Only in America??

Great topic...............See what you started George!

  I'm an evil bastard!

The U.S. is the most churchgoing country in the West.  Many belong to fundamentalist/literalist parishes.  If Americans were asked if they beieve in evolution, most would say "yes".  If asked if they believe in the Creation story of Genesis, most would also say "yes".  Hence, the huge industry for psychologists.

You have to turn a blind eye to huge sections of the Bible in order to be a strict Christian.  And embracing pure rationalism/science to the exclusion of the Mystery aspect of life, leaves people empty.  Our Western religions have not kept up with science, are far too literal and are becoming stale and redundant as a result.  I'm thinking that living in the East is a cure for many.

This is my final post on the subject:

Basing your beliefs on polls, other people's limited experiences, or stereotypes and prejudices (which seems prevalent here) is dishonest and lazy--no mater how many unreliable sources you combine data from, you will always have unreliable data.
(reminds me of a Dennis Miller joke about getting a two-for-one deal on short-sleeve suits--two of shit is still shit)

I find it scary that teachers and liberals are so close minded.

There is only one person here that even attempted to look at the data objectively and she was all but ignored, and with the exception of LE and TLD a lot of the replies were snide, insulting, ignorant, and highly pointed.

Frankly I am more than a little surprised at the lack of tact here from some of the more established members.
Now I fully understand why that Asian girl quit coming here--what was her name... the one that said Denesh D'souza was her hero. My God, I can just imagine what the horrified reactions were like from the people that have posted in this thread...

If asked if they believe in the Creation story of Genesis, most would also say "yes".  Hence, the huge industry for psychologists.

My demand for a perspective that is intellectually honest and respectful must be just a tad more than you are capable of providing this conversation. Your comments, sir, and the comments of others like you are the very reason these debates spiral into vitriolic and reactionary speech.


EDIT: actually, now that I re-read the entire thread I see that it was just three or four people that were being close-minded and hurtful. My apologies to anyone that may have felt slighted by that.

ccv ~ my apologies if I insulted you...it was never my intent.  My comments are not off the cuff; I have read many, many books on comparative religions and attended lectures on the subject so I don't make my comments lightly.  I truly believe that the Christian religion is in crisis in the West and its followers are suffering for it.  I also think that it can be helped by Eastern religions, (and vice-versa).  If this were not true you wouldn't see attendance falter like it has or Papal pronouncements ignored by laymen to the degree they are.

Perhaps, at another time, we can have a more emotionless discussion on the subject because I think you'd find I'm closer to your beliefs than you now assume and more tolerant of your perspective.

EDIT: actually, now that I re-read the entire thread I see that it was just three or four people that were being close-minded and hurtful. My apologies to anyone that may have felt slighted by that.

Really, CC, you actually started this off by suggesting Bubbabait was so gullible and naive that you could easily talk him into buying a bridge!
You brushed aside his personal belief, and implied that he didn't have a clue. How close-minded and hurtful is that?

A sense of humour is a wonderful thing, and very valuable on this Forum. Just be thankful that Stil has steered clear of this thread!

Seems like the only time someone here says "have a sense of humor" is when they are bashing that person's nationality or religious belief.

If you want people to have a sense of humor, George, then say something funny.
The only person that even attempted that was psd4fan, and my own lame attempt with the Dennis Miller line which was either not very funny or lost on the crowd.

And no, Stil should be thankful he steered clear of this thread.
No offense to Stil but debating LE is probably the hardest thing I'll have to do here.
Although, debating TLD I think is more scary 

Seems like the only time someone here says "have a sense of humor" is when they are bashing that person's nationality or religious belief.

Ah! National religious jokes!

I did not particularly notice any post that "bashed" someone's country or religion.
CC, I started this thread with a question......and got 10 pages of answers.

You have to turn a blind eye to huge sections of the Bible in order to be a strict Christian. 

Are you a strict Christian?  If so, what huge sections of the Bible do you turn a blind eye to?  If you're not a strict Christian, how can you make this comment?

