Freedom From Religion

[1984]

When I joined this forum I read the rules carefully and as an ardent atheist the part about not discussing religion stuck out to me as something I needed to be careful about.

I started exploring and found this section of the forum and I'm like whaaat?

Politics and religion are divisive subjects and yet only politics can be disabled, not religion.....why?

Let me preface what I'm about to say by first saying that no matter what happens here I plan to leave this alone. Not an easy task for someone with Aspergers, but I like this forum and don't want to get banned.

I think it is super unfair to have a section where people can spout nonsense completely unopposed, especially on a forum where a large percentage of people may have issues leaving things alone. I'm used to not being heard so I don't except to be heard now, but I just wanted to give my .02 and suggest the following:

1. Give users the ability to hide the religion section. The ability to hide the politics section makes sense given today's political climate. As religion has become highly tied to politics it too should have the option to be hidden.

or

2. Create a skepticism, science, and critical thinking section. Since the no religious debate rule would apply there too, people who don't let religion do their thinking for them would also have a place to discuss ideas that others may strongly disagree with........unopposed.

This is just my option and I plan to leave it alone. Not going to post about my journey with "The Flying Spaghetti Monster" or point out that the evidence that proves your god would also prove that the Earth is flat or that alien abductions have definitely happened , etc.

 

[SimonSays]

In practical terms, the fact is that there's not a lot of anything spouted in the religion section. If you look you'll see that it's a fairly quiet section, not many current threads, just a place where some things can be posted that aren't suitable anywhere else.

I take your point as it could have been an issue, but the fact is it isn't really, not here anyway.

 

[Magna]

Fair enough question about hiding the religion topic. I'm sure a mod will be able to comment. Like @SimonSays , there haven't been contentious vitriolic arguments in the religion section that I've seen and like @SimonSays mentions, it's a quiet thread.

Do the rules forbid you from declaring you're an Atheist and stating why? There are definitely Atheists on this forum. I've always found Atheism perplexing; a declaration as an absolute coming from human beings who are literally insignificant in a universe of which there may be countless universes; insignificant to the point in comparison of basically being nonexistent. Why someone wouldn't assume a position of agnosticism instead is what perplexes me.

On another note: I don't know of anyone here who opposes self-diagnosing autism; after all, it's a common beginning of a journey many of us take unless we were diagnosed as a child. However, there are differing opinions on whether people should differentiate whether they've been professionally diagnosed or self-diagnosed. I request that people who are self-diagnosed indicate that when talking about the subject.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Like the old saying goes, "If you don't like the television program, change the channel." There are many topics being discussed here,...I only read a handful of them. If I have nothing to contribute,...I don't. I move along to something else.

 

[Progster]

This topic has come up before, and I agree, I would like to be able to hide the religion section, too. Since the politics section can be hidden, then why not religion?

There are actually 3 or 4 sub-forums that I rarely use/read, and what I do is mark them as read, so the topics/threads don't come up in my new post feed.

I have no issue with people discussing religion, if done in the appropiate section. What I do object to, and which sometimes happens is:

1. People turning an originally non-religious topic into a religious one, by referencing religion, and then a religious discussion ensues so the topic ends up in the religion section, where that may not have been the intention of the OP.

2. One religious member making a religious comment to another religious member in a non-religion thread, where they know that member is of the same faith. This they can do in private in a PM.

Usually, I manage to ignore these, but it does bug me when members don't respect the rule about keeping religion to the religion section.

 

[1984]

"Why someone wouldn't assume a position of agnosticism instead is what perplexes me."

The commonly understood definition of "atheist" as someone who is claiming there is no god is actually a strawman invented by theists to make the position sound unreasonable. The word "atheist" literally means means "without god". Gnosticism deals with what one claims to know. Most atheists are agnostic meaning that they don't claim to know whether gods exist or not.

Typed and then removed further explanation because it was starting to sound like debate which is definitely not why I am here. I was just a little taken aback by the fact that a religion section exists on a forum where religion has no real place. Going to stop obsessing, mentally put this section on mute, and go back to talking about what I joined this forum for.

 

[tree]

@1984
"...as an ardent atheist the part about not discussing religion stuck out to me as something I needed to be careful about."

That is a misconception.
Discussion is allowed.
Debates are not.

This forum area is for anyone who wants to discuss religion. This forum is not for debating religion, preaching to others or talking down to others based on their religious beliefs.
Hello and welcome to the Religion Forum

Debates are special types of conversations, in contest form, where
one side wins and the other loses. A point system determines the
outcome. It doesn't establish *the Truth.* It just establishes who
won the talking contest.

 

[Gift2humanity]

I'm not religious or atheist and I pray, mad eh!
What people call "God" I call "everything that is, was, ever will be, might be, might not be"
I am a bit hung up on the word "prayer" as it has connotations of religion, yet there is a force that creates, there is a universe, there is such a thing as infinity, and there is such a thing as love, by this I mean actions, feelings, etc, good or bad, on a spectrum with hate and destruction at one end and love and creation at the other.
I do get useful things I can relate to from, say, hinduism, and the little bits I know of Eastern religions and paganism, as some stuff makes sense to me.
I have a bit of a scientific mind and the above provide a kind of bridge between this 3d 5 senses world and the realms beyond this, as this is only a tiny slither of the universe.
Reincarnation and karma make sense to me, but I also respect that other people have opposing views and I am not going to get hostile with them for that.
Same as I would not expect everyone to eat a plant based or vegetarian diet "because it's better".
Live and let live I say.
The meaning of life is to evolve in a spiritual way, we all have a spirit, an individual spark that attracts others, it may come out in desires to serve others, artistic pursuits, sporting activity, anything like that, the list goes on.
I hope that makes sense.