Are you religious?

Have you given Islam, Satanism, Buddhism, Taoism, Scientology, etc. a try? I think not.

 

You knew nothing of the incident, nothing of the circumstance and nothing of respect then. You know nothing of my parents. Please refrain from speaking about them or anything that's not part of what we're talking about, which is Religion, in a disrespectful tone. This is a discussion not some sort of way for you to put down others. If that's what you seek, I suggest you leave. People don't congregate to do that, and it does nothing to contribute to the topic.

Honestly Cerberus, you're a smart guy, but obviously you never learnt to respect people.

 

No I will not because the circumstances don't matter. Violence is immoral behavior. My father, who insisted on me being baptized and forced into Christianity, hit me as well. My mother, who was raised a Catholic, never did. She got angry, really angry but always took the time to provide with the whys and hows of the rights and wrongs, which I have given you as well. You should be grateful instead of acting like I have given you the belt.

Actually, I have. I'm just brutally honest, even with myself.

 

My father and mother never forced me into christianity. Sure, they brought me up to it, but they never cared whether or not I sticked with it or not. My brother's proof of it, he's not catholic, but my dad and mom aren't depressed or anything about it, unlike those mushy christian flicks.

As a child, isn't it often that you question why something is bad? Even if a good enough reason is given, nothing will matter if a person doesn't learn from experience. Basic human instinct. Don't touch the fire if you've already been burned once.

And also, isn't insulting and provoking another person also an immoral behavior?

If you know how to respect people, then why not show it? If you think you're being cool with all this 'yeah, I'm honest, and I'm calling you stupid' crap, but no it's not. It's only provoking me, which will lead to no where. Unless you want me to go by the rules 'as my father always said', and point out that you've just broke the first rule of last light forums and report you.

Like it was taught, to prove it, you must first show it.

 

Reporting me is just another way of silencing reason - the modern way of burning me at the stake - I can't and won't stop you as it would only strengthen the power and importance of what I have said in this topic. I have not insulted anyone and the only thing I am provoking here is thought. Harsh words were spoken, yes, but I have shown that no ill will was intended by going out of my way to clearly explain my reasoning for you. But if you refuse to read between the lines, then there's nothing else I can do for you and it would indeed be better if I left the discussion as I am not fond of wasting my time.

 

Cerberus, I am a very easy person to talk to. You don't need to act all high and mighty with your 'Imma athiest and I have proof why I rock and you suck behavior'. Look at how Skaara had up until now had posted. He has never put you down, but you keep bringing him down, calling him a rambling disillusioned cattle.

And now that I've used your own gun of immoral actions against you, you say that you'll leave this discussion, which is all fine with me whether you do so or not. Whether you meant to insult anyone or not, what you have said throughout the course of this topic ranges from mild to very offending due to your use of words. Something you should watch, if I were you. Some communities are less understanding and less open than others.

I suggest you continue, since this is an interesting topic, but I also suggest you refrain from being such an ass.

 

Where did that even come from? I am not an Atheist and I am neither high nor mighty, but the gun you used against me contained blanks. And about the cattle remark: remind me, would you kindly, who called himself the shepherd in scripture?

However, I must say that prior to this whole discussion Streff contacted me and asked me to tone it down a bit, just for the sake of not causing any disharmony on the boards. Which I promised I'd do but Cerberus is Cerberus, and the winds of discussion have led me to use even more colourful words. So only for that, I may want to have a word with him.

Anyway, I'm not leaving but I will be taking a break as I've spent far too much time sitting behind a computer this week. Time to take care of my flock

 

That was my point. You just rephrased it.

I didn't say that. What I said was that to reach a perfectly balanced morality, a person has to understand his boundaries, which includes religion and the religion of others and the philosophical beliefs of others. Just look at what's happening in the muslim countries right now and tell me only one side is wrong. Just try. You'll see that both sides are at fault. The film maker of the scandalous video that was posted in youtube was at fault for provoking the Muslim communities (which he should have known, was easy to provoke since there is a great deal which are fanatical to their religion). The Muslims, well, shouldn't have just barged in the US embassies and attacked people people. This is because they were not sufficiently educated of the moral boundaries of the different regions, cultures and religions.

