Question to all concerning this forum.

[David1967]

I am curious, as I generally am about most things. How has being a part of this forum affected your faith or lack of, whichever may be the case? Has it reinforced your belief? Has it affected it negatively, or has it opened your mind to new possibilities? Or had no affect at all.

 

[DawudTalut]

I am curious, as I generally am about most things. How has being a part of this forum affected your faith or lack of, whichever may be the case? Has it reinforced your belief? Has it affected it negatively, or has it opened your mind to new possibilities? Or had no affect at all.

Peace be on you.
1-RF has given opportunity to see [by reading] humanity at large.
2-It helped to see how other people believe and think about their faith [or no faith] and other faiths.
3-It gave chance to study own faith and chance to find answers -- surely reinforced faith by the grace of God.
4-It helped to see how people fight within a religion [and across the religion] over explanations and then one can see through inner eyes how people take these differences to battlefields, and kill people of their broader-religion with the help of arms supplied by non-believers.
4-Mind and heart too found possibilities to tell others about real teaching of Islam which has somewhat hidden behinds curtain of extremists and related reportings.

Good wishes.

 

[David1967]

Peace be on you.
1-RF has given opportunity to see [by reading] humanity at large.
2-It helped to see how other people believe and think about their faith [or no faith] and other faiths.
3-It gave chance to study own faith and chance to find answers -- surely reinforced faith by the grace of God.
4-It helped to see how people fight within a religion [and across the religion] over explanations and then one can see through inner eyes how people take these differences to battlefields, and kill people of their broader-religion with the help of arms supplied by non-believers.
4-Mind and heart too found possibilities to tell others about real teaching of Islam which has somewhat hidden behinds curtain of extremists and related reportings.

Good wishes.

Outstanding reply my friend. You have a good heart. Peace be on you as well.

 

[DawudTalut]

One wishes may people discuss matters with spirit like yours.

 

[dust1n]

I am curious, as I generally am about most things. How has being a part of this forum affected your faith or lack of, whichever may be the case? Has it reinforced your belief? Has it affected it negatively, or has it opened your mind to new possibilities? Or had no affect at all.

Hasn't really affected my lack of faith, since I'm not sure what a change in a lack of something would even look like. After about 8 years, and several thousand people later, I no longer have much of any interest in religion, if any religion at all. Religious texts seem to have less and less meaning every time I meet a new representative.

Really opened my mind to new ideas, sharpness in debate, etc. just no religion.

 

[picnic]

I've only been here a short time. When I participate in forums, I have noticed that I move the opposite direction from the consensus views. I guess I'm instinctually irreverent and iconoclastic, so I find myself starting discussions that challenge the consensus. If I'm on a Christian forum, then it brings out the atheist in me. If I'm on an atheist forum, then it brings out the mystic in me. This forum seems to make me more annoyed with religion - especially the more nebulous types of religion that many people here like. That is the iconoclast in me.

 

[Quintessence]

The impact of RF on my life is stronger in areas not particularly related to religion, actually:

• Using web forums in general has been a major contributor to my skills and finesse as a communicator. This includes both my skill as a writer, and as an active listener, as well as recognizing and being aware of differences in communication styles.
• Being staff on RF has helped me develop customer service and conflict management skills to a degree that I never would have otherwise given my previous vocations. Now, both of these are major elements of my job, and I'm grateful that my work here at RF has given me such good preparation for that.

Impact on things related to my religion is honestly pretty minimal. I suppose I could say RF had a minor role in:

• ... causing me to change my religious designation from generic "Neopagan" to something more specific
• ... joining a Druidic order, for which @The Hammer was an inspiration (bet ya didn't know that, huh? )

As for the impact on things related to (ir)religions and (a)theisms in general, rather than my path specifically, the list can get more interesting. On the whole, RF has:

• ... helped crystalize thoughts on various topics related to theisms and religions in general, though usually not in a particularly dramatic or revolutionary way (that sort of inspiration in my life comes from other places)
• ... made me realize how vacuous and meaningless the terms "atheist" and "theist" are, in part because of ridiculously stupid notions like "atheist" babies and "atheist" rocks; I now largely consider these terms to be a false dichotomy but seem to be stuck using the "distinction" anyway because everybody else does
• ... saddened me with the frequency at which I see myopic attitudes regarding religious topics, and made me feel more passionate about requiring education about world religions in public schools to help resolve those

There's maybe some other things here and there.

 

[Thief]

I am curious, as I generally am about most things. How has being a part of this forum affected your faith or lack of, whichever may be the case? Has it reinforced your belief? Has it affected it negatively, or has it opened your mind to new possibilities? Or had no affect at all.

I am the cynic I have always been

 

[Erebus]

I am curious, as I generally am about most things. How has being a part of this forum affected your faith or lack of, whichever may be the case? Has it reinforced your belief? Has it affected it negatively, or has it opened your mind to new possibilities? Or had no affect at all.

My own beliefs and worldview in general are ever evolving. I hold that it's generally unwise to rigidly stick with a single take on things. As such, I would have experienced change with or without my interactions on this forum.

