Do some of your own thinking for a change - rant

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thomfra

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I am wondering why so many people write into this forum asking for ”help with discussions or arguments” they are having with “liberals/atheists/pro-choice people.”

Please don’t take this as a personal attack – but my opinion is that if do not understand, and can’t articulate to another human being why something is right or wrong, then you need to go back and find out what the basis of your beliefs actually are. **DO SOME INDEPENDENT THINKING ** (or reading), have a think, and then try and debate/convert somebody.

That’s just my rant for the day.

I am sure I will be torn to shreds on this!
 
I’m not going to tear you up. At least, not right now. Sometimes I ask for advice or counsel because I’m unsure of something and want to make sure I “get” it. :o I do read my bible and other books, but I don’t know everything. Sometimes, whatever I lack, I can find someone here who can help me. 😊
 
Wow thomfra. Something where we agree. I’d a never thunk it!

Take responsibility for your beliefs people. If you can’t explain them, they’re not really yours… you are just parroting thoughtlessly.

I too get frustrated sometimes with the questions posted here that have obvious, easy to find answers. Usually I just avoid the thread or post a quick link. But many times, it seems that people don’t even want to put in the effort of a simple Google search! They want us to do all the work and hand them free info.

There is nothing wrong with asking questions of people more knowledgeable than you. But at least TRY to find the answer yourself first!
 
thomfra said:
if do not understand, and can’t articulate to another human being why something is right or wrong, then you need to go back and find out what the basis of your beliefs actually are. **DO SOME INDEPENDENT THINKING ** (or reading), have a think, and then try and debate/convert somebody.
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The Catholic perspective of morality is that there are right answers and wrong answers to moral questions and those answers are completely independent of our personal opinions. Asking for help answering a moral question is no different from asking for help with a question on physics or engineering. It is our obligation to learn as much as we can but asking questions does not indicate a lack of independent thinking but rather a continuing search for the truth.

Ender
 
Ender said:
The Catholic perspective of morality is that there are right answers and wrong answers to moral questions and those answers are completely independent of our personal opinions. Asking for help answering a moral question is no different from asking for help with a question on physics or engineering. It is our obligation to learn as much as we can but asking questions does not indicate a lack of independent thinking but rather a continuing search for the truth.

Ender
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hmm. This is not really what I was talking about if you read the OP.
 
thomfra said:
hmm. This is not really what I was talking about if you read the OP.
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Perhaps you could rephrase your comments. I took it to be a bit more than a complaint that too many people were asking for help understanding questions of morality. There are a lot of people - especially school age - who know what they believe but don’t understand the basis on which the belief is founded and they typically realize that most forcefully when they are challenged by someone who doesn’t share that position. That puts them in a real time situation where they want to respond and need help getting pointed in the right direction. Is that a problem?

Ender
 
So people ask for help with the best ways to explain things of if they encounter an argument they haven’t heard before…so what? That doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking independently, it just means they are doing a little research before continuing their debate. Who cares?
 
Thomfra: "DO SOME INDEPENDENT THINKING (or reading), have a think, and then try and debate/convert somebody. "

One can research independently on any topic of interest. Even getting contrary results from different sources. So where is the Correct Answer.

Independent Thinking leans on ‘experience’… if one does not have that in the particular area of research, with so many mixed messages, how can one judge the results? AHH, Google showed a “Catholic Answers Forum”… maybe try there.

We are all learning. It is in the ‘applying’ what we learn that we gain experience. Sometimes this happens in reverse, we get the experience first, then have to try and figure it out.

I have graduated from school, but am in the big school of living life. Premeditated is better then haphazard.
 
thomfra said:
I am wondering why so many people write into this forum asking for ”help with discussions or arguments” they are having with “liberals/atheists/pro-choice people.”

Please don’t take this as a personal attack – but my opinion is that if do not understand, and can’t articulate to another human being why something is right or wrong, then you need to go back and find out what the basis of your beliefs actually are. **DO SOME INDEPENDENT THINKING ** (or reading), have a think, and then try and debate/convert somebody.

That’s just my rant for the day.

I am sure I will be torn to shreds on this!
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I think I agree with the underlying principle of your post that people should make and effort to understand what they believe, instead of just memorizing arguments they can’t actually explain.

But these kinds of posts don’t bother me at all because, more often than not, I think that asking for help with discussions or arguments is one of the first steps that people take as they start to examine and gain a deeper understanding of their beliefs. Sure, the person might play the parrot at first, but eventually they will usually realize they want to expand their horizons.

What irritates me more is that a lot of responses to these kinds of posts are incredibly unhelpful because they are either well-intentioned, but superficial and pithy expressions of belief that don’t really provide apologetic insight, OR (and these really bug me) short replies like “read this,” or “that debate has been settled,” followed by links to complex, tedious material that will ultimately frustrate the OP or make them feel stupid, and discourage them from continuing any further.

I think that when you see a post like this, and you don’t want to answer their question, then just commend that person for making an effort to learn more about what they believe, and point them toward some simple, straighforward resources that will encourage them to “go back and find out what the basis of (their) beliefs actually are”
 
Thom, no one person today can “know it all”. Their is far to much information out there. Do think “you know it all?” This is a place to ask. Can you know everything there is to know about music, cars, cameras, computers, gardening.🤷 I hate to say it but this sounds like a rhetorical question in and of itself.😛
 
GratefulDad said:
Thom, no one person today can “know it all”. Their is far to much information out there. Do think “you know it all?” This is a place to ask. Can you know everything there is to know about music, cars, cameras, computers, gardening.🤷 I hate to say it but this sounds like a rhetorical question in and of itself.😛
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I know it all. If you don’t believe me, just ask me.😃
 
When I was young I thought my knowledge was vast, but now I know it is only half vast.😃
 
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