Religious liberty and hatred

[radind]

(06-29-2016, 12:36 AM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(06-28-2016, 08:03 PM)radind Wrote:

(06-14-2016, 03:19 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: ...Perhaps religious people like radind should take a look at how to modify or rephrase their beliefs, so that they don't contribute to creating a culture of hatred in which murders like the ones in Orlando are enabled and facilitated....

Since neither of us is likely to change our views, I don’t want to restart the entire discussion, but I need to stress that I don’t think that I have done anything to “contribute to creating a culture of hatred".

You might be interested in this broad review on worldviews.

Quote:Understanding Our Polarized Political Landscape Requires a Long, Deep Look at Our Worldviews By Annick de Witt on June 28, 2016

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/gues...?wt.mc=SA_

… "However, more important than any typology of worldviews is the reflexive attitude a worldview-perspective supports. Worldviews are a fundamental part of individuals’ group identities, and people often react as strongly to perceived threats to these social identities as they do to defend themselves against personal attacks. We see this in the heat and emotionality of our political debates! However, once we become more aware of our (naturally partial and biased) worldviews, we start to see them in a larger context of a wider range of perspectives and values. We realize that there are also other worldviews, and that the people who hold them are not all idiots”…

Yes, I agree. I have also created the philosophers wheel with that in mind.

I think you are relying on "we have different worldviews" to justify your disagreement with me about whether gay marriage is legit and whether people should be allowed to discriminate against gays by refusing to provide services to gays who want to get married, or whether contraceptives should be provided by folks who don't believe in them, and similar issues.

But I think it's quite possible to believe in a separate creator God as you do, who has an only begotten Son who is our savior (perhaps to simplify your worldview too much, but it's something like that), as many folks in America do, and still be OK with folks who are different in their lifestyle from what you are used to. And not to think that those who accept or promote gay marriage are a threat to Christianity, as I think you have said.

If you don't think gays should get married, that's your right to your opinion. But I do think it contributes to a climate in which gays are looked upon poorly for engaging in such things as marriage. Sick minds (not including you of course ) can expand on such ideas and hurt gays. So, it's grounds for some thoughts on whether we shouldn't be more open to people who do things differently than we do.

That would not require you to become a non-traditional or non-Biblical Christian, an atheist, a Muslim, or a New Ager, etc., though I imagine you think that the Bible prohibits gay marriage (I don't think it does). Your worldview is not at issue in this respect.

I think it's possible not only to think that those with other worldviews are not idiots, but that to be fully alive is to be able to question and expand one's worldview, and not hold on to it tightly.

I hope that you read the entire article on worldviews that I found very informative.

Regarding threats to Christianity, my view is the the threat  to religious freedom comes from the majority Secular Humanists who operate as a de facto religion( while denying that they are a religion) and seem to me to have little tolerance for Christian values. My concern is not about small  minorities with different point of view. I am more concerned about the killing of unborn babies.
I agree with Popper on religion..." the idea that we are all motivated by some kind of faith (which he chose to call our religion)"...

I recently saw a review of a book by Eberstadt: "In an excellent new book, Mary Eberstadt argues that secular progressivism is not just a political ideology; it is a competing faith."...
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2016/06/17232/  [Have not read the book yet].

I understand that you do not agree with my assessments or with Barna and I do attribute this largely to our different worldviews. ( I still think that the polls showing ~10% in the US with a Biblical worldview are close to the actual situation).
I also understand that we are never going to agree . The effects will unfold one way or another in the future( next 20 years) and will be clear to those still alive and to historians.

This is an aside, but I am opposed to large( and very large) religious organizations and think that many of the problems associated with religion stem from the large organizations. Sometimes small & local is better.