Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ
Spot on. If one of mine decides they want to follow a particular belief system there are those who will either accuse me of pressurising them in to believing or that I should have done my bit to discourage such beliefs.
Madness.
|
Unfortunately, you are right. There always will be those who will blanket-accuse unfairly. Not too unlike presuming or believing that just because a family may read a particular newspaper, for example, that they will 'sit round the dinner table holding dispassionate seminars on comparative religion', which I too do not think is a healthy way to express, question or build any kind of unbiased, educated or informed opinion on a topic.
For the record, in case that comment regarding Guardian readers by Chris was aimed at myself, we do not read newspapers in my house. if something in the public domain peaks our interest, we tend to search for and read multiple sources to gain a balanced view. yes, it takes a bit longer than taking up the opinion fed to us by the mainstream media or single story one might glance over, but even the media can be biased or not present all the information. as I have already said, we should never lose the thirst to question what we are told, because it is that ability that allows us to become a more rounded and open minded person.
I think that to even begin to break down the barriers between those who choose to believe, those who are indifferent to religion and those who choose not to believe, ALL parties need to stop being so defensive about their own personal stance and learn to listen and accept that other's views, thoughts and beliefs are just as valid as their own ones. Even more so those who are aggressively defensive. those who, ironically, shout that no one should tell them what to believe, or that what they do is wrong, or that they are being tarred with a single brush, and then throw back accusations or presumptions that are just as unfounded and uninformed as the ones they themselves have just been upset by.
We should all be able to believe what we wish without feeling pressured into it through manipulation, be that mental (fear, indoctrination, blackmail, et cetera) or physical (punishment, pain, restraint, et cetera). It should make no difference if someone wants to believe something or not. And no single view point should be forced upon another, especially if that person is not able to make an informed, cognitive decision on the topic - in the same way as an elderly person may be influenced, pressured or out rightly led into parting with their life savings by a callous sales person or con man - we all know that is wrong and it should be considered no different to someone
telling or
manipulating a child that they should, or equally, should not, believe in a God. And we would all do well to remember that a belief is not necessarily a fact, be that for or against any religious inclinations. 'Belief', 'truth' and 'fact' can be mutually exclusive from one another.
---------- Post added at 14:10 ---------- Previous post was at 13:42 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by papa smurf
and what if you walk into the room and their all enjoying a read of the god delusion by Richard Dawkins and agreeing with it .
|
This is a good question.