Why are people compelled to write about their religious beliefs in the specific cancer forums?
Comments
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"And the goblins will get you if you don't watch out"laurettas said:Hi Joe,
What I meant was that if you don't believe in something, it is rather silly to get upset if someone tells you that you will experience it. Why be upset about something that doesn't exist? That is what I meant, not that the individual won't go there but that they shouldn't be upset if someone tells them they will go there. Kind of like being scared if someone tells you the boogieman will get you if you don't believe that the boogieman exists. Does that make more sense?
(James Whitcomb Riley reference)
Yes
. We have too little time to be sweating the small stuff.
Take care,
Joe0 -
My Two Cents
I made this post in response to a former member who wrote on the colon cancer forum something to the effect of Why do those who don't believe in God feel compelled to comment in posts. I just threw the question back to them (him) but I posted it in the religion forum since it distracts from people trying to deal with the medical aspects of cancer in the forum that was designated as the Colon Cancer Forum.
There are as many ideas on a Supreme Being as there are ideas on what causes cancer and the result is the same. No one really knows the answer to either question. To take it a step further, maybe there is more than one way to believe in a Supreme Being just like there is more than one way to deal with cancer. We've all been around long enough to have seen that what cured one person did not cure another person and visa-versa.
As often is the case, some people run with the idea of following the Terms and Conditions of a website as it being Censorship. I can't help that they don't understand what T&C means. One can talk until they are blue in the face and they will still say the same thing.
There was a comment in a post by Mechelle (in the latest reincarnation of this topic) that quotes me as saying "In your own words, 'The purpose of the forums, as I understand the Terms & Conditions, is to help others by talking about treatment and side effects and how to deal with them'".
Don't neglect Mechelle that I ALSO said "Of course there is the well wishes that people often give like 'I'm praying for you' or 'Please pray for me'. I do not find that offensive at all nor do I think many others do. It's a common saying that is received many ways."
I agree that one's faith can be an enormous help to them with their illness. I'm very glad that people find solace in their belief. There is a difference between that and telling others they deserve HELL if they don't accept XY&Z or posting scripture in the section that is dealing with specific cancer types. It's also inconsiderate and polarizing to those who do not share the same beliefs. I don't have to read it, they don't have to post it.
I suppose that in the T&C they could have a policy that reads something like "Anyone can post whatever they want. It's the responsibility of the reader to take a guess if they will find the post objectionable (without being able to preview it first). If they DO find it objectionable...sorry."
Most members wouldn't post a highly technical medical question in a forum about faith, why would one take it for granted that they could do what is basically the opposite?
I may decide to delete this entire thread (because I CAN) since it just goes in circles. My original point was made in the early days of the post. We're beating a dead horse's you-know-what at this point.
Here's to whatever everyone believes, even if they only believe in themselves!
-phil0 -
"Don't let me down"PhillieG said:My Two Cents
I made this post in response to a former member who wrote on the colon cancer forum something to the effect of Why do those who don't believe in God feel compelled to comment in posts. I just threw the question back to them (him) but I posted it in the religion forum since it distracts from people trying to deal with the medical aspects of cancer in the forum that was designated as the Colon Cancer Forum.
There are as many ideas on a Supreme Being as there are ideas on what causes cancer and the result is the same. No one really knows the answer to either question. To take it a step further, maybe there is more than one way to believe in a Supreme Being just like there is more than one way to deal with cancer. We've all been around long enough to have seen that what cured one person did not cure another person and visa-versa.
As often is the case, some people run with the idea of following the Terms and Conditions of a website as it being Censorship. I can't help that they don't understand what T&C means. One can talk until they are blue in the face and they will still say the same thing.
There was a comment in a post by Mechelle (in the latest reincarnation of this topic) that quotes me as saying "In your own words, 'The purpose of the forums, as I understand the Terms & Conditions, is to help others by talking about treatment and side effects and how to deal with them'".
Don't neglect Mechelle that I ALSO said "Of course there is the well wishes that people often give like 'I'm praying for you' or 'Please pray for me'. I do not find that offensive at all nor do I think many others do. It's a common saying that is received many ways."
I agree that one's faith can be an enormous help to them with their illness. I'm very glad that people find solace in their belief. There is a difference between that and telling others they deserve HELL if they don't accept XY&Z or posting scripture in the section that is dealing with specific cancer types. It's also inconsiderate and polarizing to those who do not share the same beliefs. I don't have to read it, they don't have to post it.
