Why post in the religion group?

[guillaumeb]

I post first because I like to write. As a person of faith, my faith is one thing that I occasionally write about.

I post also to share good news about religion and religious people. I feel that it is important to show balance, and it is my hope that my mix of posts, including positive and negative, and occasionally humorous information, presents such a balanced view.

This is DU, a site for Democratic voices, and as the Alabama special eelction showed, black Democratic churchgoers made a huge impact in rejecting the GOP pedophile.

Conservative Christians receive a massive amount of attention, here and in the corporate media at large, and it is important to show that Christians are not a monolith. It is important to show how Christians are represented in the progressive movement. That also is part of the reason that I post. It is our job to show the progressive side of Christianity, to show the Jesus who advocated for the poor and voiceless.

And you, why do you post here?

[trotsky]

1. "it is important to show that Christians are not a monolith"

Has anyone here suggested otherwise?

[guillaumeb]

2. In context, I thought it was apparent.

I was referring to the corporate media framing.

[trotsky]

4. Then you are preaching to the exact wrong audience.

Why are you lecturing here?

[guillaumeb]

10. Why do you think?

[trotsky]

18. If I knew, I wouldn't need to ask you.

So feel free to answer.

[guillaumeb]

23. Because it is needed here as well.

[trotsky]

30. So you DO think that someone here has said Christians are a "monolith."

Back up that claim.

Now.

Link to the posts, or shut the hell up with your accusations that are designed to cause conflict. Be part of the solution, not the problem, guillaumeb. Be what a Christian is SUPPOSED to fucking be, according to the best individuals to claim the label.

Show everyone you can change and be a positive contributor.

[guillaumeb]

32. Reread my post.

You are arguing with yourself. Good luck in that.

[trotsky]

34. "it is important to show that Christians are not a monolith"

Yet when confronted about that, you admitted that no one on DU has a problem with this.

Talk about arguing with yourself.

[guillaumeb]

36. Read also #2, a response to you.

Problem resolved.

[trotsky]

37. Yes, everyone realizes you contradicted yourself.

Repeating the circle doesn't help you at all.

[guillaumeb]

39. It is probable that they do realize "something".

[trotsky]

40. Indeed.

Not what you're hoping, though.

Sorry about that.

[yallerdawg]

3. I post here in support of religious tolerance and inclusiveness.

Faith is a very personal thing.

There are valid criticisms regarding some extremist positions and political ideologies, but they don't define everyone, not by a long shot!

The good that vast numbers of people do everyday is not outweighed by the few.

[Voltaire2]

5. This forum is for discussing all aspects

of religion from all points of view.

There is a forum explicitly for what you want: Christian Liberals & Progressive People of Faith (Group)

You will not have to deal with atheists objecting to obvious nonsense. You can have long discussions with, well nobody because nobody posts there.

[trotsky]

6. ...

"You can have long discussions with, well nobody because nobody posts there."

[guillaumeb]

11. Ah yes, the obvious nonsense.

One assumes that you do not include your posts among those with obvious nonsense.

[Voltaire2]

15. So why not just post in the protected

Christian groups?

[guillaumeb]

16. Why do you not post in the protected non-theist group?

Possibly for a variation of the reason that I post here.

[Voltaire2]

17. I enjoy alternative views.

You appear to be in a cyclical upset about the views expressed in this forum.

[guillaumeb]

22. Perhaps your judgement is to blame.

Judging by the hostility expressed by a very few here toward positive news about religion, I might say the same thing about those few here.

[MineralMan]

7. It is interesting that the only religion you mention

By name is Christianity. This is the Religion Group, not the Christianity Group. All religions are represented in the United States. You appear only to be interested in one. Odd.

[guillaumeb]

12. True.

[AtheistCrusader]

21. And I only ever see you post positive, sometimes special pleading, or numerically meaningless

pro-religion/religious people content.

When you're talking about tiny religious minorities, and you post it as if it's a big moving thing, a big deal, I immediately start crunching numbers. Last time we talked about it, the group you were touting as if it was a big deal, represented less than one whole percent of the religious population of the united states, and the number only went south when considering the world population.

[guillaumeb]

24. Then you need to look harder.

I also post what I title "bad news".

[AtheistCrusader]

25. And then there's the matter of the spin you apply to both types.

[guillaumeb]

26. You made a claim.

Are you now modifying that overbroad claim?

[AtheistCrusader]

27. Actually I didn't. My first claim was specific.

I followed it up with a search with the specification you added.

