Why are Christians so easily offended?..

[rick]

About discussing alternative theories to dogma.
What's your opinion? If you are a Christian what pushes your button? I don't nearly see buddists, jews, Muslims etc being a sliver as nasty as Christians. And boy do they turn on you right quick!

[Spiral]

Seriously ???

Do you live in an alternative universe or some thing ?

[ExomatrixTV]

Just use any search-engine, type in the phrase/idiom: "Scratch a Christian and You’ll Find Out What’s Underneath"

• But at the same time, in my view, most "WOKE people" are even worse!

We all have our good days & bad days ... meaning: everything is relative!

Any generalization for or against will never do justice to the full spectrum of the truth!

It seems normal for many that when you are frustrated (or angry/upset) about whatever issue to talk in generalizations to blow off some steam ... then when all is back to a more "meditative state" people can see WHY we tend to overreact at the same time others who saw/experienced that, may ALSO overreact too and that can trigger others etc. etc. ... Sometimes it is so predictable how easy certain (often insecure) people are triggered!

cheers,
John 🦜🦋🌳

• source

[shaberon]

Posted by Spiral (here)
Do you live in an alternative universe or some thing ?

No, I am from that same place.

My guess is they are using ineffective means to deal with ordinary mental problems.

By "ineffective", I mean that what appears to be called "Christianity" in the English language is not. Christianity is the Orthodox religion of Jerusalem. I haven't found anyone on this forum who gives this any serious recognition.

As to why the use of word salad from the 1700s might convey a touchy image to outsiders, I'll let the upholders figure that out.

Derogatory attitudes are a widely-established fact. It may not apply to everyone--some more than others.

[ulli]

There are so many versions of Christianity, but I suppose that the ones who are the most zealous and confrontational are the ones who follow US mega churches. Pure brainwashing. The clergy have a lot to answer for once they pass before the pearly gates.

[Ravenlocke]

Posted by rick (here)
About discussing alternative theories to dogma.
What's your opinion? If you are a Christian what pushes your button? I don't nearly see buddists, jews, Muslims etc being a sliver as nasty as Christians. And boy do they turn on you right quick!

Hello Rick,

Years ago I dated a guy who was an ex Christian. He had moved out to California from the midwest. He wanted to go travel around the US because he loved reading Jack Kerouac’s book, On The Road and so he wanted to live a similar kind of life, he liked the notion of freedom that kind of life presented.
His family though were all Christian and his sister was going to some Christian University in Pasadena. In fact he took me as his date to his sister’s graduation ceremony, that’s how I got to know about them. They were nice and polite to me that day, but to them I was a “sinner”.

Interestingly he told me that his family didn’t approve of his lifestyle, he was working but he didn’t go to church because he had stopped following the Christian religion he was raised in. They wanted to and hoped he would come back to their church because non church members are considered sinners that will go to hell when they die. He told me his sister was hoping to save him from hell if she could just make him go back to the faith. In fact she and her husband were being sent to do missionary work somewhere in the US to teach and try to convert sinners, after their graduation.

I think from that experience it is probably why they are so staunch in their belief. Until that time I didn’t even know they had Christian Universities that Christians go to and they only learn what they are taught in their school/University. If they’re not taught it in their school then it’s not right. To me it’s quite limiting or set in their ways, they have boundaries that can only be broken if they decide to leave the fold so to speak.

[Bruce G Charlton]

I am myself a Christian, but not a church goer. I won't talk about "Christians" in any real spiritual sense, because such people are very rare indeed; but asking the question "why are Christians so easily offended" - in The West, in 2024 - betrays a deeply Establishment-indoctrinated point-of-view.

The global Establishment have created a political, legal and mass media framework that (for instance) protects Judaism with extreme sanctions, and Islam with positive quotas and propaganda - such that it is impossible and indeed very hazardous to be offensive to these religions in public discourse.

While it is mainstream and indeed high status behaviour to be deliberately offensive to Christianity - but more seriously, truly massive acts of targetting, genocide and ethnic cleansing against Christians are of zero interest at best, deliberately ignored, and discussion is suppressed.

For instance, by far the largest act of religious genocide in world history (much bigger than the best known one) was perpetrated by the Bolshevik USSR from after the 1917 revolution; but people in the West are almost completely unaware of this.

In the Middle East the West-led so called Arab Spring of just 14 years ago, led to the massive reduction/ near elimination of Christians from several countries where they had lived as substantial minorities since ancient times. What happened to them seems not to be known, officially. This was completely ignored by Western media, and Westerners who of course approved of the political changes.

