Funny how in one breath you can pick and choose parts to like, while in the next its all or none.

I've seen some ridiculous strawman arguments in my time, but this one ranks right up there.

I imagine that the Christians who take yoga (I'm one of them) have no issue with Hinduism - we just don't practice it. I also find challah bread and brisket tasty and I am not a practicing Jew. I have no issue with someone who is not a practicing Christian taking up the more secular aspects of Christmas or Easter. But I think if you're the kind of person who hates and criticizes a religion, you should leave its traditions alone or risk being called a hypocrite. If you think Christianity is stupid, then you should think it's all stupid, not just everything but the cool stuff with the presents and songs.

Anonymous wrote:Fail, OP....major fail. Mainly because Christians don't denigrate and show hatred and/or mock Hinduism.

New Poster here.

So, if a Christian does yoga it's fine. But if I, an agnostic/non-Christian, sings the Christmas Carols of my childhood to my child, hangs a stocking, and puts up a few lights, I'm "denigrating, showing hatred and mocking Christianity"? Can you explain that again?

Everybody likes tradition
Who says you are not allowed to have tradition and rituals

I think I recognize OP now. She's the one pretending all atheists are sweetness and light, and then she turns around and bullies other Christians. Not exactly what the good book says.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fail, OP....major fail. Mainly because Christians don't denigrate and show hatred and/or mock Hinduism.

Sorry but that's not true.

Polytheistic beliefs are never ridiculed, people never make fun of the multiple incarnations of Hindu gods and goddesses.

Yeah, sorry, Christians DO denigrate and show hated and mock Hinduism. Starting with people gathering outside of Indian festivals and telling us we are going to rot in hell. But those aren't the kind of people who would sign up for Yoga anyway.

agreed. and fundamentally, christianity thinks hindus are going straight to hell since we have not accepted Christ. so that is the ultimate act of disrespect and hatred.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fail, OP....major fail. Mainly because Christians don't denigrate and show hatred and/or mock Hinduism.

Sorry but that's not true.

Polytheistic beliefs are never ridiculed, people never make fun of the multiple incarnations of Hindu gods and goddesses.

Yeah, sorry, Christians DO denigrate and show hated and mock Hinduism. Starting with people gathering outside of Indian festivals and telling us we are going to rot in hell. But those aren't the kind of people who would sign up for Yoga anyway.

Anonymous wrote:Did you really need a new thread just to say this?

Why didn't you post this there in that thread?

Because it involves more than one thread that ties a number of discussions together over several months of posts, not just a day's worth of posts about Lent. If someone tries to broaden a discussion past the OP, they get told to make a S/O thread. Now I guess if they make a S/O thread, they get an eyeroll for that, too.

Frankly though, I am surprised at the number of hostile posts in the beginning of Lent. How important can the season be if posters act this way on Ash Wednesday and the day after? Do you only care enough to tell other people they can't participate, and then ignore it until Easter?

Anonymous wrote:Fail, OP....major fail. Mainly because Christians don't denigrate and show hatred and/or mock Hinduism.

There is no pope of atheism. I don't see how you can blame all atheists for the actions of some.

Anonymous wrote:Fail, OP....major fail. Mainly because Christians don't denigrate and show hatred and/or mock Hinduism.

Sorry but that's not true.

ITA, 00:15. Let atheists borrow Lent for whatever they get out of it, and I don't see why Christians should care one way or another because it doesn't detract from our own Lent. But being Christian doesn't mean being naive and oblivious, and OP is trying too hard to ignore all the hateful things various atheists have posted on the other Lent threads. Let's not pretend this is some lovey-dovey interfaith exchange.

Fail, OP....major fail. Mainly because Christians don't denigrate and show hatred and/or mock Hinduism.

Did you really need a new thread just to say this?

Why didn't you post this there in that thread?

Yoga is a Hindu tradition that is practiced by millions of non-Hindus in the United States. I imagine that few of these devotees are attempting to form unify with a supreme being. If I asked someone why they did Yoga, they might say "exercise" or "it helps me stay centered or relaxed". If I asked them about its religious significance, they would probably tell me that they didn't give it a second thought, or maybe they don't even know, it's just a popular class at the gym.

This is a perfect example of how one can appropriate a religious practice for non-religious benefit. Also religions borrow from each other. Most likely the Catholic Rosary probably was modeled after the use of prayer beads in India. Even though the religious significance of the beads is very different, certain emotional aspects are very much the same, and practically every religion has a practice of counting beads or knots on a rope or shawl.

So given that we borrow religious traditions for secular use, and our religions borrow from other religions, why do we take offense when non-Christians borrow from Christian traditions? I am speaking about Christmas and the thread on Atheists and Lent. It seems incredibly inconsistent. I think we should imagine how easy it is for us to sign up for yoga, and realize that this may be the same way an atheist approaches our traditions.