Mefty 😉

That’s just the polite way to initiate polite greeting with the worshipers at that mosque after all you see them everyday or at least every Friday where all topics have done to exhaustion. For visitors starting with weather is fine but must move on quickly or it just get boring …

So what’s next if all topics are done to exhaustion? Complete silence I’d say.

Lols at mefty. 😆

Not sure who in particular you have in mind elzorillo, but maybe they are curious enough to explore for themselves rather than just accepting that it’s all about misogyny and homophobia?

Or perhaps they just feel that bridges are a more effective than walls if you want to build understanding with people on both sides?

Either way, good on them.

Back home we stay out of each others path although some will cross path like inter-marriage but those only happen to some minorities being forced (most are poor natives). Generally people prefer not to mix because they don’t trust each others.

We don’t mix so we just acknowledge each others’ existence.

We eat pork they don’t (I use this tone because that’s how they treat us – them and us). We used to able to sit together drinking coffee but with the rise of extreme teaching that is no longer a common sights in the community. i.e. they no longer drink coffee with us but we can eat or drink at theirs.

esselgruntfuttock – Member
So what’s next if all topics are done to exhaustion? Complete silence I’d say.

Yes, I guess. Unless you want to be converted.

I sometimes mention I’ve been mountain biking/sea fishing but am usually met with blank faces. I know what they’ve been doing all week though. 😉

esselgruntfuttock – Member
I sometimes mention I’ve been mountain biking/sea fishing but am usually met with blank faces. I know what they’ve been doing all week though.

Back home we never talk about each others’ religion at all because deep down we just don’t accept each others’, on the surface we might talk a bit but deep down we don’t agree with each others.

The other problem is you can ONLY convert in and you Cannot covert out, and if you do that (out) you will have ethnic tension/riot on your hand …

I struggle to understand the logic of some on here who purport to stand against misogamy, homophobia, etc and who are only too willing to denounce Christianity at any given chance, yet are willing to go visit a mosque.

Because I’m in a minority, for a start.

Back home we never talk about each others’ religion at all because deep down we just don’t accept each others’, on the surface we might talk a bit but deep down we don’t agree with each others.
The other problem is you can ONLY convert in and you Cannot covert out, and if you do that (out) you will have ethnic tension/riot on your hand …

Right.

I struggle to understand the logic of some on here who purport to stand against misogamy, homophobia, etc and who are only too willing to denounce Christianity at any given chance, yet are willing to go visit a mosque.

Maybe better to talk to actual Muslims rather than simply reading the papers?

Not all Muslims are like Saudi rulers.

So it’s you Cougar that elzorillo is referring to.

I suspect that like some others elzorillo has failed to understand the purpose behind Visit My Mosque Day. The Muslims behind it aren’t asking people to embrace their religion, or even agree with it, they are simply asking people to accept them.

I guess it’s true that some people who reject all religions might be more tempted to visit a mosque than a church on an open day. However I think it’s also fair to say that building bridges with Christians doesn’t quite have the same urgency under the present societal conditions as building bridges with the Muslim community.

Whist Christians are clearly much maligned on STW it would disingenuous to claim that the poisonous bigotry directed at Muslims, and which causes so much suspicion and division in our society, is no worse.

I don’t think anyone has directed any bigotry towards individual people in this thread. Anything I’ve talked about has been against a the actual religions not the people

Who said it was?

Well that was worthwhile – I came out with a better pair of shoes than I went in with.

😆

I went on Saturday.

I went on sunday; see other thread.

Ok, 2 quick questions, to everyone. What denomination do you consider yourself to be & do you ever go to your place of worship, if you have one? (apart from weddings & funerals)

So, going back to a question from around eight pages ago, I consider myself a Pantheistic Humanist, and as far as I’m aware, there are no denominations.
I regularly visit places of worship, but never a mosque, because there are none nearby, and, TBH, I only visit churches which are old, just because of the architecture – I love beautiful old buildings, and most, if not all mosques are pretty new, and the same with most RC churches.
I’d love to visit the old mosques in Spain and the Middle East, though, they’re beautiful.
I really don’t care what people want to believe, if it helps them get through the day, just so long as they don’t try to foist their beliefs on me – religion, or the belief in a superior being/deity, is a matter of faith, it’s not something that can be carted round door-to-door and sold like a set of encyclopaedias, or at the threat of violence if you don’t conform to a particular interpretation of what someone’s Book of Words says.
I worship at the altar of the Great Outdoors, I don’t need someone’s book or permission to do that.
As you were, carry on.

On Sunday, I went shopping in the morning then washed the car in the afternoon. It was a productive day.

