Gee, when did GD become Christian Central?

[Ripley]

If your religion comes into the conversation, no problem....but there seems to be a lot of overt Christian/Religious threads in GD.

Maybe there should be separate forum like a Religion Room such as those for civil rights, economic issues, etc. forums.

Yeah, I know there is an ignore button, but I just think it is inappropriate for folks to have Bible wars on GD just like it is inappropriate for folks to have Israel/Palestine wars on GD, or Gun discussions, etc.

Am I the only one tired of this?

[drdigi420]

1. holy rollers have no shame

[BeFree]

19. Oh my God!!

It's a Conspiracy!

Bwahahahahaha

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

2. I'm with you!

This is a political forum.

[Sterling]

5. I for one see how religion is completely relevant when

discussing the RW these days.

[Cheswick2.0]

46. then ask the non religious to stop starting the threads

:shrug:

[NightTrain]

3. I've been tired of religion since I was about 10 years old.

And I'm 38 now! :eyes:

[leftofthedial]

4. praise the lord and pass me a cottonmouth!

Jeebiz loves you
this I know
because my controllers tell me so

[billbuckhead]

8. It's impossible to separate religion from politics

Although non-believers can't speak openly and hope to have any influence.

[Jacobin]

18. Those are rattlesnakes

I think they pass around!!!

:-)

[RandomKoolzip]

6. No shit. Take it to The Meeting Room, guys!

Then you can discuss your superstition of choice with the other likeminded kool-aid drinkers.

[Cleita]

7. I could go for that.

I don't like religion mixed up in my politics, however, I don't mind arguing about religion on occasion. I think a separate forum would be appropriate besides the Meeting Room.

[Indiana_Dem]

9. Thank you everyone! nice to meet you, too!

Sorry if I'm annoying you guys. I don't start them, I just post under them.

You guys really make ME feel loved! :cry:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. I checked, and there's only one religious thread on the first three pages

:shrug:

[sangh0]

15. Obviously

that's way too much for some to bear.

[Ripley]

20. Okeydokey...it's not the number of threads ...

It's the obvious number of those interested in those few threads.

Get a room?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. Well, gee, I didn't know there were limits on what I'm supposed to be

interested in, or that you were the topic police.

[Ripley]

25. Oh my.

No. I am very far from any kind of police.

Just tired of reading folks discuss which part of the Bible they believe in or not.

Why am I bad for wanting yall to do it in private?

My edit: It will not be to change the original wording, but to put it in context. Many heated conversations have been given their own "forum" at DU...yet religion has not been moved. That is what my remark refers to: Yall need a Christian room (private) discussion at DU.

And I didn't say you couldn't "speak" Christianity, but it is a known fact that you will not start a freaking religious war firefight in GD.

Got it?

[sangh0]

27. A little something called "Freedom of Speech"

not to mention the fact that this place belongs to someone else. If you want a private discussion, go to your room.

This is a public space. Expect to see things you don't like.

[Ripley]

28. Exactly where did I day you could not speak?

Your thoughts on Christianity? I offered a new forum in the DU where people could very specifically argue their ideas. Isn't that exactly what the DU did with the I/P forum and gungeon and other forums?

Why is this topic different?

[sangh0]

29. You didn't. You said it bothered you

My response is "That's what Free Speech is supposed to do"

[Ripley]

32. Why is there a I/P on DU?

I know this is not an answer to your question...

But this is what it boils down to. Someone made a decision about I/P conversations...someone now is making a decision about the issue I brought up. Democracy and all. There is a precedent in this forum.

[sangh0]

33. I/P was far more disruptive

If you think religion is a tough one, the I/P threads were far worse and more frequent

[Ripley]

35. I/P more disruptive than religion? Hahah!

And the old wars were always better, oops worse than the new wars.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

41. Actually, yes

I've been here since March 2001, so I remember the days when LBN was full of I/P partisans each posting a vicious declaration about the evils of the other side from a pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian source.

The occasional religious threads that pop up here aren't even close to that level of disruption.

