Whats going on with all of the religious threads?

I thought I'd seen a thread in response to them already...but then I couldn't find it. I am all for freedom of speech and people feeling comfortable talking about personal things on this site. Its a site for our health and that includes body and mind. But to me that means how your lifestyle :relationships, friendships, beliefs, practices, etc etc effect your health and weight goals. There are plenty of OT threads...from britney spears to annoying neighbors etc and thats fine. But they are specified as being OT. Does anyone else find all the recent religious threads odd? Its one thing to talk about your faith effecting your health goals or your will power , because for many people they are very connected. But its entirely different to talk about evolution being wrong and god saving you...it irks me a little. I'm not usually one to post a thread criticizing other peoples posts, because I think it goes against the openness of the peertrainer community! everyone should feel comfortable posting. But the recent bulk of religious threads is a little strange, yea?

Wed. Mar 28, 11:47pm

i think the religious threads are a result of the recent media coverage of "The Secret" and "The God Delusion". just like during the period before the elections we were bombarded with political threads and whenever a new diet fad or drug comes out of hollywood, you will find many threads on the topic. this too shall pass.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 9:48 AM

ahhhhmen!!!

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 9:57 AM

OP - I wholeheartedly agree with you on every point!

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 10:00 AM

Neptune, a possible symbol for spirituality, was in exact conjunction with Mars, a possible symbol for athletics and aggression, this past Sunday. Whoa. My inner wacko could not resist posting this little piece of sky info. As far as the astroNomy (the respectable science) is concerned, it's true. As far as the astroLogy is concerned, take it or leave it, it's just interesting.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 10:02 AM

so if you don't want to see it, don't open the thread - simple enough :)

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 11:09 AM

It is not always obvious, though, like the Do you want to get healthy? subject line offered me no clue

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 11:14 AM

I've been tempted to throw god into all threads, but I figured some people (especially the superchristians) wouldn't appreciate my sense of humor...

Like for "How to get non-posters booted": Denounce The Secret! Just pray, and it shall be. Amen.

Or for "Lose vs. Loose": Do nott consirn yorself with the propper use of a languige Jesus didnt speek. I dont.

Or "Anyone scared to lose weight": If you accept Jesus as your personal Savior and donate half your income to the church, you will never walk with fear again. Praise be. We accept checks.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 11:25 AM

and the adam and eve really is a sex-toy company. again, ambiguous title for a religious thread. see a pattern? it's definitely noticable that there has been a recent influx of religiuous topics. maybe because it's the easter-time-of-year? i'm not into most of the OT-threads, but sometimes open them out of curiosity. when the opening post is offensive, even if the subject does not interest me on a daily basis, i comment and share my opinion. these threads are not some kind of pep-rally, are they? i mean, so what if i post a comment that criticises the topic? that's what chat-rooms and places like this are for, no? sharing opinions and points of view? oftentimes i comment and agree with the original posting. is it only okay to comment if we like the subject matter?

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 11:26 AM

Religious thread...

What is so wrong with a religious thread? You may not agree with the poster, but do you really have to bash or belittle them for what they believe and express? As someone said above - "if you don't like the topic, don't read it," but if you do, have respect for the other people, please.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 11:46 AM

do you suggest we have respect for kkk-related threads, too? disagreeing with a topic and sharing that disagreement is not bashing or belittling. if enough people share their distaste for certain topics, maybe those topics should be contained within groups and/or teams. this is a community forum and the community can share any opinions they want to. some may find that their topic of choice is not welcomed with open arms by the majority who respond. if you don't like the comments/opinions, don't keep posting on the subject.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 11:52 AM

The thing that I don't understand about the religious threads is - what's the point? No one is going to change someone's mind in an anonymous online forum. It's like those "Choose life! Your mom did!" abortion bumper stickers. Are we supposed to look at that and be like, "Oh, you're right. Abortion is wrong. How stupid of me"? It seems silly and pointless to me..