I suppose that in the T&C they could have a policy that reads something like "Anyone can post whatever they want. It's the responsibility of the reader to take a guess if they will find the post objectionable (without being able to preview it first). If they DO find it objectionable...sorry."
Most members wouldn't post a highly technical medical question in a forum about faith, why would one take it for granted that they could do what is basically the opposite?
I may decide to delete this entire thread (because I CAN) since it just goes in circles. My original point was made in the early days of the post. We're beating a dead horse's you-know-what at this point.
Here's to whatever everyone believes, even if they only believe in themselves!
-phil
(Beatles reference)
Phil,
I say no harm, no foul, with this post and its contents. If you delete it you are also deleting the time and effort others put into it when they decided it was important enough, or interesting enough, to respond to. I found some of the dialogue to be quite interesting, in fact, and cause for pondering in a few cases, while, on the other hand, I can't recall finding any of it heavily offensive.
Take care,
Joe0 -
You Can't Always Get What You Want...soccerfreaks said:"Don't let me down"
(Beatles reference)
Phil,
I say no harm, no foul, with this post and its contents. If you delete it you are also deleting the time and effort others put into it when they decided it was important enough, or interesting enough, to respond to. I found some of the dialogue to be quite interesting, in fact, and cause for pondering in a few cases, while, on the other hand, I can't recall finding any of it heavily offensive.
Take care,
Joe
Joe, it lets me play God...
Instilling fear has its place
;-)
I won't delete it but it was posted initially to show how ridiculous the original comments that drew me to make this post were (IMO)
-phil
Let the backlash begin!!!0 -
Hi PhillPhillieG said:You Can't Always Get What You Want...
Joe, it lets me play God...
Instilling fear has its place
;-)
I won't delete it but it was posted initially to show how ridiculous the original comments that drew me to make this post were (IMO)
-phil
Let the backlash begin!!!
I like the post as it is a way for me to hear what others have to say and maybe even learn something. Sometimes there might be one or two who want to augury but I find that is all part of everyday life. If a person believes in God and someone don’t they should at the lease respect each other belief.
Take care
Hondo0 -
I wrote about my beliefs in
I wrote about my beliefs in the colon cancer forum since that is my type of cancer not realizing there was this forum. Although I am a devout Christian I do not belong to or attend any church. I removed my comments from the colon cancer forum out of respect for everyone. I feel everyone has a rite to his/her own beliefs and should not push them on others or criticize others for thier beliefs. THat is the problem with all religions. That is why I stepped away from the Church. I have no right to judge or preach about my beliefs because that sould make me a hippocrit since I am only human and not perfect so I do not judge others nor should anyone else. To each his/her own.
Jeff0 -
Whew!janderson1964 said:I wrote about my beliefs in
I wrote about my beliefs in the colon cancer forum since that is my type of cancer not realizing there was this forum. Although I am a devout Christian I do not belong to or attend any church. I removed my comments from the colon cancer forum out of respect for everyone. I feel everyone has a rite to his/her own beliefs and should not push them on others or criticize others for thier beliefs. THat is the problem with all religions. That is why I stepped away from the Church. I have no right to judge or preach about my beliefs because that sould make me a hippocrit since I am only human and not perfect so I do not judge others nor should anyone else. To each his/her own.
Jeff
Well, Jeff, just so you know, I was beginning to think that I was hallucinating or something! I distinctly remembered commenting on a thread on the colon cancer forum, went back later and could not find it anywhere. With all that has been going on, I could see myself thinking that I had done something that hadn't really happened but I was so sure that I had written something! So, glad to know that you removed it and I wasn't going crazy!0 -
Religion is not the problem. It is the people who interpret, the way in which they practice, manipulate and use it, driven by their own egos.janderson1964 said:I wrote about my beliefs in
I wrote about my beliefs in the colon cancer forum since that is my type of cancer not realizing there was this forum. Although I am a devout Christian I do not belong to or attend any church. I removed my comments from the colon cancer forum out of respect for everyone. I feel everyone has a rite to his/her own beliefs and should not push them on others or criticize others for thier beliefs. THat is the problem with all religions. That is why I stepped away from the Church. I have no right to judge or preach about my beliefs because that sould make me a hippocrit since I am only human and not perfect so I do not judge others nor should anyone else. To each his/her own.
Jeff
I think that is why you stepped away from the Church not because of the religion, ie Christianity itself.0 -
You are so right. My faithmariam_11_09 said:Religion is not the problem. It is the people who interpret, the way in which they practice, manipulate and use it, driven by their own egos.
