The thread is starting to look to me like a living laboratory of 5 thieves at work, in a thread about the soul. Strange!
Some thoughts. And they may fall on both sides of the fence as I am not convinced that any poster so far has taken the high ground.
1. Disagreement is not always hostility and without disagreement we can't know that there are other deeply held points of view.
2. Yes...in my own read of many threads of late, some opinions expressed can mislead, and are misleading representations of Sikhi, and they should be corrected in clear language.
3. That will be offensive to some, but to feel offended is not a sign of a TOS violation. Even the use of words like "garbage" is not clearly a violation of TOS.
4. Clear communication may be hard to take. To say "I was upset by your post" is clear communication, and imho effectively asking the other side to reflect on the impact of his/her words. That is positive not negative as I see it, because it does further a dialog.
5. The respect we owe to adherents of other faiths is necessary for learning to occur. That does not mean that we are duty bound to be agreeable when we disagree. That is asking everyone to tip toe around on broken glass, which is dishonest and even neurotic.
My recommendations: Go back to the thread topic and discuss it. Try to chose words carefully if we know that they will stoke an existing flame. Therefore, it is important to avoid giving offense. Then: Let's try to let some verbiage roll off our feathers. Some of us are always courteous in the extreme, others are courteous, but not in the extreme. It is a matter of personal style...we have all heard much worse in our offline lives. So, it is important not to take offense, or take everything to heart. I am asking for some proportionality in our reactions. So far no one has been called a heretic or accused of beadbi. Repeating: Let's talk about the thread topic. Thanks.
Some thoughts. And they may fall on both sides of the fence as I am not convinced that any poster so far has taken the high ground.
1. Disagreement is not always hostility and without disagreement we can't know that there are other deeply held points of view.
2. Yes...in my own read of many threads of late, some opinions expressed can mislead, and are misleading representations of Sikhi, and they should be corrected in clear language.
3. That will be offensive to some, but to feel offended is not a sign of a TOS violation. Even the use of words like "garbage" is not clearly a violation of TOS.
4. Clear communication may be hard to take. To say "I was upset by your post" is clear communication, and imho effectively asking the other side to reflect on the impact of his/her words. That is positive not negative as I see it, because it does further a dialog.
5. The respect we owe to adherents of other faiths is necessary for learning to occur. That does not mean that we are duty bound to be agreeable when we disagree. That is asking everyone to tip toe around on broken glass, which is dishonest and even neurotic.
My recommendations: Go back to the thread topic and discuss it. Try to chose words carefully if we know that they will stoke an existing flame. Therefore, it is important to avoid giving offense. Then: Let's try to let some verbiage roll off our feathers. Some of us are always courteous in the extreme, others are courteous, but not in the extreme. It is a matter of personal style...we have all heard much worse in our offline lives. So, it is important not to take offense, or take everything to heart. I am asking for some proportionality in our reactions. So far no one has been called a heretic or accused of beadbi. Repeating: Let's talk about the thread topic. Thanks.