[polmaven]

39. Have I been breaking the rules?

I didn't know there was a rule that each and every thread had to be read in full. I'm sorry. I thought we could skip those threads that didn't interest us and only read those that did.

[T Town Jake]

42. Take it to ATA, or use the ignore button...

...unless you're saying that you're somehow being forced to click into those threads...has your mouse taken on a life of it's own? Is it refusing to obey your hand? :shrug:

[sangh0]

26. It's awful that people are interested in something

that someone else is not. That NEVER happens on DU.

Get a room?

If you don't want to see something, maybe it's you who should be going to a room?

[RedEarth]

16. I went back four pages and only found one that dealt with religion...

:shrug:

[w4rma]

11. Most folks in America belong to a religion. Most of them are Christian.

That's reality. And speaking with Christians and Muslims and Jews and folks from other religions (including the philosophy/religion of atheism) is very very very important in politics.

[Indiana_Dem]

13. You're right because I read where most people

vote according to their values to the detriment of their well-being. And that, my friends, is a very big issue.

[Barney Rocks]

12. religion and politics should

be two separate things--but unfortunately the religious right have the two all intertwined in people's minds. It is inevitable that this topic comes up sometimes in the general discussion.

[immoderate]

53. Religion is a method of controlling and influencing

people and applying power. It's one of the faces of politics. Social Science is another.

I don't do religion, but it's practice is intertwined with the forces that control our society.

--IMM

[SoCalDem]

14. There IS a forum that invites religious discussion, BUT

the "downstairs" forums are under-utilized :(

[Sterling]

17. I hope my thread on my RWer friends email did not cause this.

I understand why people are put off by religious types but we can't pretend they are not around and are not a factor in political discourse.

[BeFree]

22. Oh, don't worry about that Sterling

If they read your thread, they may get some wisdom, and that's what DU is all about, knowledge and wisdom, eh?

[BUSHOUT]

21. ohhhh you're going to hell now....

[Ripley]

24. Which one?

See, I've seen and read and heard about so many hells...can't keep up...business to do.

[sangh0]

30. Take your pick

That's what most people do.

[Ripley]

37. I wonder which Hell you said before you edited?

And why?

Do they teach levels of death in Hell in Church these days sanghO?

[skygazer]

31. I have a foolproof solution

Don't click on those threads.

I'm not religious nor do I usually enter into those debates. But it's pretty easy to pick and choose which threads to enter and which to respond to. How's it hurt to just pass them over?

[Liberal Classic]

34. Don't like 'em?

Don't click on 'em!

[JanMichael]

36. BECAUSE AMERIKA IS A GOD FEARING NATION!!!!!!

Now fuck off you godless commie!

[H2O Man]

38. Maybe there should be one for intolerant people.

Spiritual consciousness is the highest form of politics. Perhaps some people need to be protected from the influences of a Martin Luther King, Jr., a Malcolm X, and/or Mahatma Gandhi. All of these dangerously offensive fellows combined their religious beliefs with their political actions. I think GD will survive if a few of us quote them. But I think it might be okay to make a special forum for people who do not want their lives disrupted by Martin Luther King. (Gosh, even Dick Cheney made the noble effort to protect us from a King holiday!)

[Kire]

40. first amendment

I got into an argument with a staffer from Scott Garrett's office about how Garrett shouldn't quote scripture in Washington, but I lost.

[Neshanic]

43. Kinda hard when we have Jesus' best friend running the show.

So do you want all talk that discusses Chimpy and his misguided Methodism and his faith based crap put somewhere else?

[Tsiyu]

47. Yeah, I'm puzzled

It's "General Discussion".

GENERAL: (according to my Webster's "big ole Dictionary")

"relating to, affecting, or comprehending the whole community"

or: "common to many or the greatest number"

or: "not restrained or limited to a particular import"



DISCUSSION:

"the act of discussing; debate; disquisition; the agitation of a point or subject with a view to elicit truth."

