Anyone non-religious here? Please be nice!

[Prettiest Frog]

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No, actually, you don't have 'freedom of speech' on BYC, as covered here. You are allowed to post here provided you adhere to the rules. Mocking, talking down to or in any other way putting someone else down isn't allowed here on BYC.

Which is why I made the bolded statement above. BYC is a 'private individual or corporation' and this is their property and their medium. And they are not the government. Redux comprehended my post 100% correctly.

 

[Prettiest Frog]

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I think the word "forum" is being taken too too literally in this case. I don't believe the poster is talking about just an internet forum, but is using the term in its broader sense. I found this definition that might be helpful (the bolding is mine):

Forums are classified as public or nonpublic.

A public forum, also called an open forum, is open to all expression that is protected under the First Amendment. Streets, parks, and sidewalks are considered open to public discourse by tradition and are designated as traditional public forums. The government creates a designated public forum when it intentionally opens a nontraditional forum for public discourse. Limited public forums, such as municipal meeting rooms, are nonpublic forums that have been specifically designated by the government as open to certain groups or topics. Traditional public forums cannot be changed to nonpublic forums by governments.

Public forums cannot be restricted based on content. But even public forums can be restricted as to the time, place and manner of speech. In the 1972 case Grayned v. Rockford, the Supreme Court found that "The nature of a place, 'the pattern of its normal activities, dictate the kinds of regulations of time, place, and manner that are reasonable.'" In determining what is reasonable, the Court stated that "[the] crucial question is whether the manner of expression is basically incompatible with the normal activity of a particular place at a particular time." Thus, protesters have the right to march in support of a cause, but not on a public beach during the middle of the day with bullhorns.

A nonpublic forum is not specially designated as open to public expression. For example, jails, public schools, and military bases are nonpublic forums (unless declared otherwise by the government). Such forums can be restricted based on the content of the speech, but not based on viewpoint. Thus, while the government could prohibit speeches related to abortion on a military base, it could not permit a pro-life speaker while denying a pro-choice speaker (or vice versa).

Regardless of the type of forum, any exclusion must be done on a viewpoint neutral basis. Exclusion based on the speaker’s viewpoint is unconstitutional.

Just trying to be helpful.

Rusty​

You as well, read my post correctly.

 

[deb1]

ThaiTurkey, wow, the parties for the future monks sound fun!

You are so lucky to have been spared all the end of the world drama. When I was a very little child, I sat through a service in which the pastor described in lurid detail the fact that during a battle at the end of the world, human blood would be up to the bridle of a horse. His words terrified me but what bothered me worse was the lack of fear that the adults expressed. When I asked, I was assured that if I believed in God then I would be taken up to heaven before the suffering began.

The end of the world teachings that I was taught are very American centric. Supposedly human beings will become more and more hedonistic and selfish. At one point a world government will take over led by a man. The man will bring peace to the world and yet he will be evil and seek to control people. Ultimately human nature will be so selfish and evil that God will take Christians to heaven leaving everyone else on earth. Eventually God will come back yet a third time to wreck punishment on those who don't follow him.

I say that it is an American centric view because apparently God will come back because people in this country are suffering. I have had friends tell me that they are so happy because God is coming back. When I have pointed out that the end of the world according to their believes mean suffering for others their response is, "But he will remove his people from the suffering."

These same people will often point out that Christians are persecuted in some parts of the world, which leads me to believe that they think that only when Americans suffer will God suddenly get outraged and do something.

It seems to me that churches who follow the liturgical calender-Catholics, Anglicans-don't really preach about the last days. But here in the south east there are many denominations that spend a lot of time on end of world prophecy.

 

[tnchickenut]

Slightly deviating off course - I want to rant and have a question and this seems the place:

I have a co-worker who is a... (thinking of a way to put it)... super religious, pushy woman. And you all speaking of "The Rapture" (and I put it in quatations on purpose) made me think of her and get mad again. EVERY conversation you have with another person, she will bring back to Jesus and "The Rapture". Now, I live and work in the hills of Tennessee. Around here public school kids get walked across the street to the church for Bible study, The Ten Commandments are in the courthouses and schools, and no one will dare say they aren't Christian - just to lay that out for you.
I work for a global corporation. Eventhough this particular facility is here in the sticks... don't I have a right to a break without church? I mean, it is constant! She tells you how you should live, she tells you how you will die, she tells you scriptures and prophecies and the whole time I want to laugh at her. I don't, personally, believe that Jesus is comming back. He was a man who lived and "shook things up" and that is that. I try so hard not to get low and mock her. I want to always ask her, "Now, what about Elvis? Is he comming back too?" lol
I'm sorry, but I felt it was safe here to voice my true opinions and beliefs. This woman drives even the other church goers nuts. AND she'll even follow you when you try to walk away!!! Isn't that harrassment?

 

[Prettiest Frog]

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Morbid child that I was, I did the math once. All the blood in all the humans in all the world wouldn't get 1" deep in a space the size of Rhode Island.

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Yes, it is, and I've gone as far as to get a restraining order against someone just like that.

 

[tnchickenut]

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Yes, it is, and I've gone as far as to get a restraining order against someone just like that.

