Michael, it is true that you asked me never to post to you again, but only after I asked you never to post to me again. This all happened over at Ask John Galt after you totally misrepresented what the Feelings thread was about, and I objected:
Message 1882887
If you do not see what is insulting or inaccurate about that post, I do not have the time or patience to explain it to you. Actually, I asked you to never post to me OR about me again, and since you never abided by that in any way, I feel no obligation to do likewise. I do agree that this argument has gotten ugly on both sides.
However, I do promise that starting from this moment, if you promise not to post to me OR about me, I will promise to do likewise, and I will keep my word. What do you say?
Ever since you started posting at Feelings last year, you somehow have perceived of yourself as the enforcer of public taste and morality here. Specifically, you consistently misrepresent my feelings about religion. I will say once more (I am really tired of being so repetitious, but somehow you are not getting the point) that I have many Christian friends, a Catholic husband, crosses in my home, was baptized as a Christian, and have the utmost respect for anyone's private belief system, and any solace and comfort they can derive from it. I made an effort to expose my small child to the concept of having religious beliefs as well, because I believe that everyone should be free to make their own decisions.
When I do discuss Christianity it is as an institution, or in a political or historical sense--as a FORCE--and constantly have made that clear. I have never attacked or mocked any person's private religious beliefs, nor would I.
Certainly, when we are talking about the way the Christian far right churches use a strict construction of the Bible and reject their gay children as the result, causing enormous psychic pain to them, or how the Catholics have now admitted to conspiring with the Nazis in France during World War II, or how women were tortured and killed during the Inquisition, that does not mean in any way that I hate all Christians, or everything Christian, or whatever it is that you are implying.
I have very seriously brought up subjects here like the similarities between Christ's statements and the Buddha's, and how hard it is to rear moral, healthy children in a society which seems out of control from a lack of moral values. I have also discussed how I believe most people, including myself, do try to lead ethical lives, and how the Ten Commandments certainly apply as moral guides to non-Christians like me. I would be the first to agree that churches provide many essential services to the homeless, and was quick to agree when Carol brought up the subject.
You do have the right to voice your opinions on this thread. I am very adamantly in favor of freedom of speech, and would defend your rights to it as much as mine. Your opinions are often not very much based in fact or logic, however, and an example of that would be how I pointed out that you took some statistics from a 60 Minutes segment and twisted them illogically to make them say something which they did not. If you want to continually contort things, and malign people personally who have different ideas, you should probably expect to be challenged on your logic, point by point, over and over again.
I enjoy intellectual discussions with people, and have a lot of friends--in my own personal life and at SI--who are very conservative, and religious as well. I somehow seem to get along well with them, because they recognize the difference between having an intellectual discussion about some religious issues or influences, which can be intellectually stimulating and positive, and making hateful and inaccurate accusations, which is always negative.
I do not believe you have the right to constantly accuse me of being a bigot when I am not, or to say I hate Christians when I do not, as you have done in countless posts, or to make any other false accusations against me, or misrepresent my beliefs, and I would ask again that you stop doing that here. I do have the right to defend myself against these charges, and will continue to do so. |
