A: I normally don't understand Malay/Arabic, so muslim prayer don't bother me so much.
Just know that the words "God", Jesus and Christ offends me VERY MUCH in public places like supermarkets, restaurants or shoppingmalls.
Not against people exercising their religion in churches, mosques or private homes.
A few months ago there was much protests from some in Sweden about one of the Ikea stores having given the muslim staff a quiet prayer room. That I would call lack of religious respect.
Think many people too "brain washed" by American ideas to see that a compromise is needed in the level of religious freedom/harassment.
Me: In what context would they offend you?
If the offence is caused by your understanding of them, is the problem with you and not whoever put them out there?
Do the terms BC/AD offend you?
What is the religious content of the word "merry"? Do you get offended when people say "bless you" when you sneeze?
A: BC/AD do not emotionally offend me. It offends me intellectually by not understanding why we use BC/AD instead of the Buddhist year counting or the Muslim year counting.
Using BC/AD is like admitting that Christianity is the correct religion compared to all others.
The words Jesus, Christ, and "God" on posters or in lyrics (except as a swearword "OMG"), offends me litterally physical in the stomac because most of the times when Christians use them they are trying to convert other people.
It's the same aversion as if a man tries to rape you.
I've had three previous employers who tried to convert me into Christianity and directly or indirectly fired me for arguing with them on the subject.
"Bless you" after a sneezing don't offend me (although it should). "Bless you" said if I've done someone a favour offends me, because then they are suddenly getting "God" in the picture.
Jews and as far as I know Buddhist do not try to convert other people.
The folkreligions or hinduism are just using their religion as an expression of their ethniticity, they are not trying to make other people join their religion.
Christians have been everywhere missionating. You can't go anywhere without running into Christianity.
You can go to Europe and stay for years and actually if you are lucky not run into anything that is connecetd to either Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism.
I'm not against prayer rooms if they keep the praying silent. I can't tell people how to think, even if I wished to. Then I would steep as low as people are treating me.
"Merry Christmas" offends me in people assuming I'm celebrating the birth of Jesus who told people to "turn the other cheek", =accept oppression and injustices.
And I'm not going to start on all the other clearly exagerated stories about Jesus.
There is nothing good in Christianity which you can't find in any other religion, but a lot of "stupidity".
No one wishes me, "happy vesak day", "happy depavali" or "happy hari raya", or actually one of my teachers did last week, but he is also using the word "God" ten times every lession which has no relavance at all to the course subject.
Me: What do you suggest we use [instead of BC/AD]? Do countries where people drive on the left side of the road discriminate against people from countries where they drive on the right?
Do you worship Saturn? It's Saturday today.
The words Jesus, Christ, and "God" on posters or in lyrics (except as a swearword "OMG"), offends me litterally
Do you feel the urge to burn US Currency?
Don't you try and convert other people to your way of thinking too? In this thread, by putting forward arguments, you are trying to convert people to your way of thinking. Should other people be offended by that?
It's the same aversion as if a man tries to rape you.
So speech is as bad as rape now?
I've had three previous employers who tried to convert me into Christianity and directly or indirectly fired me for arguing with them on the subject.
That is very unfortunate, but what does that have to do with other people using the word "God", even in non-religious contexts? Also two wrongs don't make a right.
"Merry Christmas" offends me in people assuming I'm celebrating the birth of Jesus
I worked over Labour Day once. I didn't get offended when someone wished me "Happy Labour Day".
And with the secularisation of Christmas in the 20th century, it's not clear that it is primarily a religious holiday anymore. See Japan, where =<1% of the population is Christian and yet where Christmas is a big thing.
who told people to "turn the other cheek", =accept oppression and injustices.
Is non-violent resistance necessarily accepting oppression and injustice?
B:
The folkreligions or hinduism are just using their religion as an expression of their ethniticity, they are not trying to make other people join their religion.
Do you realize that ISKCON (hare krsna movement) has worldwide followers.
A: Sorry, haven't figured out how to put the link in the reply.
Anyway don't know why you are so hostile. =(
The time counting should be unbiased to any religion. Draw a number from a box or anything, just not based on a non proved religion.
It just proves Christians arrogans and enhances the racial tension in the world.
Don't know what Saturn has to do with the subject.
Don't know why I should like to burn US currency, never said.
Some really desperate adoptee girls are voluntarily prostituting themself in a country where they shouldn't have to.
Screwing with your mind is sometimes worse than screwing with your "flesh".
This is something you clearly don't understand.
Religious people get crazy when you argue with them about their religion. Why do you respect them more than me???
Countries go to war if another country is trying to oppress them.
I haven't complained about the use of "God" in this forum have I?
I don't go to supermarket to be treated with disrespect, which they do by not respecting me not wanting to hear about "God", "Jesus", "Christ", when I do my necessary shopping.
Christmas is a religious holiday! Commercial forces may distort/take advantage of the tradition of people buying things at this holiday.
I haven't said you should use violence to oppose oppression and injustice. I'm against people just accepting without verbal action or not simply leaving.
As I understand you are not against "labour day" even if you have to work on it, so therefore "happy labour day" do not offend you.
Yes, I have made a statement in this forum to raise awareness of the other side of religious expression at all cost.
Harassment is when you repetedly do or say something unwanted.
I'm prepared to give my life for my non-christian belief, I wasn't born to be oppressed by other people, thereby not said I will kill for my religious belief.
Hope someone else in this group will back me up on this otherwise I've got nothing more to say, but that it's very "funny" that arrogant selfish people are treated with respect, while people clearly rather see me kill myself than letting me have a non christian life.
I had a Philipino co-habitant, some years ago, who put up a "Merry christmas" sign in our corridor in October. (Can't say anything about "Merry Christmas" at public places, but don't want to hear "Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day", stores and restaurants can play "Rudof the rednose reindeer, or Jingle bells if they want to play christmas songs.)
I asked her to put it inside her room, but she refused.
I had to go and stay at a hotel and it almost broke my relationship with my husband, who is my sole provider, since I have footproblem and then hadn't the education to support myself in an office job.
And yes I will litterally rather kill myself than go back to Sweden. 30 years "oppression" is enough!
C: excuse my being blunt, but you seem like you have an obsessive, unhealthy hostility towards religion. The reactions you describe seem completely out of proportion with the nature of the 'disrespect' alleged.
Yes, religion has its fair share of crazies and fanatics. But the solution is not to meet fanaticism with fanaticism -- militant secularism is no better than militant religiosity. Instead, we must insist on striving for mutual tolerance and respect, on recognizing the right to
express one's deepest convictions. Religious belief -- and here, I mean it in the broadest sense, to mean one's beliefs about the nature and meaning of Life, the Universe and everything -- is nothing if there is no space for giving voice to it, for
manifesting it.
Hence, our public spaces must be able to accommodate a range of reasonable religious practices. And I would venture that a well-intentioned greeting of "Merry Christmas", a
tudung worn on the bus, a Hindu procession, the burning of incense in properly-allotted bins, and a public event organized by humanists, all fall squarely within the zone of reasonableness.
These are not issues of life-and-death -- at least, they don't
have to be, if we're all willing to give and take, and maybe even to understand and appreciate other viewpoints (though not necessarily buy into them). To sound a war-cry and to raise the blood-red banner of oppression over such comparatively minor issues is not only irresponsible, it trivializes all those incidents where actual persecution has occurred.
