Originally posted by sirrahbed
… However, some of you are judging and criticising her mercilessly. You do not know her.
… some folks are simply assuming that she did so because "people did not agree with her". She is being discussed in a personal manner and in an angry, superior tone.
… It is unfair to suggest that our homes are not LOVING and CHRISTIAN. To suggest that we represent true ignorance, narrowmindedness and intolerance is simply not true.
… If you knew her, knew about our family - you would probably like us.
I must admit that I agree with all that. It's always sad when a sensible discussion seems to get side-tracked and bitterness and misunderstandings rear their ugly heads.
The tragedy of it is, that if we all sat round and discussed this over a nice meal, we'd probably all get on as right as rain, and have much more respect for each other!

I don't intend to be mean or spiteful when I post, but I have been brought up in an environment where free speech was a basic human right, and differing opinions didn't necessarily lead to conflict and dissension. We must remember that this is an international forum and everybody has the right to state any opinion they want to as long as they keep it civil.

I can quite easily enjoy a discussion in which I am proved wrong, I don't feel embarrassed or inferior at all. In this way I can learn something new. If the discussion gets bogged down and nobody will move from their position, then I just move on. No problem. But I think it's a mistake to close your mind or, as in this case, just delete an unpleasant thread. This often results in what has happened here, a lot of misunderstanding and aggressive bickering.

I am not anti-Christian, and I'm not anti-Muslim, we all have the right to our own faith, there's an awful lot of good in both of them. What I have great difficulty with is extremism, where there is only one truth, and that one truth is the belief of the particular individual or group of people in question. This applies in politics too. I also have great problems with the way that books purporting to be the true and only words of God can be interpreted in a fashion that happens to suit the reader(s). Isn't it due to differing (and extreme) interpretations of the Koran that we have such a gigantic problem with Islamic terrorism nowadays? Fundamentalist Christians shouldn't fall into the same trap, as they appear to be doing in America at the moment. Haven't we learnt anything from the Crusades and the Inquisition and other persecutions and exploitations by the church after all this time?

I think this thread has epitomized the problem of discussing sensitive issues on the web. I find it a peculiar format to try and communicate in, you think you know the person but you don't really know them. As I've said before, I would much prefer to have more information about who I'm talking to, their age, nationality, religious beliefs etc. all help. This make it much easier for me to get something productive out of a discussion, and there's less chance of involuntary misunderstandings or offense.

But - it irritates me when I am asked for an opinion, spend time and thought on a reply, and then it is just deleted. That was the reason for my response with this thread. So please do me a favour, don't delete my posts without asking first, my tolerance level falls sharply and I can get a bit uppity!