Poll: Religious Discussion on the Escapist - your thoughts!

[Giovanto]

Alright, I have been on and off the Escapist for a while. It seems to be the opposite of most forums where most of our decent community members are mature adults or kids that are able to behave like adults.

So here is my question to you my friends - what do you think of the constant Religious discussion? Though I am on and off here I almost always see one, and they often alienate certain Religions, particularly my own: Christianity.

Being the Religious person that I am I don't feel that it is right for those who wish to discuss to, in the process, alienate, insult, or otherwise offend those like myself. I for one think that Religious discussion on the Escapist, with its adult Community, is more then capable of remaining friendly.

So, point of the thread, share your thoughts, and I'd request that when you discuss Religion you don't insult ANYONE, this includes other Religions besides my own as well as Atheists, I do NOT hold a double standard.

And of course, please NO FLAMING in this thread. This is a mature, adult discussion, not a debate or a flame war.


P.S. Some people may wonder - and yes - this thread is a reply to the recent "Virgin Mary" thread.

 

[Lord George]

I like them they provide a good opportunity for people to get angry at each other and for lots of people to feel smug over how they are better then the other smug people with all of them being assured they know better then the non-believer/Believers. So its good for forum moral.

 

[Ignignoct]

The arguing over whether or not to argue religion is as pointless as debating it with people who go into the debate with a closed mind. Nothing's changing.

SoOoOo...

Who here likes Nutella?

Is it immoral to spread an equal or greater amount of Nutella on a PB&J Sandwich as the PB, or should we only dab lightly, so as to not spoil the savor by overwhelming it?

 

[Galletea]

The problem is that you can't have religious debate without someone feeling that others are pushing their beliefs. This always ends in a messy bout of angst. You can't phrase your exact intentions on the internet and so it all ends in misunderstanding and rage.

Also mmmmm Nutella.

 

[Giovanto]

The problem is that you can't have religious debate without someone feeling that others are pushing their beliefs. This always ends in a messy bout of angst. You can't phrase your exact intentions on the internet and so it all ends in misunderstanding and rage.

I did think about this when writing and you have a good point. But I do still think that it is possible to keep it clean.

i.e. Me: I believe in Jesus! Atheist: I don't believe in anyone! Me: Thats cool.

The sad thing is that a lot of Churches give false impressions...if anyone is familiar with the WBC that is a good example.

 

[Zombie_Fish]

The arguing over whether or not to argue religion is as pointless as debating it with people who go into the debate with a closed mind.

SoOoOo...

Who here likes Nutella?

I do!

Anyway back to the topic, I don't really care as long as it's not just saying something like "Screw you Christians" and stuff that's just targeted at other players who have opposing feelings. If it is an intelligent debate though, where they actually argue about the topic, I don't mind it.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

Firstly, there is way too much.

Secondly, as soon as religion is mentioned the same group of people constantly belittle and insult the beliefs of other people. They need to stop being hypocritical fuck-wits, or the mods need to actually start dealing with them. Until that happens it will be impossible to discuss religion reasonably on these boards.

 

[Ignignoct]

What kills me is that there's no actual debate to be had in the first place.

As bad as it is to generalize, I can't ignore how many of these OPs remind me of children who seek to downplay other beliefs as a social coming-of-age and hunger for validation of their own disbelief.

Meh.

You're not going to get any Christian here to debate anything new, original, or profound.

SEGREGATION THEN, SEGREGATION NOW, SEGREGATION FOREVER!

 

[RetiarySword]

I don't mind a little bit. As long as there isn't an endless list of them in my forum search, people saying why this religion is wrong or something to do with the end times.

Otherwise go for it! Live and let live!

 

[DannyBoy451]

Alright, I have been on and off the Escapist for a while. It seems to be the opposite of most forums where most of our decent community members are mature adults or kids that are able to behave like adults.

So here is my question to you my friends - what do you think of the constant Religious discussion? Though I am on and off here I almost always see one, and they often alienate certain Religions, particularly my own: Christianity.

Being the Religious person that I am I don't feel that it is right for those who wish to discuss to, in the process, alienate, insult, or otherwise offend those like myself. I for one think that Religious discussion on the Escapist, with its adult Community, is more then capable of remaining friendly.

So, point of the thread, share your thoughts, and I'd request that when you discuss Religion you don't insult ANYONE, this includes other Religions besides my own as well as Atheists, I do NOT hold a double standard.

And of course, please NO FLAMING in this thread. This is a mature, adult discussion, not a debate or a flame war.


P.S. Some people may wonder - and yes - this thread is a reply to the recent "Virgin Mary" thread.

Simple solution: don't post in religious discussion threads.
Religious debate is completely fucking pointless, so I don't bother anymore, but that doesn't mean I want to deprive a bunch of pretentious, self-important dickheads the oppertunity to look like tits on the internet.

 

[IrrelevantTangent]

I think that religious discussion should be permitted on these boards, perhaps as part of a subsection of the Off-topic boards, as long as everyone keeps two things in mind. Firstly, all discussion or lack thereof of religious matters is to be handled in a calm, mature, and professional fashion, with everyone refraining from ad hominem attacks, defaming of other religions, and basically saying "NO U" as an argument. Follow the code of conduct that this forum employs and let's discuss this as rational human beings.

