Posted on 12/11/2009 8:50:14 PM PST by Phileleutherus Franciscus
Too bad I got zapped. I was going to post this last night, but thought calmer heads would prevail. Guess I was wrong.
What has become of the FreeRepublic I joined so long ago?
Years ago, when this forum was young and gaining membership, the dedication to conservative principles was the theme that attracted many who were looking for an outlet to voice matters of political opinion in light of the Lewinsky Scandal. It was my primary reason for signing up. It gave me solace when I was racked in pain with a broken neck and back from an accident. It has been a place where returning the kindness shown to me has been easy, and rewarding. It has been a place to share the horror of 9/11, and the tears of the nation, the celebration of birth, and the tragedy of death and loss.
It has become a home of sorts, where I can share my experiences, and laugh at some of the wit and humor of so many valuable people. I have laughed with you, and cried for you and with you.
But that has all changed.
Through the years I have seen people come and go and be purged for political views that became, not one of debate, but one of demeaning personal attacks on those who did not agree with them politically. Once again, that has reared its ugly head here at FR and in the form of religious beliefs.
Recently, there has been a new creeping fascism by a small group of Creation Science believers into FR. These few individuals would have you believe that the Earth is 6000 years old, there is no other belief other than Jesus Christ, a great flood killed everyone and everything, leaving only a few survivors on a boat, which make little sense, and that any other opinion that does not agree with them either makes you either a ‘liberal’, an atheist, not worthy of posting here at FR, and not a ‘true’ conservative. They would have you believe the Theory of Evolution is the cause of every human disaster since the time of the printing of Origin of the Species and that all science is a lie. The threads promulgated by these very few proclaim the fact they are ‘right’, while anyone disagreeing or choosing to debate them are ‘wrong’. Some of these individuals have promoted bigotry and personal attacks, which would have gotten any other individual here banned.
Yet, under the protection of the owner of the site, these very few have had the audacity to instill their beliefs into the core of what was once a great conservative site, and is now one that determines your conservatism by your acceptability of Creation Science. It has now become a site that determines your conservatism based on rejection of Mormonism, the Roman Catholic faith, atheism, on any religious belief but their own, and not on conservative values that have nothing to do with religious beliefs, but on what is best for the country and what we revere as America.
This is the worst kind of fanaticism as it pits a particular religious belief against an individuals ability to think. Something that has developed over millions of years, from the use of rudimentary tools to the complexities we enjoy today, an individual’s ability to think sets us apart from most of the other animals. And we are still in the adolescence of that developing technology and intelligence. Look how far we have come from the written word to the printing press to the Internet.
This kind of fanaticism was used by Hitler against the Jews and just about every other race and culture, by the Italians against the African Continent, and by the Japanese against the Chinese. It was used by the Catholic Church in Spain as a weapon to force those not of the Catholic faith underground or tortured to death for heresy. It was part of the Crusades and the slaughter of millions of both Muslims and Christians. A struggle that continues even today, although it pits radical self-serving Islam against the free-thinking individual of any religious belief, basic human freedoms, and forces each of us to stand up to that type of extremism.
There are many religions in this world, and many beliefs in a different ‘god’. History is replete with various religious beliefs that either evolved or were discarded. Even those who do not adhere to the Christian belief should be free to choose what and how they think, and not be condemned by the few who see nothing but their way and dismiss their conservative values. This type of religious fanaticism degrades this forum to the very thing that the DUmmies expect from FR, intolerance of others.
Science is the quest for knowledge. That quest requires that each individual take a look at data and information and make a valued opinion. Science is not perfect, nor has it claimed to have all the answers, otherwise, cancer would be cured tomorrow, food would be grown enough to feed the world, and disease would be eliminated. But that is not the case. It is that quest that has sent us in directions to search for who we are, and where we came from. If the science leads us to god, or whatever deity that created the universe, then so be it, but to dismiss it is to ignore the progress of generations, and reinforces an ignorance that only education can alleviate. By using one book as the sole source to how everything has come to where it is now, is ignorance on the highest level. And to use that belief as a ruler to measure your worthiness as a conservative is beyond the pale.
I will miss the valuable wealth of knowledge of the gun-owners here. I will miss the total dedication to the memory of our brave fallen heroes, and the devotion to our military around the world. I will miss the realistic social and fiscal conservative values I found here that reinforces my own political views.
I will not miss the tolerated religious bigotry, the insulting, uneducated, demeaning tripe that passes for knowledge by those few who would dictate to the rest.
Yes, Jim, it is your site to do with as you please, but to allow the few to demean and dictate to the many what beliefs are acceptable and ‘conservative’, and with your blessing, is intolerable to me and probably many, many other conservatives here. It shows that the intolerance the left accuses conservatives of being does live on FreeRepublic. Maybe this kind of self purging is what you wanted allowing the sort of tripe we have seen lately. It serves conservatism very little and demeans everything you started this site to be.
