now i disagree, broadwaylady, there's no reason why politics and religion cannot be discussed as long as those involved in the discussion make an attempt to respect each others views and to maintain coherent debate free from personal attacks.
i agree that broadwaynyc probably did not mean to be judgemental in her original post, but the fact of the matter is that she was whether she meant to do so or not. while that could have been explained away by her passion about her faith, her responses to those who called her on that dug her deeper into the hole which she was trying to escape.
with her invoking of the loss of respect for anything, she made the point that her views must be respected, but she never made any attempt to respect others who feel differently. i applaud her faith, but deplore her invoking freedom of speech to try to justify what were attacks on other people. anyone cas say whatever they please, but if you use your speech to pass judgement on people, do not be surprised if they feel the need to defend themselves.
had broadwaynyc added the phrase "for me" a few times or done more to make clear that just because she plans to spend her day a certain way that she fully understands other peoples' right to spend their day as they see fit. because she used her posts to point out what she felt was "wrong" without clearly limiting that "wrong" to a specific person or group of people she indicted anyone who believes differently than she. does she think that jews, muslims, hindus and sikhs should spend good friday in a greek orthadox church? doubtful. but by not choosing her words more carefully that was the impression that she gave.
i see nothing wrong with discussing politics or religion. i am a minority on this board since i'm a conservative republican irish catholic. but i seem to be able to talk politics and religion with most people here without it descending to chaos and name calling. but to do so, you have to understand that your views may not be shared by all.
so if you make a statement like, "[n]ot pointing fingers here but [i] am saddened by the whole idea that we can't devote one day, the holiest day, to [c]hrist," you've got to think that there might be some people who don't share your views. had she limited that to greek orthadox people, or catholics, or even to christians, she might not have gotten people so upset, but that statement implicitly says that we should all be devoting a day to christ. that's judging those who choose not to believe in christ as the son of god. they are guilty of making her sad at the very least.
also, after having made it clear what her feelings are on the issue, "[i] feel that it's very inappropriate on [g]ood [f]riday to indulge in things that bring us joy and happiness," she ends with the ominous, "[i] hope we all will make the right decison for ourselves." since she's just stated what the "right" decision is in her opinion, those who decide to do something other than what she's stated are obviously "wrong." hence, the judgement. now that's fine and dandy, but don't say that it's not a judgement.
"[t]here are right and wrong ways in life - no in-betweens.
[p]lease don't tell me I'm passing judgement."
ok, anyone who doesn't see the irony in that statement should not be making posts of a theological nature.
r.i.p. marco, my guardian angel.
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
Updated On: 3/1/04 at 05:11 PM