[guillaumeb]

29. I also searched, and this is the first that I found:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1218255044

[Permanut]

8. My concern is with the attempted takeover..

of this country, and others, by groups who call themselves Christians, but whom I would refer to as fanatics and cult thinkers. True Believers, to borrow from Eric Hoffer. The cult has gotten increasing support, particularly since the Raygun years, from the 1%, who benefit from any activities that hamper democratic government.

This axis of evil has a third component, the NRA/Tea Party/KKK/Nazis. We are seeing this machine gearing up to take over the country. Oh, and also destroy the planet, just as a side project.

My concern for the activities of this group prompt my posting here. It takes some pretty twisted logic to argue that because not all Christians are part of the axis of evil, I should give the fanatics a pass.

[guillaumeb]

13. No one is suggesting that you should.

In reference to your ending paragraph.

[Permanut]

19. No one except Mango Mussolini..

And Tony Perkins,

Bob Dutko
Barbara Carmack
Andrew Wommack
Don Crawford
James Dobson
Pat Robertson
John Hagee
Joel Osteen
Creflo Dollar
Mike Huckabee
Chuck Norris
Kirk Cameron
Christian Broadcasting Network
American Center for Law and Justice
Jay Sekulow
Jerry Jr and Jonathan Falwell
Liberty University
Hillsdale College
David and Charles Koch


and a few million more.

[Act_of_Reparation]

31. That was, by the way, another example of the "not real Christians" argument.

Are you keeping count?

[guillaumeb]

33. For what purpose?

[Act_of_Reparation]

35. Maybe so you'd not be so wrong all the time?

I mean, don't you want to stop being so wrong?

[guillaumeb]

38. Are you the ultimate arbiter of right/wrong?

If so, I understand your response.
If not, I understand the motivation for your response.

[Act_of_Reparation]

42. Yes, I am.

Anything else I can clear up for you while you're struggling to wiggle your way out of last month's pickle?

[trotsky]

41. guillaumeb believes logical fallacies are sound arguments.

At various times in this forum, he has put forth argumentum ad populum, straw man, No True Scotsman, special pleading, ad hominem, gaslighting, whataboutism, fallacy of exclusion, and red herring - just to name a few. Clearly he can't ever be "wrong."

[Act_of_Reparation]

43. Monsieur Guillame believes what Monsieur Guillame believes.

It matters not to him what road he takes to get there, as long as he gets there in the end.

Like any apologist, he starts with the conclusion and works backward from there.

[trotsky]

44. Nail on the head. n/t

[No Vested Interest]

9. There is very little of interest to me posted in the religion group in the last 6 months,

approximately.
Previously, there was more variety in the topics posted, but lately, it's the same old same old.
I glance at the group daily, but rarely find anything that piques my interest enough to read the comments.
Too bad, from my standpoint, because I am interested in religion in general.

[guillaumeb]

14. One suggestion I would offer.

Post articles that you find personally interesting.

[AtheistCrusader]

20. I post because I dislike disingenuious framing and handwaving.

You say

"This is DU, a site for Democratic voices, and as the Alabama special eelction showed, black Democratic churchgoers made a huge impact in rejecting the GOP pedophile."

Ignoring that anyone could re-phrase that as

"This is DU, a site for Democratic voices, and as the Proposition 8 vote in California showed, black Democratic churchgoers made a huge impact in damaging civil rights for LGBTQ people."

They voted along religiosity lines, not political or racial lines. Overwhelmingly they voted in support of a Democratic Black Presidential Candidate, who opposed the State Constitutional Amendment they were also overwhelmingly voting in support of. They didn't do it because they are black. They did it because their religious convictions aligned with it, and that came first before political identity to the individuals. They did it because their religious views made them Christians before Democrats.

I post because you won't be honest about things like that, and because we cannot assume any religious group's support on any specific party plank due to religious group identity superseding political group identity. And I post because I know, not believe, I KNOW that such people can be talked down off that fence, and into the realm of real support for universal civil rights. We can get there. Some people will probably 'lose their religion' on the way, and that's fine. Some will pick a new religion, and that's fine. Some will maybe revise or defy their organized religious institutions. Also fine.

I post here because even among our political allies, religion has led to much social damage that must be un-done, and to do that, we need to talk. If we're not talking, we'll be blind-sided again, even deep in our party's strongholds, when we don't realize the driving factors behind how even our closest allies vote on a given issue.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/03/26/how-proposition-8-passed-in-california-and-why-it-wouldnt-today/?utm_term=.450e84aa995b

[Alpeduez21]

28. +1000