Keywords: YOU DENY. Though you think that it should be out-lawed, the law doesn't. And besides it's their house, their laws. So long as their laws do not breach any of the laws of the state, it is allowed.

Other than the fact I was completely deserving of what I was given, punishment at the time was legal. It's only now that 'child protection acts' have started to appear, and that the children abuse these laws to get away with their crap.

I think you're misunderstanding the difference of abuse and punishment.

Abuse means to beat unfairly, unjustly and to a certain degree with which is not deserved for the one being abused. Punishment is when you teach through consequences. If you think that this is criminal, go check out singapore. See how they teach their juvenile delinquents when they vandalize, and try to stop them.

It makes people fear the law. But in fearing the law, you then start to think, after fearing it, why was it wrong and why you deserved said punishment, correct? You recollect what had happened and analyze it for yourself. Then that's when realization hits, and you understand what you had done wrong.

Edit: Re-did my homework. Corporal punishment is legal in many places in the world, so long as the targeted areas are not the head.

 

@ Cerberus: Was any of it called for? Was it necessary?

 

Note: Guys, this thread will inevitably cause tension, so lets each, individually, try to keep this in mind before we speak. And remember, logical argument in a lot more convincing than self-pity or abusing others. I am keeping an eye on everything, feel free to message me privately about anything you want.

Also, this whole legal/illegal and punishment vs not smacking your kids, would this fit better in a new thread?

 

Indeed, I've studied all these (except Taoism), as well as Hinduism, atheism, and the whole gamut of Protestantism. Also looked at the older ones, such as Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism, etc. I've touched on the Russian Orthodox and Judaism, but still lots of gaps in my knowledge there.

Sure, I saw them through the eyes of a Catholic. But considering so many of these are linked in some way to the Catholic religion, that only helped in understanding what the differences were. In the end, none of them convinced me to abandon my Catholic faith.

 

Sorry, it was my fault.

Anyway, I believe we should go on with what Von had said and just keep it here, about religion.

I don't want to cause bad blood with any of you, and now that I am more calm-headed (I was a bit off yesterday due to IRL problems), I think it's time I stop. Whether you guys want to continue or not, is up to you.

 

Rules and regulations here, guys. http://www.lastlightforum.com/showthread.php?t=1

 

It's kind of sad really. Draws a lot of parallels with the Great Worm Cult; you can really brainwash your kids into believing some weird stuff, y'know?

I'm fine with extremism, but when it starts interfering with the lives of others in negative ways, I get angry. And you won't like me when I'm angry.

 

You see, this is the mindset that put a thousand people to their deaths. As with Teddy, I'm also fine with being religious and zealous, but when Zeal is misplaced and just plain harming and insulting... We're all allowed our free opinions, aye?

 

I didn't read all of the comments in this thread, but I can see that perhaps a few battles were fought here... on these 36 pages. So I thought I'd just throw in my point of view on religion, since I like to discuss political & religious beliefs. Don't worry, no hate here.

Personally, I'm sort of a spiritual atheist. I don't believe in any religions because I find (the orthodox versions of) them to be too restrictive on my freedom to be lazy and do or don't do anything I want. I always find it hard to believe in, for example, Christianity because part of showing the strength of your faith is believing in it despite of no physical evidence for god's existence. That is simply too hard for me to do. Then there are also all of the issues with the church; homophobia, sexism, patriarchy etc. Thus I tend to be very critical of religious institutions and often opposed against them, due to their discrimination for me or anyone else who doesn't believe in what they do.

However, I also think it would be pretty boring if all we were are just beings of flesh and bone. I believe that everyone has their own essence, their own soul (including animals), and they make us what we are. Our bodies are simply vessels which our personas use to exist and interact with the material world. Ghosts? No, I don't think so. I think that when we die, perhaps our souls go to a different place. Not necessarily better or worse, but definitely something vastly different to our everyday lives. I don't know this, there's no way to prove it, but it's what I believe in. Still, I accept that everyone is free to believe in whatever they want. Why should my "spiritual beliefs" take priority over someone else's? Lastly, I refuse to accept the existence of deities. They limit our freedoms, and whilst they may be welcome in others' lives, there is no place for a god in mine.

 

^ So much truth, so much reason, so much I agree with. If I hadn't learned what I already have learned, I'd think exactly like you.
That post must be one of the best posts I've read in this whole thread, really.