Steve
Mostly Harmless
not sure. I have several good friends who are latter day saints, and they are pretty diligent but they slip from time to time.
Martial Arts Is Not Religion, An Instructor Is Not A God
- Thread starter PhotonGuy
- Start date
I never got the memo that we were now allowed to discuss religion here.
But the question really is, is God a Democrat, a Republican, what?
I heard he’s pissed. And I hear he has silly string.
Y’all been warned.
But the question really is, is God a Democrat, a Republican, what?
I heard he’s pissed. And I hear he has silly string.
Y’all been warned.
You can get hurt that way. I know a guy who broke his leg slipping off a latter.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
I missed the memo that it was ever off limits. I mean, "religion" and "god" are in the title of the thread, and we're pushing 100 posts in the thread. So, if it's off limits, the Mods really dropped the ball!
But pulling politics into it is clearly out of bounds, so watch yourself, young man.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
Well played.
I'd have to look up the exact rules, but I think it comes down to no religion-bashing, no proselytizing, and keep it very civil because we will be monitoring these threads.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
What I was able to find:
The Official Position of this site is that no single religion, no single political party, no single position is "correct' or "wrong". Topics such as religion and politics, certain social topics such as abortion and sexual orientation, and more always seem to bring heat. While we welcome debate, we aren't the place where personal insults will be tolerated. Each and every one of us has things we hold dear, things we believe in, things we know, and we are all entitled to those, and entitled to express ourselves, as long as that expression is done within the site rules. All are welcome, provided they can follow our rules.
MartialTalk Policy on Religious Tolerance
Religion is an important part of the lives of many of our members, and we believe it is important that people be given the opportunity to express their religious and spiritual beliefs in their online lives. This goes for all faiths, equally.
Our members are welcome to express themselves spiritually in all of our forums here.
At the same time, people must be aware that not everyone will share those same beliefs.
We expect our members to show tolerance of others beliefs in a non-judgmental manner.
Naturally this means that any kind of blatantly excessive religious posting or attempts to convince other people that their religion
(or lack thereof) is wrong simply cannot be allowed. Such posts damage the community at large because they can be disruptive.
Our forums are full of a diverse group of people with many different beliefs, and people must respect that
diversity. To keep things as fair as we can we ask that people not make large numbers of posts of a purely religious nature on non-religious threads.
At the same time, if people see threads that involve individuals praying with each other or otherwise sharing to help each other deal with a difficult situation, please remember that people who choose to share their religious feelings in the context of providing support for others should be given that opportunity (as long as it is not intentionally disruptive to other non-religious threads).
If you don't agree with their beliefs, then simply don't participate.
Some communities solve this "religious tolerance" issue the easy way. They simply ban all cases of religious expression. While we could do this also, it flies in the face of what we are trying to provide here; an open forum for all kinds of dialogue, information and support.
MartialTalk welcomes people of all faiths and does not condone the wholesale condemnation of a faith or the defamatory general characterizations of a faith, based on the actions of a few.
Members are welcome to their opinions however we must insist that they be posted in such a manner as to not condemn an entire group for the negative actions of a few.
Such actions may run afoul of our hate-speech policies and will be dealt with as such.
Please be respectful of your fellow members, who may believe differently than you, yet are still human beings with the right to believe as they do, the same as you and I.
Religion is an important part of the lives of many of our members, and we believe it is important that people be given the opportunity to express their religious and spiritual beliefs in their online lives. This goes for all faiths, equally.
Our members are welcome to express themselves spiritually in all of our forums here.
At the same time, people must be aware that not everyone will share those same beliefs.
We expect our members to show tolerance of others beliefs in a non-judgmental manner.
Naturally this means that any kind of blatantly excessive religious posting or attempts to convince other people that their religion
(or lack thereof) is wrong simply cannot be allowed. Such posts damage the community at large because they can be disruptive.
Our forums are full of a diverse group of people with many different beliefs, and people must respect that
diversity. To keep things as fair as we can we ask that people not make large numbers of posts of a purely religious nature on non-religious threads.
At the same time, if people see threads that involve individuals praying with each other or otherwise sharing to help each other deal with a difficult situation, please remember that people who choose to share their religious feelings in the context of providing support for others should be given that opportunity (as long as it is not intentionally disruptive to other non-religious threads).
If you don't agree with their beliefs, then simply don't participate.
Some communities solve this "religious tolerance" issue the easy way. They simply ban all cases of religious expression. While we could do this also, it flies in the face of what we are trying to provide here; an open forum for all kinds of dialogue, information and support.
MartialTalk welcomes people of all faiths and does not condone the wholesale condemnation of a faith or the defamatory general characterizations of a faith, based on the actions of a few.
Members are welcome to their opinions however we must insist that they be posted in such a manner as to not condemn an entire group for the negative actions of a few.
Such actions may run afoul of our hate-speech policies and will be dealt with as such.
Please be respectful of your fellow members, who may believe differently than you, yet are still human beings with the right to believe as they do, the same as you and I.
