for other Atheists out there

[NoahsMommy]

Originally posted by Ann
Another thing that makes me upset and another reason why I am trying not to read this thread anymore is the fact that I know nothing will change: Pet Talk will still be a "Christian place". Know what I mean? For example, take Sara luvs her Tinky's signature. If I were to put, let's say, a Satanic religious symbol there, that would not be tolerated; neither from the members or from Karen. It would be deemed offensive or whatever. But yet, Christian symbols will always be alright and nice and signify a "moral and good" person.

There are two people that have symbols of their faith...Sara has a Christian Fish and Popcornbird has a EID symbol....One is Christian, the other is not. That's a pretty low percentage for you to be saying things like that.

I don't know why you feel that way, of all the posts on this thread, most are against Christianity....

[All Creatures Great And Small]

Well, Ann, you do have a point there. My pre-Xmas signature had a quote from the Bible, as well as a reference to Mohammed's love for cats. I don't think this board is a "Christian" pet board, because we have Popcornbird, as well as many others who have never professed their religion on the board and could be of any faith. We know that the Islam and Christian faiths teach love and respect for companion animals, which is probably why no one objects to those religious symbols in signatures on a pet board. If we knew more about Satanism, and how Satanists feel about pets, we would probably not have an objection to your choice of symbol either. It's when a symbol represents hatred and intolerance that people have an objection. Would you be willing to explain a little about Satanism, or were you just posing that question hypothetically? I think a lot of intolerance just stems from a lack of knowledge. And on that subject, I know a lot of people think that Islam right now represents hatred and evil, but Osama bin Laden is no more a representative of the entire Islam faith than David Koresh was of the entire Christian faith. There's going to be extremist "wing-nuts" in any faith and any country, and that should not be a reflection on every citizen of that country or every person of that faith.

[mugsy]

except that Islam says that dogs are dirty.

I don't think anyone is mad or has gotten mad in this thread. I think it's just been a matter of explanation for people's beliefs. I would certainly hope that none of the people on here would EVER press their beliefs on any other people on here.

With that being said....happy holidays to everyone regardless of your beliefs!!

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

[I]originally posted by Ann[/I}
Another thing that makes me upset and another reason why I am trying not to read this thread anymore is the fact that I know nothing will change: Pet Talk will still be a "Christian place". Know what I mean? For example, take Sara luvs her Tinky's signature. If I were to put, let's say, a Satanic religious symbol there, that would not be tolerated; neither from the members or from Karen. It would be deemed offensive or whatever. But yet, Christian symbols will always be alright and nice and signify a "moral and good" person.

Very well said ... All Creatures Great and Small.

I think we are all using this thread to ask questions and get better informed. I have a christian fish in my signature because I am proud of my faith / and popcornbird an Eid symbol because she is proud of hers.... I am sure if you were to put a darwin fish or whatever no one would care.... Satan would be a little creepy .... for me anyway because he is evil... but to each his own.

[All Creatures Great And Small]

Originally posted by mugsy
except that Islam says that dogs are dirty.

Ah, I was not aware of that. Well, each faith / culture / country has different beliefs regarding which animals are considered edible, domesticated, kept as pets, etc. Perhaps way, way long ago, in the part of the world where Islam was born, the dogs were nothing like the wonderful companions we know them as now, so they were considered unclean. Maybe the "dog" was actually some other kind of wild, canine type animal, and through the years it came to be known as a "dog". Those who want to remain true to the faith have to follow the Quran, even if it does exclude dogs. I'd be interested to know if there are Muslims who like and own dogs, in spite of their faith. I know there are Christians who don't follow Jesus's teachings to the letter either, and they "make exceptions" sometimes. It's a shame that religions can't "evolve", to be more adaptive to a modern world. The books were written so long ago, when life was pretty basic and there was not as much general knowledge or sharing of cultures.

[Soledad]

ACGS -

I have had many Muslim friends. Three of them have owned dogs. You're right, just like many Christians do not adhere to the religion to the letter, so do other people of other religions.

Personally, I don't see why owning a cat or a bird is any cleaner than a dog, this day in age. Especially as cats poo and pee indoors and birds will crap/pee directly on you!

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

originally posted by soledad
and birds will crap/pee directly on you!

I take it you had a bad experience with a bird once before?!?!?!?!?

[Soledad]

Birds are alright. I just don't consider them pets I could really get into like a dog or a cat.

I took care of a friend's cockatiel for a couple of weeks and it was just, boring. He kept crapping on me as well....



Oh, also, the leader of Pakistan has several dogs. So, I think it is something that strict Muslims abide by. From what I hear, Musharraf is a rather moderate Muslim.

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

I have never known any birds....
This bird Nicodemus... was POTD a looooong time ago.. and I went to his website and he totally changed my mind about birds. I always thought they would be boring too ... but I bet this guy would be sooooo much fun to live with.... below is the link to his website....
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/V...3/senegal.html

[Soledad]

Hmmm...I still don't know.

I had a friend who's mother had converted a portion of their house and their entire two car garage into a menagerie for their birds. I spent a lot of time there, and while I liked some of the birds, they're not an animal I can *connect* with. Everyone has their favourites.

Also, they sometimes creep me out with their eyes and their claws.

[Uabassoon]

I've never been a big fan of birds, but I do know that they can make great pets. I'm just scared of them, my dad had a redheaded amazon that didn't like anyone but him. The bird would snap everytime I got near the cage, as a little kid that really scared me. But when I worked at Petco I fell in love with an African Grey, He would sit on my shoulder while I was working the cash register. But so far the african grey is the only bird that I've ever wanted to take home.

[Soledad]

Popcornbird - I didn't mean to suggest that birds aren't likable, it's just that they're not pets *I* would get. I've taken care of plenty of different breeds for different amounts of time and I just don't get into them.

For me, there isn't that same connection. When I look at my cat and my dog back home I see another soul that's capable of understanding me at some sort of emotional level. I don't get that from birds, fish, reptiles and rodents. But that's just ME.

[Twisterdog]

Well, I missed a couple pages, I can see, in this thread.

But, basically, concerning type of pets or religion or anything else .... I think those are personal choices and one ought to have the right to think/feel/believe anything they want to, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. I also think people should not have to defend their personal choices to other ... and conversely, they should not try to influence others to their way of thinking.

We are what we are ... a Moslem who like birds, a Christian who like cats, an atheist who like dogs, and agnostic who like hissing cockroaches, etc. .... who cares? The basics remain the same for all of us ... be polite, be nice, treat others well, be a good neighbor, a good citizen, a good friend.

We will all find out eventually who was "right" and who was "wrong" about religion. NO ONE on alive on earth is EVER going to have all the answers ... about the Bible, the Qu'uan (sp?), the Torah (sp?), about evolution, creation, etc. If we knew it all, WE would be God, yes?

I personally think God (probably not his/her/its real name) is laughing hysterically at EVERY religion, saying, "Man, what silly little humans ... they are ALL wrong."

[Soledad]

"I also think people should not have to defend their personal choices to other ... and conversely, they should not try to influence others to their way of thinking. "



Ah, but in a perfect world. Too bad it isn't that way and some religions see conversion as a fundamental part of their belief system.


"I personally think God (probably not his/her/its real name) is laughing hysterically at EVERY religion, saying, "Man, what silly little humans ... they are ALL wrong."

I think that as well. I think humans cannot have any concept of God because our minds are so puny. We can only get glimpses.

[zippy-kat]

Originally posted by popcornbird
You can do far more thing to a bird than you can to a rabbit.

With the exception of talking/whistling and flying, I thoroughly disagree. And yes, I have owned both.