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 12:38 PM

"...silly and pointless." sums up my opinion on organized and disorganized religion.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 1:07 PM

11:52 poster

Can't we communicate and disagree without bashing and belittling - that is what I said. I do not support the KKK, but, we do live (or at least most of us , I think) live in America. We're supposed to have freedom to think and feel what we want ----- that doesn't mean that we can't express those thoughts with respect, though. I think all our conversations would be more productive if we learned to respect others at the same time we disagree.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 1:38 PM

Some of us find it hard to respect brainwashed people who think that there's something wrong with anyone who doesn't believe as they do. I'm rude to these people in the street too, not just in an anonymous forum.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 1:46 PM

A couple of questions -
How do you recognize these people on the street?
Aren't you rude to them because they don't believe as you do?
What's the difference?
How do you know you have not been brainwashed?
Sorry, don't mean to be contentious. I just think all of need to consider the other's point of view.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 2:06 PM

My 2 cents worth

"how do you recognize them on the street?" Sometimes it is very easy, people passing out flyers, trying to engage you in conversation, all but physically stopping you so they can "save" you. Once a woman came up to me while I was eating in a restaurant. I come from a religious background that does not look for converts. For me. and many others, what may seem like doing the Lord's work comes across as annoying at best. At its worst it is intolerance. I have been rude to people in the past who would not take "NO" for an answer. I may not believe exactly what you believe but I am a spiritual person and my belief system works for me, my family and my faith community.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 2:58 PM

The question "How do you know you have not been brainwashed?" is a concern I have for anyone in a controlling group, whether it is a religion, a family, a political organization, or some other type of group. For evaluating a situation, I like the book _Controlling People: How to Recognize, Understand, and Deal with People Who Try to Control You_ by Patricia Evans. Unfortunately, the book reads like a 5th-grade textbook, but I cannot find another author who is saying what she is saying. I especially like her concept of confabulation, which is defined as the telling of imaginary events to fill in the gaps of what is not known. Controlling people must "know it all" to maintain control, so if they don't know, they make it up.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 3:18 PM

i have yet to come across a thread that opens with anything like, "hey, i know there's no god or spiritual higher being. have you been fooled into thinking there is? are your religious beliefs getting in the way of living your life?" come on, people. there is definitely a tendency to convert more so than to disillusion. these uber-religious ideas may find some to support them and preach to others, but here on the agnostic side, i am not hanging around churches or synagogues or temples and attempting to get others to relinquish their beliefs or show them scientific evidence of evolution or whatever! and i don't point out people's personal struggles and explain that believing that the lord will save you is only deluding yourself and you need to quit the church and come follow nothing with me. the responses these threads receive are just that...RESPONSES.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 3:54 PM

to the poster at 3:54..thanks for another perspective

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 4:10 PM

I think some of you miss the point -- The point is, that many of you who do not believe in God really do try to force your belief on those of us that do - just as much as any zealot on the street. The fact that someone out there feels that it is okay to be rude to anyone on the street that think believes in God is an admission to that very fact. I happen to have a strong faith in God. Some of you do not. The question of who is more "delusional" depends on what the absolute truth turns out to be in the end. Before that becomes common knowledge to everyone, how about we try and encourage everyone to just be nice! (Does it really make your world better to be rude to someone because of what you think they believe? -- I'd rather spend my time making someone happy - no matter what they believe.)

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 11:02 PM

11:02...yes, I think it's perfectly fine to be nasty to fanatics trying to push their beliefs on strangers. This does not mean I'm nasty to normal people who go to church or whatever. Basically, I don't care if you believe in god, believe that the Iraq war is a bad or good idea, believe that abortion is evil, believe that fur should be banned -- just don't shove it down my throat when I'm going about my business.

So go to church but don't try to drag me with you, or I will put you in your pathetic place.

Thursday, March 29, 2007, 11:42 PM

There is a common move to stomp out the rights of people of faith. Amazing things have happened to that end all over the continent, not to mention the world. If you are an athiest, this trend is pleasing, even comforting to your way of thinking. Inasmuch as this nation has fought to retain the common rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, pressuring a person to not express themselves is denying them those rights.
I also agree that, we can disagree with some manners. When people offer me literature of any kind that I do not want, I say "No, thank you." It's not difficult.

Friday, March 30, 2007, 12:04 AM

That's right, it's time to persecute the christians and everyone else. It's a conspiracy, you've been warned, expect us atheists to shout our faithlessness at you from megaphones on the street. Onward christian-bashing soldiers and all that.

If you believe the above sarcasm, I hope there's a padded cell reserved especially for you somewhere, because if you're clever enough to escape your cult one day, you'll need it.

Friday, March 30, 2007, 12:23 AM

12:23 It's hard to believe that you cannot see the hypocrisy of your own words. You are bad-mouthing and attacking my beliefs and presenting an "i'm superior to you because I don't believe in G." attitude at the same time you complain about Christians for doing the same thing.

As a matter of fact I have had athiests shout at me through a megaphone on the street -- and, for your info, I was doing nothing more than walking into a church meeting. I do not attack people on the streets. I do however like to share my life experiences and religious views and I enjoy hearing about the life experiences and religious or non-religious views of others. It is interesting conversation for me.

