If you contribute regularly to this category, will you consider this?

Question

I have a request of everyone here: Please don't ask questions or give answers as a means of attacking others.

Whenever I visit R & S, I am troubled because, while there are those who are genuinely seeking truth, there are many, many others who are using their beliefs and skepticisms as weapons against others.

Please, if you do not know the answer to a question, do not make something up or play around with the asker. Christians, this applies specially to you. These are people's lives that you are affecting when you answer their questions. Please respond in love. Sometimes that means not answering; other times it means taking serious time to consider a question and research it. It is better to say nothing than to mislead.

I am not here to judge anyone or point fingers. I am just someone that wants those who are really asking questions here to get real answers. Please consider this and respond with your opinions, as you will.

May God bless you.

In response to one answerer, yes, I have pointed fingers. I apologize, as that was not my intent. I am a Christian, and so I felt justified to a degree in talking to other Christians in this way. However, I should not have assumed this. I apologize; please forgive me, and thank you for pointing this out.

In response to one or more answerers, I am quite serious about this question. Y! Answers is just a website, but there is nothing trivial about ideas and information. Especially when we are talking about things that are greater than us.

In response to other answerers, I find nothing wrong with challenging people's opinions or views. Indeed, truth can arise out of these types of debates. My question was not really addressing that, but rather the fact that some have begun to use this space as a way of attacking rather than helping others.

Thank you all for considering this. I welcome your answers. (Although if I get too many, it may be difficult to choose...)

I'm going to extend the expiration for this question, in case anyone else wants to answer. I welcome your answers!

Answer 1

It is always good to have a reminder to be respectful to others.

It is easy to give into criticizing others for what they believe. For believers of any faith it is easy to criticize others because we all believe we're right (whether that actually be the case or not), and everybody else's ideas seem to be so out there. For atheists it is easy to criticize believers because faith seems like something an intelligent person would never get into. Just as it seems ridiculous for believers to consider that we are all just evolved animals and there is no higher power out there.

While I do genuinely believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, I do also respect others' opinions and beliefs, as I used to be an atheist myself. I also know some wonderful people from all walks of life, many of them genuinely wanting to find the truth.

I know it's hard, especially for hardcore believers, to speak with patience to those of other world views, since anything else seems like heresy and blasphemy. But consider this, if you want someone to really listen to what you have to say, you first have to get to them close enough so they can hear you. For example, if you think that a member of the LDS movement is mistaken about many things, do you think they'll be more willing to consider your opinion if you yell at them "Mormons are all a part of a huge cult - repent or go to hell!"? or if you suggest that you also share the belief in God and Jesus Christ, but you see some differences in important areas, so let's bust out our Bibles and look for the answer together? Which would work better? Or, if you happen to be an atheist and you think everybody is so mistaken about believing in a higher power, should you call all the believers imbeciles or tell them why you happen to disagree with them and respectfully give them some food for thought?

So I think what my brother here is trying to say is that while we all think our beliefs are the only way to go, we should encourage others to explore their beliefs and consider ours, instead of calling people names and making fun of them. And of course, I also 100% agree with him that if you do not know why you believe a certain thing, do not state it as a fact. If you are going to speak about something affecting the deepest parts of a person's life, please be respectful of that and handle it with a big sense of responsibility. Thank you all!

P.S. I also think it should be a given that if you're willing to speak here, you also should be willing to listen. Don't "spam" others with your beliefs. Open your ears and your mind, choose your words and be willing to listen too. If we all do our best to do that, the world will be a much better place, I think.

Answer 2

Well put, I am fed up with having to defend myself against spite instead of getting on with asking and answering questions, sometimes be honest I do not agree with someone incl; you but if I have to point things out then try to do it in a civilised way and as nicely as I can, ditto when asking questions - if all on here (and most do) responded as well as we do then we will have an informative and fun area. twice overnight I almost gave in to the doldrums and walked, but now I feel more inclined to stay and enjoy the company of those who are pleasant and fair-minded
well done
blessings
Dot x

Answer 3

With all due respect... you stated that you are not here to point fingers and yet you did. Your intention is well taken but everybody from atheist to Christian attacks and then there are others again from atheist to Christian who are respectful. Everyone needs a thick skin on this site.

Answer 4

I will, have and always considered it. Thanks for the reminder, but I think you need to talk to someone who actually is doing the things you say. This question could be considered proselytizing. It is not really a question. Those to whom it is directed will not respond or not pay attention. Do you realize how quickly the questions jump down to the bottom of the page? This is but a blip

Answer 5

I totally agree. I refused to come in here for a while because I was tired of being attacked when i tried to answer questions with my heart!

Answer 6

There have been very few times I have responded to a question out of anger. And each time I ended up deleting those answers because I knew it would be of no help to the questioner. May there be many more like you, friend, for that is what we need.

Goddess bless you too.

Answer 7

I understood this was a place to get answers but most of what I see is questions designed to bait and "answers' that are disrespectful. I don't mean they disagree, I mean they disrespect.

I agree with you

Answer 8

I usually won't attack but I am some what of a wise @ss.And I won't shy from telling the truth about cults.

Answer 9

If an idea or system of belief has no merit, it deserves to be challenged, no matter how some panty waste feels about it.

Answer 10

Maybe you need to find a site that answers all the questions as you approve. This doesn't seem to be that site.