ok i need help, i just don't understand why there is so much hatred in the world, why are people so racist? Why are people homophobic? Why is my father so narrow minded? Shouldn't we all just love one another? Please help me answer these sort of questions to help me have a better view on life, love SJ xx
because if you believe that your opinion is fact.. its hard to be bothered considering other points of view.. If you knew you WERE going to heaven and that there was a God.. then why would you wan't to considere other opinions? (much like the majority of religious people..) this is the situation many people are in.. they atribute too much trust in their beliefs.. and they should always be open to other ideas.. and never fully trust a single opinion....
excuse me, but isnt religion about respecting and considering other peoples opinions ?and if you knew there was hell or heaven, wouldnt you want to be nice and respect others to earn an afterlife ? i think the world be better if people were more religious..( but not extreme )
religion may respect other opinions.. but it is certainly NOT about considering other opinions.. notice how the christian faith has not taken into acount much of any other ideas in the many years it has been around.. it has stuck to the same ideas for centuries.. whereas science for example changes over time.. accepting new theories and disregarding others.. Christianity in itself.. as no time whatsoever for the consideration of other ideas.. perhaps people themselevs may considere other things... but the bible states that there IS a god and he IS all loving etc and that there IS a heaven etc... so if you are brought up a christian and taught that the bible is truth.. then you have no reason to considere other things... religions is a very narrow minded thing.
Mostly, the religious are intolerant of ideas which come from outside of their particualar religion. Religion tells people what to think - it doesn't encourage you to think for yourself or come to your own value judgements.
To answer the original posters question... homophobic and racist people.. are either narrow minded.. or have considered other points of view.. and decided that the view they hold is justified... so if you talk to a racist/homophobic person and quiz them on why the hold their views.. they will either open their mind up to other beliefs that they have never considered before.. OR they will explain to you why they believe what they believe.. and that they have already considered other points of view.. the same goes for you dad.. since you say he is 'narrow minded' he may just have very carefully placed views and he may actualy be a very open minded person..
Thanks, you're replies have really made me think, and i guess i just have to accept people for who they are and what they believe in; it just annoys me when people (i.e. my dad) try to influence me with their beliefs, when in fact i am me and have my own beliefs. Well, thanks for being there and helping me with my rage and anger, i now look at things from a different perspective :daisy: SJ xx
I agree that people should be more open minded. I say it all the time. Unfortunatly some/most people just aren't. I would say it's due to their backround, what they have learned and experienced in life.
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.-Buddha ...Basicallly.
Speaking of narrow minded people, numerous posts on this website show not all of them are Christians or religious people. So many of them make blanket derrogatory generalizations about Christians, and dismiss any statement to the contrary by some expletive like "Bullshit!" How is that any different from a racist,sexist or homophobe?
did anyone say those people were different? maybe i missed that part. sounds like more narrowminded people, which is what this post was about anyway. the question is why do people behave this way? is it because of differences, or is it because of attachment to one's views and the fear of being wrong, of not knowing what the hell is going on?
someone smart would say that the mean and petty are really just unwilling to examine themselves critically or adapt to change. I say some people are just assholes, and you can't change 'em, and you can't kill them so you might as well live with them (while occasionally pointing out their ignorance).
