Religion on this board

[Jessiewessie99]

Originally Posted by GSDolch

This is my point. So my question to you is...why? If I am not bashing, why can I not say something just because its "not nice". Often times when someone disagrees with something they consider it "not nice"

You will probably never know how someone will react to it.

I believe in my dog, so there I believe in god.

[Relayer]

God lives in my heart and in my dog's eyes and heart.

[selzer]

I think it is easy for people to give up talking politics, because politics may be affecting their lives and maybe a big part of their lives, may even be part of their identity, they do not worship politicians or politcs and do not have it in grained in themselves from early on, that the party is more important than they are themselves.

i think in the past people would say God and then country were first, but nowadays we are lucky if people put God first even if they do believe in him. So while some people keep God in his place, between 8 and noon on sunday morning, or in its proper place on saturday afternoon or evening. Others see God in the place where many of us have our dogs.

No, I am picking on myself here too. Some people consider God when the change their address, their job, their vehicle, their budget, their time constraints. And we here more likely consider our dogs in this place. I certainly have. If God told me to go out tomorrow and kill all of my dogs, I would see a psychiatrist and get on meds. Not that I do not believe that God speaks to people these days, but I think that God is far more likely to speak to us when we have dog food in our car and see a homeless man and his dog than to tell us to destroy what we love to prove our loyalty to Him.

But when we identify ourselves, we identify ourselves as Christian, Muslim, Jew, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Athiest, Agnostic, and the list goes on, much more readily than republican, democrat, independent, libertarian, communist, socialist, etc.

I think for me I am a Chrisitian first, then a dog person, then a protestant, then an American, then an electrical engineer, then a German, English, Hungarian, then a republican. I think some people may have their politics right up there with their being a dog person. For these people, it is much harder not to discuss it.

But for others, who see God in everything that happens, it is also unnatural for them to never mention it on the site.

I think that if we are all suing for tolerance, we should be tolerant of religion in whatever shape and form it comes in. Otherwise, some very nice individuals might be lost to us. I do not think that banning religious posts will make us more tolerant or make there be less fighting and arguing amongst individuals.

[Zoeys mom]

I'm all about tolerance and do not mind the mentioning of religions or gods, but when politics are banned I question the fairness in this. We all share different religious and political views, and we all take our views seriously because they define us as humans. Both topics dictate how we feel about certain issues, the decisions we make in our and our families lives, and both are considered deeply personal and sacred. I was raised to never mention religion, age, or political views to a stranger because of the sensitivity these topics harbor on a personal level. I guess I just think if religion may be openly debated and talked about so should politics to embody true tolerance if tolerance is the argument for allowing religion on a dog forum

[codmaster]

Both interesting discussions! i do think that MOST people would be more intolerant in politics than they would be in religious discussions. i wouldn't mind if we have these discussions or not as i don't think i would pay much attention to either - my goal is to learn more about GSD's.

[codmaster]

Originally Posted by Zoeys mom

.......... god really has nothing to do with the one passion we all share which is german shepherds. ......

Except that dog is God spelled backwards! Heh! Heh!

[Zoeys mom]

Okay you have a point I give dog is totally god spelled backwards

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by Zoeys mom

We all share different religious and political views, and we all take our views seriously because they define us as humans. Both topics dictate how we feel about certain issues, the decisions we make in our and our families lives, and both are considered deeply personal and sacred.

I agree. And I think that religion is just as sensitive if not more so than politics as it can be MORE deeply held and personal. I personally think people are much more likely to define themselves by their religious beliefs than by their politics. Selzer's post is a perfect example - her religious beliefs come first, before being a dog person or an American. I don't think she's unusual in that regard, which is why it doesn't make sense to me that politics are banned, but we can have a dedicated thread to promote the bible.

[onyx'girl]

Politics get the people worked up, look at the teaparty stuff going on right now...it is only going to get more ramped up before it goes away or gets better...this post will get deleted or edited because I used an example, but we all know politics bring on the passion and it isn't as respectful in discussion as religion seems to go. That is why the Bible verses have gone under the radar for so long, it wasn't controversial til someone decided to make it so.
BTW, nice post Selzer!

[Zoeys mom]

I think with religious discussions people tend to bite their tongue in respect instead of dishing it out personally even when they are offended. I am against most forms of censorship myself which is why I don't protest about much people say, write, or publish- it comes down to if it bothers you don't look,lol I just wish this type of tolerance was extended to political topics as they pertain to everyone regardless of individual beliefs. Sometimes the most heated discussions teach us the most and help us see an issue from a different point of view. When we stifle what can and can not be said we learn less as a community even if it does qualm some people's hurt feelings. We have a choice to read or ignore threads so IMO hurt feelings and offenses usually fall back on the reader