This is how we achieve world peace?

[StL FinFan]

I just read (out of curiosity) a rambling, hate-filled rant regarding the Pope.  Nothing unusual about that, except when I got to the end, this was the description of the person who wrote it:

<the author> is a writer currently living in Los Angeles California. The Temple of Love - The World Peace Religion makes peace among and unites Christianity Islam Judaism and Everyone else and the Countries they all live in as the first step towards world peace, by tying everyone together with their common threads and resolving all of their differences once and for all.

   We achieve world peace by spreading hate? 

[SCFinFan]

Hmm... did you find that paragraph after this wondrous, open-minded, peace-mongering, accepting, kind-hearted piece?

http://www.thedolphinsmakemecry.com/forums/index.php/topic,10400.msg106636.html#msg106636

If not... you should've.

[StL FinFan]

It was way worse, which is why I edited out the name and did not provide a link.  If you don't like the pope and want to say so, fine,  I belive in freedom of speech, but don't write a hate filled rant and then claim to be for world peace and the unity of all religions.

[SCFinFan]

[hijack]

G.K. Chesterton said it best nearly a century ago...

"There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions."

Same's true today, though those people usually come up with some other justification like, "belief in the sovereignty of selfhood" or whatnot. Ah well. I have to live with stuff like this, especially on this site, where the mods will only wax you if you're spongebob or disagree with atheism.

[/hijack]

[Guru-In-Vegas]

I don't hate christianity...just a lot of christians.

[SCFinFan]

You and I are no different then. Though I honestly don't hate anybody. I work very hard on that...

that said...

[/hijack]

[Dave Gray]

I can't say that I hate the Pope.  I thought John Paul II was pretty hip, all things considered.  I don't care for the church, however, and I think that some of things they've done, especially towards molesting kids and covering it up, is pretty despicable.  I found the new Pope choice kinda strange, because the church needed someone as progressive as John Paul II was for his time to tackle some of these more recent issues like Aids, birth control, gay tolerance, molestation, etc.

I find the whole Pope worship thing kind of silly, personally.  Then again, I don't believe in God, so what do I know?

Anyway, my dislike of Christianity is the same that I have for Judaism, Islam, etc.  They're all damaging, in my opinion, but Christianity is just in my backyard.  I'm sure if I lived among Hindus, I'd probably detest that as well.  It's not to say that I dislike the people of those religions, though.

[StL FinFan]

I don't worship the pope, he is a human being like the rest of us and he did meet with victims of priests in this country and has spoken out against what happened.

I do wish they would have picked someone less conservative, but hopefully he will learn through experience.  Visiting this country is an avenue to find out what is wrong with the Catholic church here and find ways to fix it.

[SCFinFan]

Dave, with some of your comments, I have no doubt you know much less about Christianity than you think you do. No offense, but I promise you, you overestimate your grasp on it.

[Dave Gray]

I don't claim to know all that much about Christianity.  I was a practicing (every Sunday, plus CCD and all sacraments) Catholic until I was about 18, however.

It basically boils down to me thinking it made up by people, and has nothing to do with God at all, as God is a figment of man's imagination.  But, I'm open to your teachings.  Preach on.

[SCFinFan]

Of you're really so open, PM me, and we'll talk.

I find myself thoroughly incredulous, however.

[Fau Teixeira]

just to touch on the mods comment earlier. mods aren't here to filter the debate of ehatever issues are being debated. they are here to keep a modicum of civility. if you find people's opinions about your belief system offensive, then how strong is your set of beliefs in the first place.

personally, the biggest problem I have with any religion is the lack of tolerance for "heresy" or "blasphemy"

[SCFinFan]

Because I take offense to people's outright nastiness towards my beliefs... my beliefs aren't strong?

C'mon fau. The real weakness is not in the offense taken, but in the disgusting hatred spouted. Atheism has never had one beautiful thought in it. It has only nasty, sharp barbs to shoot at other believers... probably because it's not deep enough to really mold people much beyond a revolting arrogance.

Furthermore, watch my writing closely. When someone disagrees, I stay pretty civil. When someone says, "oh stick a rusty shiv up the pope's ass," or "he thinks all religion is bullshit, which is awesome." then, well, yeah, I get a little testy. I mean, c'mon, let's honestly think about this. I feel religion deeply. No more differently than I feel, oh, say my pride in my state. Now, down here I've heard quite a couple of people make fun of South Carolina. People in Miami-Dade just think the whole state is a bunch of stars-and-bars fanatics. Well, if they want to tell me, "You know, I kinda disagree with the SC legislature's decision to not completely remove the confederate flag from state owned property," that's one thing. (And one thing I wouldn't disagree with.) If they said, "South Carolina is obviously backwards," or, "Stick a screwdriver up Mark Sanford's ass," or "South Carolina is bullshit," well... would you not expect me to get a little upset?

But the opposite is not true for when some Christians speak out on this site. Let me point out something that was especially grievous. Once tommy, responding to someone who was mentioning one of their friends/sig others/family members had recovered from cancer, said "Praise God" or something to that effect. It was benign and exemplary. Immediately, he was attacked on a couple of sides for saying it. Mods joined in. Are you kidding me? Are people so brittle in here that they can't take someone saying "thank God"?


As for your other point:


All beliefs systems have some form of orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is necessary. You may have a melting pot of ideas and peoples... but you'll need a pot sturdy enough to hold them all. The only pot strong enough to hold the variety of human thought is some tradition firmly believed in, which people are not willing to budge on.

Of all of the possible orthodoxies however, atheism is clearly the worst at allowing contrary viewpoints and diversity.

[Defense54]

I don't hate christianity...just a lot of christians.

Thats where I differ. I don't hate anybody.


Except Jet Fans........they don't count. 

[Fau Teixeira]

atheism doesn't need to be beautiful... that's a judgement call. besides, just because i'm not a christian does't mean i'm an atheist, cause i'm not an atheist.