Religious Tolerance

[Ekim]

Since religious tolerance came up, I thought I would just start a new thread with the discussion in general.

When you get down to it, I respect a person for the person they are, not because of the beliefs they follow. However it has been in my experience, that the attitudes people carry generally reflect their beliefs and how seriously they follow them.

I have studied many religions for a few years now and I believe that I have a good understanding of both the message as well as the meaning for them.

Mormonism is truly the only "religion" (I feel dirty calling it that...) that I will actually say is not so much religion as it is a cult. My research into them has shown me that they were against womans rights, against black rights, and are now actively against gay rights. On top of this, every "Message from God" that has shaped and changed their religion over the past 200 years has *cough* ironically coincided with both political and socio-pressures of the time.

If you are Mormon, I won't hold it against you, but if you try to start trying to play missionary on me, I will rip you a new one with more history on your religion then will ever teach you about in "church".

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to turn this into a Mormon bashing column, just stating my opinion about other religions as well as what other people would call a religion.

And that's  the way it is and how I think.

[Oni]

I think it is a good idea to respect other people’s beliefs to a point. That point being were they incroach onto my own. I have idea’s and they are very open minded, created to allow people that are in my environment (those that effect me and in what way they effect me) to be themselves. It has been my experience (I shall use mormons cause they were already broughten up, and I have been one once….) that indivudaly they are good people, as a whole…well they are crazy. Lol. Very cultish is defiantly true. What happens in the LDS (Later Day Saints) stays in the LDS, is what use to be said to me. They ways the told my Father to treat me and my other siblings…well that never impressed me much. There was no point to going to that church for sanctuary from a demon, when they call the demon and tell him to pick you up and take you him with him. *sigh*. With individual mormons they are good people I know quite a few, but like I say I disagree with a lot of there teachings. I like how they PRESENT how a family should be, but when you get into what they feel a family should be it is very far from it and very hypocritical. So I don’t mean to tear on them, just an obersavation of my own. I have been to many churches and organizations that are backwards in what they do. Put up a good front, and just sugar coat who you really are, is the teachings I find a lot of them practicing. Even when they do teach love and respect to others. That’s why I have an issue with organized religion. A person is smart, People are not.
MCC is very accepting of everybody and for that, I think it is a very cool place to be. A place were people don’t have to put on a show or fake who they are, they can simple come as they are, and are accepted as that.
There are many religions out there. And I say accept them all as they come with a person. You don’t have to follow them to understand them. Like for example. I don’t practice the ceremony of Breaking of the Bread. And drining of the wine. But I respect and accept the rituatal for what it is to the people around me, and to the people whom are doing it. I accept the ritual as part of there belief system, not of mine. I think it is very cool of them to want to share it with me as well, and share it with others whom would like to partake in it.
But to circle everthing back around to what was said earler.
“I respect a person for the person they are…not because of the beliefs they follow”
I even respect all religions for were they came from and what they represent. Just cause I don’t follow them don’t mean I cant respect the idea that Timmy (my imaganiary friend) was a satin worshiper, but as a person he was cool, and being a satin worshiper made him the person he is today, and for him satin has accomplished what he needs to be Timmy. So as Timmy he is a good idea, and I even respect and appreachate satin worshiping, but it’s not something I can practice.
Kinda related.
But what would you do if a person came to church claiming to be Jesus Christ? Would you accept him and respect him? Could you?

[chuckhart]

I could accept the person, but not their claim to being Jesus Christ, at least not without a bare minimum of one seriously obvious miracle. 

I have friends who follow many faiths, including Mormons, Assembly of God, Presbyterians, Reformed Catholics, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Russian Orthodox, several varieties of Baptist, Shinto, Budhist, and Moslem.  If their observance of their religion gets in the way of our friendship then we are not friends, but many people can put their religion's dogma against homosexuality far enough to the side to reach out.  The others I really don't care to associate with.

[Oni]

And so what to you would constitute as a mirrical?

[chuckhart]

I think a miracle would be for a divine entity to do something that humans can't.  Such as regenerating an amputee's missing limbs, creating food out of thin air to feed the hungry, getting the folks at intollerant churches to recognize that we are children of God to be loved and accepted as we are.  That last one woud be awesome!  (However I am not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.)