I too have largely abandoned the Religion forum. I think OP’s suggestion to rename the forum “Philosophy and Religion” is a great one. We old-timers know to stay away, but there will always be newcomers who don’t understand that religion is unwelcome in the Religion forum. And who will be surprised/angered at the barrage of hate that accompanies simple expressions of belief there. Forums should have names that reflect their participants and discussions. You wouldn’t call the “pets” forum something like “houseplants.” BTW, the idea that it’s “liberals” doing the bullying is absurd. I’m as liberal as they come, and religious. As many of us have argued here, many times, Christianity is far more compatible with liberalism than with Trumpian xenophobia and trickle-down economics. But I digress. |
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I'd like to provide two examples of hate on Religion forum:
#1 Someone started a thread about memorizing Biblical scriptures. Someone posted (twice) lyrics of Madonna's song "Like a Virgin", which is offensive to many Catholics and other Christians in the context of scriptures. I asked for those lyrics to be removed. #2 Someone started a thread about number of ribs in humans and every response was a mockery, clearly intended to disrespect the Genesis. I asked for the thread to be removed. If non-religious people insist on engaging in Religion forum the least they should do is not mock/insult sacred texts, sacred rituals, and holy days of any religion. |
I didn't get a chance to read the responses - did anyone really think men have fewer ribs? (as some poster claimed in another thread) And should the religious people be allowed to mock/insult non-believers? |
Just FYI, some of those threads were trolls to begin with. Like the recent OP who was shocked, shocked to hear her SIL talking about Creationism at the Smithsonian. Pretty hard to believe she’s so oblivious that she married into a family like that, and stayed married long enough to have museum-age kids, but didn’t know where they’re coming from. |
They indeed sounded like trolls. And it takes a hardcore troll/someone filled with hatred to Google Madoona's lyrics and insert them into very theological discussion. |
Irrelevant and irrelevant. Go stir some other pot. Should the Religion forum be renamed so participants know to avoid actually talking about religion there? Yes. |
Why don't you go to Pets forum and tell them that it's irrelevant to talk about vaccinating their pets. Your response here speaks volumes about your hate. |
That’s not going to be fixed, despite the sophomoric snark about requiring baptismal certificates. Nobody wants censorship. And the trolls are relentless and they aren’t going away. What can be fixed is giving the forum a title that indicates what it is and what to expect there. As I posted above, you wouldn’t name a forum about pets something like “houseplants.” Calling it the “Religion” forum is a complete misnomer because the religious people have mostly left and expressing belief is met with hate. Stop letting the misleading name suck religious people into that forum. Religious people just need to shrug and go elsewhere. |
So you are completely fine if people mock/insult non-believers? And the name of the forum is irrelevant - all of the posts end up on Recent Topics. |
So you do think men have fewer ribs than women? |
I think you’re responding to an atheist. But who the heck knows. |
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How about one of the following forum titles:
- Religion and its Discontents (thanks, Freud) - Humanism - Philosophy - Toddlers Throwing Things (kidding, sort of) I’m religious. I just feel so sorry for the poor schmucks who turn up there and want to actually, you know, discuss faith. Not asking for censorship, just accurate labeling. |
When will you realize that your request is not going to happen regardless of how many times you or someone else requests it? Have you noticed that Jeff doesn't respond? |
Serious question because I am honestly stumped...what discussion of faith has been derailed? Yeah, I’ve seen the “he is risen” and “I love god” but those weren’t necessarily inviting discussion, they were statements. As “religion” and “faith” themselves are broad topics, I’m curious what specifically you’d come here to discuss. |
14:55 right above is an excellent example of pot stirring and derailment. On a thread about forum names, 14:55 is trying to rescucitate the the ribs thread, whatever that was. |