> > I personally don't really mind people who try
> > to change my religious beliefs.
> > [snip]
> > ...I actually like such discussions because
> > they allow me to re-analyze my own beliefs
> > and see if they're still justifiable to
> > myself. If they are, then such discussions
> > merely act to strenthen my beliefs. If they
> > aren't, then I try and figure out *why* they
> > aren't. And if I figure that out, I can make
> > my own beliefs better. In this way, I must
> > say that I actually *like* attacks on my
> > beliefs -- as long as they are logical and
> > well thought out attacks, that is.
>
> Well said, and I feel the same way. Truly, I'm
> not interested in being a Christian if the core
> elements of the Christian confession are
> wrong. Those claims happen to have stood up
> (to my satisfaction thus far) to a barrage of
> trials and scrutiny over the last couple of
> centuries, much of it from within the church
> itself. I often wonder how Islam, for example,
> will fare when it hits its own "Enlightenment"
> and Islamic scholars begin to pick apart the
> historicity of Mohammed's visions and so
> forth. Christians have resisted such scrutiny
> from without and within, but in the long run
> these challenges are healthy for the faith. If
> it is shown to be false, why cling to it?
>
> Iss

I understand your points and, actually, they make a lot of sense. I suppose that under certain circumstances I'd agree with you.

However, the situation I referred to was not a friendly, willing discussion between to people really trying to understand each others' point of view. It was an unsolicited attack on my views and, repeatedly, me. When both members of such a discussion as you described are willing, I see nothing wrong in holding one in the spirit of encouraging thought. Having a "discussion" where one person misquotes, attacks*, and twists words and the other person ends up getting angry is not a good thing.

I guess my main point is that, as you, Kaz!, and others are open to such discussions and perhaps even actively seek them, it is perfectly reasonable for you to engage in them. However, if someone does not want to talk about these matters or does not want to be the object of a (de)conversion attempt but is pushed into such a conversation anyway, I think that, ethically, something very wrong has happened, and that was the case when the conversation that started this whole thread happened.

-Eric Sleator
Mon 15 Oct A.D. 2001



*I know I keep using this word; I can't think of any synonyms.