shmogie
Well-Known Member
A good question, that I have asked myself many times.Based on the brief amount of time I've spent on this forum and that I've spent involved in/looking at debates with others concerning matters of religion, faith, metaphysics etc away from this forum, it seems to me that these discussions make no sense since the participants involved don't enter into it with good faith ie. a willingness to be open minded and change one's mind or position if shown to be incorrect. Both believers and non believers alike, including myself, it seems, only want to demonstrate why they're correct and the other person is wrong rather than genuinely wanting to listen to the other side and change one's mind if they're shown to be wrong and so I ask what's the point in discussing and debating if everyone's just out to prove how right they are and how wrong everyone else is? Heck even on this forum, some believers' only purpose seems to be proselytizing or proving that their religion/faith is correct while tearing down any religion that disagrees with their own whereas the purpose of some non believers seems to be to prove that religion is false or God doesn't exist or is imaginary and that anyone who believes any of it is foolish... with all this, one has to wonder what's the point?
For me, there are two primary reasons why I am here.
First, debating an intelligent person, as most are here, gives me the opportunity to examine my own beliefs, to reaffirm them based upon responding to cogent attacks, and to keep sharp in examining arguments and responding to them.
Second, which intersects with the first is the fact that I have reached the age where I am called a senior citizen. We who were young in the 60´s never thought this could happen, we were going to stay young and just party on, it didn´t work out that way.
As a result of being a SS, I need to exercise my mind, use it, or I could slip into what we all fear, and at 70 it could be lurking very close, dementia. It terrifies we geezers.
Debating here, even debating the weiners, of which there are more than a few, is all helpful gravy for me.