bible, as well as other religious literature. Personally, I feel uncomfortable trying to categorize my beliefs and/or philosophy into this or that religion. Philosophy is something that is a personal choice, a demonstration of free will, and one that should be respected. I talk to religious folks and try to explore different philosophies. What I see is a lot of commonality within almost all of them. Much of the history and message is the same or very similar, ...or at least has [I]something[/I] in common. I look at religion and I wonder what the universal truth is. I wonder why people use religion as an excuse to compete, fight, argue, and be violent instead of coming together and collecting their vast resources of knowledge to try to discern something greater, something universal. 'My god can beat up your god' or 'I'm right and you're all wrong' ...just seems rather arrogant, bizarre, and silly to me. It is just very counterproductive and inefficient. I don't condone prejudice of any religion or group of people. I could care less what you believe, what color you are, who you marry, who (or what) you have sex with, etc. So long as you don't bother me, it's whatever. I don't mean that to suggest that I have no interest in people, just that I am over it, no hang-ups in that area. I've been a few places, and I've learned above all, that people are people no matter where you go. We all have a lot in common in spite of our cultural and/or individual differences. And while I seem to pick on Christians, it is because I am an American, ...and in the USA, Christianity is the predominant religion. The reality is that Christianity is somewhat problematic as it has become dominant to the point of imposing upon others. It isn't about Christianity per se', but rather freedom of religion. If we are to talk about religious conflict and secularism in other parts of the world, I would have equally as much to point out. With regard to radical Muslims, ...I could care less what they believe. The issue is that they are violating others. The Why in something is almost always relevant, so I won't suggest that it isn't about religion. But regardless of what they believe, it isn't a legitimate reason to justify killing people. Sam, you're obviously a good person with a reasonable outlook. You are a professed Christian who (if I were to guess) probably gets the real message. I know there are a lot of people like yourself out there who are more than happy to respect others' right to choose. I just wish there were more, as we may actually get somewhere as a species. I think law has a lot to do with it, as I mentioned in an above post. If there weren't the influence of religion into law, a lot of the current conflicts would be nonexistent. People wouldn't have the same concerns or feelings of their beliefs or lifestyle being threatened. I mean really, just look at what a mess it creates. People can't drink on Sunday, Christians are having to call marriage something different than what they believe, gay people are being told they are wrong and being denied civil rights and benefits, Cub Scouts groups are having to accept gay leaders against parents' wishes, non-Christians are having to take part in prayers to the Christian god at football games, etc, etc.. What would it be like to see people openly talking about their religion in the interest of sharing and learning rather than arguing? What would it be like to see public areas with monuments dedicated to different beliefs, to celebrate cultural diversity in America? ...just a thought. [/QUOTE]
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