Faith and belief are two different things I think. Faith is a personal thing, internal to the individual. When you have 'Faith' in something or someone, it's a very human and benign attribute.
Belief is what drives religious fervour, fundamentalism, discord & hate. When a group says to another 'xyz is a sin' it's a belief set by religious groups and IMHO is in direct conflict with common humanity and peace loving people.
JW objection to blood transfusions is a 'belief'
Islamic apostasy is a belief
Anti-paganism in Christianity is a belief

Faith I admire, it drives Hope & Charity. The only true holy trinity of humanity (IMO)
Belief is there to be picked apart because we are told 'xyz is true' with no evidence to support it. Many people mix these two words up either because they don't really know the difference, or they want to control & convert people.

"I don't get why people can't just accept that everyone has different beliefs - even believers in the same god, book or philosophy - and everyone has a right to live their lives according to those beliefs to the extent that they cause no harm to anyone else.

I just don't get it."



---- We could be entering a paradox here - it's because people DO have different beliefs, so inevitably, our beliefs about beliefs will be different..... here's another one of yours from the top ------
"I don't get why people can't just accept that everyone has different beliefs"...

WHO are these "people"???
You and me??? US AND THEM - you and me??? THEM AND US AND I??? All of us???
It's easier for you and I (being literal) to go 'because people' or 'they' or whatever, but you must remember that no belief is conclusive, and whole, not even for an extremist, one extremists way of looking at things could differ slighty by the structure or intensity of their belief.... And because of the nature of the beast, anything extreme acts according to itself, so telling someone to stop being that way is like saying - stop breathing - for some people it really is.

If I gave an opinion one day but changed my mind it doesn't mean that one day I was more solid in my convictions than another - 'why can't everybody be nice' scenario, the John Lennon Imagine Paradise; everyone is equal, everybody is free, but you realise that even within "GOOD" equality, there is still a lack of freedom, to be forced into a middle-ground freedom is actually, taking away the right to have your own beliefs....
Just because someone is a 'hardcore' aetheist, doesn't mean they are wrong, and what if they cause harm you say....?? Well, christianity, and conversion throughout the years caused harm, around the world, from Native Americans and beyond, as well as western soceities refusal to adapt to other cultures, it generally leads to overall hypocrisy - is this wrong in it's nature, or just unfair to the individual and that individuals' perspective???
If I am muslim and disagree with your beliefs, again, is this wrong or just how I was brought up??? You wouldn't have me telling you how to discipline your kids, even if I thought what you are doing is immoral, and it comes under the same line....

No matter how much you try to water shit down, you will always, always get conflict.... Even in communism there was conflict, even in bhuddism there has been conflict, (Tibet) in your own pub and neighbourhood there is conflict and conflict of beliefs.... In your own way you are basically making yourself out to be more 'righteous' for standing above the rest and looking down like an unammused god saying 'why can't you all just get on??'

It is a bit hard to put into words just right, but I believe that the secret to getting along is for each of us to hold ourselves to a higher standard than we hold others.

If we are careful about what sort of standards we put in the 'core value' set that we hold everybody accountable for, versus the standards we hold ourselves to, then it should all work out pretty good.

For example, not running around killing people to get what you want is a pretty good candidate for the core value set. But never using profanity (even "damn") is better off in the personal standard set. (I'm talking about, say, here in DS land, and NOT about using foul language in an elementary school!)

"she can become a MusIim or she can Ieave the country."

my response to that (if i heard that comming from some islamic person) , is . . . what?! its her country LOL (well in theory that is). i support my Queen, as my highest power of state, and respect her.

Voodooguru makes a good point. two wrongs don't make a right, and personally myself i see that my country should not be part of this conflict in the Middle East seeing as it was not personally attacked in the matter.

however i do notice, that this has been going on for a long time. the way i look at it, is its just another chapter in a religious crusade.

personally, myself, i think the Muslims can live the way they so choose, but when they come to other countries they can drop the Sharia Law, and actually now in the country that i live in which is Multicultral, we have now added that, we do not accept "barbaric," cultural aspects (ie Honor Killing) and those wh do, continue its practice can (and most likely will be) charged, and punished (severly as the report said) under the martial law.

personally i think thats a step forward.

however i do not agree with Sharia Law, or the Christian Law, i do agree with the laws that this country (the one i live in) have been founded on.

I haven't read all the posts, so forgive me if I'm simply repeating another's thoughts.

While I will speak in terms that include God and my religious belief, like SBoom, I think it is not my words, but my life and actions that will sway another person or not.

I am here to help other people and to help myself against the darkness of depression. I judge no one by their religion or lack thereof.

Among the people I have known, one atheist lived the best Christian life I've ever seen. He was compassionate, generous and kind. However he was a Scientist w/ a capital S and did not believe anything that was not proven. My admiration for him was never diminished by his failure to see the greater truth that is God and his appreciation for me remained steadfast despite my 'superstitious belief' in God. It taught me early that being right or wrong about God did not dictate whether you were a good or a bad person.

I am a believer and a very spiritual person I don't follow religion or believe in it and I'm not going to bash it either but I do want to say this...God gave us all the ability to think for ourselves and believe what you want to believe. Having faith is the belief in what is not seen. You have to wonder what gives us the power to get up everyday to see and hear and speak and think. But also know this, there is a spiritual war going on in the world a battle for all of our souls. A battle that is already won. The devil will try to convince non-believers that there is no God to keep you in darkness. He doesn't want you to know the glorious works of God in heaven. He is hard at work at bringing as many of God's people to hell with him. As long as you don't believe in Jesus you can't get to God. So the devil will do whatever he has to do to keep the peace away from us and keep us away from the truth and away from God. But hear this whether you believe or not everyone has to die no one can live on this earth forever but you can have either choose eternal life or death. Do you ever wonder where that little voice inside you called your spirit will go when you pass away? But when its all said and done everyone from every corner of the earth will hear God's word and every knee will bow when that great day comes. I hope and pray that I'm ready

The question is, Hopeful, are you able to hold the beliefs you just described without being sucked into the habit of pushing those beliefs on others? When you start to tell someone your beliefs and they say they would rather not hear it, do you respect that request? That is the point in this post - not to simply state what we believe when it comes to god, creation/nature, and the afterlife (or lack thereof). It is to discuss how people with different beliefs can manage to get along in this world and respect one anothers' beliefs (or lack thereof).

I have faith. Period. I was in a church where we went door to door and I was always uncomfortable. I felt like I was trying to shove my faith at a person. I don't do that. I just live my life. If someone asks me about it, I'll talk to them. Just like if I ask someone about their faith, they will talk to me. I don't like the word tolerate. It means to put up with. I doon't want to put up with anybody. I want to know them as a person, human being, friend. A person's faith is theirs, not mine. All the arguing, trying to 'put right' shouldn't shake a person's faith. Bottom line is, we are all human. We laugh, cry, despair, hope, just plain function as best we can. We need each other's support, in whatever way we can give it.