Secondly, if you are going to discuss other religions, there's no need to make fifty million threads about every single religion. There's no need for "Religion X- Do you like it, why/why not' threads cluttering up the forums. Make a few threads about religion and post mainly in them. When posting in religious threads, refrain from spamming and flaming other users and defaming other religions. There's no need to get threads unnecessarily locked.

That should be good enough; what do you think?

 

[Xmasbeer]

I say "Live and let live".

 

[Ignignoct]

I think that religious discussion should be permitted on these boards, perhaps as part of a subsection of the Off-topic boards, as long as everyone keeps two things in mind. Firstly, all discussion or lack thereof of religious matters is to be handled in a calm, mature, and professional fashion, with everyone refraining from ad hominem attacks, defaming of other religions, and basically saying "NO U" as an argument. Follow the code of conduct that this forum employs and let's discuss this as rational human beings.

Secondly, if you are going to discuss other religions, there's no need to make fifty million threads about every single religion. There's no need for "Religion X- Do you like it, why/why not' threads cluttering up the forums. Make a few threads about religion and post mainly in them. When posting in religious threads, refrain from spamming and flaming other users and defaming other religions. There's no need to get threads unnecessarily locked.

That should be good enough; what do you think?

DING-DING-DING!

Give this man the "Great Idea!" badge.

 

[JMeganSnow]

So here is my question to you my friends - what do you think of the constant Religious discussion? Though I am on and off here I almost always see one, and they often alienate certain Religions, particularly my own: Christianity.

Any religious discussion of any kind whatsoever is going to alienate SOMEONE. If you feel alienated, this is YOUR problem, not the COMMUNITY'S problem.

Being the Religious person that I am I don't feel that it is right for those who wish to discuss to, in the process, alienate, insult, or otherwise offend those like myself. I for one think that Religious discussion on the Escapist, with its adult Community, is more then capable of remaining friendly.

If you can remain *friendly* while discussing fundamental issues of life or death with people who hold completely opposed views, there is something wrong with you. There's a difference between being friendly and being civil. I would insist that people remain CIVIL while still encouraging them to express their views without restraint. Thus if you think Christianity is evil, say so. The other forum members can decide on their own whether they think your criticisms have value or can simply be dismissed.

Personally, I find the very idea that other people are somehow required to suppress their views to avoid giving "offense" to be deeply offensive. No one can control what someone else may or may not choose to find offensive. Religious people in particular rely on this kind of appeal all the time--there are religious political lobbies that exist for no purpose other than to seek out sources of offense and complain about them. It's a logical development of all religion--when your ideas are not rationally justifiable or defensible, your only recourse lies in the suppression of dissent and criticism.

If you're looking for a forum where your Christian sensibilities won't be outraged, you should probably look somewhere other than a gaming forum. A large proportion of gamers are liberal subjectivist a-religious types. This is a fact that I (an Objectivist and hence absolutist) accept as a characteristic of the community. You should do the same.

 

[L33tsauce_Marty]

The arguing over whether or not to argue religion is as pointless as debating it with people who go into the debate with a closed mind. Nothing's changing.

SoOoOo...

Who here likes Nutella?

Is it immoral to spread an equal or greater amount of Nutella on a PB&J Sandwich as the PB, or should we only dab lightly, so as to not spoil the savor by overwhelming it?

In my experience the Nutella should be the priority taste, the jelly is only backup to it's orgasmic properties.

 

[Blow_Pop]

I'm pretty much sick of em by now. I've had enough religious discussions to last me a lifetime and not just on here so thats the last thing I want to discuss anymore.

 

[Incredible Bullshitting Man]

I still haven´t been on any of these religious threads, so I actually know nothing of their alleged awfulness. I remain highly uninterested in religious discussions, partly because of my unreligious upbringing, so I can only stand by this endless stream of religious threads and shake my oblivious head in bewilderment.

 

[IrrelevantTangent]

I think that religious discussion should be permitted on these boards, perhaps as part of a subsection of the Off-topic boards, as long as everyone keeps two things in mind. Firstly, all discussion or lack thereof of religious matters is to be handled in a calm, mature, and professional fashion, with everyone refraining from ad hominem attacks, defaming of other religions, and basically saying "NO U" as an argument. Follow the code of conduct that this forum employs and let's discuss this as rational human beings.

Secondly, if you are going to discuss other religions, there's no need to make fifty million threads about every single religion. There's no need for "Religion X- Do you like it, why/why not' threads cluttering up the forums. Make a few threads about religion and post mainly in them. When posting in religious threads, refrain from spamming and flaming other users and defaming other religions. There's no need to get threads unnecessarily locked.

That should be good enough; what do you think?

DING-DING-DING!

Give this man the "Great Idea!" badge.

*'Ignignoct' has been added to your Friends*

 

[Fruitloops89]

Religion is just one big flame war.