When it comes to the topics of religion and politics, noting, some religious folks derive some of their political views directly from their religion, any blogger who's not reading their own blog, exclusively, knows that discussions can sometimes get very heated. After all, we are talking about our most deeply-held, core beliefs.
In some instances, the people with whom I discuss these topics claim to possess the knowledge that I will suffer, and suffer greatly, if I do not come to see things their way and adopt their views. Specifically, I'm talking about people who profess to be "Christian", and of those, I'm talking specifically about those of the Evangelical flavor. And of course, I refer to the doctrine of "Hell".
But today I'm not going to vent on or get into why I believe the doctrine of "Hell" is despicable and should be denounced on every level. No, today I'm going to talk about when, where, and why we should draw the line when attempting discussion with Christian Evangelicals, which, more often than not, leads to us having to listen to them call us things like "trash", "wretched", "dumb", "blind", "destined for Hell", "never really saved", "closed-minded"...and just today I heard a new one, "Satan's little choir". These are a few of their favorite things to say when ministering to us.
For those who know me and my disdain for the doctrine of "Hell", they probably know straight away that if someone attempts that sh*t on my own blog, that, while I may attempt to reason with them at first, that this benefit of doubt will soon wear off if they keep at it. IOW, on my own blog, I don't draw the line at the very first sight of the risk of coming across unkind or "combative". No. I will likely go back and forth until the proselytizing visitor just accepts that his or her arguments for why people like myself are going to go to "Hell", and worse, that we deserve it, aren't unconvincing, and that they do not scare me one iota. But again, this is me on my own blog. So, what if we're a guest on someone else's blog and we encounter the above-described type of Evangelical Christian?
The way I see it, I have two choices: 1) I sit back and say nothing, or 2) I take them to task on their assertions. For me? Choice #1 is something that I not only find extremely difficult, I would contend that it would be borderline immoral for me to just turn a blind eye to it, much in the same way that if I saw a child being abused and turned a blind eye. Devil's advocate: "Well, Boomslang, what if you're not on your own property?" Answer: I don't see a difference, from where I sit.
Of course, analogies are never perfect; they are only meant to illustrate a point. Make no mistake, I would, yes, bust up a child-abuse in progress, even if it wasn't on my own property. But in contrast, "You're going to Hell, you dumb, Satan-worshiping Atheist!", are just words, albeit, very insulting words. So, if I encounter the latter scenario while on someone's else's blog, where, then, should the line be drawn, assuming discussion between opposing views is permitted? Where is the line drawn between taking someone to task, and being "argumentative"? Where is the line drawn between not backing down, and being "combative"? Where is the line drawn between an Atheist voicing his or her opinion, and him or her being a "militant Atheist"? Where is the line drawn between discussing.... and debating? Anyone?
One of my new readership touched on the topic of the danger of "over-generalizing", saying that being "silent" and "over-generalizing" is a false dichotomy. I agree with this. There is middle ground there. I would never deny this. But if we can agree that generalizing for practical purposes is useful, then I'd like to know where the line is drawn between useful generalizing..i.e..generalizing, not to prove anything, but to make a point, and "over-generalizing". Who draws that line and how is it determined where it is drawn?
Disclaimer: This is honest inquiry meant for discussion. I'm not "baiting" or looking to "one-up" anyone. I genuinely believe it is important for Atheists and Theists to understand one another.
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