Kindest Regards Faithfulservant, Bandit, didymus, Sacredstar and anybody else I may have overlooked!
Faithfulservant said:
Since being a member of CR I have felt that my beliefs have been attacked in a manner that I am beginning to find disrespectful and since noone was doing anything about it I took it upon myself to start a thread listing the fundamentalist beliefs..
Duly noted.
If I seemed to have "attacked" anyone it is because I have felt an intolerance on a board that is based on religious tolerance. No.. we do not all believe the same things and I have not shoved my beliefs down anyones throat I have tried to discuss my beliefs with others in a respectful manner and not put my opinions in a negative way until I felt that I was not receiving the same respect.
Very good. This is the way it should be, but not all people have learned to be respectfully tolerant, including others who will come to you with questions about your beliefs. Quite frankly, I saw nothing particularly "attacking" about the posts from didymus or Star, they were simply rebutting your position. You stood a banner, called a rally for your troops, and then cried foul when someone attacked. Think about that, you actually laid out a dare, whether or not you realize it.
Now, I want to be
VERY clear. The *ONLY* reason I interjected when I did was to calm down the heating rhetoric. I chimed in only when it seemed Bandit was about to lose his cool. My warning was to all concerned, not just Bandit. I did not chime in because I disagree with anybody, I do not work that way. I would hope you have known me long enough to realize that, and I am somewhat surprized and dismayed any of you would even suggest such a thing. If you will look, that post of mine was not addressed to anyone specific, there is not even a salutation. In short, it was to everybody, and it was meant to nip things in the bud! I will not accept flame wars, if you wish to begin playing those games, I highly recommend going somewhere that intolerance is the rule. If you have been around here long enough, or read through the old threads, including the one on "Fundamentalist Christianity", you would see that I do not suffer intolerance well, against anybody, from anybody.
However, what I have seen here is an attempt at intelligent, if not altogether polite, discussion of the fundamentals that certain Christians hold to. Quite frankly, I saw no intended belligerence, and it was only when the conversation began to degrade to that point that I chimed in. If my goal was to end this conversation, I would have done so much sooner. But, believe it or not, I respect where you are coming from. I was there once too. After much learning, and prayer, and appeals to God for understanding and wisdom, over many years, have I come to where I am now. And I still question me.
This is Brian's house. We are guests. The only thing Brian has asked is that we respect each other. Look at the Code of Conduct if you need to refresh your memory. I do not think that is much to ask of a guest.
Long ago I heard it said that a man only resorts to cursing and violence to make his point when he has nothing more intelligent to say. Of course, intellect will not get a person to heaven, a caring heart that puts love into action does. But intellect can also mislead a caring heart. And the only way to respectfully deal with intellect is with other or more intellect.
As for threads getting off topic, sometimes that happens. There are no real issues in the world at large that do not affect, or are affected by, other issues. That is the nature of reality. I wish I could remember where, but one of my favorites here was when a number of us argued over what kind of cheese the moon was made of, and mutual calling of each other "heretics" because of our disagreements!
It was all in good fun and well worth the laugh, but definitely not on topic.
Because this is a place for interfaith dialogue, one cannot expect to post something and not have it questioned. Keep in mind, anything posted should always be considered an invitation to everybody. There is no privacy, favoritism or discrimination here, or at least there should not be. I would ask, if we cannot get along as Christians amongst each other, how will we respond when we are questioned over the exact same issues by a Jew or Muslim? Or a Hindu or Jain or Buddhist? Or Pagan? Or Agnostic or Atheist? Is our natural response to dismiss, denounce, ignore and belittle? How can intolerance be interpreted as shining our light? Isn't intolerance more like hiding our light under a basket?
Look, I think very highly of the lot of you. You have all been really good sports. I think that once we calm down and come back with fresher heads and a new perspective, we can actually learn from this experience. At least, that is my hope and prayer.
P.S., for Bandit: Dogma is not a dirty word...
