Religious Oppression?
- Thread starter Sukerkin
- Start date
I'm afraid this is having it both ways. Besides the fact that a judiciary is constitutionally mandated, is there any other sane way to settle disputes? With a Pope, so there'll be infallibility and hence no reversals of..oh wait, never mind.
Funny! You'd get the snickers started with that one. With the diversity of beliefs among Catholics, I'm sure the atheists would be more tolerant of the Catholics than many of the Catholics would be tolerant of each other.
The word tolerance has been used frequently in this discussion and I believe that judicious tolerance from individuals would promote more understanding of other peoples beliefs and desires to express those beliefs than all the Judicial activity resorted to these days. In my later years, I have come to realize that another's desire to pray or talk about their religious beliefs has no ill effect on me as long as they do not try to promote an agenda that interferes with my activities. So when someone wants to pray, or tells me that they are praying for me, I thank them and we move on to other activities. At least their good wishes are somewhat therapeutic. It becomes another issue when people of any faith are motivated to attempt to change the laws of the land based on their religious beliefs. I would not countenance incorporation of the ten commandments into law any more than I would sharia. I do realize that Christianity, Judaism and Islam all base their first covenants on the Old Testament and that at some level our civil laws are therefore modeled upon these ethics. I feel that the traditions of right and wrong of the major faiths are generally sound and so widely accepted as to be almost universal. It is in the specific attempts to legislate behavior at a more intolerant level that we begin to encroach on the choices of others. As stated well by others; this is often a matter of judgment and maturity and most well meaning people can reach a consensus as to where the boundaries lie, occasionally with the help of the courts. I am less concerned if a young person wants to reference their religious faith during a valedictorian address. I can survive a few minutes of someone's heart felt expressions far more easily than I can listen to the tripe that a politician will spill in the same ceremonies. I may be becoming more mellow as I age, but I have found that I have gained so much from friends of all outlooks that I listen more and talk ( a little) less these days. It has generally been a beneficial way to participate in the lives of others.