What I am saying is that the question - if serious - proceeds from a value-inverted perspective.

[Hym]

I preface this by Knowing of the lived value, the immeasurable human worth of many I have known who describe themselves as Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Shinto, Indigenous, Jain, Sikh. This is not addressed to those who I see as identifying with those paths in the most aware and loving, self-sacrificing ways.....However....

This thread is about insensitivity and fear. I see those so easily offended as being offensive themselves....

If one lives by a dogma does that mean that they are all S.O.B.'s, Sons of Female Dogs-referred to in the canine breeders jargon as B****es?

I ask who the hell raised the ones that need a religion to live moral lives? Talk about a backward civilization. If that is the case, then they are surely lost. Don't blame them if they hang out at the chapel and hook up with whatever is offered in the vestibule, the convent or the priory, the monestary.

We know, you need to "belong" in order to find your way in this life. Again, who the F are your parents?

To this day I still can't get why women don't get the deep insult to the position they hold as creators, who by any religious dogma can never birth a magnificent, amazing, fantastic soul, by believing the, invitro, Immaculate Conception of a Savior. That is the deepest of lies for all who Love Women.

If that really existed, I'd politely ask the invitro doctors, whether in a hospital or on a space ship, and the woman herself to keep it to themselves if they plan on selling their creation, their very own child, as a savior. That's not why we are here. Or maybe that is the journey of some.

I see that tolerance is the temporary duty of those of us who see creation in all and who don't follow any orthodoxical poisoning, indoctrination, oath, or emotional control.... in spite of how others see us.

I do talk with some authority on the subject, as 3 of my older siblings were molested by the International Church of Pedophilia, your pick here in choosing one of the many. If you find your PoPo in your sinful slog thru this world, and find yourself unworthy of finding the creation within.... Bless You...Bless Yourself...

Transpose the name of any other orthodoxy, islam, buddhism, hinduism, etc. and we arrive at the same intolerance. Funny that...Intolerance and religion. Some F'n God they have..Creators who discriminate and piss on their own creations? Yeah, that's the dog god of war and insanity.

Who buys that crap? Do Quakers and Jains live that way? They're orthodox, at least by the proof of how they treat themselves and the rest of the world around them, while still having much less of the traits of the "sinners" that the broken, orthopedic religious fanatics so abhor. And they do it without imposing upon how creation and the humanity around them interacts with them, and in unison guides....

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Bruce G Charlton (here)
What I am saying is that the question - if serious - proceeds from a value-inverted perspective.

Yes, it's rather of the "Have you stopped beating your wife?" type. Meaning, it starts by presuming guilt or fault, and then jumps straight in to ask how come you got to be such a bad person.

Better, and far less loaded, would to ask an open question such as: "Which religious groups, or ideologically-driven or politically-motivated factions, may be sensitive in certain ways and therefore more likely to take offense?"

That's a bit of a mouthful, but how about Flat Earthers, for one. And trans-philes, many social justice warriors, climate activists, BLM advocates, and pro-vaxxers? Probably. I suspect it's quite a long list these days.

And of course to add to all that, there's a ridiculous generality embedded in every part of this. Every Christian is a different, unique individual. Clearly Bruce above wasn't offended at all!

Naturally, the same applies to every other group one can think of. Some people are easily offended, just because of their own inner makeup. And others aren't.

[edina]

My first thought when I read this question was, "I'm a Christian, and I'm almost impossible to offend."
Second thought, "Everyone is a human being, the question could just as easily be "Why are humans so easily offended?"
It's all a part of human nature, I imagine. The question is useful only in the context of trying to genuinely understand.

It can be seen as an opportunity for soul growth, it's a matter of perspective.

[Agape]

I think it has to do with ideological imprinting and how much it makes people feel unique and different "from everyone else".

Most religious groups on this planet had or have "orthodox followers" within them, hierarchy of leaders, teachers and followers who carried the "imprint" through their nativity, birth or rebirth and early years of education.

People who start studying or following religions in adult age are more tolerant to other people's views, in my observation.

So concerning offences, most have to do with people's ethnicity - nativity and religion or maybe a "family lineage" instead "ethnicity" that hammered something to their head, early enough , virtually in baby age, they won't part with easily because the factor of "faith" is aligned with either parental or similar type of love , culture and nurture ,
items we have to deal with for the most of the rest of our lives.