The truth is, we live under a President who claims that "God" speaks through him. He claims to act with the authority and conviction of the christian bible. I love to quote scripture ( even if I doubt a great amount of the meaning ascribed to it) because it reveals the truth: * is a freaking liar who can't tell Jeezuz from a boil on his butt. This may not matter to you, but to Christians who feel their faith has been hijacked and distorted, this is one more strike against the BFEE, and is muy relevant to this election as it relates to voters' values.

Don't like it? Oh, well. If I see a topic I don't want to discuss or read, I don't click on it. Funny how that option is never enough for some people.

[Cheswick2.0]

44. almost NONE OF THEM are started by Christians

It seems to be other people who either want to start flame bait about religion or people who have honest questions.

[FizzFuzz]

45. I've had complaints and demands that I remove my sig line

levelled at me out of the blue in threads where no one is even discussing religion. Accusing me of needing to grow up, too :eyes:

[Cheswick2.0]

48. actually you brought your intollerance of Christians into theads

that had nothing to do with Christianity. Your comments were bigoted.

[FizzFuzz]

52. funny that you and I both posted at the same time

Anyway, I surely do wish that you would see that Christofascist refers to Christo-Fascists. Not all Christians. Just the ones who act like fascists. And there are plenty of them. Would clarifying that in my sig line help?

You know I have seen my religion directly maligned from time to time, but I don't jump in to smack them for it. Even if I think their opinion is based on poor information. Its just not something I want to do: "stop that!! Bad you!!" I am comfortable with my faith; for me, it is just right. Also, the people I know whom I practice with do not fit the negative descriptions that some people talk about, so I decide to let comments like that be about the people who DO fit their picture. I suppose I could go swooping in and scold them for it, but really what's to gain? Get myself worked up, get them irritated and possibly less inclined to "be corrected".

Now sexism...that, I DO swoop in and correct! :D


duh had to fix some run on sentences

[BeHereNow]

49. Christians are bound to weigh in

when the politics of the Cabal corrupt and misrepresent
our faith. However, I think your suggestion is a good one.
I would love a Christian DU forum!
There are many Christians at DU and I think it would be
great to have a room for us to meet in so that we would
not offend others with our discussion about how our
faith is being used by the politicos.
BHN

[Gwerlain]

54. Well, now, I'm not a religious man... but

I want to know about this too. Matter of fact, I don't believe in religion; it's true to call me an atheist, but the fact is I'm areligious. But that doesn't mean I don't want to know what people who are religious and/or theist have to say, or what religious factors, whether the poster be religious or not, might do to the political events. So I'd find that an inconvenience, since I think it is an important subject when discussing politics.

If there's a forum created for purely religious discussions, that would be OK by me- but I'd encourage folk who are religious to tolerate those of us like me who may not be religious, but who harbor a genuine curiosity about such matters, posting on threads there. If I come to bait you, an admin will be along shortly and make my misbehavior clear. Don't be so quick to attack another's POV that you forget to tell me who is watching what the issues are from your POV first. And please don't stop mentioning religion on GD- when it's important to understand an associated point.

In terms of mixing them together much if at all, our founding fathers clearly understood things as Herbert did. This is one of my favorite quotes from him.
"When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movement becomes headlong - faster and faster and faster. they put aside all thoughts of obstacles and forget that a precipice does not show itself to the man in a blind rush until it's too late."
Remember the precipice- our founders did, and that is the reason that our Union is secular, not religious, and that one of its most important features is mandated religious tolerance. It's not "just because."

[greenohio]

50. Yeah you Christians...

back in the closet with ya. </sarcasm>

[onefreespiritedchick]

51. If you're tired of this, then simply ignore religious threads

One thing I love about DU (and the Democratic Party in general) IS the freedom of speech and the right to our own individual beliefs. I think it would be a shame to be sent to a private room to pray over JK/JE or discuss likeminded conversations.

[meow mix]

55. so who ya going after next?

after eliminating religon.. anything else you deem inappropriate?
just wondering.