Meteorite Fri 23-Sep-11 00:29:43 and CheerfulYank Fri 23-Sep-11 03:39:18
See, I can disagree with just about all those beliefs but would be very happy, without sneering, to argue why those beliefs are wrong and how a proper scientific analysis would prove this but I wouldn't think any less of you for having them or believe they cause any harm.
I would also accept that a religion which main tenets are (1) to love God and (2) your fellow humans is a force for good, misguided in its reasons, but a force for good nonetheless. After all, I believe in 50% of those tenets.
As I don't believe in heaven or hell, I suppose it doesn't matter to me whether only people who share your beliefs will end up in heaven but you sound like the kind of people who would genuinely miss some non-believers from your heaven.
Now, if you could think up a name which clearly defined this form of Christianity and distinguished it from the kind of hellfire and brimstone Christianity I was brought up in, we could more easily distinguish and differentiate it from those forms of Christianity and other religions which deserve to have the micky taken.
@GothAnneGeddes
As the religious posters on here all seem to have very individual beliefs, how do you suggest I Google them?
There clearly are people who call themselves Christians who believe that homosexuality is a sin and who base that belief on a throwaway line in the Old Testament; there are people who call themselves Christians who believe it is ok to marry and rape multiple brides of twelve or under.
There are Muslims who pretty much also believe that all you need is to love God and your fellow man and, again, I have no problems with them but there are also those who call themselves Muslims who apparently believe it is OK to mutilate babies, male and female, by circumcision and, apparently, some who claim that virgins (possibly male and female virgins) will be made avaiable to believers in heaven; some Muslims apparently believing that 72 such virgins will be made avaiable to martyrs. There are some Muslims who apparently believe the path to martyrdom and access to the virgins is through the slaying of infidels although I also understand this to be a misinterpretation of the Koran. How do you suggest I Google to find out which of these beliefs a specific Muslim Mumsnet poster has, rather than asking them direct?
If someone claims to be a Muslim, should I assume their beliefs follow the former or the latter paths. I certainly am not prepared to consider their beliefs equally meritorious.
Again, depending on the actual beliefs and actions taken as a consequence of those beliefs, I believe I have a right to oppose, object and even mock those whose beliefs are, imo, barbaric, such as those who under cover of their religion marry minors and/or force minors into marriage as well as those who circumcise children and the many other horrible acts which are conducted in the name of religion.
If you belong to a religion which is part of a group of religions some elements of which endorses (or even is wrongly suspected of endorsing)
wrongful, illegal or immoral acts, the more you explain about your exact beliefs, the less you are likely to be included in a diatribe against the overall religion you belong to.
I will also say (and she may not thank me for doing so) everything I have learnt about Riven on Mumsnet, suggests to me that she is deserving not only of everything that is good in this world but also to be sanctified by every decent deity that any of you believe in.