For the record, I'm a Christian.  I believe in the Bible as the inerrant Word of God.

@George: I believe that if it were a real question you would not have titled the thread "Only in America?". That title is suggesting that a crack pot theory like this could only come from my country. It is my personal feeling that you meant it to be an inflammatory and possibly degrading thread.

You've created a few of these types of threads with America in the title and they are never about good things.

@George: I believe that if it were a real question you would not have titled the thread "Only in America?". That title is suggesting that a crack pot theory like this could only come from my country. It is my personal feeling that you meant it to be an inflammatory and possibly degrading thread.

You've created a few of these types of threads with America in the title and they are never about good things.

Funny how what has been posted on China forums can upset posters so much! That's why I prefer not to meet louwai in China. Meeting foreigners face to face can and often will result in unpleasantness or even worse. I didn't come to China to meet other Westerners, thank God!

cc, I'm glad you enjoyed discussing the topic with me. 

I'll say this about the topic of nationality-bashing: as an American living abroad, you do sort of get used to it after awhile. A lot of people have a lot of very strong feelings about America, and you'll run into a whole range of perspectives. The best I can do is try and be the kind of American who makes people reconsider their negative stereotypes.

I think most of the poking fun at America done on the Saloon is just that, and not meant to hurt anyone, but I too get annoyed when I feel like my country is being misrepresented. I get defensive about China when talking to folks back home too, so I'm sure on some level it is a natural gut reaction to feeling like people are judging a place without having firsthand experience there. Even when people say some things that might, objectively, be true, it is hard to accept from "outsiders." That whole "I hate my mom, but don't you talk about my momma!" phenomenon. 

The title itself contains a question!

You've created a few of these types of threads with America in the title and they are never about good things.

CC I surf the web for lots of things that may interest me and may interest other people. Of course the major supplier of weird and kinky things is USAnia. This could have been a light-hearted thread, but people brought religion into it. I don't regard Creation, "isms" or "ists" as religion.
 The term "Only in America" is age-old and people usually assume that it will be about something weird.

As I said before, try Bashing Australia. You won't get the same sulky responses. We generally can laugh at ourselves.

I'm sure on some level it is a natural gut reaction to feeling like people are judging a place without having firsthand experience there...
...That whole "I hate my mom, but don't you talk about my momma!" phenomenon.

Very true, you do not talk about my momma!  

@George: I was warned, by a site administrator, no less, to not insult Australians, UK'ers, or liberals. That that would not be tolerated (by Australians, UK'ers, and liberals, I presume... no idea). So maybe you are more easily able to laugh at yourselves because you have been insulated from the worst of it.   

I was warned, by a site administrator, no less, to not insult Australians, UK'ers, or liberals. That that would not be tolerated (by Australians, UK'ers, and liberals, I presume... no idea). So maybe you are more easily able to laugh at yourselves because you have been insulated from the worst of it.

As far as I know, CC, there are only 3 site admistrators here, and they all insult Australians, etc.
Maybe they were warning you not to start something you couldn't handle, or maybe because you would be wasting your time. You CAN'T insult us!
I don't insult USAnians, CC. I tease them! Some of my best friends are USAnians. Shit, I even married one, once. Now, THAT was an insult! CC, lighten up, please. Yer only making things worse.

ok folks... this is getting personal and going away from the debate side of things....  

For the record, the site administrators do not insult anyone but reserve the right to poke, make fun of and bash any and all members as we see fit!!!! Insult involves malice... we ain't got that in our bones.  

Thread closed!!!!!!!!

<Thanks, Noles, for getting there before I did.
Nation-bashing just isn't tolerated here. This is as true for the USA as for any other country. Good-natured teasing is fine, and we all do that all the time...but serious bashing isn't going to stand.

And I'd love to see the note from an Admin telling you to treat any particular group with kid gloves. Otherwise, I'm not too inclined to see such a thing happening.  -R>