I missed the memo that it was ever off limits. I mean, "religion" and "god" are in the title of the thread, and we're pushing 100 posts in the thread. So, if it's off limits, the Mods really dropped the ball!
But pulling politics into it is clearly out of bounds, so watch yourself, young man.
So just to clarify, my statement was "And that while you can discuss religion as much as you like, there is no religion bashing allowed on this forum.". And it's essentially that. You're free to discuss it as much as you want, in some ways it's hand-in-hand with martial arts. Steve quoted the important part of the rules but the tl;dr is what tony said-keep it civil, and don't bash other's religion.
Sorry if there was any confusion with my initial reminder.
I think the main point of difference (and exclusivity) is that Christianity teaches an active god exists. Deism specifically refers to an inactive god who created but does not intervene.
I missed the memo that it was ever off limits. I mean, "religion" and "god" are in the title of the thread, and we're pushing 100 posts in the thread. So, if it's off limits, the Mods really dropped the ball!
But pulling politics into it is clearly out of bounds, so watch yourself, young man.
Yes but the key word in the thread title is NOT.
No religion bashing....got it.
And no political bashing, either, got it.
But it’s okay to bash the hell out of each other’s Martial opinions and each other in general....got it.
May the daughter of a Republican Buddhist father and a Democratic Scientologist mother grow up to be an Independent Jehovas Witness who licks the burning bush of all no contact cult leaders everywhere.
So it is written....
And no political bashing, either, got it.
But it’s okay to bash the hell out of each other’s Martial opinions and each other in general....got it.
May the daughter of a Republican Buddhist father and a Democratic Scientologist mother grow up to be an Independent Jehovas Witness who licks the burning bush of all no contact cult leaders everywhere.
So it is written....
Steve
Mostly Harmless
I thought the key word was "Is." Shows how much I know.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
So, just to sum up and get the thread back on track...
- the USA founding fathers were, as best I know, religious, but not all were Christians... or at least not orthodox Christians.
- Deists believe in some kind of God, but maybe not the same god that Christians believe in, which is also the same God that the Muslim and Jewish faiths worship.
- The Teleological argument for God is commonly used to argue for the existence of the theistic God, though the actual argument for intelligent design goes all the way back to ancient Greece.
- Math is hard.
- Cults are generally bad.
- Martial arts aren't a religion, though some Japanese arts (and maybe some others) incorporate some elements of religious ceremony.
- Martial arts instructors aren't gods (or God), though they may be jedi, because they do sometimes exert alarming influence over the weak minded.
- Discussion of politics is verboten.
- Discussion of religion is okay, as long as it's respectful and you don't cross the line. "You" in this case is specifically @Buka.
- That last part isn't actually true. "You" meaning "you all" and certainly not just @Buka . Just wondering if anyone read this far.
- I'm sure I missed a lot, but that's all I can recall from memory.
Well..if we just took out all bashing together, would there be any posts left on this site?
Steve
Mostly Harmless
We’d get all so well the site would die.
isshinryuronin
Senior Master
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Although I'm not Catholic, I will give confession - I have absolutely NO idea of why there is discussion of religion on this site. It has nothing to do with martial arts. I know of nothing in anybody's bible that gives significant instruction or insight into personal combat. And I know of nothing in martial arts that depends upon any particular religious belief. Christians, Atheists, Deists, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and lessor known religious followers all do martial arts pretty much the same. There is no Jewish front kick, no Christian arm bar, no Buddhist left hook, etc.
There are some Oriental philosophical concepts such as hard / soft balance, empty mind, and others that can directly affect the performance of martial arts physically, mentally, or aid in perception and reaction time. One may point out religion offers general moral guidance, but knowing it's wrong to hurt innocent people or otherwise misuse the art does not require religion.
I would not limit my students to those of any particular religion, just as I would not restrict those that are vegans, democrats, plumbers, cat lovers, men, college grads, etc., since none of these things affect them doing martial arts. (Some of these people I may think strange, but I would teach them all the best I can) All I need in my class are good hearted people willing to do their best and respect others. Any religion that advocates these ideals are welcome.
There are some Oriental philosophical concepts such as hard / soft balance, empty mind, and others that can directly affect the performance of martial arts physically, mentally, or aid in perception and reaction time. One may point out religion offers general moral guidance, but knowing it's wrong to hurt innocent people or otherwise misuse the art does not require religion.
I would not limit my students to those of any particular religion, just as I would not restrict those that are vegans, democrats, plumbers, cat lovers, men, college grads, etc., since none of these things affect them doing martial arts. (Some of these people I may think strange, but I would teach them all the best I can) All I need in my class are good hearted people willing to do their best and respect others. Any religion that advocates these ideals are welcome.
Because other things outside of martial arts can be discussed here. That's like saying cars, or basketball, or food can't be discussed here since they're not involved in martial arts.
To quote fast Billy....it depends on what your definition of what the word “is” is.
I thought the point was that "an instructor" is not a god. Meaning there's one somewhere who isn't. You mean there's more than one?
dvcochran
Grandmaster
Who said unexplained?
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