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I was recently looking at a CHRISTIAN forum where one christian referred to another christian as a "tool of darkness"....lol does that count? Is that a nasty thing to say to another believer? They got pretty upset about it.
If anyone is interested I'll PM you the link so you can see just how loving and 'nice' believers can be with each other when there are no atheists around to blame for their 'persecution'. It's been interesting to observe.
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Are we talking about on the Internet...or on JWN? I'm getting confused now. Is this a general comment about the world vs believers?
I have not seen anybody on JWN only ever post sarcastic comments. Some people do, but they also have constructive discussions too. Maybe I haven't been reading many 'god' threads lately...
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oh, hell,,, I feel like I'm on one of those religious threads, where no logic prevails.
LOL sorry bout that tal...You know I love you dearly and respect your ideas.
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I'm not sure I've ever read posts from people that are purely sarcastic with no constructive ideas at all. People can and do get sarcastic. But I don't know of anyone that only does this.
Yes people loose the plot sometimes...and that is a very human trait. If we can tolerate that from others...we can hope for it in return FROM others when we loose the plot.
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I get what your saying...we should be nicer to each other...and I agree...And there are plenty of threads where everyone does that, even people who debate with each other on other threads get together and be nice.
But in debate where ideas are being questioned...nice is just a term for agreeing to disagree. End of conversation.
When people disagree that is life, when people get angry, that is life. We are humans. Stifling feelings is not healthy. Working through them is. And this forum is a great place to safely do that.
We choose whether we want to be offended or not....no one else. If we don't realize that, we are going to struggle with reality. Reality is, the world isn't that nice. There are a million and one things we can be offended about everyday if we choose to be. Just because someone says something derogatory to me doesn't mean I have to own it. It's their opinion. We are all entitled to that.
Some of the threads mentioned here like ones about after life and spirits etc...are interesting. And they are interesting because not everyone agrees with each other. If I wanted to just hear one side of the story I'd go to a spiritualist church where they all agree that it's real and support each others belief. There ARE places you can go if you just want agreement on your beliefs and only want them reinforced. Or...you can ask for it at the beginning of the thread. I'm sure MOST people would respect that. If you said.' I only want people who agree with what I'm saying to respond' thats what you'll get. Boring...but hey. If thats what you want.
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This is what happens when people get extreme about taking offense....taking offense serves no purpose other than to try and shut people up.
They believe that taking their faith away is a heavy responsiblity too....deserving of death.
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So if and when the scales do fall from their eyes at the hands of these attitudes because the ear blocking stops for whatever reason, the resulting damage can be worse no matter how good the information communicated through them is.
People block their own ears for their own reasons. No one else is responsible for their choice to listen to what is being said or not, they are. Often people choose to take offense. They look for it, to avoid facing the issues. They focus on how it is said rather that what is said. That is their own personal agenda and avoidance strategy.
If you want to know about something you will find out. If you don't, you make excuses about HOW people say things. It takes courage to put your beliefs aside and find out the truth of the matter and question YOURSELF honestly. People who have that courage are not damaged as a result. They are empowered. People who do not have that courage just continue to believe whatever they want regardless of what, or how, anyone says it.
Qcmbr... I agree with everything you have said so far on this thread.
OTWO....I think some people do believe this is how we should communicate. At least, thats what they SAY they believe, and how they think others who disagree with them should act. Except when it comes to expressing THEIR ideas they believe to be RIGHT...I often see double standards here. I have experienced some of the most self righteous attitudes on this forum claiming persecution. They hypocrisy is astounding. But as Cofty said. I haven't seen that for a while either.
in another thread, mouthy said she was "not well" and mentioned "kicking the bucket.
i believe she needs some encouragement and well wishes.. mouthy, you don't need to respond to this thread if you don't feel up to it.
just consider it an exceptionally long get-well card..
sending you love Mouthy.......we need you better so you can wind us atheists up again..that was fun!
i've been thinking about you.
and i'm sending you lots of love across the universe.
hope it reaches you soon.... .
Hi Mouthy!...nice to see you. I hadn't seen you all week and was wondering where you were.
I'm sending good thoughts to Ruth too...