I will continue to fight for conservative causes, pro-life causes, pro-gun legislation, and real conservative candidates to help us get this country of ours back to where it should be. It just won’t be here, where my beliefs in that conservatism will be questioned because my religious beliefs are not coincidental with the owner.
I pray for our country and those who fight for her, in whatever capacity they can.
Please remove my name from all ping lists.
Goodbye and good luck.
A few have; most have not.
The problem is what does one do with Christianity vis-à-vis the larger culture when the majority of the culture is no longer Christian (young clueless American-Idol-ized pagans), but the Christian worldview still has the largest plurality of followers, and is ensconced in the cultural memory? (Tho' the Marxists through govt. education, the multiculturalists, the Moose-limbs, and others are doing their level best to undermine it?)
Convert one's neighbors of course: but that will take some time as teens and tweens are usually more interested in promiscuity than in self-control.
And then you have "gay rights" , abortion, etc.
The standard tome of the left is "don't force your morality on me" but they are begging the question of why they should be allowed to force their immorality on us.
For many of the issues, there is no "neutral ground" or "splitting the difference."
Cheers!
This is a damn shame.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most in my years reading FR has been the diversity of opinions that are contained within the conservative-republican arena.
What I’ve seen also, however, is the definition of “conservative” become narrowed and exclusive. Conservatives used to champion individual freedom, fiscal responsibility and small government. What happened? Why do we have to pass some sort of religious litmus test now?
“I have no problem with the science underlying this at all.”
No, you have a problem with all the evil people applying the science without considering Genesis.
How can you, with a straight face claim that scientists would ignore data that is presented to them with actual research and data to back it up?
The only reason I can think of is that your entire argument rests on that assumption.
You think that since the entire work of “creation science” is based on the literal Genesis, that real scientists must be able to discard research and data as easily as “creation science” does.
“creation science” by itself has produced no significant scientific findings thus far to alter the scientific body of knowledge.
Matched by the inability or unwillingness of some of the more agressive atheists to distinguish between Christianity and illiteracy.
Why judge *either* site by the outliers -- unless the outliers have a role in making policy disproportionate to their numbers?
Cheers!
As the rind around the brain grows, a point is reached where belief, faith and trust ceases. The rind prevents piety or humility from entering or leaving.
Cheers!
(swoons)
Cheers!
Do the words "Hadley CRU" ring a bell?
Cheers!
But its longer than he has lasted on any other forum!
......You have evolved...... .
Cool. Now thou hast opened the door.
How many here that deny bioevolution accept Christian evolution? Regardless of their church affiliation or present beliefs, they are the result of the evolution of Christian thought and dogma
Conservative has always meant pro God along with the other things that you mention, they go hand in hand, don't try and pretend that it is new, it is just the opposite, the fifth column, anti-social conservative, "conservative" is the new phenomena.
Don't play word games, bert.
"evolution" of theology is not the result of random changes among an ensemble leading to preferential selection of subsets of that ensemble by superior adaptation to natural conditions.
If anything along *that* spectrum, it would be (like automotive design or computer science) more akin to intelligent design. The Edsel and Microsoft's operating systems excepted; and notwithstanding GE's "genetical algorithms" used in efficiency optmization ("get your *own* dirt" applies).
Cheers! Cheers!
Good point... my boys have grown up considerably too! My whiskers are grey also. I can’t find it in my heart to be a Favre basher so he can stay, I guess.
All the best.
Just my very tiny .02.
I am an old earth creationist - very old! I also study the Vedas and adhere to the creation as described therein.
That said, I have much more in common with young earth creationists than evos because the main point is that God is the creator - whether He did it this way or that, within this timeframe or another, have nothing to do with how we live our lives (hopefully in accordance with His will!).
If the earth and all creaures are merely accidental and meaningless, then one’s worldview is entirely different. Basically there are two world views:
1. Everything is created by God for a purpose, and it is our duty to find His purpose and plan and live in accordance with His purpose.
2. Everything is just a meaningless accident with no God in control, and therefore everyone can craete their own “truth” and “purpose”. Which leads to the hell on earth that is quickly accelerating.
There!
Always the victim, never the bride
They generally have good reason to be.
LOL. "You would be cranky too if you believed you were descended from ..."
This kind of fanaticism was used by Hitler against the Jews and just about every other race and culture, by the Italians against the African Continent, and by the Japanese against the Chinese.
I think a zot in Hitler's domain differed in several regards from a zot in JimRob's domain.
Pro-God with "God" equaling higher power of your choice, or pro-God with specific guidelines?
Pro God meaning that conservatives in America have always been pro religion and social conservatives, now we are getting more and more liberals trying to undercut the natural core of conservatism, by embracing conservatives on economics while trying to destroy social conservatism.
Knowing a persons position on faith will in most cases tell you which party the person votes for.
Most of you probably don’t know that, that poster was banned last night.
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