“Stating the belief forces others to believe it. That is what I supposedly believe - interesting………”
a friend knows who said this.
The following views/opinions I believe are held by many Americans, maybe even a simple majority.
I don’t know any Christians that would force anyone to believe what they believe. That’s not Christ-like nor a Biblical requirement.
This objection to stating beliefs is often Leftists’ way of discouraging discussions. It is often followed by name-calling. Leftists objection to anyone else calling names—especially when the names are true
descriptions.
Just stating a belief is only that. There is no force in that. Force is when people come to your house with weapons and demand that you believe something, practice something or you will go to prison or die.
That’s force.
I believe what I believe based on my own reading and thinking. You do not have to accept any of what I believe. You may believe whatever you may believe. My opinions are mine. They are similar to others’ opinions that believe similar things to what I believe. I constantly test those beliefs for truth.
The constant din of media opinion is a kind of force. Political correctness says that we cannot say certain things in good company. It denies the right to contrary opinions, or even the discussion. But in America, we’re all supposed to have the right to express our opinions and to discuss them with the hope of learning which ones are true, or of learning something we didn’t know. Emotions are emotions, data is data. Which ones are knowledge? No human is capable of knowing all of the truth on everything!
Another thing is that we are all ignorant of something. We haven’t the mental capacity to know it all. The more I learn, the more I see that I don’t know a lot of things. Some things I choose to remain ignorant of,
like the effects of smoking pot, or jumping out of an airplane, or murdering someone.
Other beliefs and opinions may challenge me and my thinking. In that case, I read up on them. Are they true? Or incomplete? Do they make any kind of sense? Some of them are partly-true, but totally wrong.
What might their consequences be? I test my own beliefs, intuitions and thoughts the same way. I have been doing this for at least 40 years. I challenge others to do the same. My opinions are not designed to
offend, that is not my intention. My motive is to encourage thinking and reasoning.
We state a belief so that others may weigh and test it for truth.
But I may categorize you as a snowflake if you become angry at a couple of words and miss the rest of the message!
1/18/2019 john evans
If my stating beliefs and opinions forces you to believe them,
doesn’t your stating your beliefs and opinions do the same to me??????
There is no force in truth except its power in encouraging us to choose it.
