I am apalled

Thomas

Thomas

So it goes ...
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By the degree os sexism, racism and religionism that informs the dialogues on this forum in recent times.

Interfaith, it is not.

I'm out.
 
For me, it has been more a breakdown of communication. We have talking past each other a lot these days. Maybe folks are not taking the time to express their views carefully enough, leading to a lot of misunderstanding. I don't know. In any event there are plenty of other places to be, and I sure hope you find one that suits you better. Goodbye my friend. You will be missed.
 
Folks used to come to the forum for discussion on religious and interfaith topics...

They were leaving other forums due to lack of respect and level of snark...

They found a space here...that used walled gardens for beliefs but openly discussed hard topics and had a lounge to play in...

Various forces have changed the tenor...
 
wil said:
Various forces have changed the tenor...
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Yep...funny that. Knock down the walls and fire the ushers and the place goes to pieces...and never quite recovers.

So much for intellectual discussion, let alone thoughtful and considerate dialogue.
 
Thomas said:
By the degree os sexism, racism and religionism that informs the dialogues on this forum in recent times.

Interfaith, it is not.

I'm out.
Click to expand...
well from the exchange I think this is about, I hope you can come back, I do think a lot of this forum has gone from Interfaith to non-abrahamic vs Abrahamic, and non-religious vs religious. very little comparison, and questioning of ideals of actual faiths goes on. But it is the one place I have to go that I can post things from my faith in an attempt to inform others of the real aspects, without worrying if someone is going to repost for the 1000th time something they found in hate sites. Overall though I agree.
 
You know, I think this whole sexism, racism rant of his is just a smoke screen. I don't think the climate of the forum has changed at all. It's just that he jumped into an arena where he knew little and his attempts to manipulate the situation in his favor failed. You know, the same situation all of us have been in arguing with him at one time or another. Only, he couldn't handle being on the other side of things for once. Tis the pity. In a way I will miss him though, but me thinks his leave will be temporary.
 
Could be. I've only been around for 2 or so. Haven't seen much change since then though. But have you noticed how lively the discussion has been since old Tom's parting?
 
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wil said:
I'd say it has... 5 years ago it was quite the different place...
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Ten years is a long time, wil. I don't know whether to congratulate you or feel sorry for you. I've been on another forum for 8 years. I believe you when you talk about changes. I wish I could have been here in the 'glory days' some of you speak about.

A lot of what happens on forums is what new stuff the members bring to it. If you want positive stuff, bring positive topics. I've been horribly amiss in doing this here because I really don't know that much about what interfaith is, and much I can't relate to. So rather than open (from Twain) my mouth to demonstrate my ignorance, best to just keep it closed. Still, I think interfaith should have a voice or two from most if not all religions.

Unlike some others, I feel for Thomas, and had come to respect his capability in expressing the POV of his faith in a sensible manner. He had a lot of wisdom. But like him, I've considered making a departure here several times, but it would be quieter. My personality, as it is with some others, is just to leave quietly.

On the other forum, (Hindu Dharma Forums) we have run out of topics, and now serve as more of a research library than anything. We get a lot of readers, although there are still a few posters.
 
Having been here the shortest amount of time, I know very little of the walled garden version of this site. I do know that when I came aboard, iBrian said that there was a small group of regular, loyal, and knowledgeable members who embodied interfaith dialogue.

When I first came across the forum last year as a visitor, I was intrigued at the debates and discussions that emerged. People articulated their points, disagreed, and continued to engage with one another. We still have that, but there are threads where we drift off topic, and as DA pointed out, I think sometimes our communication breaks down. Part of that is, inevitably, having grown so accustomed to one another. As a result, we don't always articulate our points as clearly as we might otherwise.

I believe that we're all here because we understand the importance of interfaith, even if we have different or unclear definitions of what that means. DA, Senthil, and Joe all mentioned that there are other sites where we can spend our time, but that this place still offers something unique. I've been on those other sites and I agree that there is something unique here. Is IO perfect? No. But I think we have many of the things necessary to make this a haven for people who seek to learn, question, and grow in relation to different belief (or non-belief) structures while interacting with some fascinating people along the way.

Without a diversity of religious and non-religious viewpoints, we all are worse off on here. That prevents us from moving toward the elusive task of interfaith discussion. We have the social side to the site, which is important in helping us better understand who we converse with on the deeper, interfaith side of the site. The two cannot be mutually exclusive. The more we know about the background of each other, the richer our discussions can become. In those situations, because we know more about how the person's views and experiences shape their religious or non-religious experiences, this means there are more avenues to find common ground that allows the dialogue to flourish. But that casual social side can also cause us to lose sight, momentarily, of the serious matters we ponder day in and day out on here and how deeply held are some people's beliefs.

A certain level of conflict is inevitable on this type of site, and it can have positive effects, but let's remember that we're here to debate, understand, discuss, share, enlighten, question, inform, and enliven interfaith topics. We are not here to hate or to obfuscate. Such motives do the world no good. I think we can all agree that, whether or not the present day is an improvement over the past, there are still enough serious issues facing the world that open and civil avenues of communication are vital to our future.
 
A certain level of conflict is inevitable. And I would suggest even appropriate. As long as we remain vigilant about the kind of conflict we allow. Conflict between ideas is valid. Conflict between personalities is not. Some of the belittling comments about Thomas that have been posted are out of line. They are petty. Whatever one makes of Thomas, there is no doubt of the depth of his study in many interconnecting fields of theology. I have always considered him the most scholarly person on the site. By scholarly I mean the time and effort he has devoted to reading many diverse texts from ancient to modern that very few others here can match.

My comments are not in any way an agreement with his philosophy. The two of us are worlds apart in our beliefs. He a confirmed Catholic, me a Deist, with no belief in the Abrahamic religions. Despite our huge differences, we still managed a respectful and friendly relationship on this site. Which is my definition of Interfaith. Which I dare say IS the definition of Interfaith.

Okay, I'm standing down from my soapbox now.
 
He is missed by me but his verbose posts are not. Often volume should be replaced by choice and brevity of words. I always had to force myself to read and re-read his posts that were very academic but often totally bogus.
 
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