Being offended ( how much, by whom and what ways) is also habitual or customary part of cultures and religions so are ways and means to redeem or purify offences on both sides,
that's how interfaith dialogues gets really complicated.


And then, if you ask adherents of remaining religions on Earth ( whatever public census claims does not really prove that such numbers of "believers" or "non believers" exist, people more often tend to conform with social norms required than trying to "prove" themselves or expose their spirituality or religiosity ) ,
people of all religions - especially orthodox groups- would say they've been always persecuted , historically and till now,

which is true.

And in my best opinion, your faith or absence of is your problem to sort out between the Big Universe and you and no one else should stand in your way or tell you more rules than the scripture contains to make you feel incompetent about yourself.


Other than "parental love" the whole "problem" to do with history and literacy and "bringers of the dawn", dawn of many modern cultures is they were fostered by many religions consequently whether Arabic , Christian or Vedic in different parts of world and the "gift of the word" that implies "gift of cultured language" and script of education in either times was given under "religious seal".

Now that most education has been liberated from religious tenets and secularised, younger generations are virtually free of religious imprinting , no matter where we grew up and free to study or explore their spirituality when they start missing the "bigger truth" in their lives.

Even in countries like India with multiplicity of religious cultures younger generations look at customs of their parental cultures with disclaimer and even though they belong to certain group by nativity they're not willing to engage in deep religious thought - it feels as foreign to them as it feels to many other children in this world who understood that "God alone" won't help them pass exams, without earnest study, find job or get along with friends.


Of the remaining few ( compared to majority) tribes and people who are deeply religious the situation is worsening by global secularisation standards through last 100 years.

According to yesterday's news Israel has declared by new law that even members of Orthodox community are now subject of military draft.

Religion of non violence is violently dismantled in favor of war.

The same can be said about the presumed Christian war in Russia and Ukraine,

or of systematic reduction of Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns in Tibet ( today's China ).

"Homo sapiens religiosis" won't die , and will prove self otherwise , in my opinion.

In miss of religious rituals people are subject to mass media hypnosis, the "bliss" of food and crafts market and OCD to get along with that guards your action better than a priest


For where would we get without the right toothbrush nowadays ?

Jesus survived 40 days in desert , all alone ( OMG what do I mean ? Alone ?) so did most of the other founders of religious doctrines on Earth.

Anyone willing to try it will also find out the rest ..


🪷

It's all about Y. And X. Asking big questions with nearly indefinite number of answers in foreseeable universe

as real as it gets.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east...-draft/3257511

,,,,

[Mike]

I was raised Catholic. But I ignored and even ridiculed the faith for years, up until relatively recently. It's a regret. I was a fool. I really thought I was cleverer than 2000 years worth of knowledge and tradition because I'd read a couple Eckhart Tolle books.

I haven't been to mass in years. And it's been a while since I've read the Bible in earnest. So I can't position myself as a defender of the faith without being a huge hypocrite. But I will say that I get more religious as I get older. I'll never be a proper Catholic I guess, because I believe in reincarnation and various other things that are no-no's in the faith. But I'm more Catholic than not.

There's a war on the west. That means there's a war on Christians, because being a group of people who'll always view God as the ultimate authority and not the state, they represent the front lines of the resistance. It's their dogma, which so often gets criticized, that keeps them so disciplined and resistant to tyranny. When you're oriented towards God properly, in the Christian sense, all your priorities become very clear. And when your mind is structured that way, you're very difficult to break.

So, the Christians are under attack. I don't view them as being easily offended or overly sensitive; I view them as being keenly aware of the situation and properly defensive as a result.

[Agape]

There's a "war on God" as far as I can say, G*d of All Living Things , the One that is one Truth and closest to us , our heart beats final countdown.

The highly intelligent people in human history like mad astronomers failing to count "all the Stars" declared that G*d can't be found or deciphered therefore

anything is possible

There's madness of human spirit that engages lots of people, offering to save them then taking them out at the end of the Day, like timeless computer game ,
offering an illusion of Justice and Redemption.

The longer I look I don't want any "old times" to come back save for the few ..err.. justified .


Forgive my ailings



PS: Anyone willing to save and protect Life , in any form , are working in harmony with God

What we do shapes us accordingly even if it isn't "us" or "for real".

Giving and taking and selling your truth on eBay.