That said, one thing the forum has done is open my eyes to the sheer number of viewpoints out there. Some of these I've rejected, others I've taken on board. I feel that even though I sometimes get frustrated with the preoccupation with certain topics on the forum, it's had a generally positive impact on my life.

 

[Deathbydefault]

I am curious, as I generally am about most things. How has being a part of this forum affected your faith or lack of, whichever may be the case? Has it reinforced your belief? Has it affected it negatively, or has it opened your mind to new possibilities? Or had no affect at all.

This forum is one of many I have visited, but is very different from the others.
Some forums I could never be wrong, some I could never be right.
This one has a great balance, and keeps me educated on world subjects.

I doubt anything can affect my lack of faith, as I hate even the concept of faith.
But this forum has made me question myself on a few things...
Nothing spiritual, just my worldview.

This is also the forum I've been with the longest, at over half a year .
Ya'll are good at not being boring.

 

[David1967]

One wishes may people discuss matters with spirit like yours.

Thank you my friend.

 

[BSM1]

I've only been here a short time. When I participate in forums, I have noticed that I move the opposite direction from the consensus views. I guess I'm instinctually irreverent and iconoclastic, so I find myself starting discussions that challenge the consensus. If I'm on a Christian forum, then it brings out the atheist in me. If I'm on an atheist forum, then it brings out the mystic in me. This forum seems to make me more annoyed with religion - especially the more nebulous types of religion that many people here like. That is the iconoclast in me.

What would happen if you were ever on a contrarian forum?

 

[David1967]

The impact of RF on my life is stronger in areas not particularly related to religion, actually:

• Using web forums in general has been a major contributor to my skills and finesse as a communicator. This includes both my skill as a writer, and as an active listener, as well as recognizing and being aware of differences in communication styles.
• Being staff on RF has helped me develop customer service and conflict management skills to a degree that I never would have otherwise given my previous vocations. Now, both of these are major elements of my job, and I'm grateful that my work here at RF has given me such good preparation for that.

Impact on things related to my religion is honestly pretty minimal. I suppose I could say RF had a minor role in:

• ... causing me to change my religious designation from generic "Neopagan" to something more specific
• ... joining a Druidic order, for which @The Hammer was an inspiration (bet ya didn't know that, huh? )

As for the impact on things related to (ir)religions and (a)theisms in general, rather than my path specifically, the list can get more interesting. On the whole, RF has:

• ... helped crystalize thoughts on various topics related to theisms and religions in general, though usually not in a particularly dramatic or revolutionary way (that sort of inspiration in my life comes from other places)
• ... made me realize how vacuous and meaningless the terms "atheist" and "theist" are, in part because of ridiculously stupid notions like "atheist" babies and "atheist" rocks; I now largely consider these terms to be a false dichotomy but seem to be stuck using the "distinction" anyway because everybody else does
• ... saddened me with the frequency at which I see myopic attitudes regarding religious topics, and made me feel more passionate about requiring education about world religions in public schools to help resolve those

There's maybe some other things here and there.

Wow, Very good and detailed reply....you do have good communication skills

 

[David1967]

What would happen if you were ever on a contrarian forum?

I have a friend who is a member of the contrarian order.

 

[George-ananda]

I am curious, as I generally am about most things. How has being a part of this forum affected your faith or lack of, whichever may be the case? Has it reinforced your belief? Has it affected it negatively, or has it opened your mind to new possibilities? Or had no affect at all.

Being a part of this forum has increased my certainty about my religious position as it showed me that there are really no arguments against my position that hold in my objective analysis. On this forum I have been given resistance from all sides and honestly nothing has even come close to changing my basic worldview. By debating/discussing I have though refined some details of my position and learned how to better relate them to others.

 

[Quintessence]

Some forums I could never be wrong, some I could never be right.

But you know what the truth is about that, right?

You're never wrong.
And you're always right.

But I could be wrong about that.

I doubt anything can affect my lack of faith, as I hate even the concept of faith.

Hate is probably too strong a word for me, but I can't handle faith-based worldviews well either, and I doubt anything will change my brain on that. Some people are just hard-wired for thinking too damn much to the point that it's kind of annoying at times.

 

[BSM1]

I have a friend who is a member of the contrarian order.

Cool. Which side is he or she on?

 

[Deathbydefault]

But you know what the truth is about that, right?

You're never wrong.
And you're always right.

But I could be wrong about that.

Haha.
I meant it in the sense that those other sites are overrun with all atheists or all theists.
So I would either always be among people who agreed with me, or those whom disregarded my posts.

Hate is probably too strong a word for me, but I can't handle faith-based worldviews well either, and I doubt anything will change my brain on that. Some people are just hard-wired for thinking too damn much to the point that it's kind of annoying at times.

Exactly.

 

[David1967]

Cool. Which side is he or she on?

Depends on which side I am on...He's just contrary to that.

 

[BSM1]

Depends on which side I am on...He's just contrary to that.

Figures...