Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

[MystictheHedgehog]

Re: Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

Obviously your beliefs shouldn't really affect the way you get treated. I'm a pretty strong Christian, yet I don't judge people for what the believe, yet I get judged all the time. One of my best friends happens to be an atheist, and we get along just fine. In fact, the talk of religion is rarely brought up, except in cases in which someone is being completely ridiculous.

Yet anytime it's brought up that I"m a Christian in front of other atheists, they start calling me names and other forms of ridicule, just because I believe in a higher power. In all honesty, to those atheists that do this, screw off. Sorry, but if you don't really believe in anything, why do you try so hard to ridicule others that do.

To that guy from Tennessee in which Christians condemn you to hell. Shame on them. Christianity has been given such a cruddy name because of hypocrites like that, and I'm sorry you have idiots like that.

Sorry, got kinda off topic there for a second. In all seriousness, no your beliefs should not affect the way you get treated, to an extent anyway. Our country claims to be on the principal that everyone is equal. Too bad in reality this gets discombobulated into too many other forms.

[darkness1477]

Re: Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

i believe people should be able to do what they want with thier life and as long as it doesn't affect you then you shouldn't bother yourself with with thier life

[devonin]

Re: Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

Your beliefs change the way you act, which changes the way people treat you.

[Bricktastic]

Re: Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

A lot of people outcast me for my beliefs. I am a LaVeyan Satanist, but where I live, if I even say I'm an atheist alone, I get the cold shoulder. I live in a heavily religious area in Tennessee, if that says anything. If you're anything other than Christian, you're immediately a horrible person. I've been called a Satan worshipper, been told I was going to hell many times, people have tried to convert me back to Christianity (I was a Christian for the first 14 or 15 years of my life), and I've been completely ignored because of my beliefs. I do accept Christians, but the second they judge me for my beliefs, I lose all respect for them. Sorry I'm pointing out only Christians, but there aren't many people I know who are anything but Christian. I know quite a few Wiccans, but they're very accepting of my beliefs. Other than that, only atheists, who couldn't really care less about what I believe, as long as I don't try to convert anyone.

That's really hypocritical of them because apparently Jesus was friends with sinners. Jesus loved EVERYONE, so people who are Christian should be accepting of all religions. I know what you mean though, those kind of people don't even care about the religion, they just want to look like a nice person. I think Satanism is very interesting, it's completly different from what labels make it sound like. Honestly, all religions should be accepted everwhere. I think Christianity is completely false and sometimes stupid, but none the less it's respectable and I don't hate people cause they believe that. Everyone should treat people by who they are, how you want to be treated & not what religion they follow.

[Kilroy_x]

Re: Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

It depends. Beliefs should never change whether or not a persons rights are violated. Actions, in very select instances, can reasonably considered justification for violation of rights. Being imprisoned is technically a human rights violation, but when the alternative is letting a mentally unstable person run around gunning people down indiscriminately, the choice seems clear.

However. The continuous expression of unfalsifiable beliefs or incorrect beliefs WHEN THEY ARE OF CONSEQUENCE, and an unwillingness to change them, seems like a reasonable basis to discriminate against someone. Not to violate their rights, just to change how we interact with them. It's much better to discriminate against someone based on their ideas, which are substantive or at least have substantive consequences, than to discriminate against them based on something arbitrary. It's not my problem how other people want to handle their relationships, though, honestly.

[Cavernio]

Re: Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

"It's much better to discriminate against someone based on their ideas, which are substantive or at least have substantive consequences, than to discriminate against them based on something arbitrary."

Amen. Pure objectivity is impossible, and wouldn't you rather have someone judge you on beliefs rather things like appearances?

[devonin]

Re: Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

To discriminate merely means to consider something as distinct from something else. Enjoying vanilla ice cream and not chocolate ice cream is discriminatory because you've formed two seperate opinions about the quality of two varieties of the same substance.

There's nothing wrong with discrimination when it is based on fact. Preferring a qualified applicant for a job over an unqualified applicant is discrimination.

The poor kind of discimination is discimination based on qualities that aren't germane to the subject at hand. The colour of one's skin has no effect on their qualifications for a job, nor does their taste in clothes or music have an effect on their ability to teach, or whatever else you want to plug into those variables.

Yes your beliefs should change the way others treat you but only in respect to the areas where those beliefs have a direct impact on your doing things in those areas. Someone who believes that blood transfusion is a sin probably should be treated differently when say, applying to work at a blood bank.

[Bojack2424]

Re: Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

simple answer: no

For furture reference: Simple one-word answers in CT are wrong answers. You need to elaborate on your point and defend your view.

[N.T.M.]

Re: Should Beliefs Really Change the Way Others Treat You?

This has affected me (frontman of the band) in many ways at our school. What I am trying to say, is that even though I am a Catholic, I have some beliefs that the Satanists have. This including the belief that you have to be your own person and live out your own life on Earth, and take out your own ideals, not those of others.

But because of these beliefs, they say the myself and others that are the same way are against the Church and then we are shunned by many, except for the few that really don't care about beliefs.

So, how about you guys? Should a belief really define the way you are treated, if you treat others with the respect you want from them?

Though I know most of you will say no, it is not right for a belief to change the way others treat you. Would having a belief that may oppose others beliefs almost so much that it may be offensive (ex: my beliefs vs. the die-hard Christians) change the way they treat you? Or should they leave that only in their heads?

That is all.

- Cursebred
(Caveman - Frontman of band)

Well I'm a Christian and I'd treat you as I do everybody else. I always show respect regardless of other's beliefs. It's only when they don't do the same that I don't hesitate to reciprocate.

Beliefs effect the way you perceive the world and therefore act or create opinions therefore people should absolutely be able to perceive who you are based on your belief. If you are a semi-Satanist, and Catholics stand for everything Satanists don't, they should be able to think you are are evil.

The question wasn't regarding other's perceptions, but how they treat you as a result of them.