I think that is why you stepped away from the Church not because of the religion, ie Christianity itself.
You are so right. My faith has never been stronger. It is the people and thier egos. It seems to be true with most religions to the best of my knowledge. I feel completely at peace being a Christian with out attending church.0 -
Thanksjanderson1964 said:I wrote about my beliefs in
I wrote about my beliefs in the colon cancer forum since that is my type of cancer not realizing there was this forum. Although I am a devout Christian I do not belong to or attend any church. I removed my comments from the colon cancer forum out of respect for everyone. I feel everyone has a rite to his/her own beliefs and should not push them on others or criticize others for thier beliefs. THat is the problem with all religions. That is why I stepped away from the Church. I have no right to judge or preach about my beliefs because that sould make me a hippocrit since I am only human and not perfect so I do not judge others nor should anyone else. To each his/her own.
Jeff
for moving it Jeff.
For future reference, there is a way to move an entire thread from one forum to another. Doing that preserves the conversation and no one feels like their comment was singled out for deletion.0 -
*janderson1964 said:I wrote about my beliefs in
I wrote about my beliefs in the colon cancer forum since that is my type of cancer not realizing there was this forum. Although I am a devout Christian I do not belong to or attend any church. I removed my comments from the colon cancer forum out of respect for everyone. I feel everyone has a rite to his/her own beliefs and should not push them on others or criticize others for thier beliefs. THat is the problem with all religions. That is why I stepped away from the Church. I have no right to judge or preach about my beliefs because that sould make me a hippocrit since I am only human and not perfect so I do not judge others nor should anyone else. To each his/her own.
Jeff
* double post0 -
Hi Jeffjanderson1964 said:I wrote about my beliefs in
I wrote about my beliefs in the colon cancer forum since that is my type of cancer not realizing there was this forum. Although I am a devout Christian I do not belong to or attend any church. I removed my comments from the colon cancer forum out of respect for everyone. I feel everyone has a rite to his/her own beliefs and should not push them on others or criticize others for thier beliefs. THat is the problem with all religions. That is why I stepped away from the Church. I have no right to judge or preach about my beliefs because that sould make me a hippocrit since I am only human and not perfect so I do not judge others nor should anyone else. To each his/her own.
Jeff
You are correct a person doesn’t have to go to church to be a Christian, as church doesn’t make anyone a Christians, What makes a person a Christian is being Christ like. I go to church so that I can be with other people who are Christ like, but that does not mean that the Devil does go to church as well. I find no matter where in life I go to Church, work or play or even the internet you will always find someone who acts like a devil. So at lease in Church I have a better chance of finding others who are Christ like.
Wishing you the best
Hondo0 -
What makes a person Christian is being Christ-likeHondo said:Hi Jeff
You are correct a person doesn’t have to go to church to be a Christian, as church doesn’t make anyone a Christians, What makes a person a Christian is being Christ like. I go to church so that I can be with other people who are Christ like, but that does not mean that the Devil does go to church as well. I find no matter where in life I go to Church, work or play or even the internet you will always find someone who acts like a devil. So at lease in Church I have a better chance of finding others who are Christ like.
Wishing you the best
Hondo
Amen to that!0 -
What is Christ-like?PhillieG said:What makes a person Christian is being Christ-like
Amen to that!
I guess I would have to say, that depends. If by Christ-like you mean a nice person, I would have to say that, no, that does not necessarily make a person a Christian. There are atheists, agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. who are nice people but they would all be offended if you called them Christians.
A Christian is someone who accepts who Christ says he is, worships him as God and tries to do what he says. Their behavior is not necessarily an indicator of their depth of faith. Some people are just naturally nice or nice for the wrong reasons(so people will like them, etc) and may have very little faith. Another person may have a very obnoxious personality but be sincerely trying to amend his life and has a deep faith in God. That is why WE can't judge others--only God can see hearts.0 -
You are correct in saying,laurettas said:What is Christ-like?
I guess I would have to say, that depends. If by Christ-like you mean a nice person, I would have to say that, no, that does not necessarily make a person a Christian. There are atheists, agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. who are nice people but they would all be offended if you called them Christians.
