• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Theists... why the heck are you on Religious Forums?

9-10ths_Penguin

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Inspired by this thread.

Why would someone who belongs to one religion participate in a forum about all religions?

We have a small number of members who only ever post in the DIR for their specific religion; I'm not talking about them. But what about the rest of you? What brings you here?

I'm especially interested to hear from those who think that atheists have no business here. If you think atheists shouldn't be discussing other people's religions, why are you here, discussing other people's religions?

Are you proselytizing for your religion? Shopping around for a new religion to convert to? Is there something else that brings you here?
 
PoetPhilosopher

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
I'm religious but I don't take religion super seriously.

I've been told that I have a slight anti-atheist streak, but I often find myself appreciating their intellect as much as that of believers, if not more so, when they share it. The problem is that debate and discussion often gets stuck on the initial fine details which prevents a deep and profound debate/discussion later. Things rarely get past the surface, in other words.
 
SalixIncendium

SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
9-10ths_Penguin said:
Inspired by this thread.

Why would someone who belongs to one religion participate in a forum about all religions?
Click to expand...

Well, I like cars, and I own just one. Should I belong only to forums that are specific to the Nissan Altima?

9-10ths_Penguin said:
We have a small number of members who only ever post in the DIR for their specific religion; I'm not talking about them. But what about the rest of you? What brings you here?
Click to expand...

For many years, it has been the link in my bookmark bar. But initially, it was a link on Google.

9-10ths_Penguin said:
I'm especially interested to hear from those who think that atheists have no business here. If you think atheists shouldn't be discussing other people's religions, why are you here, discussing other people's religions?
Click to expand...

Is Atheism a religion, now? I've heard many argue it wasn't.

9-10ths_Penguin said:
Are you proselytizing for your religion?
Click to expand...

No.

9-10ths_Penguin said:
Shopping around for a new religion to convert to?
Click to expand...

Maybe. Do you have one that better fits my worldview than my current one?

9-10ths_Penguin said:
Is there something else that brings you here?
Click to expand...

That link in the bookmark bar, as I stated above.



ETA: It wasn't until I typed all of the above that I remembered I'm not a theist. :(
 
Hermit Philosopher

Hermit Philosopher

Selflessly here for you
9-10ths_Penguin said:
Inspired by this thread.

Why would someone who belongs to one religion participate in a forum about all religions?

We have a small number of members who only ever post in the DIR for their specific religion; I'm not talking about them. But what about the rest of you? What brings you here?

I'm especially interested to hear from those who think that atheists have no business here. If you think atheists shouldn't be discussing other people's religions, why are you here, discussing other people's religions?

Are you proselytizing for your religion? Shopping around for a new religion to convert to? Is there something else that brings you here?
Click to expand...

I may be wrong, but I’d like to think that most people come here with a desire to better understand their fellow human beings.

The thing is that, as one is busy doing that, one will also come across stuff that one finds pretty troubling; like …people bullying one another or …posts promoting dangerously incorrect things (Trump-style dangerous, not just unattractive stuff), or …threads denying crucial history events, or …folks promoting hatred towards a particular minority, etc.

It’s distracting.


Humbly
Hermit
 
mikkel_the_dane

mikkel_the_dane

My own religion
Snow White said:
I'm religious but I don't take religion super seriously.

I've been told that I have a slight anti-atheist streak, but I often find myself appreciating their intellect as much as that of believers, if not more so, when they share it. The problem is that debate and discussion often gets stuck on the initial fine details which prevents a deep and profound debate/discussion later. Things rarely get past the surface, in other words.
Click to expand...

I also have a slight anti-atheist streak, but it is worse since I am an atheist. :D
 
Kelly of the Phoenix

Kelly of the Phoenix

Well-Known Member
9-10ths_Penguin said:
Inspired by this thread.

Why would someone who belongs to one religion participate in a forum about all religions?

We have a small number of members who only ever post in the DIR for their specific religion; I'm not talking about them. But what about the rest of you? What brings you here?

I'm especially interested to hear from those who think that atheists have no business here. If you think atheists shouldn't be discussing other people's religions, why are you here, discussing other people's religions?

Are you proselytizing for your religion? Shopping around for a new religion to convert to? Is there something else that brings you here?
Click to expand...
God told me to learn from others. I’m like Qui Gon Jin: no Jedi, no Sith, just the Force, lol.
 
Aštra’el

Aštra’el

Aštara, Blade of Aštoreth
I sought to immerse myself in religions and absorb whatever strength, power, wisdom and beauty I could find. Those intentions have not changed. I wanted to learn how others have strengthened their connection to God(s), and share how I have. I wanted to discuss the sides of human nature we express through our God(s) and through our religions, and I aimed to discover how others have interpreted and experienced the divine.

I also appreciated having a place to archive my thoughts regarding spirituality and religion. A future incarnation of myself would one day look back and see how far I’ve come.

That said…

I did expect “Religious” Forums to be more about… religion. The reality is, this place has very little to do with religion at all.
 
Last edited:
LuisDantas

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
Aštra’el said:
I did expect “Religious” Forums to be more about… religion. The reality is, this place has very little to do with religion at all.
Click to expand...

I expect that most people's conceptions of religion have very little to do with other people's. Most communities don't like to face that unconfortable fact directly, but that is how the dice roll.

That comes with the lack of clear meaning of the word itself and can't be helped without a conscious decision to pick a specific subset of definitions that are not quite so much at odds among each other.
 
stvdv

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
9-10ths_Penguin said:
Are you proselytizing for your religion?
Click to expand...
No

9-10ths_Penguin said:
Shopping around for a new religion to convert to?
Click to expand...
No

9-10ths_Penguin said:
Is there something else that brings you here?
Click to expand...
Yes:
1) Meeting people with other views, and having conversations or reading their ideas, makes me realize from personal experience that we are all on our own Quests, and all have their own opinions. Realizing and experiencing this makes me more tolerant towards others

2) My Master advises us to "meet others who have different views than yours". Do not debate them though, He advises, just let all share their view, and learn from it by listening to them, because all paths are important (spiritual or not) and should be respected

3) I wanted to improve my conversation skills. I used to be blocked to express myself (father did not allow me to have my opinion, and if I did he did not take me serious, so after a while I gave up). RF has been great to get over this block.
 
JustGeorge

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
First off, when I joined these forums, I was looking for a place to socialize. I poked around looking for a forum; the Hindu only ones seemed a little... inactive. This one seemed pretty lively, and has typically had a lively Hinduism DIR, so I went with it.

Why pick a place to socialize about religion? Because I love it. I love the stories. I love the rituals. I love the architecture of places of worship. I love the festivals. I even love some of the superstitions.

While my own religion is the one that resonates with me the best, I don't seek to deny what resonates with others, and in some cases, I celebrate it.

If you come into my house, you'll see walls covered with religious artwork. The numerous bookshelves are full of religious books. Many reflect my own religion, but some reflect my past religion, and there are still others that are about religions I've never tread, and likely never will. I still like learning about other faiths, because, as @Hermit Philosopher says:

Hermit Philosopher said:
I may be wrong, but I’d like to think that most people come here with a desire to better understand their fellow human beings.
Click to expand...

It was only natural that I'd pick a place to talk about perhaps my greatest interest.

I'm not here to debate people's beliefs. I don't care to dissuade people from their ideals or values, even if I disagree with them. If I really can't stomach their views, I'll just not pay them any mind. I don't believe it isn't my place to deliberately attempt to thwart one's religious path, as it is a deeply personal thing.

On a whole, we're all on this path together. I came hoping to learn a bit about what it looked like for others.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top