I veiw those who share or try to share their beliefs on the street as no different than someone offering me a sample in the store. They (or their boss) thinks they have something I will like -- something that will somehow be good for me, and if I try it, I may like it and come back for more --- hence, they offer it to me. I will fully admit that some people offering a taste of their religion can be over zealous, but couldn't we reduce the contention over religion a little, if we responded as politely as we would to someone offering us a chocolate - whether we wanted it, needed it, or not? I will agree that IF they tried to force the chocolate down my throat, I'd probably fight them off, but, if they just wanted to tell me that their process for making chocolates is somehow different and that's it's worth trying - I wouldn't be offended by them telling me, nor, would I feel the need to be rude in telling them that I just didn't eat chocolate.

Friday, March 30, 2007, 1:40 AM

who are you, as a church-goer, to speak for me, as an atheist? to state that "If you are an athiest, this trend is pleasing, even comforting to your way of thinking. " ??? what a crock! how dare you present as fact the idea, the opinion, the notion, that i or others who believe like i do, would somehow take comfort in the persecution of others' beliefs? shame on you for assuming that atheists rejoice in the denial of someone else's rights. "...a common move to stomp out the rights of people of faith." ??!! it's more like people of faith trying to stomp out people of OTHER faiths. the comment about being rude to people who believe in god totally misses the point. it's not anyone's beliefs in particular that some respond to rudely, it's the tactics employed to inundate others, potentially with different beliefs that they are satisfied with, with reasons to convert. for example, i am overweight and diabetic. if someone offered me chocolates, i would politely decline. if he/she pressed the offer and walked alongside me with the chocolate in hand and showed me the texture and described the flavor and waved it under my nose so i could smell it, i would get very angry. i heard the offer! i said no! it's none of his/her business WHY i said no. and when was the last time an atheist came knocking at your door with Darwin's book of evolution and asked to be invited into your home, if not your head? when was the last time you saw a group of atheists protesting in front of a baptism or wedding, citing false beliefs that need to be erradicated? when was the last time you saw a bunch of atheists carriyng around signs with photos of neglected, abandoned, starving children in front of an orphanage and chanting "support abortion!" ? tell me something, if you will. how do you view those who believe that allah will save them or that buddha is the one true god? are you offended by them? do you think they are praying to false gods? are the religious rituals and ceremomies that they participate in serving no purpose with regard to their salvation?

Friday, March 30, 2007, 7:53 AM

1:40, you clearly have your own "poor persecuted christians" agenda, since you choose not to understand the reasonably simple arguments made in this thread. People like you make me wish there really was a movement to rid the world of your type.

Friday, March 30, 2007, 8:14 AM

The Bible said that there will come a day that what is wrong will be called right and what is right will be called wrong and that it will be a sign of the end.

Friday, March 30, 2007, 8:41 AM

ooooh! whoooa! step back! i mean, the "bible" said so! you're only scaring others who believe that the novel is a book of god's words and proclamations. although, i am almost convinced it might be true. what with priests raping and sexually abusing children and getting away with it, it just may be the beginning of the church starting to view "what is wrong with the world" becoming "right" with the world...

Friday, March 30, 2007, 8:51 AM

Just wanted you to know -- all the posts here are not from the same person. You seem to be lumping all the thoughts together and getting really angry at someone you think is a zealot. I'm sorry for whatever part my posts have had in making you feel that way. I believe in God. I respect your right to believe as you choose. I've tried to explain why I believe what I do and perhaps, help you to see a perspective you haven't looked at before --- not to convert you to my way of thinking, but to promote understanding. I'm sorry it didn't come across that way to you.

I wish you better luck in the future in your dealings with those whose beliefs you do not share.

Friday, March 30, 2007, 9:17 AM

Some of us are very tolerant of those who don't share our beliefs. I only lose my patience with those who feel the need to shove their religion or politics or other opinions in my face, be it in the guise of "sharing" or a more direct hellfire-and-damnation approach or anything in between.

Friday, March 30, 2007, 11:31 AM

To 11:31

No one forced you to visit this thread.."Me thinks the lady doth protest too much"

Friday, March 30, 2007, 1:25 PM

To 9:17

You are lovely. Your poise , intelligence and grace shines through the computer. God has gifted you.

Friday, March 30, 2007, 10:14 PM

Thank you.

Saturday, March 31, 2007, 12:12 AM

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