Posted by Dinah on April 10, 2005, at 10:38:55
In reply to Re: please be civil » SLS, posted by Dr. Bob on April 10, 2005, at 1:38:18
I still think the part of the quotation that Scott quoted above (put by you on the opening of the Faith Board) would probably qualify as uncivil under Babble posting policies. (I'm not saying that Scott was uncivil, btw. I'm saying that your paragraph is.) I don't believe that we are allowed to say that even posters who clearly are in violation of Babble civility guidelines should be driven from the state. And doesn't your year long cap on blocks support that policy?
I renew my suggestion that people be allowed to say that their religion believes that its members should believe such and such or do such and such, as long as they don't speak of everyone, just members of their own religion.
To clarify the intent behind my request, I'll share a bit from my own belief system - which I emphatically state is only *my* belief system, and no else must, or maybe even does, share it.
I believe there are many roads to God. I believe that God revealed himself to different peoples in different times in ways that would fit their understanding given their cultures and pre-existing belief structure, because God wants people to find him. So I believe he doesn't make it too hard for people in completely different parts of the world, particularly in pre mass communication days, to do so by making only one path. But I also believe that once you've chosen a path, God wants you to live by its precepts. So I believe that a Christian (for example only) might say that God wishes Christians to follow the path that they have chosen, and as long as they don't say it's the only path it doesn't mean that others on their own paths aren't equally going to find their way to God, and aren't equally bound to follow the precepts of the path they have chosen.
So it's my opinion that a Christian could say that for Christians it's necessary to believe xxxx (although I'd likely dispute a fair amount of the necessity with church history), and that would not preclude that they also believe that for Jews it's necessary to believe yyyyy, and that for Muslims it's necessary to believe zzzzz, and that for Hindus it's necessary to believe aaaaa - or that Jews and Christians and Hindus and Muslims will all find God on their own paths.
That's my belief anyway. FWIW.
poster:Dinah
thread:481575
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20050323/msgs/482317.html