Thoughts and Prayers: The Religion Thread

Labels give us a vocabulary to enable us to talk about comparative attributes. The idea is less than appealing to many and has been wrestled with by people in media, academia, any discipline where intervention regarding human behavior is central to what is accomplished. So far, nobody has been able to come up with an alternative. Maybe the best way to handle it is to acknowledge it will come through the filter of one's biases?

No arguments here. What I am saying is sometimes it hits a weird and probably unintentional nexus point between "No true Scotsman..." and "Why don't all Muslims...?" for everyone involved.

 

Oscar, I'm not going to quote your post because this is directed as much at Write as it is at you. I respect what you are saying and you are posting it in a respectful and thoughtful way, as you always do.

I agree that some of what 'yab has posted has been out of line and disrespectful. Some of what Write has posted has been out of line and disrespectful, too. We have a right to post on this message board unless the moderators decide otherwise. We have a right to post on a given thread as long as we're on topic. If you don't like it, call them out for the content of what they posted. Don't try to lecture them or tell them what a beloved family member would think of them. If that isn't enough, just keep scrolling when you see his name on a post. (I don't ever use the button, so I won't be a hypocrite and suggest others use it. I still think it is cowardly to use the button or to ban people for anything short of the most severe offenses, such as outing, but that's me.)

Of course, as always, I could be wrong.

 

I think it is rude and offensive for you bring her opinion into the discussion. You would have to be an idiot to not know what buttons you are pushing there, yet you keep pushing them. You also lied and claimed you weren't doing it. I guess you finally realized that dog won't hunt.

The problem between you and me is that you don't understand that both you and 'yab can be out of line. You also don't understand that you don't have to be vulgar to be offensive. Smugly lecturing someone else about what a loved one would think of them is extremely disrespectful. Given your history of defending truly terrible people just because they believe in G-d the same way you do just makes it even worse.

 

I think that we can all agree that the Collect of Accommodation -- "Fuck you and your fellow scum sucking cult members" -- is one of the
most inspiring.

 

I don't agree. But, to be clear, charges like this are nothing new and as old as Christianity itself. Christians were once accused with great regularity of being cannibals, after all.

 

You thought heyabbott was out of line?

 

I can only imagine what your great uncle would think of your sarcasm ...

 

Doesn’t everyone almost always think that?

 

@outofplace I've used the button more as a blanket measure when I am emotionally and physically unable to deal with what is posted if I don't take a break altogether. When I have done it, it is with the idea that it's my problem, not theirs and it is usually for brief periods when I am overwhelmed. Thing is, most of the time there's nothing I have to offer HeyAbbot (or anyone else, really) except presence and a form of active attention. It's not enough, but it's there when I am fully engaged, even if that means just reading along. Does that even make sense? I'm not sure. Our ancestors had written letters and images to convey the same thing we attempt on the internet.

@Octave, this is my favorite document about Mary of Magdala. Her feast day was Sunday.
Mary Magdalen: Myth and Metaphor by Susan Haskins
There may be an updated edition. There is also a documentary based on the book that was produced by A&E? Lifetime? Biography? It's the Clift's Notes version and worth checking out.

 

Oscar, thank you for the suggestion. I am also looking for the best book on the historical Christ, if you have any good pulls.

 

Well, I'm curious if oop, in the midst of lecturing someone else about the kind of immoral person they are, actually thought heyabbott's post was out of line.