Heh, I was going to bring that point up to **Second Stone **myself- “You think YOU have it bad, try trying to explain to someone that Hinduism is Monotheistic!”
It can be done, and it in my opinion is just as tenuous as a position as someone who wants to make ANY claim about a religion. We humans believe lots of odd and tricky things.
But yes, if you would like to Pit me, you’re welcome to do so. It would be a pretty quick pitting though, as I’d agree with you that my position is tenuous, and my beliefs are certainly no more valid than the next person, and that we (Hindus) don’t really know anything for CERTAIN, so it’s possible, just one that some people may agree with and some may disagree with. Though in the end, I think the (non-ultraconservative) Hindus would agree that it’s not really a big deal and if that’s what you’re hung up on, you’re kinda missing the point. Which is cool.
But yeah- you think YOU’VE got problems, Second Stone…
Heh. Try explaining 12 avatars for one God, that’s really one God into Three Gods, as Well as Male AND Female at the same time, in counterparts, so he’s really 1->3->6 which each of those facets of him having their own avatars and demigods and planar beings…
If god and the devil are destined to fight a great battle over the world, and god is …well god, what kind of creature could fight him on even terms? Would it help you to define the devil as a terrorist? The church has fought the trinity battle a long time. They have made a point of trying to define it as one god because three would have an atavistic flair. Christianity wants to be thought of as a newer religion, not an old polytheistic one like the Romans had. It is just that the attempts fail miserably.
It does not change a thing for you to admit that you are a polytheist. You can still go to church on Sunday. And when you pray to the Virgin Mary to do a miracle for you or St. Christopher to protect you, you can expect it to work because they are gods. Confession is good for the soul. So is reality.
Then you are a very lucky person. Every atheist I have met is just as evangelical (if not moreso) than my Christian, Jewish and Muslim friends. Granted, Judaism and Islam are not particularly evangelical religions.
I get more lectures about how evil my religion is than I have ever given about how living well and being nice to others is a good thing to do.
In my opinion, atheism becomes a religion when its proponents start trying to “convert” others to their cause. So there are certainly some non-religious atheists out there, but there does seem to be a growing number of evangelical atheists.
I would agree that more atheists are getting in people’s faces about this but IMO a lot of it comes from anger/frustration about religious people not only having their religion but wanting laws to reflect their beliefs e.g. same sex marriage
I doubt that. You are hyper sensitive to people who don’t embrace religion. Most atheists know better than to say they are one in public. It is dangerous. It can affect employment . There are a lot of religious people who are strident about pushing their beliefs down innocent peoples throats. I don’t know any atheists who attempt to convert. Religious people are trained to accept their beliefs in flawed religions from youth. A pep talk from an atheist would be a waste of time.
I just re-read the GD thread - Nobody mentions the concept that the Trinity is a polytheistic until post #25 ** Gonzomax’s** “The church has a lot of gods”, followed by Sqweels’ post #32, “the Trinity was an attempt to rationalize the belief in the divility of Jesus vis-a-vis monotheism.” [sic]. Voyager makes a comment regarding early Christian and contemporary Jewish beliefs (#40) and suggests that it is an attempt to reconcile monotheism and also combat roman beliefs. These are reasonable things to say in a thread about the incoherence of the Trinity. This isn’t mocking, this is reasonable discourse.
Then you charge in, guns blazing:
You are the person who derailed that thread, and you brought in the anger and intolerance of other views.
The most amusing thing about this thread is that you started it. You should have been the one pitted for your over-the-top weenie-ness. I’m thinking you’re just not thick skinned enough or grown up enough to play on the dope.
Ahhhhhhhhh – suddenly so many threads become so very clear to me!
It’s something we inherited from the Jews; after all, the angels and all were theirs first; right down to people being bodily carried to Heaven. And I believe there is some of that in the Koran as well but I must admit that I am not as well versed in that Scripture as I should be. So chances are most religions are polytheistic ------- I can live with that.
PS – I agree it isn’t trolling when discussed as it is here. But some of the one and two line replies I see throughout the Dope come real close IMHO. One of the reasons I thank Jesus I’m not a mod of anything other than my own brain.
How dare you state a different opinion than others on this divisive religious subject.
You do this with the anonymity of the internet and in my opinion it is nothing but trolling to stir up religious quarrels. Religious quarrels are, as has been pointed out, dangerous and deadly. They should not be instigated simply to amuse oneself, divide one’s enemies or for other reasons.
Was that before or after they philosophically proved that all imaginary characters live in Imagination Land, and that Jesus has a basic cable talk show?
Are you a teenager? Your reactions seem to be just taught responses. Nobody is mocking religion. They are just pointing out some contradictions that are obvious if you give them any thought at all. How does pointing out all the gods you have mock anything at all? Perhaps you will get a more mature understanding of what you have for a religion. You may thank us when you are ready.
The problem with your idiotic viewpoint is that the people you are accusing of “mocking” your religion are doing no such thing. They are suggesting that it could be considered polytheistic, and you are so incredibly offended by this that you’ve turned into a raging asshole about it. Guess what? I, too, think that some of the arguments have merit. Yes, I think that, depending on how you define the terms, that one could reasonably call Christianity “polytheistic.” There, I said it. Have I been insensitive? Have I mocked your beliefs? Are you going to start ranting about me too?
From an outsider’s perspective, it appears that it is your position that even discussing your religion without agreeing with its tenets is considered “mocking”, and that is pit-worthy. As others have pointed out many times, it’s you that’s being the intolerant asshole here, and it is you that brought the antagonism to that other thread. Go read it again.
It is. When they talk about “Vishnu” or “Ganesha” etc, they are just talking about facets of the same 1 god, “Ram”. And really, it’s not important because the stories about those gods are just parables–meant to explain a lesson–and generally not taken as FACT. Before iconic Hinduism that is seens so much today was formless Hinduism–its just easier to talk about someone/something when it has features you can envision.
Hindus don’t actually believe that an elephant headed six-armed giant roams the Earth while riding on a mouse–but it does paint a nice picture.
It can be done, and it in my opinion is just as tenuous as a position as someone who wants to make ANY claim about a religion. We humans believe lots of odd and tricky things.