A Christian is someone who accepts who Christ says he is, worships him as God and tries to do what he says. Their behavior is not necessarily an indicator of their depth of faith. Some people are just naturally nice or nice for the wrong reasons(so people will like them, etc) and may have very little faith. Another person may have a very obnoxious personality but be sincerely trying to amend his life and has a deep faith in God. That is why WE can't judge others--only God can see hearts.
You are correct in saying, that it is not our place to judge others however we can choose who we want to be around based on their actions and/or their words. I have found that people who might appear to be 'obnoxious and have a deep faith and/or are genuinely doing some the internal work' do have a sincerity that very quickly becomes apparent.
I do think Hondo might have meant that 'people who geniunely are attempting to follow the teachings of Christ and are making progress' in his 'Christ-like' statement rather than people who are 'nice'. I could wrong, but that is how I took it to mean.0 -
One's Actionslaurettas said:What is Christ-like?
I guess I would have to say, that depends. If by Christ-like you mean a nice person, I would have to say that, no, that does not necessarily make a person a Christian. There are atheists, agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. who are nice people but they would all be offended if you called them Christians.
A Christian is someone who accepts who Christ says he is, worships him as God and tries to do what he says. Their behavior is not necessarily an indicator of their depth of faith. Some people are just naturally nice or nice for the wrong reasons(so people will like them, etc) and may have very little faith. Another person may have a very obnoxious personality but be sincerely trying to amend his life and has a deep faith in God. That is why WE can't judge others--only God can see hearts.
speak much louder than their words. I'm agnostic but was raised Catholic just for a little background. I had to question what I was taught once I learned at an early age that not everyone believed the same thing. Everyone can't be right (or maybe in the end it's whatever you believed in life). Often, not always, people will try to convince everyone they are right and therein lies a big problem especially when it's come down to wars and killing which really dates back to the beginning of beliefs...
When I talk about Christians and being Christlike, the two often do not go hand in hand. I believe that many people who follow their faith lead good, caring, and helpful lives. Then there is the other group who gets a lot of press coverage who call themselves Christians but they seldom act Christlike. I wonder at times that if some of the more outspoken Fundementalists were to meet Christ, not knowing who he was but just seeing Christ as he appeared in his day, they'd mistake him for being a bum or part of the Liberal Left. I know I'm on dangerous turf here mixing in politics too. I think some of them think of Christ as being this white, very conservative person. He didn't care much for the wealthy materialistic people of the day. I have absolutely nothing to back this up with, but since we're talking about The Son of God, it's already something that is more based on belief than on facts.
Whether we follow Jesus, Buddha, Mohamed, Vishnu, or None of Thee Above I believe that if you treat others as we wish to be treated you can't go wrong. The only way we can judge is to decide if we want certain people in our lives or not. If someone does not believe in God, then they would likely care little about God's judgement.
I strongly feel people should be able to believe whatever they want to believe as long as they do no harm to others. It's when one group tries to force another group to believe something that the problems arise. Unfortunately I do to see this ever being resolved as long as people insist they are right and can not accept that there could be another answer...0 -
Miriammariam_11_09 said:You are correct in saying,
You are correct in saying, that it is not our place to judge others however we can choose who we want to be around based on their actions and/or their words. I have found that people who might appear to be 'obnoxious and have a deep faith and/or are genuinely doing some the internal work' do have a sincerity that very quickly becomes apparent.
I do think Hondo might have meant that 'people who geniunely are attempting to follow the teachings of Christ and are making progress' in his 'Christ-like' statement rather than people who are 'nice'. I could wrong, but that is how I took it to mean.
You are probably right as to Hondo's intent. However, I have heard many people say that they are good Christian people and then find out that they don't believe in God. So I know the term Christian is misunderstood a lot.0 -
AgreePhillieG said:One's Actions
speak much louder than their words. I'm agnostic but was raised Catholic just for a little background. I had to question what I was taught once I learned at an early age that not everyone believed the same thing. Everyone can't be right (or maybe in the end it's whatever you believed in life). Often, not always, people will try to convince everyone they are right and therein lies a big problem especially when it's come down to wars and killing which really dates back to the beginning of beliefs...
When I talk about Christians and being Christlike, the two often do not go hand in hand. I believe that many people who follow their faith lead good, caring, and helpful lives. Then there is the other group who gets a lot of press coverage who call themselves Christians but they seldom act Christlike. I wonder at times that if some of the more outspoken Fundementalists were to meet Christ, not knowing who he was but just seeing Christ as he appeared in his day, they'd mistake him for being a bum or part of the Liberal Left. I know I'm on dangerous turf here mixing in politics too. I think some of them think of Christ as being this white, very conservative person. He didn't care much for the wealthy materialistic people of the day. I have absolutely nothing to back this up with, but since we're talking about The Son of God, it's already something that is more based on belief than on facts.