An option of eternal technological upgrade , free of confession

Unfolding DNA spiral stretching it's message across the Space hitting Galactic centre

at heart beat


,,🪷

[Docim369]

While the statement about Christians could be true, it could as well be true for anybody. Because man somehow defends what he believes, its the nature in him.
While I am aware that Avalon's prevailing spirit is not of faith, but rather that of intelectualism and the exploreration of the 'outer truth', (ceartianly not only)...
It is hard to disscus the realm of the Supernatural in words. Like going skiing in scuba diving suit...I am talking about the realm of the Almighty, Holy grace, miracles.
When one has personal experience there is no turning back. I used to be a sceptic. Seen so much in the meantime.
I have also found a lot of truth in the Bible. Will not defend, just my testimony.
Hope I didnt go off topic too much.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

The first line of this thread should be noted. It follows on from the title and adds important context to the question being asked.

Why are Christians so easily offended?..
About discussing alternative theories to dogma.

The perception being that a Christian is 'easily offended' when their beliefs are challenged or come under attack.

It's a pretty non-specific question, and painted in broad terms. It really depends on the nature of the challenge (and how it's worded), the denomination of the individual you're speaking to, their general character, and adherence to their articles of faith.

In my experience, the more devoted one is to their religion, the less receptive they are to 'alternative' ideas. And this not only concerns Christianity, but just about every religion there is.

[Bruce G Charlton]

I have long felt that the word "offended" has become emotionally loaded in several ways that make it hard to use in an objective way. In this case, the implication was that Christians (i.e. the named group) were especially ready to take offence when matters of dogma (i.e. fundamental assumptions) were raised; with the notion that this was unjustified hypersensitivity of a kind not displayed by other religions, and by people of no religion.

I would say that in general serious Christians are much less prone to take offence at being challenged than several other of the major religions - but that this is concealed from mainstream-assimilated Westerners by the fact that they would not dream of confronting or challenging a Jew or Muslim, in the way that they do Christians.

I would also point-out that the propensity to take offence, in a very extreme way, is mostly characteristic of Western leftists - when any of their fundamental assumptions are... not even challenged, but opened for discussion.

The equivalent of dogma includes the bedrock assumption that all races (or classes, or sexes) have mathematically-equal general intelligence in all times and places.

Even to discuss this is likely to lead to extreme offence - and if in public discourse often to permanent loss of job, status etc.

[HopSan]

Thanks all, an anecdote I believe fits here:

I was raised in a lutheran country (Finland).

Things went fine in my youth (I remember trying hard to understand what is 'faith') until about 1980, when a priest told with gleaming eyes that end of the world would happen in 1986. Soviets would start a nuclear annihilation, and so on.

I was supposed to be happy that I'd never see my adulthood.

This idea was for young me, full of expectation of future, impossible to accept.

At the same time, it was obvious that if I opened my mouth some kind of rage and punishment would be ahead.

I was smarter then than I am now, so I waited until I was adult and free to skip religion. Since then I think that being so trigger-happy is not religion but insanity.

[Bruce G Charlton]

wrt HopSan's experience from 1980 - this experience is forty-plus years ago, from before the global hegemony of New Left Political Correctness with its totalitarian agenda that now encompasses all the main Western churches of every kind.

The point presumably relates, not to history, but to the members of which group are most likely NOW to take "offence" at a discussion of their fundamental assumptions (dogmas).

And the correct answer is NOT Christians!

[HopSan]

Posted by Bruce G Charlton (here)

The point presumably relates, not to history, but to the members of which group are most likely NOW to take "offence" at a discussion of their fundamental assumptions (dogmas).

And the correct answer is NOT Christians!

Agreed, I did not mean to target Christians. Just my life.

Later, in university, I had a close contact to a group of most wonderful and smart Christians that anyone could wish for. They did not quite understand me, but I understood them. A great friendship that lasted for years.

[DNA]

I love Christians.

For the most part people need a simplistic rule based system of ethics and beliefs.

Christianity in my opinion is the best of the myriad of choices out there.
If Gnostic-Taoist-Castanadians were given a seat under the Christian umbrella I would be one myself.
But unfortunately this isn't the case. As such I simply nod in agreement and keep my silly mouth closed about inconsequential discrepancies.

Look at it like this.
There are a lot of young souls out there without a thoroughly developed ethical barometer for wrong and right. Also you need a belief system that can bring people together.
Nothing does this better than Christianity.

Jews and Muslims are capable of being extremely unkind to non-believers.
Christians not attached to Catholicism have a pretty good record of over all kindness to their fellow man.

Buddhists aren't afraid of a hell as such they are not motivated enough to be relevant.

Just my opinion...