I'm very new on this forum but feel impelled to comment as follows:
1. If you are agnostic or atheist, you are already skeptical. Stay that way. But also be open to researching new ideas concerning faith. Being an agnostic or atheist does not mean your mind must be closed.
2. If you are Christian, regardless of denomination, do not accept the words of any man at face value concerning the teachings of Christ. Study, question, pray, and, above all, think for yourself.
3. If you are of any other religious belief, do the same as I advised the Christians above only with your own religious writings.
For the record, I am a non-affiliated Christian. I arrived where I am in my beliefs only after years of studying the Bible, the Qu'ran, and many other religious writings.
Whatever your particular thoughts concerning religion are, remember one thing: It is a belief. Not you, nor me, nor any man on this earth can prove or disprove one iota of what lies after this life.
Whatever your particular thoughts concerning religion are, remember one thing: It is a belief. Not you, nor me, nor any man on this earth can prove or disprove one iota of what lies after this life.
it sounds like the concern comes from observing people on both sides just reacting to each other and perhaps judging the other based on their own different beliefs. I think! That is just a guess from what I have noticed of some people tending to react to each others different belief systems and ideas.
We should respect one another enough to not try to impose our belief on anyone else. It is always possible that "my way" does not always mean "the right way". I believe what I do for a reason, but I have NO RIGHTS to force it on anyone else. Hopefully that helps the thread... thoughts?