I really tend to keep my distance from religious discussion. But I wanted to raise some questions, points and to get a discussion under way for a serious topic.

Within our grand and vast campus environment it is not uncommon to see religious promotion whether that originating from church, or university club(s).

As a believer and a theist; my school of thought teaches me that: The grand architect of the universe, god, should be treated in the purest form in conversation from man to man; and that his image should not be tainted by over-exaggeration, dogma, and (unfortunately) sometimes animosity and dogmatic spreading of interpretations.

So why is it that in this time, the year 2013, I see students taking such incredible offence to the ideas presented by religious and spiritual indifference?

What is it that makes a man's belief lower than another man's?
Should we not aim to live under unity and brotherhood?
If your religion teaches you that your beliefs are indeed greater, do you ever consider that god sees all of us as his children? and thus born of the same blood and bound by the same basic morals world wide? And as such, do you not then understand that your fellow man would have the same appreciation for our great architect?

Originally Posted by ZSimon

So why is it that in this time, the year 2013, I see students taking such incredible offence to the ideas presented by religious and spiritual indifference?

What is it that makes a man's belief lower than another man's?
Should we not aim to live under unity and brotherhood?
If your religion teaches you that your beliefs are indeed greater, do you ever consider that god sees all of us as his children? and thus born of the same blood and bound by the same basic morals world wide? And as such, do you not then understand that your fellow man would have the same appreciation for our great architect?

I can only speak for myself, but I have heard others say some of the same things.

I am an atheist. I was raised Roman Catholic, and I cannot stand Catholicism. So, if you're trying to present anything Catholic to me, I am going to be annoyed and take offense because of my own extreme dislike for Catholicism, and it really has nothing to do with the person presenting the ideas. It's simply my own opinion regarding Catholicism, and nothing more or less.
This feeling sort of extends to other branches of Christianity as well.

I do not know enough about any other religion to form such an opinion, so I don't really have anything against any other religion other than the one I am familiar with. I enjoy learning about different religions quite a bit, actually; I really like meeting people from other religions/cultures with whom I can talk about these things.

What I absolutely cannot stand is proselytizing, whether overt or more subtle, or when religious views are forced upon me in any way. For example, people in the student centre at a table with a board and everything is completely fine. I can choose whether or not to approach them. If they start stopping people walking by and trying to hand me things or engage me in conversation about their religion, I do get very annoyed. I don't thing offended is the right word, but I find it interesting that you chose to ask "What is it that makes a man's belief lower than another man's?" because when people do things like that (trying to push their religion on others), that is exactly what they are saying. And then they sometimes get all offended when the people they're trying to "educate" get angry.
And for the record, I don't really like any student group stopping people walking by or trying to hand them things, but I am definitely more annoyed when it's a religious group as opposed to Relay for Life or PAWS or something like that.

I also don't like charitable events run by religious groups because although I might want to support the charity, I do not wish to support any particular religion. However, that's not a blanket rule (I do sponsor a child through World Vision, for example), but it is something that will turn me off of a charity or charitable event.

As for your last point, that is assuming that the person you're talking to follows a (monotheistic) religion. I do not consider that "god sees all of us as his children" because I do not believe in god(s).

That's another problem I have, although it's fairly minor...if you want to convince a non-religious person of something (or have a productive conversation with them), using religion as a basis for your argument is not a good/effective way to go about doing it

I think all people in the future will agree that all forms of religious dogma is comepletely stupid. roman catholics are brutal (im one). like really, you guys dont find it wierd how jesus talks against riches and the vatican has the biggest fortune in the world? or how other religions have their women cover their heads? just be reasonable: god (the creator) finally interacts with mankind only through a "very special person", and his message is to not eat meat on fridays or wear a scarf. i see many students dressed as a result of their religion on campus. its sad really. and again, "jesus" talks against praying in public (something like that) and how a rich man cant get into heaven. yet most catholics on this continent revolve their lives around making money, and then spend it on stupid sh*t while jesus' message is to help out the poor. being realistic, your whatever religion you are because your parents were. if your parents were catholic, your gonna be catholic. if your parents are muslim, guess what, your not gonna be a freaken catholic. in the future, i predict, mankind will finally grow out of being completely retarded and realize "god" doesnt care how many times your wrap your head


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjVLJKR6g7U

Because some people don't believe in god and hence they don't have any obligation to respect the deity. Some people don't like god, like me and they would probably make fun of the god(s) as a joke.

You must understand that they are not making fun of you or your love of god, they're just making fun of your god and his commands.

On the flip side, the people who offend theists must understand that they should not make fun of believers, but only their god(s) if they want to.

I also think that people take offence to preaching because they believe that their own ungodly beliefs are met with such opposition from the other side.

That is from a relatively moral point of view. Of course, everyone can do as they wish.

Reading a little bit about past civilizations has caused me to think that living under global unity might not be the best idea, it doesn't mean warfare though, it's just an idea of going down together due to interdependence in a global civilization.

As for your last paragraph. No, I don't believe that god exists and even if they do, I don't like them. So no, not bound by the same basic morals world wide. Heck, if you follow mythology, Cain and Abel had different ideas of morality too, one killed the other after all.

The existence of such great architect is very much questionable.



Disclaimer: These views are mine and mine only, I do not speak on behalf of BlackBerry.

I don't particularly like being approached by people about religion. I think we can all say we have been approached by two dudes in white shirts with black name tags (morons) but I think we should look at it from an empathetic point of view. We may think they are whack, but they think they have something life changing and they want to share it with you. It may not be ideal but if they don't walk around and let people know they will never be able to spread the word to a wide enough audience. I personally do not believe in the mormon faith or jehovah's witness but I of the view that we should all respect that these people approach us because they care about us even though we are strangers. They are doing this out of compassion. It should be totally be respected. We should empathize because these people are willing to face people yelling at them or telling them to fuck off because they care enough about us to be willing to share with us something they feel so strongly about and that it is something they think can benefit us. Even though you may not agree with their views, that doesn't mean you can't empathize with them and be understanding and respect why they are doing it

I was "brainwashed" more so taught alot about Christianity since I was in private school. I've been around alot of Buddhists and other religions.