Well, that is how I feel too. Now, to make it stick. I'm telling you, around here, there are always banjos playing in the woods. lol. She even does supervisiors that way... and gets away with it!!! Everyone is so scared to look like they don't love Jesus. I had once had enough of it (different shift, different woman) and went off. I can't go into everything I said here... we have to be nice and I wasn't at the time. My mother, who happened to work with me and be in the break room at the time, normally stops me from social fopas (Sp?) and didn't. She let me go on and on and I got more and more into it. lol. I'll give you all the gist... I used "Sheeple" alot and retorically asked if they knew that Muslims share the same stories that are in The Bible and such and such. (this was durring the 2008 Pres. campaign and 9/11 came up alot, so there were alot of ignorant comments in the break rooms as to what to do with "those people")

ARG! I get made. "Jesus loves everyone" on their cars and nothing but jealousy and anger in their hearts.

 

[deb1]

There are a lot of very wonderful Christians who really do attempt to be loving to others .

We shouldn't let our opinion of an entire religion be colored by the extremists we meet.

tnchickennut, it sounds like you have come in contact with an extremist. Can you talk to your boss? You are in a difficult position because some people believe that they are being persecuted when they are asked to show consideration for the beliefs of others. I think that I would just tell my boss that the constant religious talk is distracting.

The rapture, as I was taught, has never made sense to me. It seems cold and cruel. I also think that it colors the way evangelicals view the world.

I have to admit, I am jealous that Thaiturket was not exposed to this as a child. It is very frightening to hear that all your nonsaved friends are going to be left behind during the last days.

 

[EweSheep]

As long as I can remember, the churchs did go over the last chapter of the Bible, the Revelations and I had to laugh at some of those things that the world is going to come to an end. The higher possibility would be a huge meteor would slam in the side of Earth and all the waves of destruction will come, that to me, would be the END of Earth on that continent. Do I need to worry about it? No, I don't. If it happens, it happens and no amount of money can change the course of the meteor's path of destruction.

With all the freaky weather we have been having, global warming due to our own messes, I would not say it was God's doing of having ourself heck bent on self-destruction. Suicide is the easy way out if they wanted to suffer no longer. I am not talking about the Kevorkian cases but to avoid "seeing the end result" of the greatest destruction Man has ever seen in so many centuries. Remember the hoopla that 2000 year would be the END of the world? Yeah right! I went on my merry way and don't worry about it while other strangers in the extreme end would just go nuts. I have seen so many non believers would just strug their shoulders and say, nah, it is not going to happen which it would send a sane person in a fit!

Sorry I am being ignorant about the "rapture" or have a very limited idea what it is like or supposed to be.

Will Jesus come back? Honestly, no. No one ever from the past ever came back. Even King Tut himself could not come back to tell us how he died and how he was the "chosen" King for his people. Or Moses, Abraham, Paul, King David, etc and even God himself. Has ANYONE seen God? No one should question God in what he looks like, his favorite kind of food, his theories, science, etc. Well, I do ask what God looks like, was he ever married, and how did he die and how did he became the sole God of all Gods......As for me, if God would have to be a man, he certainly would be in statues even it is not realistic. How did religion envolved from the time Egyptians came to paint the walls of their Gods, Osiris, for one while there were no pictures of relgion back in those days. Makes you wonder, huh? Food for thoughts! At least the Egyptians painted their stories of God. How did we get to the point of singular God from all Gods....it had to be Moses (I think) that we should worship one God....now how would that be possible under ONE man that decided to settle just one God. Was too many Gods too much for him and decided to merge all the different gods in one? That would be one lazy way of looking at it as a shortcut of all the good things on Earth would be consoliate to one God because it would take too much time to pray for individual gods for anything anyone needed to pray about.

 

[thaiturkey]

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We have parties for monkhood, blessing a new house, marriage, death and joining the army and there are probably more excuses that I haven't encountered just yet. Entertainment here can be rather basic. After the monks have chanted, had their breakfast and left, all hell breaks loose. The music can be heard a mile away. Up beat parties have professional singers and dancers. Food and drink are plentiful. A break must be called at midnight and that can be a wonderful relief. Some parties last for three days. Any foreigner present is treated like royalty and, if we are not careful, we might find ourselves on the outdoor stage singing. Local people work hard in the heat of the day for a pittance and it's good to see them let loose.

The teachings that are so troublesome in your part of the world were around in my youth in the UK. They were largely ignored by the Brits. and have done little damage. I think that the kind of extreme right wing fundamentalist religion that has been described in this thread results in part from the emptiness that can result from successful materialism. Boredom, in other words. The feeling that there must be more to life. Hopelessness and powerlessness. Preoccupation with the end of the world and the second coming really can take your mind off what is really going on.

As for persecution, I think that Christianity has got its own back by now.

 

[mom'sfolly]

The whole "rapture" thing used to give me the worst nightmares. I figured that most of my family and friends were going to be "left behind" and end up in hell. I've talked to other people who were raised in the same environment who say the same thing. Religion shouldn't be about scaring children into nightmares. If it works at all, it should be to inspire, uplift and support; not to drag you down into nightmares and despair that god will unendingly torment and punish the people you love.