Whether we follow Jesus, Buddha, Mohamed, Vishnu, or None of Thee Above I believe that if you treat others as we wish to be treated you can't go wrong. The only way we can judge is to decide if we want certain people in our lives or not. If someone does not believe in God, then they would likely care little about God's judgement.
I strongly feel people should be able to believe whatever they want to believe as long as they do no harm to others. It's when one group tries to force another group to believe something that the problems arise. Unfortunately I do to see this ever being resolved as long as people insist they are right and can not accept that there could be another answer...
with much of what you say, Phil. I think a lot of people would not recognize and reject Christ if he walked among us today. We tend to make God in our image for some reason so it makes knowing him difficult at times. Christ was a contradiction in the world in which he came for 33 years and he is no less a contradiction in the world today--even in so-called Christian countries. Which is a shame and shows how little we truly are following him.
I agree that not everyone can be right. But is there NO truth? I mean either God exists or he doesn't; there is either one God, multiple gods or no god; Christ is the Son of God or he isn't; Christ either established a Church to exist through eternity or he didn't. One of the options in each thing I mentioned is true, the others are not.
The problem with saying that everyone's beliefs are all perfectly fine is that if one's perception of God is distorted, it is going to affect how they live their lives because believers try to pattern themselves after the God they believe in. And that is going to hurt the person and those who he relates to in a distorted way.
Another thing it does is confuse those who are seeking. That is the situation with many in my family. They have been exposed to so many who espouse "Christianity" and disagree with one another on their beliefs that many in my family have rejected the idea of a god at all. They can't comprehend a schizophrenic god so they don't go there. Christianity cannot flourish in the world until we all come to the same understanding of who Christ is and present a coherent and unified explanation of this God in whom we believe.
I am too black and white and scientific minded to blithely accept everyone's position as being right. Especially on something as important as this that affects so much. I don't think you should ever force your beliefs on anyone but if you love them, you are obliged to share that belief with them and help them to come to know the love that you experience from this God.0 -
What it boils down tolaurettas said:Agree
with much of what you say, Phil. I think a lot of people would not recognize and reject Christ if he walked among us today. We tend to make God in our image for some reason so it makes knowing him difficult at times. Christ was a contradiction in the world in which he came for 33 years and he is no less a contradiction in the world today--even in so-called Christian countries. Which is a shame and shows how little we truly are following him.
I agree that not everyone can be right. But is there NO truth? I mean either God exists or he doesn't; there is either one God, multiple gods or no god; Christ is the Son of God or he isn't; Christ either established a Church to exist through eternity or he didn't. One of the options in each thing I mentioned is true, the others are not.
The problem with saying that everyone's beliefs are all perfectly fine is that if one's perception of God is distorted, it is going to affect how they live their lives because believers try to pattern themselves after the God they believe in. And that is going to hurt the person and those who he relates to in a distorted way.
Another thing it does is confuse those who are seeking. That is the situation with many in my family. They have been exposed to so many who espouse "Christianity" and disagree with one another on their beliefs that many in my family have rejected the idea of a god at all. They can't comprehend a schizophrenic god so they don't go there. Christianity cannot flourish in the world until we all come to the same understanding of who Christ is and present a coherent and unified explanation of this God in whom we believe.
I am too black and white and scientific minded to blithely accept everyone's position as being right. Especially on something as important as this that affects so much. I don't think you should ever force your beliefs on anyone but if you love them, you are obliged to share that belief with them and help them to come to know the love that you experience from this God.
I think, is that we are trying to understand something that is WAY beyond what we can understand.
It's like cancer in a way. No one knows why we get it or how to cure it. No one knows if there is a God or not either. I may believe there is and I may believe chemo got me through cancer so far, but I could be wrong. There is no way of telling for certain and as humans, we tend to want certainty much of the time. That is where faith comes in...0 -
Then there are those believerslaurettas said:Miriam
You are probably right as to Hondo's intent. However, I have heard many people say that they are good Christian people and then find out that they don't believe in God. So I know the term Christian is misunderstood a lot.
who seek vengeance, condemn the poor, throw the first stone, and seem, in general to prefer the old testament to the new.
So I would agree, the term Christian is often misunderstood.0
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