Pagans: will you provide me with some serious feedback with your need to respect the beliefs of others in mind

Question

This will apply more to those who have known me for a while.

In my previous question, Kallan said (in part):

"... The biggest problem is in trying to convince christians who believe that they are "in this world but not of this world" and that "Jesus will come back and fix all of the problems" so they have no responsibility to it. ..."

I'm in absolute agreement with this statement (and I acknowledge that there are exceptions, but not enough).

The tipping point for global warming is a lot closer than most people suspect. Melt the arctic permafrost and that's it, game over. We'll be lucky if we have 50 years before that happens.

In other words, I'm not so keen on respecting beliefs that are leading to the death of life on this planet.

And I've over 500 questions challenging christians about their beliefs to get them pointed in the right direction (with very little success, I might add).

What say you?

Answer 1

Promoting ideas of peace, tolerance and the importance of caring for this world and all the living creatures on it is quite the deadly business here on YA. Account deleted!
It is a fight that we can not afford to take lightly anymore. So no holds barred. I can always start a new account!
I have the education, I have seen the data first hand, and yes, this is the very most important issue of our lifetime.
I refuse to sit down & shut up!
Who's with me?

Answer 2

ive asked myself similar questions for a long time. it seems that christians do feel that no matter what they do, god is gonna fix it.

take global warming. while it is true that there are some christians involved in the fight to save our planet, globally the fights belongs to the non religious and the Buddhists. neither of those groups think some higher power is gonna fix all their mistakes.

as far as comments about people being alive when Jesus returns, it had better be soon then. unless god is gonna make a divine intervention and change global climate and reduce CO2 being produced, thus revealing "HIS" presence, then were sure to circle the drain within a few hundred years at best.

christians have never been much for accountability. all they have to do is pray for forgiveness and their sins wash away like so much mud. if you don't believe this to be true about them, try probing a christian about a little known event called the Crusades, or the Salem witch trials. most will say that these people were misguided and didn't represent the whole or the church, but in both of those cases, the perpetrators were sanctioned, and even commanded by the church to commit these attrocities.

my feelings on respecting christians beliefs stem exactly from the actions of christians past and present. why should I respect their religion when they seem to have given themselves the right to burn and slaughter anyone who doesn't follow their particular interpretation of a musty old book written by men, but " supposedly" inspired by a higher power?

as a final thought, i say to hell with the christians. if their not willing to fight for the little blue planet then they really don't deserve to live on it. the rest of us will continue to fight, and me personally i hope the rapture comes soon, cause i quite frankly cant take the snobby fundies much longer.

Answer 3

If I may be forgiven a response when it was the point of view of pagans you requested ...

If it is true that 5% of the world's population uses 20% of its resources, then can we assume that at least some who are conspicuously consuming those resources with no regard for the global impact are NOT Christians, or pagans or atheists for that matter, but simply clueless and self-absorbed people? Wouldn't you say it is all of these who need convincing, regardless of religious creed or lack thereof, rather than singling out Christians on the basis that they "feel that no matter what they do, god is gonna fix it"? (A position held, by the way, by a relative minority -- globally speaking.)

Living responsibly on this planet -- and caring about our impact on the environment -- is no more the exclusive province of pagans than agreement with evolution is limited to just atheists, and yet the broad paint strokes continue to fall when it's convenient. While everyone is busy pointing fingers at everyone else, the planet keeps turning on its axis and another day has gone by.

How about we each ask ourselves what we did with that day, aside from sounding off on the internet, and whether cutting down on resource-gobbling was a conscious thought? Pointing to a large group of people and saying "they're the problem!" does little unless one is also committed to cleaning up one's own back yard, so to speak.

Answer 4

I think "truth & righteouness" just proved your point. I do not have any children, but I would think that the others might have some concern for theirs. If we don't take care of the planet, it is doomed. I don't care what the bible says, IF they had been aware of the possiblities they might have mentioned it, but the biblical "world" was limited in it's geographical area. They were not even aware of glaciers let alone polar ice caps.

addendum; here we go again! gabuyt, what does your "witnessing" have to do with the question? Why can't people just answer a question without giving a biblical history lesson or a personal experience about being saved?

Answer 5

I do not understand how anyone can walk around and say A) Prove global warming is happening, B) Prove human kind is responsible for it, and C) It's not as bad as anyone makes it out to be. How can some humans really be that blind? How can they just not care, and why don't they let us in on all the technology we know they have? Why would they rather keep us dependent and kill the planet? It makes me want to cry and commit murder in the same heartbeat.

Probably not what you were hoping for, but there it is just the same.

Answer 6

Dear Goddess, I stand with you and the others.

I feel like I am living in two places at once -an educated society that needs to be self monitoring and responsible -

and the freaking medieval dark ages, when I read something as in denial as what "truth and righteousness" wrote. Yes, if it ain't in there it ain't happenin. WHEW!!!!

Pray, sin, don't sin, be forgiven, don't forgive - whatever!!!

But when a position like that is taken that will destroy the planet for my son, all bets are off. I will not EVER let that pass - because we ALL have to be in on this one.
Ignorance is not bliss when we are loosing our precious home!
You put it nicely,Orion. I am inclined to roar.
This matters, beyond all thelogy or boarders.

Answer 7

Just as there is not enough evidence to convince me that there is a Bearded Sky Daddy sitting on a cloud, there is not enough evidence to prove to me that global warming is anything but an urban myth. I know I am not alone in this. Just twenty years ago, we were being warned of a coming Ice Age, in our lifetime. Now they are crying Global Warming. I even saw one report that said the coming Ice Age will cause global warming. this only proves to me that even the scientific circle has fundies of its own. It's too bad that so many knee-jerk armchair reactionaries are falling for this. Just a bunch of hypocrites. Look at all the SUVs at that Live Earth concert. Look at how much of your scary carbon dioxide was released by performers and people traveling to this show. Do you think Al Gore rides a bicycle to work? Or Bono? Hypocrites.

Answer 8

I think the previous poster sort of proves my point, no?
I accept all POSITIVE paths as valid.. I do not accept those that are exclusive, hateful, destructive and irresponsible.
'nuff said.

Answer 9

I'm with you my friend. I will absolutely support any and all positive paths to a better world.

Answer 10

The bible speaks of disasters and divers places. It says no where in the bible that the world will be destroyed by global warming. This earth is not going anywhere. The bible says that Jesus feet will touch the mount of olives and there will be people alive when that happens. So if the bible says that how can the earth be destroyed by glodbal warming. Its nonsense.