Gandalan
Casual Zuko
Wavemaster
Posts: 979
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Post by Gandalan on Sept 16, 2009 9:58:24 GMT -5
I sort of just lurk anymore, but a comment in a thread I saw made me want to start this thread for debate.
A sort of feeling I get from people I talk to is that I don't think very well. Or at all. Because I am a Christian, and because I am fairly conservative in my thinking. I do not wish to blame anyone here for that. It's a feeling I get from many people I talk to, like in my Argumentation class. It doesn't matter if my arguments are well thought out or not- even if I have facts to back up my viewpoints, I am not a person- just a 'sheeple'.
I don't understand how this came about. I generally agree with my parents on many issues politically. However, there are places I disagree with them. I fail to see how me agreeing with them instantly takes away my rights to individual thought. It is always in the hearts of teenagers to rebel against their parents. When I am in the minority that does not, I fail to see how that means I can't think for myself.
Please discuss. I won't get sore at anybody who calls me a sheeple, I just want the logic that tells me I am. The logical sentence "You agree with your parents therefore you don't think" doesn't fly with me.
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Post by Gran Gran on Sept 16, 2009 13:16:43 GMT -5
It is rather common for people to agree with their parents. They form the base of your sense of being. They teach you their values as soon as you take your first breath. Once you make your own experiences, your own views might be strengthened or changed and you get point where you no longer agree with them. that does not make you 'sheeple'
Sheeple are those folks who just follow popular doctrine, without thinking. Who pick up a point of view just because.
To me, sheeple are folks who dismiss everything a president has to offer, because they carry a different party book. Red or blue does not matter.
Sheeple follow the word preached in worship, without giving it a second thought. cross, Star of David or Cresend Moon, makes no difference.
It does not make yourself Sheeple to be a Christian. But in an environment were it is easier to be so you have to consider some other thinking folks to question your stance. I, for one, am surrounded by sheeple Christians. They still might be good people, have good intelligent thoughts, but in that aspect they are utterly useless.
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Sheogorath
Kyoshi Azula
Lord of the Never-There
Yeah, an Avatard and a brony. Got a problem with that?
Posts: 2,223
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Post by Sheogorath on Sept 16, 2009 23:19:23 GMT -5
Tis likely my remarks that ye started this. Indeed, I'm the only person here I know to use the word.
And ye mistake me. I do not mean all Christians are sheeple. Nay, I meant that those who make dicisions simply because other people think that way, they are the sheeple. Do ye make decisions of yer own accord? Or do ye go along with everyone else?
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Gandalan
Casual Zuko
Wavemaster
Posts: 979
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Post by Gandalan on Sept 17, 2009 12:15:05 GMT -5
I obviously make decisions of my own accord. To whom else am I responsible? The Lord, to whom I owe my salvation, a debt I can never repay- and that's it right now. Until I have a family of my own, I have nobody else to think about when I make decisions unless it affects them in some way.
In that I am a Christian, I'm a nondenominational Christian who hasn't been to Church in years specifically because I'm tired of all the contemporary crap. Church services where you sing songs for 2 hours and have a 10 minute sermon are NOT true services- so I sought a more personal relationship with the Lord. I do the best I can to not force my beliefs on others- for example, I'm currently dating an atheist. We definitely don't agree on everything, but we get along.
That's how I try to lead my life. That's why it frustrates me when people treat me like an idiot just because I hold beliefs that they attribute to idiots.
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asian malaysian
Avatar Kyoshi
Let me hear you say this ship is bananas! B-A-NA-N-A-S!
Posts: 1,308
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Post by asian malaysian on Sept 18, 2009 4:59:51 GMT -5
The real idiocy is that people are defined by what they believe in the first place. It matters not a whit what the next guy believes; its only what he does that accurately defines who he is. If someone actually does or says something demonstrably stupid or nasty, rationalising (read- justifying or blaming) the act on that person's personal system of beliefs is a pointless exercise. Once again, you are what you eat and do; not what you believe. So say we all!
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Post by froman on Sept 19, 2009 3:25:10 GMT -5
I concur. I myself am Christian and have been brought up in an environment where admitting that pretty much got a long pause then a Jesus joke at school (even though it's a Christian school), so understand the stigma you're having to deal with. It doesn't help that I'm from NZ either...the sheep jokes are terrible. I often agree with my parents, and if I don't I at least attempt to see things their way so I can understand where they are coming from. Issues of drinking, driving, swearing and general social behavior are often points of agreement between us. Now...I'm not sure of the general age group here but if I may make one general observation: as you get older you begin to learn that people who have a go at you for what you believe are generally either drunk or themselves following a crowd and trying to impress their friends (I'm not referring to you Sheogorath :S). Its the height of hypocrisy. You also find, as you get older, that people will begin to respect you a lot more if the beliefs you are following are noble. You get offered more, you win more, you succeed more, and often without trying. This is because by standing by your beliefs, "common" or not, you are standing out from a crowd of people that give in and follow the social tides. Hmm...hope that wasn't too rambly. Hope that helped EnJoy-Peace
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Horyo
RP Admin
All your bending are belong to us.
Posts: 2,572
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Post by Horyo on Sept 20, 2009 16:36:40 GMT -5
It's the same for everyone in every spectrum of the world's beliefs. Atheists tend to be classified as liberal, thoughtless reprobates; Christians and members of other religions become known as zealous, ignorant martyrs. This is what happens when extremes become a defining point for people, rather than just a facet of their character.
This is also why arguments on the internet, unless the people involved are mature and intelligent, tend to devolve into senseless insults and a game of hostile sarcasm.
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asian malaysian
Avatar Kyoshi
Let me hear you say this ship is bananas! B-A-NA-N-A-S!
Posts: 1,308
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Post by asian malaysian on Sept 21, 2009 20:23:42 GMT -5
Well, I know you are but what am I?
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