This post is NOT directed at any specific individual. The reason i'm making it is that what i'm about to discuss is so COMMON here that i want to make a POINT that is clearly MISSED by many.
Nor is it an attempt to change anyone's position. I am going to point out a SEMANTIC error, which many of you are UNAMBIGUOUSLY making in your statement of beliefs. I respect that you're all free to ignore this, or react in any other way as suits your fancy. But the stated purpose of this site according to the ULC is for people of DIFFERENT beliefs to have a chance to better understand each other... even if the understanding just re-enforces some of our beliefs that some of the beliefs of the others are pretty darn silly (to put it as politely as possible).
We get our share of "My belief is the only valid belief" types here. To a large degree, i can respect that position, as i'm also sure within my own mind that MY belief is correct regarding the LACK of actual existence of the assorted metaphysical/supernatural/spiritual/magical beings that figure so promininently in the beliefs of most of you. I completely grant that in return your reaction to that statement is likely to be somewhere on the continuum from "You are totally incorrect about that" all the way to the less acceptable, but often stated, "You will burn forever in hell for your heresy".
I think we're each entitled to believe as we wish in that regard, but at this ecumenical site, and noting the vast array of religious symbols above, i ALSO think we need to respect that each person here IS entitled to believe as they wish... even if we find what they believe to be less than worthy of our own personal support or respect.
However, many of you post bio statements of belief that start with: "I believe that all paths are valid". OK, that's a different position than MINE or the equally but differently different position held by people who are sure that their imaginary friend is the ONLY imaginary friend, but i do respect YOUR right to hold that position.
However, MANY of you then follow that statement with something along the lines of: "I believe that all paths lead equally to god/the-creator", or some variant of that. Well, the problem is, you CANNOT make BOTH of these statements AS STATED without contradicting YOURSELF.
You see, myself, and at least a few OTHER members here, follow a path that EXPLICITLY does NOT lead to a creator, and a critically DEFINING aspect of OUR path is the belief that NO SUCH ENTITY EXISTS. I'm not saying that you have to agree. I don't expect that you do. But you can't have that both ways without effectively denying our very existence. Because if you believe that "äll paths are valid", the ONLY way you can also believe that all paths lead to a god... ANY god... is to deny the very EXISTENCE of OUR chosen path. That's a bit much.
If you ONLY beieve that "all paths which recognize a spernatural entity" are valid, that's your business, and i won't try to dissuade you from it, but then that's how you shoud phrase it unless you PURPOSELY mean to disrespect us and deny the VERY EXISTENCE of us and our beliefs. That's pretty stupid - what with us being here and all - but i recognize that some people embrace stupidity as if it were a desireable trait. Oh well.
If you CHOOSE consciously to accept that we do exist, but you actively want to disrepsect us, even THAT's OK with me, as you'll find a blog post or two from me where *i* state that i DON'T THINK all paths are equally worthy of respect. I can accept that others can, and some MUST, feel the same way about MY beliefs.
I explicitly acknowledge that you are equally entitled to feel that way, but *i* am HONEST about my beliefs there, and i don't think it's asking to much for YOU, if you want to claim that you DO believe that "all paths are valid", to drop the qualifier which claims that ALL paths lead people by faith (which we don't have) to a god (in which we dont believe).
One or the other, but not both.
