Coworker fired for Athiest views?

[preslove]

Originally posted by: Balthazar
First off, not MY belief system, because I don't believe thats what happens, but that immaterial and I get your drift, no sense tripping on the small stuff.

Second. I do not believe it qualifies as a "superstitious adherent of religion".
I also do not see the obstinant or unreasonable wedding to such a belief or opinion.

Of all my problems with that particular belief I would NOT say by any stretch that it is absolutely absurd.

I would say it doesn't fit in with other aspects of the religion. I would say that it leads me to think that either god isn't quite so forgiving and loving as they make him out to be OR that certain people influenced the content of the book to make it SEEM like there are fewer options than there really are to help coax people into choosing the "right" way.

I also don't think that neccisarily means there is NO hell, just that it might not be a matter of "love me or burn forever" like some people say it is.

BUT, what keeps me from saying it is absolutely absurd is that I do NOT know everything and have no proof that its NOT correct, the lack of proof that it IS correct does not, imho, qualify it as an absurd belief, not does it qualify those who believe it is the way things are as a bigot.

What I dont like about the OED version of that is that it leaves it a bit up to interpretation.

You don't believe it, it is absurd to you, but not to many others. It constitutes a superstition to you, but not to those who believe it.

Its just a bit too hazy imho. and I'm not willing to go chucking terms like bigot around with weckless abandon. Or at least what I see as such.

The problem is that it is this belief that allows religious fanatics to commit atrocities. This is the same belief that allowed/urged on the 9/11 hijackers. I know we can never *really know with absolute accuracy* that the hijackers aren't in paradise, sipping on some sweet tea with a couple of virgins giving them foot rubs, but it is absolutely reasonable to consider it absurd.

Humanity has had thousands of different windows into the Divine, all of which have their own special beauty. As far back as we can dig, humans have been piercing the veil between the material world and the Divine/spiritual/holy/perfect plane. To use platonic language, going beyond our world of Being to the world of Becoming.

The belief that everyone who doesn't believe your particular interpretation of the Divine is going to hell is absurd because it denies EVERY single other practice of Divinity. It also leads to hate. Every case of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu (and many more) fanatical violence can be traced back to this belief. If I am one of god's chosen, and these people are infidels who worship some False god, then I may destroy them (though it is, of course, better convert them). I know this is extreme, but it is only the farthest extension of the idea.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: preslove

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: preslove
My gf, a christian, told me that she thinks "The ugliest form of bigotry is the belief that everyone who doesn't believe what you do is going to hell."

I agree with her.

Why does she bother to be a Christian then? Just bored on Sunday mornings?

You don't have to hold that idiotic belief to be a Christian.

Well, aside from the fact that the main teaching of Christianity is that you have to be a Christian to go to heaven... my point was that what's the point of being a Christian if you feel non-Christians get the same benefits?

(is that intolerant? No, most Christians, and certainly the ones who know what they're doing, are very tolerant of people of other religious persuasions. They associate with them as they would with any other person, or as any non-religious person would associate with any other non-religious person. Christianity is not intolerant, it is exclusive in the same way that a club is exclusive of people who are not members of that club, but makes no distinctions about who may or may not join the club.)

 

[sxr7171]

Anyone who talks about religion or politics in a work environment constantly is asking for it.

 

[sxr7171]

Originally posted by: Landroval

Originally posted by: KLin
The idiot should have kept his mouth shut.

Yet everyone else can be accosted by rabid evangelists?

Not at work though.

 

[sxr7171]

Originally posted by: Johnnie
the same thing happened to me.
3 years ago I was employed by Ethicon. One day I get called up to HR and they claimed that I was engaged in a conversation with another co-worker and our "topic" offended someone. HR would give no details of the event. I was suspended with pay...(lasted about a month) they ended up firing both of us.
reason-- creating a hostile work environment.
I still have no clue what we said that was so bad....

The workplace is so fvcked up these days it's unbelieveable. If you don't plan on pursuing a self-employment career, I guess you just have to not have any conversations at work other than work bull$hit.

In an ideal world the pu$$y-a$$ who complained about you would have been removed by evolutionary forces.