Posted by rayww on November 13, 2008, at 15:28:12
In reply to I believe that we all have choices, posted by fayeroe on November 13, 2008, at 11:43:17
> that can be accepted by others.
>
> I was taught my parent's beliefs when I was small. When I went to school, I heard my teacher's beliefs.
> When I became a young teenager, I started developing my own beliefs and I've grown and evolved into what I believe now. (Changing from eating animal products to a vegetarian is a good example)
>
> I try to never to push my beliefs upon another poster. I will question, push and prod when someone tries to push theirs upon me. If there are no clear and informative answers to questions, it defeats the purpose of the discussion here.
>
> I won't try to get another poster to believe something because my spiritual beliefs subscribe to something different than their religion. There are no "right/wrong" religions in this world in my eyes. However I'll defend the rights of others til the last cow comes home and the singing is over.
>
> I have friends that I cherish very much that are Baptists, Methodist, Episcopalians, Catholics, Pentecostals, Church of Christ and on and on. We never debate the right and wrong of one another's beliefs. Beliefs are personal and should be viewed as that by myself and my friends. An example would be that my neighbor is a priest in the Catholic church..we are very, very close. He helped me find enough evergreens for my front yard to help me create an area that gives me a place to meditate and practice my American Indian ceremonies. He didn't blink an eye when he saw what I was trying to do so I could have that space. Just dug in and started searching for the trees and also the sweatlodge rocks and poles.
>
> Acceptance and tolerance, for me, are the foundation for the way I treat my friends and family when it comes to our separate beliefs and faith.
>
> So, I have to withdraw from the church portion of these posts. This is going against the way I treat others. PatThank-you for sharing your belief Pat, and thank-you for explaining why you now feel a need to withdraw from the belief portion of these posts. Usually birds of a feather flock together, in life our circle of friends/family more reflects who we are, but here on the Internet we get to associate with people from all countries and walks of life. It is so interesting to find out who people are and why they believe what they do etc. I really appreciated reading about you.
poster:rayww
thread:862816
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20081002/msgs/862897.html