Okay, I was doing a bit of websurfing and came across a site titled Conversational Atheist. It reminded me of a mini-debate that occured on the 2012 board concerning whether or not crackpot theories and belief systems that advocate teachings of hell if you do not convert to the ways of their old book (ie Christianity and Islam) should be treated with ridicule and ruthlessness or if it should be treated with more compassion.
I must say, I am still in the middle on this one and I think it really is a person to person issue. What happens, though, if it is allowed to spread and become a form of government? I understand what both sides were saying and I agree with both sides actually. It depends on the situation. It is hard for me to determine when to speak and when not to speak. This article has some very disturbing news reports and a link to a horrible video clip of a girl being whipped 100 times in public in an Islamic country. The author asks the question of when you are silent and do not debate these backwards ideas, you show more compassion to the three men holding down this girl screaming in pain, more compassion to a politician that says, "Allah will take care of his own" while children die of smallpox, and so forth.
When to speak and when not to speak.... Here's the link:
http://conversationalatheist.com/genera ... s-debates/
Why engage in religious debate?
Why engage in religious debate?
It's like walking down an empty street, listening to your own footsteps. But all you have to do is knock on any door and say, "If you'll let me in, I'll live the way you want me to live. And I'll think the way you want me to think." And all the blinds will go up, and all the doors will open, and you'll never feel lonely. Ever again.
~Henry Drummond, "Inherit the Wind" (1960)
~Henry Drummond, "Inherit the Wind" (1960)
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ravenhecate
It is really a difficult to determine how one should treat other religious beliefs that you don't personally prescribe to. You want to argue for religious tolerance, however, when you hear of people being tortured and maimed in the name of religious fervor, you feel like you should step in. It is especially difficult for me to hear of women being abused in this manner.
I don't really know what the answer is. I guess I personally believe that while religion is a personal thing, when it interfers with a person's free will, it may be time to step in. "If it harms none shall be the whole of the law"....I firmly believe in that statement. Sometimes it is difficult to determine just what "harm" is involved, sometimes it's obvious. The best I can hope for is that one day human beings will truly enter an age of enlightenment where no one is punished in this manner in the name of "God".
I don't really know what the answer is. I guess I personally believe that while religion is a personal thing, when it interfers with a person's free will, it may be time to step in. "If it harms none shall be the whole of the law"....I firmly believe in that statement. Sometimes it is difficult to determine just what "harm" is involved, sometimes it's obvious. The best I can hope for is that one day human beings will truly enter an age of enlightenment where no one is punished in this manner in the name of "God".
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Tempest Flair
Re: Why engage in religious debate?
I love to engage in religious debate-not to proove a point or to tell someone that my religion is better- but because I like to see the world from diffrent angles. Im a Sagittatius, ruled by Jupiter-I seek knowledge and freedom, and these are some of the strongest traits in my Sun Sign. When it comes to religious debate, I do it simply to hear what the other person has to say and their reason for saying it. I may be only a year-old Witch, but I feel confident in my Spiritual path, and I get no pleasure in putting down another faith to support mine.