I didn’t see this thread before today so haven’t contributed, but I’d recently read this article and thought the Religion Thread Big Hitters might find it interesting: https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4952/preaching-to-the-converted

This section about a survey he carried out and a priest’s response to it reminded me of some of the discussion above about assuming that as Christians get older they’ll question the literalness of the stories they were told as kids:

I found the large majority believed that Jesus is divine, not simply an exceptional human being; that his resurrection was a real, bodily one; that he performed miracles no human being ever could; that he needed to die on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven; and that Jesus is the only way to eternal life. Only a small minority disagreed with these statements. As for the main reason why they went to church, it was not for reflection or to be part of a community, but overwhelmingly in order to worship God.

One Methodist minister who helped me out with the survey wrote to me afterwards to express her dismay that so many of her flock held these naive but “unfortunately predictable” beliefs. “As a more liberal and radical disciple I am a little disappointed that the majority of Christians have not moved as much as I had hoped,” she wrote. This appears to me to be typical of the divide between the theologically sophisticated who give sermons and write about religion, and the majority of those in the pews.

I’m interested in peoples’ views on this.

‘Look at me I went to a mosque today’, good god give me strength.

Religions like these will fade away with the silly old men who benefit from them lose power and die. So well meaning but half witted do gooders really aren’t helping anyone.

Wilburt you’re talking bollocks and insulting those who were intellectually curious or interested in broadening their understanding; it’s clear you are the half wit.

Suggesting that anyone who attended is a do-gooder is both stupid and ignorant.

Help us to understand what you are trying – but failing – to articulate.

Which religions?
Which ‘silly old men’ benefit from religion?

Have any mainstream religions ceased to exist in the past 1,000 years or more – choose your own time frame.

Why don’t you just run along and play with the traffic.

Yeah, but I laughed. 🙂

Which makes me a bad man 🙁

It’s OK Wilburt, someone with a religious background will be along soon, all full of understanding and compassion at your misguided ways. They’re good like that.

Have any mainstream religions ceased to exist in the past 1,000 years or more

Norse religion and paganism both were over taken by Christianity. As were the religions of the South Americas and Africa.

Let’s also not forget the roman polythiestic religion.

wilburt – Member

‘Look at me I went to a mosque today’, good god give me strength.

Well if you feel like that why click on a thread with the title “Visit My Mosque Day, Sunday” you daft **** 😆

To prod the silly old buggers who need prodding.

Mind if they’re of a religous inclination they’ll probably enjoy it.

Oh and ‘intellectually curious’ you have to be kidding, religion relies on exacty the opposite.

Have any mainstream religions ceased to exist in the past 1,000 years or more

Where’s our resident theological historian?

wilburt – Member

To prod the silly old buggers who need prodding.

Well your exclamation of “give me strength” suggests that you are not enjoying it. I can therefore only assume that you are gripped by some sort of religious-like fervour which forces you to do unpleasant and yet critically necessary stuff. You are clearly on a mission.

Good for you fella.

I didnt go into any mosques but I did visit the 500 year old Ben Youseff Madrassa in Marrakech on Saturday and it was pretty impressive, formerly the largest islamic school in north africa it taught up to 900 students, living in some very tiny dorms, every single surface seemed to be decorated in intricate detail

the Islamic gardens recently recreated nearby are also pretty amazing

[url=https://flic.kr/p/REDgYb]IMG_20170205_174836440[/url] by king_kim2003, on Flickr
clicky for bigger ^^^

didnt go in any mosques though, not sure it wouldve been appreciated

hearing the call to prayer from multiple minarettes all around from rooftop terraces was quite quite an experience too,

Those are gorgeous pics, kimbers.

hearing the call to prayer from multiple minarettes all around from rooftop terraces was quite quite an experience too,

I recall the first morning I was awoken in Saudi thinking “the milkman’s bloody noisy here”.

Those are gorgeous pics, kimbers.

shouldve taken the proper camera, sadly only had the phone so didnt do it all justice

despite being a devout atheist and disciple of Dawkins I do love Churches, cathedrals etc

religion is certainly a brilliant motivator for getting people to build some jawdropping buildings

If youve not been (saxonrider youd love it but anyone else too) Id also recommend the Chester Beaty Library in Dublin Castle, has the largest collection of illustrated religious texts in the world? and its amazing, you can infact draw pictures of teh prophet for example, only if hes on fire tho…

slowoldman – Member

I recall the first morning I was awoken in Saudi thinking “the milkman’s bloody noisy here”.

just the same as church bells but im used to those

also noticed a few people had a call to prayer alarm on thei phones which they just let sound, which was surprising!