Has religious influence been marginalized in our country due to ridicule? And how pathetic to claim snake handling ostracization as a success story. Are there any other hillbilly sects slain by the sword of self-righteous taunting you’ve forgotten?
I admit I am on a soapbox and domineering a one track agenda. I said I would try to do better and I failed at that.
At the same time, we will not “reform” radical Islam if we are not able to be honest about the problematic nature of the Koran and Mohammed.
The vast majority of Muslims now would consider someone to have left Islam who expressed such negative and derisive views of the Prophet, and who claimed that the Koran had no value.
That’ll earn you a warning. Tom specifically told you to lay off.
What if we don’t want to “reform” it, just neutralize its more radical and politically influential expressions? We can do that without caring even slightly about the specifics of the Koran of the life of Mohammed.
You don’t see people pray before a meal when out in public the way you did 20 or 30 years ago. It was uncommon then. It virtually never happens now.
People no longer start of a meeting with a small “non denominational” prayer the way they used to.
People no longer tell me to “pray about it” when I am having a bad day, the way they used to.
I am going to await moderator instruction before I respond to your comment.
And you assert that this is because of ridicule and mockery?
It’s a good thing you’ve never read the Bible and all the horrible things the God of the Old Testiment did. Cause damn, you would feel foolish instead of just appearing so.
Ridicule and mockery is a bit strong, a bit too much. But negative social pressure is certainly involved in curtailing such activities. Not the whole reason it stopped but a large part of it for sure.
I have read the OT.
I cannot comment on your personal interactions. Care to cite actual evidence ridiculing changes minds, because it is a fact 20 or 30 years ago no presidential candidate was courting the radical religious in our country as they are today.
Why do you think they’ll be more prone to shame and embarrassment than you are? After all, your posts show no shame or embarrassment when you are corrected on your assertions as to what are facts.
Good thing religious practice decreased after Mark Twain’s time.
Oh, wait.
Seriously guys, help me out. Give me some evidence, any evidence, that mockery of Christianity reduces the number of Christians.
So…it’s a problem that needs to be addressed, right? I mean, we cannot abide Christians until they disavow completely and unequivocally many passages in their fundamental text. Right?
Wtf? Seriously?
Mo was a slave owning pedophile rapist warlord. A prohibition against responding as such to comments that minimize his atrocities by referring to them as “hobbies” hamstrings the discussion. You might add well just ban outright any discussion critical of Islam.
We cannot abide Christians until they stop murdering people for their faith.
Thirded. The statement was offensive but factual. Maybe you thought he was referring to Muslims in general? Taking shots at Muhammed on SDMB shouldn’t be any more offensive than taking shots at Jesus or Buddha or Moses.
I don’t think mockery helps anything. I think mockery is a position a lot of frustrated Atheists and non religious people take after years and years of attempting to have reasoned discussions that go nowhere and have no (immediate) effect.
I do think think, however, that a certain level of criticism and negative social enforcement of more extreme religious expression has helped to keep such expression at bay, and thus, helped less and less of the next generation from adopting such traits.