Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > The Academy > Tilted Philosophy


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 03-23-2004, 03:31 PM   #1 (permalink)
:::OshnSoul:::
Guest
 
Sharing vs. Converting

As many know, we think of religious people's intentions are to convert people to their religion. But what we tend to see past is that there are religious people out there who only desire to share with others the joy and experience out of their religion.
Converting is to convince others of how your religion is the only right path, that you can be saved and go to heaven or whatnot. Converting also evolves around judgement, i.e. "you will go to hell if you are not saved! if you do not have Jesus as your Lord and Saviour! or if you don't believe in what we do! or if you don't go to church!".....and so on.
Sharing opens the doors wide open to others, giving them the will to choose to step in or not, without judging them. You want to share with them your experience and being touched, feeling "God". You want to express the joy, peace, tranquility, and love that has consumed you. And you want them to feel the same way. It's only a door being open, without pushing them into the room.

What are your views and thoughts on sharing vs. converting?
 
Old 03-23-2004, 04:53 PM   #2 (permalink)
Mad Philosopher
 
asaris's Avatar
 
Location: Washington, DC
I agree with everything you say, other than the implicit suggestion that, in sharing non-judgmentally, we're not making any truth judgment about our beliefs or theirs.
__________________
"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."

"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche
asaris is offline  
Old 03-23-2004, 06:23 PM   #3 (permalink)
Meat Popsicle
 
Location: Left Coast
If they're happy, I'll notice. If if I want to know the source of their happiness, I'll ask.

Otherwise... shut the hell up.


It's kinda like that commercial where the guy tells everyone that he has lowered his cholesterol.
fnaqzna is offline  
Old 03-23-2004, 11:27 PM   #4 (permalink)
Junkie
 
hannukah harry's Avatar
 
the way i see it is that there's no difference between trying to convert me and "sharing" your religion with me if i didn't ask about it. if i ask, then great, if not, then bad. vewy vewy bad.
__________________
shabbat shalom, mother fucker! - the hebrew hammer
hannukah harry is offline  
Old 03-23-2004, 11:38 PM   #5 (permalink)
MSD
The sky calls to us ...
 
MSD's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: CT
I tell people that I have found a spiritual (not religious) way of living that helps me, and if they would like to hear more about it, that I'll be willing to tell them more. I don't bring it up unless asked.
Sharing is responding when asked. Converting is being pushy about it.
MSD is offline  
Old 03-23-2004, 11:43 PM   #6 (permalink)
Comment or else!!
 
KellyC's Avatar
 
Location: Home sweet home
Quote:
Originally posted by MrSelfDestruct
I tell people that I have found a spiritual (not religious) way of living that helps me, and if they would like to hear more about it, that I'll be willing to tell them more. I don't bring it up unless asked.
Sharing is responding when asked. Converting is being pushy about it.
Bingo!! Exactly what I have in mind. Though not in a spiritual sense.
__________________
Him: Ok, I have to ask, what do you believe?
Me: Shit happens.
KellyC is offline  
Old 03-24-2004, 06:25 AM   #7 (permalink)
can't help but laugh
 
irateplatypus's Avatar
 
Location: dar al-harb
sure, there are clear-cut examples of when someone is sharing and when someone is deliberately trying to force-convert a person... but i think that often the perception between the two lies within the person who is being approached.

sometimes judgement is part of that person's belief structure. just because they tell you that you are going to hell doesn't mean they are cramming it down your throat, it just turns out that something they believe in makes you uncomfortable.

not everyone believes that God's relationship with humankind is all love, flowers, cute puppy dogs and heaven. for many, they would be watering down their beliefs in order to jump out of the "converting" category and into the "sharing" one.
__________________
If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

~ Winston Churchill
irateplatypus is offline  
Old 03-24-2004, 07:27 AM   #8 (permalink)
Crazy
 
Location: Handrail, Montana
What irateplatypus said.
__________________
"That's it! They've got the cuffs on him, he's IN the car!"
Thagrastay is offline  
Old 03-24-2004, 09:08 AM   #9 (permalink)
Mad Philosopher
 
asaris's Avatar
 
Location: Washington, DC
Well, let me put it this way. Sometimes, I'll encourage my non-Christian/non-practicing friends to come to church with me. Is that sharing or converting?
__________________
"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."

"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche
asaris is offline  
Old 03-24-2004, 12:15 PM   #10 (permalink)
Meat Popsicle
 
Location: Left Coast
Quote:
Originally posted by asaris
Well, let me put it this way. Sometimes, I'll encourage my non-Christian/non-practicing friends to come to church with me. Is that sharing or converting?
If they're your friends, I'll give you the benefit of a doubt and call it "sharing".
fnaqzna is offline  
Old 03-24-2004, 12:18 PM   #11 (permalink)
Cracking the Whip
 
Lebell's Avatar
 
Location: Sexymama's arms...
I've not asked anyone to come to church services that I haven't talked with about religion.

But I have mentioned events at church that I thought might be of interest, usually music events.

The best evangelization is how you live your life.
__________________
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

The ONLY sponsors we have are YOU!

Please Donate!
Lebell is offline  
Old 03-24-2004, 02:46 PM   #12 (permalink)
:::OshnSoul:::
Guest
 
Quote:
Originally posted by MrSelfDestruct
I tell people that I have found a spiritual (not religious) way of living that helps me, and if they would like to hear more about it, that I'll be willing to tell them more. I don't bring it up unless asked.
Sharing is responding when asked. Converting is being pushy about it.
Sounds like me.
 
Old 03-25-2004, 08:32 AM   #13 (permalink)
Insane
 
tiberry's Avatar
 
Location: Location, Location!
Quote:
Originally posted by :::OshnSoul:::
Sounds like me.
Quote:
Originally posted by KellyC
Bingo!! Exactly what I have in mind. Though not in a spiritual sense.
Quote:
Originally posted by MrSelfDestruct
I tell people that I have found a spiritual (not religious) way of living that helps me, and if they would like to hear more about it, that I'll be willing to tell them more. I don't bring it up unless asked.
Sharing is responding when asked. Converting is being pushy about it.

Why does "sharing" have to mean 'Only when asked'? If someone openly wants to share the reasons that they believe that they're happy, what's wrong with that? Certainly, I don't condone being pushy about it or going beyond the initial contact if it makes someone else uncomfortable. How many times do you walk up to one of your friends and tell them how you're feeling? Maybe that you're angry because your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend doesn't understand you, or you're kids are just the greatest in the world - something that has deep meaning to you.

Would that be pushy? Maybe some folks would think it weird, especially if you've never "shared" on that level before, as most folks never do. Especially about things that are "personal"...

I think that's the reason people avoid talking about religion - its too deep and personal to some. It "touches a nerve", so the natural tendency is to avoid it.

To me, OshnSoul has put it clearly: The boundary between being judgemental and sharing is clear. I'd be more than happy to discuss ANYONE's beliefs on religion so long as they remain non-judgemental and objective. Further, I'd be open to a healthy debate, which to me is different still than judgemental. Its all about the approach...if you want to discuss religion, don't come at me with condemnation and hellfire - tell me your views, I'll tell you mine and we can present as much 'evidence' as we like to convince the other we're right.


_________________

I am god.
__________________
My life's work is to bridge the gap between that which is perceived by the mind and that which is quantifiable by words and numbers.
tiberry is offline  
 

Tags
converting, sharing


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:48 PM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360