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Member (Idle past 5192 days) Posts: 649 From: Melbourne, Australia Joined: |
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Author | Topic: Does Peer Pressure stifle the acceptance of the obvious? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
robinrohan Inactive Member |
I was musing about the notion that some people might be holding on to a set of inherited and quite thoroughly discredited ideas in their belief paradigm-- not because of any remaining real conviction in those ideas but because of a subconscious fear of the social ramifications of denouncing the ideas taught to them by their family, peers and social group. And, perhaps, also a fear of up-setting God. It sounds like you are saying that there is more peer pressure in a religious group than in other groups. Suppose you were a member of an atheistic group and one night you had what seemed to you a religious experience. What there not be equal peer pressure in such a situation?
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
I was simply suggesting that the history of reprisals that the churches have dished out physically, verbally, and mentally might be, at a subconscious level, causing those who have become doubters to falter in taking the final step, and renouncing their belief in certain doctrinal ideologies. (not necessarily all doctrinal ideologies, you understand.) We are speaking of history? Because the Catholic Church engaged in the Inquisition, then modern Catholics feel (unconsciously) intimidated by peer pressure?
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
what their friends will say or do, how the community will treat them after they stand up and say you are wrong, or how that confession affects their standing with God. If they are worried about their standing with God, they can't have moved all that far from their former beliefs. Maybe you are referring to ancillary doctrines: "I still believe in God but I think it's ok to have an abortion." If they come to that belief, I don't think they are worried about what God thinks: they think that God agrees with them. So the pressure, I would say, comes from their peers and their bosses (including parents). I'm not really qualified to comment, since I never had any pressure to believe anything as regards religion, and we see the sorry result. I'm incapable of believing much of anything for more than about an hour. To be frank, I find it hard to believe that the situation is very traumatic for most people. The OP makes it sound like there are all these agonized people out there, being bullied from outside and tearing themselves apart on the inside. I suppose it's possible. I personally don't know any such people, but perhaps I live in a sheltered world.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
Hi, Rob, try studying the Wonderful World of the Watchtower Society I think I'll pass on that. I definitely lead a sheltered life.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
how could there be group identity of atheism? One could easily imagine a atheistic group with a political agenda. It is true, the atheistic part of their dogma might be only one element--nonetheless they would all be atheists. I seem to recall some rather large groups of these from history.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
Like a political group where all the members happen to be short This would be a coincidental similarity. But thinking that religion is the opium of the people is not a coincidental feature of a group of atheistic communists.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
Ask yourself how you got into that sheltered world Are you suggesting that my sheltered world is not a good place to be? I admit I do shelter myself from Jehovah's Witnesses. When they knock on the door, I don't answer. I hide away in my study.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
Logically I feel that if God designed us, then he designed us knowing right from wrong. But our experiences can bury that truth, so that we are no longer in touch with it. The bible even says that he wrote his laws on the minds and hearts of everyone. To succum to peer pressure is to bury those truths even further in you, and not follow your gut instincts. God created us to be leaders, and torch bearers of the light, and the truth, not followers, of darkness and lies. I like your comment. Thanks. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
Rob, you chicken, confront your fears. JW`s are just people (o.k. so we haven`t got all the tests back). Ask them if they have anything on pedophile priests in the Catholic Church.While they are scurrying to find the latest diatribe in their literature, casually ask them 'How are the 24,000 sexual abuse cases going in the W.T.S.' I doubt you`ll be bothered again. That's ugly. I try to stay away from ugliness. "I have my books and my poetry to protect me." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
So now all athiests are communists? I was giving you an example of an atheistic group. But we need not go so far as communists. There are atheistic groups that have agendas--such as pushing for taxation of churches. This agenda is directly related to their fundamental beliefs.
It seems your peers have pressured you to believe a pure caricature of non-believers That's funny.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
I was a believer until my mid twenties. Was this change a traumatic event? I'm just curious.
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robinrohan Inactive Member |
Chicken is, after all, the Gospel Bird (to Southern Baptist congregations, where it is a staple of church dinner fundraising). That's interesting. I've been thinking about Schrafinator and I am beginning to think that God was talking to her when He put that thought in her head about how good the chicken salad was. There's a lesson there, I think. This message has been edited by robinrohan, 11-04-2005 03:42 PM
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