Buzzard.....

dianetavegia said:

I sure miss you!
I sure miss your uplifting words and advice but I also understand.

God bless you and keep you well,
Diane

Annabelle41415 said:

Miss you Too
You are very much missed. Please know that you are thought of always. Kim

colon2 said:

Courage
Buzzard, we miss you, and while I DO NOT want to get the religious thing going again, I think as a Christian, you should be used to people not wanting to hear it. When I was out there lost I didn't want to hear it myself. I spent many years in a Motorcycle club, doing a lot of things I'm not to proud of, but they made me who I am today. Everybody has something that brings them comfort, and as cancer survivors we are entitled to anything that helps us make it thru, whether it be faith, family, pets, shopping, art, theater, singing, music, dancing, traveling, shopping, meditation, etc. Our sermon at church yesterday was on having the courage to stand up for your convictions. It made me think of this board, and how I had stopped putting God Bless You at the end of my posts. I didn't want to offend anyone. But that is who i am, and I am not changing. If the people on this board don't want to hear a God bless you or know tht I am praying for all of them, then they need to skip reading the posts that have my name on them. Same for you Buzzard. Come back, be yourself, and anyone who is offended can skip over your posts. Where would WE be if the disciples had given up the first time someone told them to be quiet?
And for anyone who is offended by this post I am sorry, but it really is meant for Buzzard, and I don't think he will be offended.
God Bless You, Carletta

PhillieG said:

Hi Carletta
If you, and others who are very outspoken, read the initial post that got this religious thing going, you would see with your own eyes that at no time did anyone say they were offended by people writing "God Bless You" or if people prayed or not. I think that most of the people on this board want it to be about helping each other and if blessing each other gives you comfort, then bless you too. What was found offensive by myself and they few who dared go up against the outspoken group, was the statement that went something like this: "if you do no believe in HIM, we all deserve hell". How do YOU feel about being told by a fellow person living with cancer (a "christian"? one too) that unless you believe what they believe YOU deserve to be in hell?

As you so nicely put it "Everybody has something that brings them comfort". For me, being told I'm going to hell isn't one of them.

I will continue to post, hopefully only on cancer related subjects, but if I keep reading the twisted comments then I feel that I must comment to set the record straight. This site is supposed to be about information, not misinformation.
Be well
-phil

PhillieG said:

WW III
Thank you for the feedback given on and off the board. I think it's been fairly equal, we are just not as outspoken. I am not trying to restart this. I am trying to end it. If people think it's OK to tell each other they deserve hell, then comment and please say why they deserve hell. Otherwise, please don't give me the "oh they're trying to take God out of America" and "no praying allowed" because that had NOTHING to do with ANY of this. It was all FABRICATED to make others feel important (maybe?) or maybe people just got overzealous.

Let's support an end to cancer and/or help others get through it.

colon2 said:

Me too
Phil, I also come to this board for info mostly, although sometimes I just want to ramble about my feelings and thoughts. I am so glad to have found a place where the people also know what I am going thru. I would never tell someone they deserve hell if they don't believe what I do. I am trying to never judge anyone. I personally would like to see Buzzard come back. I found his posts to be very informative and also uplifting. As a newbie he helped me. I must also add that I read most of your posts and they are full of lots of useful info also. I appreciate that you have been fighting this awful thing for a long time, and it is good that you still keep fighting. Don't ever give up. And please don't stop sharing what you have learned. We should all be here to help each other. The day you posted the picture from the kayak, I loved that picture. It was so peaceful, when you get the chance to go again, please post more pictures. I went today for Folfox #4, and so far, the only symptom I'm having is cold sensitivity, and a tiny bit of numbness in fingers. I won't try to tell you how may mistakes I've had to correct in this post, from hitting the wrong keys.
Hope you are having a good week, and Johnnybegood, I'll be thinking of you tomorrow when you go for #3
God Bless you, Carletta

Hatshepsut said:

A Statement of Conscience
I think you are right Phillieg. I think many people don't want to speak up on the issue of religion on this board. At least in my case, I have hesitated to get into the fray on this issue. While I read this board regularly, I don't post a lot. Since my husband's diagnosis (stage 3/then stage 4), this board has been a comforting anchor for me, a place where I feel safe, where I can get honest information and where I have gotten genuine support from others. I don't want to lose my connection here. I don't want to be unwelcome when I do post.

Carletta is right, too. It is important to stand up for your convictions.

So, I have decided to post this and to stand up for my convictions.

On issues of free speech, most people seem to understand that there is a difference between what you CAN say and what you SHOULD say, particularly if you profess to follow a moral code that honors kindness. And, most seem to understand that there is a profound difference between speaking or writing about the comfort one gets from religion and presuming to direct religious messages unsolicited to others. It is, in my mind, a matter of mutual respect.

While I honor the rights of other board members to believe in whatever religion they choose (or no religion if that is what they choose), I think a line is crossed when people use this board to proselytize. I remember when my husband was in the hospital in 2007 recovering from a major colon cancer operation, an evangelical minister used to regularly walk the halls of the hospital and enter rooms uninvited to preach his beliefs. I was devastated by my husband's illness (I still am); the last thing I needed at that time was someone intruding upon our privacy to push beliefs upon us that we did not espouse. This man's intrusions made my life more difficult at a time when I didn't think that was possible.

With that said, I can't tell you how upset it made me feel to read on this board that my husband and I (who I think are kind, gentle and good people) apparently deserve to rot in hell because we don't share the beliefs stated by a board member in a recent post. That post (and the objection of another board member to that post) seem to have started this debate that threatens to damage this board. I would be less than honest if I did not say that the startling failure of other people of faith on this board to step in and disassociate themselves from that kind of statement has been disheartening.

Hatshepsut

dianetavegia said:

In a nutshell
In a nutshell... My remark was only meant as a reply to another Christian who had posted a Christian remark.

That being said, I will no longer post here.

Thanks for the help I have received thus far and God bless.

Diane