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panther1
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what is your view on people that force their religion onto others?
This question came about as I watched a Jehova's witness and a muslim debate all the points of each others religion and the whole time I was thinking to myself, who cares?! believe what you want and let others believe what they want. I could see both these guys were doing this in the hope of showing the other "the light" but the longer it went on the more heated it got and I could see easily how violence and religion go together. In the end they both walked away unhappy so I really cant see a point to it.
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3/17/2006, 12:07 am
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Forever Xena
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Re: what is your view on people that force their religion onto others?
I couldnt agree more with you Panther.
I dont like being forced to believe anything , and religions have been the cause of most wars on this earth.
I too dont see the point !
let believe what they want , so long as they dont try to force other ppl to believe !
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3/17/2006, 2:48 am
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Lesigner Girl
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Re: what is your view on people that force their religion onto others?
I used to pretend I wasn't home whenever anyone resembling Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on the door. But now that they don't come around to my home, I almost wish they would knock on my door so I could "witness" to them. 
I'm pretty outspoken on this board, but if people don't like what they're reading, they don't have to feel cornered like someone who is being preached to face to face. I don't go around all the time debunking religion offline, though, because I know how annoying it can be when believers start preaching to me. If the topic comes up and/or the conditions are appropriate, I will gladly make a statement or ask a question to make the other person think, but I haven't been persistent about it offline like I have online. Of course, if someone attempts to convert me these days, now that I'm more familiar with a few things, I might ask them a million questions that would have no logical answers, until they give up and leave me alone or I get bored and walk away. 
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3/17/2006, 11:04 pm
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Lesigner Girl
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Re: what is your view on people that force their religion onto others?
If they're informed, they would know that most "Satanists" don't offer sacrifices and probably don't believe in Satan at all. But you're probably right, they probably would run away if you invited them in for a sacrifice, and then report you to the authorities for cruelty to animals.
If they are brave and/or realize you don't really plan on performing a ritual sacrifice, making such a claim would probably cause them to want to "save" you that much more. 
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3/19/2006, 11:31 pm
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Re: what is your view on people that force their religion onto others?
Oh, so you're calling them chickens?
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3/22/2006, 12:56 am
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Re: what is your view on people that force their religion onto others?
I've been doing my best to understand them, and here is what I've come up with.
First, have you ever believed in Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny? Children will believe in these characters because parents tell them they exist from their very first Christmas or Easter, and they don't usually know any different until they are told different, and still don't believe it until they are either told the truth by their parents, or they are logically-minded enough to deduce that they don't exist.
Personally, I doubted Santa's existence for few years before I finally knew for sure, but I think my mom wanted to keep the fantasy alive for as long as she could. The thing that finally confirmed his non-existence was my mom's hand-written "thank you" from "Santa" on the note we left with the milk and cookies. My mom's handwriting is so distinguishable that there was no doubt in my mind who had written it, and I made my mom finally confess.
Obviously, society as a whole could never continue to believe in Santa into their adulthood, because humans have actually seen the North Pole both in satellite images and in person, with no sign of Santa's workshop or flying reindeer, and there is plenty of other proof that he does not exist. However, since the stories in the religious books are set thousands of years in the past and the only characters that would have survived until today aren't supposed to be seen by humans, it takes more to prove their nonexistence.
Belief in religious myths often begins the same way, with children being "taught" these things as "truth" very early on in their lives, and being surrounded by fellow believers all their lives, whether in church or other social settings. While Santa is normally mentioned during one season out of the year, many religious people will physically go out to worship one or more times a week, and some pray several times a day.
For some people, their religion encompasses every aspect of their life. They rely on their beliefs to answer questions like, "What is my purpose in life," or "What will happen to me when I die?" Their beliefs are like a virtual drug addiction. Make them question those beliefs, and they will delve into them that much more to reassure themselves that they do have a "greater purpose" and their soul will live on after their body dies.
This explains why many Creationists will attack any scientific principle that disproves their beliefs. The world's best scientists all agree that the earth is billions of years old and that the various species on this planet have evolved from something else. But there are some Creationist "scientists" who got their "degree" from a Cracker Jack box who will misrepresent the actual scientific theories and convince the general, non-scientific Creationists that the real theories are wrong. Eager to cling on to their beliefs for reasons stated above, they will unquestioningly agree with the intelligent-sounding Creationist "scientists" without even understanding what they're claiming, and won't try to understand the real theories.
This is not to call them stupid, of course. I've had to spend hours understanding some of the details myself, and anyone who doesn't want to believe the real theories certainly isn't going to want to understand it. If they understood it, they would have to accept it as a possibility at least, and proof that the beliefs they have held all their life is wrong, at most.
So anyway, that is my understanding of how some people can develop and hold on to religious beliefs, and why they refuse to let them go.
I almost forgot to mention the people who become religious in their teens or as an adult. I really don't know how many people out there go from having absolutely no beliefs as a child to buying into a religion later on. I would deduce that anyone who has done so was going through a difficult time in their life and/or was comtemplating the meaning of life or what happens to them when they die. They are prime targets for any evangelist to convert, because religious beliefs can provide comfort to people who feel hopeless.
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3/31/2006, 1:26 am
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