Are we wasting our time here?

[strngrnrth]

OK - well I guess it was all the God and Jesus and **Burn in Hell **signs and bibles that made me think they were god fearing christians.

And I used the term moderate, as opposed to extreme, because they haven’t actually killed any of us here yet - as opposed to what has happened elsewhere

OK, that might have thrown a lot of people off. But whether a person subscribes to an ideology can be determined byt he person’s behavior. Someone who claims to speak for Jesus Christ while doing things Jesus Christ specifically said not to do or that He never did given the chance, is just like someone claiming to speak for you who goes against everything you say and do: A lot of things might be going on, but he doesn’t represent you and your friends and he isn’t a moderate (average, representative, middle-of-the-road) member of your group, is he?
I have not taken the time to find out exactly how many of us are killed daily by those who disagree with us but I know it’s a large number. We lose track often.

 

[RachelsAlumni]

IEspecially when you consider the alternative options open to these women.

The alternative to abortion is life. The alternative to abortion is joy. The alternative to abortion is an infant, a child. That’s the alternative!

No woman has no other alternative than to kill her child.

 

[Marc_Aupiais]

Agnostic, were any of those by any chance the type of, oh, who knows, people who think the world is ending and the Catholic church is Satan, type of “moderate” “Christians”?

Personally, I see no difference between killing the baby before in the womb, or immediately after, except one is registered as a citizen and the other is just a citizen of Humanity.

I have been forced (didn’t say it was that) to attend one of these groups worship ceremonies before- I has my chairs (numerous) stolen to force me to stand, intimidation, and was lifted out of a chair- in legal terms, I consider that serious, especially as it contradicts my nation’s Holy Constitution, which gives me religious, bodily and other rights.

As for Catholics, well, there are some schimastics, and people condemned by papacy and church, who are so improportionate in their beliefs as incurred by natural law, as to do what the secular authorities did to some of my church’s opponents in the middle ages.

In any case, that said, I do think there should be jail terms for unnecessary abortions, and for any making unnecessary profit out of it, but as to what happened, I was laughing while reading, just as I laughed at what has happened to me for being Catholic by similar people.

 

[KingAlfred]

I read an article written by an expert in sociology and media the other day. He had some very interesting comments about how we choose our sources of information. To give you the abridged version he basically said **“people will seek out sources of information which confirm their view of the world”. **

This is of course true for both sides of the political/ideological spectrum. This leads me to whether we are actually learning anything here. I mean, our minds are essentially made up aren’t they?

Everybody thinks that they are the exception. “Well I have seen/lived/read both sides of that particular issue, and can say blah blah…”

What do people think of this? Are you the exception? Can you really ever think critically when you already have a set “view of the world”?

My worldview is essentially Western and Christian, partly by way of indoctrination, but mostly by way of personal experience, study, Providential guidance and choice.:knight1:

 

[Marc_Aupiais]

Generally, I have had my views changed, by investigation, and constant re-evaluation. I believe God is Truth, and seek always to correct my errors, which is also why I refuse to disrespect God, by disregarding the rights, of either living or dead, either by kindness to evil, and ignoring good, or by action beyond sanity.

Often such groups have such a shared psyche of anger, and such propaganda spewed at them that they are quite closed. I saw a group of children, the other day told that there is no proof to evolution, whatsoever, personally, I laughed, sadly, but honestly, especially as the bible itself doesn’t advocate creationism. Of course I wont go into more detail for now, on this type of issue, but the difference, is that we take our views up in peace, and debate, and gradually hone our skills, respect, and regard of truth. Truth being God.

 

[Janet_S]

I read an article written by an expert in sociology and media the other day. He had some very interesting comments about how we choose our sources of information. To give you the abridged version he basically said **“people will seek out sources of information which confirm their view of the world”. **

This is of course true for both sides of the political/ideological spectrum. This leads me to whether we are actually learning anything here. I mean, our minds are essentially made up aren’t they?

Everybody thinks that they are the exception. “Well I have seen/lived/read both sides of that particular issue, and can say blah blah…”

What do people think of this? Are you the exception? Can you really ever think critically when you already have a set “view of the world”?

I used to be a staunch liberal and an agnostic; now I’m a traditionalists/conservative Catholic. The change didn’t happen over night. Philosophically, the conservatives stand on more solid ground, and their arguments persuaded me once I opened my mind. Some of the things that started to open my mind: listening to Dr Laura on the radio, reading Chesterton, learning Catholic Church teaching, and prayer.

I think Thomas Aquinas’ format in the Summa is a good way to approach issues.
newadvent.org/summa/1065.htm
Study the objections to fully explore what you believe.

Even though I am firmly convinced that the Catholic Church is true, I can understand why some people don’t believe in God and why some Christians are not Catholic. There are no easy answers.