Quote:
Originally Posted by graciegirl
In my whole life....living here is the first time I have ever heard anyone so antireligion. I know and love atheists and have in my life people of all faiths, some who practice and some who don't. I SEE all of the GOOD different churches do in their outreach programs, and I know that people who go to church aren't always "good". I believe in the separation of Church and State, but I personally think that religion is a solace and a good guiding force for most people. I struggle with faith myself and I know that not all men and women of the cloth are good examples, but most of them that I have known are. This coldness, and anti church sentiment troubles me and hurts me.
I didn't go to church today. I am no saint. I don't believe or accept or integrate all of the things that the institutional church has taught me but I like people who try to do better and be kinder and hang in there because of their religion. I would NEVER try to talk anyone into my faith. But I would NOT ever tear down someone's faith, no more than I would find it wrong they were born white and heterosexual or brown and homosexual. You ARE WHO you are and most of us struggle to be good, by the standards we believe in. It is better to have something rather than nothing.
And sometimes the nothingness leaps off the page on this forum.
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I am afraid not everyone has the same attitude as you do toward tolerance of religious values. As someone said, we need to continue to be a kinder and gentler nation. Almost all religions profess the concepts of being kind and helping our fellow man and that concept is not foreign to atheists as well. However, some of the devotees believe it is their duty to convert others to their religion. This can be as destructive as the Sunis of ISIS in the Middle East or as bothersome as someone distributing the Watchtower. Somewhere in between is HL decision.