Count me in there. You see, jjrt is dalovindj’s aunt and SugarBelle is my cousin. I count myself lucky to have them as relatives. From time to time on this board I have mentioned my southern family and here they are. It is good to see them here making the aquaintence of these personalities that I have grown to know and respect.
It is partly because of them that I am so constantly thinking about and debating theological issues. I have had to reconcile my suspicions that religion is all just myth and faith is no more than ignorance dressed up in fancy words, with the utter faith of my family. This family has always been good to me, shown me nothing but love, and with sincerity and passion tried to tell me of the God they have found. The love that they show forces me to at least consider their positions, since I do not feel they would knowingly lie to me.
We have always discussed religion. Discussion turns to debate, and then debate turns to argument. They have the same genes as me, so you can imagine how damn stubborn they can be. Over the Christmas break (no matter how much of a city slicker I become I make sure to make it back at least once a year to enjoy that southern hospitality) I recommended this board as a place where we could discuss these things without really being able to raise our voices due to the rules of conduct here in GD. I must say, I find jjrt’s explanations of her faith much more palatable in this form.
Background aside, re the OP, I must say that I really can’t stand those religious folks who constantly warn of impending hellfire and the doom that sins will bring. These brimstone preachers seem to be taking the place of judge themselves, even when their own book says such is not their place. I can’t stand it when, in a similar vein, people swear that they know their god is the one true one. What justifies this certainty? What makes them so sure that their god would or would not behave in a certain way? As this board illustrates, their are thousands and thousands of interpretations of the one book “The Bible”. Ranging from belief in a twisted I’m-a-gonna-burn-millions-of-people-for-eternity type of god (which I would never worship even if it did exist - the sick bastard), to belief in a I-love-everybody-no-matter-what god (sounds nice - but then again so do Unicorns). Given all these interpretations, how could anyone honestly expect me to believe they have the REAL straight dope on the issue?
People have their beliefs and I can accept and respect that. It is when those beliefs include demeaning and ridiculing other people that I have a problem. When one person tells me they are more spiritually pure then another it seems to me that they are using their religion to gratify their ego. Such a position tells us nothing about reality, or a creator, but alot about the prejudices and character of the speaker, from where I am standing anyway.
I hope that the compassion and acceptance that jjrt has shown here is really the truth in her heart. While I still suspect her faith is based in myth and what she wishes were true, any road that leads to treating other humans with compassion, kindness, and understanding as the rule is a good one (if not the “best”). But any road which makes condemnig others, conceit (as in “I MUST BE RIGHT!”), and spreading/supporting prejudices is a down right disgusting one to me. This is the Christian that I abhor.
Gotta go, glad to see the family involved, and I already miss my hometown after being back for a week and a half. It won’t stop raining here. By the way, statements which paint all southerners as ignorant, redneck, hicks who hate everybody who is not like them are just as much examples of ignorance as saying all gays are evil. The south, like most places, has many people. Some of them cool, some of them loving, some of them cruel, and some of them hating. All broad sweeping statements are never true and do no one any good*.
DaLovin’ Dj
*Yes I see the irony in using the word “All” here. It is intentional, so spare me the logic game.
