Why is it that people are so touchy when it comes to religion?

Question

I've been browsing Yahoo! Answers for awhile now and I'm avoiding the religious section like the plague. This is rather sad since spirituality is one of my favorite topics to talk about! I've seen some absolutely great answers and advice, except in the religious section. Instead of just voicing your beliefs and leaving it at that, everyone seems to get really defensive and next thing you know a flame war has started. Why is that? Why does everyone have to be so rude to everyone when it comes to religion? This is not just in Yahoo! Answers but in nearly every aspect of society.

You'd think people in the Religion section would be the kind-hearted ones.

Answer 1

Faith encompasses us and we can not separate ourselves from it if we are to be true to our heart. I can feel it now-this is going to be a long post....

I think it is because in order to exist in your "religion" you really have to believe that it is THE one true religion. That could be a problem when absolutes versus relativity is debated. If my "truth" is absolute then that means yours is not (if yours differs from mine). One of us is wrong, and no one likes to be wrong.

When the subject is natural health, there are a lot of right answers-different choices of which herbs to use for a headache. When the subject is "what tastes better on a hamburger" it is all about personal opinion. But then comes "is there really a hell?" Well, if you truly believe in your heart that there is, it is not possible to step into the realm of "what if there is not." It just goes against every thing that is in you. You KNOW that there is and you can not entertain the thought for one minute that there is NOT a hell.

Yes, spiritual people should be kind-hearted. But then, you are using the word "spiritual." God made us "spiritual" beings so that we could understand and love Him because He is "Spirit." I think it was just supposed to stop at that. But man messed up and God sent His Son to become "flesh" so that we could be saved. So now we have to relate in a physical sense and not so spiritual. Why? Really because man proved that he was not good enough on his own to relate in a spiritual sense. He loused it up. Now we have to show God's love to other "fleshly" beings. If we remain "spiritual" and try to witness to "flesh" we seem too righteous. So now we have all of these different ideas and rules about being "spiritual." But I think being "spiritual" now is not a good thing, necessarily. There are hundreds of religions and all of them have different ideas about what is right and what is wrong.

I am a Christian and I figure there are as many Christians out there throwing hot coals on the "fire" as other religions. That is because a lot of people who grew up in Christian churches have been taught the traditions of their church and their parents. They have not really read the Bible for themselves and learned what God really expects of them. If they had, they would know that He doesn't want us to SEEM religious and go through a lot of motions to prove our devotion. He wants us to rest in Him and live our lives to bless others and, in effect, bless Him. If we are truly loving others the way we should, we could not possibly turn them away. They would be drawn to us. That is the obedience that God seeks from us. To be called "spiritual" or "religious" to me is a negative thing. God said, "Your righteousness is like filthy rags," because we have no righteousness unto ourselves. All in all, I want to be known for the faith that I have that motivates me to love my neighbor. I want to be called faithful. It is not an easy thing to be a Christian because we are not supposed to follow a list of laws. Other religions do. Jews, Muslims, Hindus. There are certain things you can and can not do. Acts that you have to perform in order to be a "good" Jew or Muslim, etc. And some Christians...okay-most Christians today would try to put that yoke on Christians as well. But that is the exact opposite of what God intended. Ours is a religion of relationship and not rules. That is the problem. A lot of Christians don't even know that.

Whoa. Where was I going? I think what I'm trying to say is...maybe people have it wrong and that's why there's so much contention. If everyone would be about the relationship and not the rules, maybe loving each other would come more easily.

I don't know what religion you espouse. You may not worship any deity. And you may personally despise Christians (Christianity) because of things that you have experienced or people that you have known. I, personally, do not like what Christianity has become in popular circles. It can not be honoring to God to know that His Children react with hatred and bitterness toward others. And I am sorry for anyone who has encountered that attitude from someone who labels themselves as "Christian." We are just as fallable as the next guy, but it is that person's attitude and belief that they can not be fallable that messes up their witness. That is not true Christian love. That is pride. For me, when I speak of my faith, those things just flow out of me because they are in me. "From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."

I do think that everyone is searching. MY faith says that there is a void in man's heart that can only be filled with the Love of God. Perhaps that void causes people to fear and to back away from the very thing that would fill them. The fear that if they accept God's love then they would have to change. Not start doing things a certain way-but BEING a certain way. They would then have to love their neighbor and bless those that persecute them....they would have to become what they once feared.

Now that doesn't sound too bad. So what's all the fuss? Guess we're back to square one. Honestly, I BELIEVE (here we go again) that it is the power that satan has to confuse and divide. He knows that we can not be allowed to get along because then we might all become one and rise against his evil empire. That leaves us with another question.....Is satan real? Hmmmmm. This could go on and on.

I agree with you. It is sad. I can only answer this question from the viewpoint of my faith. I can not step out of it and be philosophical (although it sure sounded that way earlier). Didn't mean to. This post is really long, but then again-you might not get many more takers on this question. Who knows. It is a good dialogue, though.

Answer 2

I think if you take a contrary stance to another's opinion, then you are basically saying that one of the deepest held beliefs of that person is wrong. Try telling somebody that something they know to be true is wrong. I'm not saying they're definitely right, I'm just saying in their minds they are. That's bound to make people a little bit touchy. I'm with you about trying to stay away from the subject, at least when there are touchy individuals around.

Answer 3

I know. I refrain from discussing aspects of my own spirituality here, because I've gotten incredibly negative response for it. Ridiculous, isn't it, that here of all places I'd feel unable to talk about it? If someone asks a question pertaining to my beliefs, I tend to just say "Yeah I can help, drop me a message" rather than even posting anything. (They usually do, which is cool.)

Besides that, as it's something I study academically (I'm working on a master's in mythology and folklore), I'm pretty impartial to all of them. I feel myself forced to "take sides" here at times if I want to answer a question.

Answer 4

I'm with you. I don't get it. All the religions tell us to play nice, love your fellow man, but instead of hearing the message we just want to argue over what IT should be called.

Answer 5

Religious people can't tolerate any questioning of their house of cards. The slightest whiff of reason brings the whole thing down.

Answer 6

I think it's because people find it a personal attack against them or what they believe. Because what a person believes in is what make them comfortable in life. Anything that disputes this is threatening to a person and uneasy.

Answer 7

I know...Those wacky Christians are getting more and more upset as the new tide of logic and knowledge that the Internet is providing undermines their pathetic belief structures.

Answer 8

religion starts wars.

Answer 9

Maybe it's the whole "why we're here," "what happens to us when we die," thing.