But you're right. The ideals of religion are important and many of them encourage spreading these ideals to others.

As an agnostic person, I believe religion is good for the morals and lessons it teaches. Too many people get caught up saying X religion is better or "more right" than Y religion. It's ok to preach (as in tell others about it" but not force it upon others or spamming it everywhere.

One thing I picked up and liked being around Buddhists was this one Dharma they had. They believed that all religions have their own ideals and equally beneficial. Everyone should respect each others religion and learn about the positive morals they all teach.

Religions were only created because people were too afraid to die without the hope that there would be something else for them. Religion causes more problems than it ever solves in my opinions, see the crusades, the thirty year war, the lebanese civil war, etc.
The crazy thing is, a lot of these religions stem from a book. Next thing you know, our grandchildren will be worshipping The Great Lord Dumbledore.
To each their own, believe what you will, this is just my opinion on it all. Big bang theory.

Originally Posted by rpg51

I don't particularly like being approached by people about religion. I think we can all say we have been approached by two dudes in white shirts with black name tags (morons) but I think we should look at it from an empathetic point of view. We may think they are whack, but they think they have something life changing and they want to share it with you. It may not be ideal but if they don't walk around and let people know they will never be able to spread the word to a wide enough audience. I personally do not believe in the mormon faith or jehovah's witness but I of the view that we should all respect that these people approach us because they care about us even though we are strangers. They are doing this out of compassion. It should be totally be respected. We should empathize because these people are willing to face people yelling at them or telling them to fuck off because they care enough about us to be willing to share with us something they feel so strongly about and that it is something they think can benefit us. Even though you may not agree with their views, that doesn't mean you can't empathize with them and be understanding and respect why they are doing it

No, they're doing it because it's "part of their religion". It doesn't show any compassion nor respect for others, and yet they expect to be respected in return. They aren't doing something "good" for others. If they do not respect my ability to be in my own home without people coming day after day to try and convert me, or my ability to walk down the street without being told how I need to embrace Jesus or I'm going to hell, then they do not deserve any respect in return. Going under the assumption that these people aren't stupid, they must realize that the vast majority of people don't like being approached like this...and yet they continue to do it because they're so convinced that they're right and their beliefs trump those of other people's, which gives them the right to try to "save" others by converting them.

How do you know that? I am sure they have other things to do but they gave it up because they want to share something with you (a complete stranger) that they think can significantly change your life in a way nothing else will. If you experienced something that you think was that powerful wouldn't you want to share that with others. They are going out of there way and willing to take abuse and possibly giving up much better paying careers to share something with you. How can you not respect that? It doesn't matter if they you don't believe in what they believe in. If they don't approach you will you ever be able to hear the message that they believe will change your life? most likely not. They are not forcing you to believe in their religion, they aren't holding a gun to your head. Sure you may not believe that there is a hell and sure they say things that sound very scary but they aren't doing that to hurt or disrespect you. If you had something you thought can drastically change people's lives wouldn't you try everything possible in order to make sure they hear it? even if it means approaching people? Is not better to that people hear you out, even in the least idealistic way than to now hear it at all? Look at it from their point of view and you will understand what I mean. Again just to clarify I also do not like being approached or believe in what those people have to say

Originally Posted by rpg51

How do you know that? I am sure they have other things to do but they gave it up because they want to share something with you (a complete stranger) that they think can significantly change your life in a way nothing else will. If you experienced something that you think was that powerful wouldn't you want to share that with others. They are going out of there way and willing to take abuse and possibly giving up much better paying careers to share something with you. How can you not respect that? It doesn't matter if they you don't believe in what they believe in. If they don't approach you will you ever be able to hear the message that they believe will change your life? most likely not. They are not forcing you to believe in their religion, they aren't holding a gun to your head. Sure you may not believe that there is a hell and sure they say things that sound very scary but they aren't doing that to hurt or disrespect you. If you had something you thought can drastically change people's lives wouldn't you try everything possible in order to make sure they hear it? even if it means approaching people? Is not better to that people hear you out, even in the least idealistic way than to now hear it at all? Look at it from their point of view and you will understand what I mean. Again just to clarify I also do not like being approached or believe in what those people have to say

You kept saying, "something that THEY believe will change your life", and that is exactly the problem.
I agree that it's not intentionally to hurt or disrespect a person, but that is what it amounts to, because it's essentially showing that they believe your views are wrong and if you don't switch to their views, you will eventually be punished.

isn't god a flying spaghetti monster?

Originally Posted by chappy89

isn't god a flying spaghetti monster?

Pastafarianism for the win!!!

Originally Posted by Chris23

Pastafarianism for the win!!!

Don't preach your religion here.

Originally Posted by Afzal

Don't preach your religion here.

haha nicely done. yeah im afraid to sneeze on this site without receiving an infraction for it lately lol

The reason I get really annoyed by them is usually from their persistence and also I have already heard about many religions from one way or another, and I don't want to listen to someone trying to convert me again. As starfish said, I don't care if they stand at a booth and if I have questions, then I can approach them. It bugs me when they approach me when it is quite evident I don't want to hear about their religion. I have looked into religions and I have my own beliefs which are different than the main ones.

I have had religious discussions with friends and I do find them enlightening but I do not tend to find them convincing. I usually inform them of that, since I know they want me to have a happy afterlife they believe in but at the same time if they keep trying to convert me, I do get annoyed