11
votes
Be still and know that I am God
My wife just found a candle that was gifted to her by a coworker that contained this phrase and it caused somewhat of a debate about its destiny, which made me wonder... are we discussing religion and/or the lack thereof here? /r/atheism became a circlejerky hive of scum and villainy, can we do better? Or is a topic so inherently divisive inherently beyond reproach? Can emotion and anecdotal experiences ever compete on even footing with logic and reason?
I don't think religious discussion is any more or less divisive than political discussion. Once you get into debating value priorities, it doesn't make any sense to ignore where those value priorities come from. For many people, those value priorities come from a religious upbringing or from scripture directly. That seems totally within the realm of discussable material.
That said, I don't think there is much that can convince me to believe in the Christian god or any other particular version. I am not convinced one such being doesn't exist, but it also doesn't impact me personally that much aside from a childhood reared in and among the Catholic church and growing up among a bunch of pastoral families.
The end result of that messy background is that I tend to heavily value inter-religious understanding and tolerance. I've had a bunch of quite positive experiences throughout my life with people who come from a wide variety of backgrounds themselves. I think if you believe in a divine, great. If you don't, great. If you don't know what to believe, that's fine too. I don't mind you talking about what you believe and I don't mind you trying (though it'll probably fail; it ain't my first rodeo) to convince me your way is right. I typically see religious community as a positive and it annoys me when I see people so easily discount the communal needs that many religions provide, as though they are somehow themselves above those same needs.
The issue for me with a thread like this, and I had a similar concern with the Trump supporter thread, is that it's so broad and vague that we could be discussing just about anything under the umbrella of "religion." I know enough about a lot of political issues to frame questions to discuss on those matters, but I feel a good deal less comfortable doing the same for religious discussions.
I have strong, reformed protestant beliefs and am very active in church and love reading about theology. My only hope with tildes is that I have trust and security with both the mechanics of the community and hopefully the people in it so that I don't feel like I have to remove any part of my beliefs from my internet identity because on reddit you mention religion and you get downvoted to oblivion unless it's a very generic "god loves everyone" post.
Of course it is, I've done it many times. I am the black sheep atheist where most of my friends have been Christians of some kind or another, I've debated it before. It's entirely possible for it to stay rational if all parties want it too. If you repeatedly engage with people who's only desire to to stir you or other people into anger, then yeah, it declines pretty quickly... But especially given the culture we're setting now, I think we'll have an easier time then many conversation sites with this.
As long as there aren't people poisoning the well in discussions. :/
I'm not very familiar with specific sayings in religions...where does this one come from? Just curious. Thanks.
It's from The Bible (Psalm 46:10 NIV).
Ah, thanks.
My favourite verse in the bible!
I wouldn't call myself christian, or religious, but I do have spiritual beliefs, and this speaks to the core of it.
Being still, letting go of the superficial, the outer realm, and letting it fall away as in meditation, to let what is behind everything come through. Whatever words you may use for that.
Very poetic.
As long as its civil, why not? I willing to have a philosophical argument about religion, but maybe not a 'current affairs' one.
I would say it depends on the parameters of the competition? I don't think that spiritual/emotional/mental experiences are a contest.
My religious background is rather eclectic. While I am upfront about not liking parts of belief structures that advocate inflicting harm on unwilling/unconsenting subjects, people feel comfortable about talking to me about their various experiences.
My grandmother was Buddhist, Christian, and Shinto at the same time. My aunt studies western horoscopes in great detail. (She tells me that I am Leo sun, Scorpio moon, and Piceses rising. This apparently explains a great deal about my behavior, but a different friend says it's because I'm born in the year of the dog.) My sempai at the farm is named after a Hawai'ian god (which has its dangers) and speaks about his grandmother's aumakua visiting as an owl. I personally think that if I am aware of existing after I'm dead, I'll ask around then. :)
If someone posts "Hey, I had this spiritual experience!" I would probably post "Rock on!" and leave it at that.
If someone posts saying, "I had this experience, and it made me think about X," I'm willing to talk a lot. I'll say what I think about it as it relates to humans. I'll compare or contrast it with other philosophies. I will listen to how it relates to your existence and comment seriously.
If someone tells me, this is my experience and and it should be yours too, I won't touch it with a ten foot pole.
They have a lot of overlap but they aren't inherently the same. There are topics of religion that have nothing to do with politics and vice versa.
You can discuss both on a philosophical plane. Philosophers and freshmen theology students have been doing it for centuries.
Is it sufficient because someone is an atheist to say no one should speak of God? Is it likewise sufficient if someone is not an atheist that they should disallow someone to speak of there being no God? We are all evolving and changing, at least ideally. If we are stagnantly in a position, then this is the poison.