Forum equality

[The Guro]

Would a Christian be tolerated here if they ridiculed or put down others beliefs... particularly in a forum made to reference them in light of Dudeism? There are only 3 out of 24 threads in "The Jesus" forum section not aimed at attacking Christianity. How does that line up with what Dudeism has advertised?

Is Dudeism even a place where open and unprovoked disparaging commentary should be taking place? "This aggression will not stand"

I have defended nothing but this premise... and have not even attempted to assert a TOE. If the Dudely Lama is the face of Dudeism... This forum is its heart and soul. You are Dudeism.

[the_reese]

I may have just joined the forum, and may be fairly new Dudeism, but I think I have an answer.

Dudeism surely means different things to different people, just as being Christian may mean different things to different people. Not saying that to push your buttons, but I hope you catch my drift there. In my opinion, Dudeism is characterized by letting people be themselves, do what they will, think what they think, believe what they want (or don't) as long as they are not harming themselves or others. To me, Dudeism is rooted in the idea of acceptance of all things. Keeping an open mind. Going with the flow. Just taking it easy, man, and being kind.

Agression will not stand, man, but don't let the behavior of others disrupt your inner dudelyness.

[The Guro]

Well said. Nothing to add to that spectacularly simple and accurate assessment.

But an unpopular practice from what I have seen here... again... 3 out of 24 Threads are on topic and positive... 21 out of 24 are not, and an exponential number of negative posts. And there is no moderation in place discouraging it from being considered an acceptable way of treating others beliefs. Especially since the posts are not in response to anyone's 'zealot' behavior, promoting of other religions, or any other activities that might warrant a response to take their 'faith' elsewhere.

Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.

21 out of 24 threads meet that criteria in "The Jesus"... and a vast number of posts. With a view towards what that might infer that Dudeism actually espouses in practice over what has been put out... I am challenging it since no one else is and I don't want that being the image of Dudeism to other faiths that may think it's a cool way to Abide with others.

The Facebook group says the following from the powers that Dude:

Dudes, this is a place to practice Dudeism (dudeism.com). By that, we mean a refuge from all the ego and aggression often seen on the Internet. If you post something that is seen by the admins as outside that aim, it may be removed. Please don't take offense to that. There are other places you can post anything you like.

It would be nice to see that here...

No faith pushing itself... and no anti-faith doing the same should be tolerated here in Dudeism. Only the exchange of that which is useful to Dudeism. There is a difference between an Atheist and an Anti-Theist... And it all comes out in how they 'Abide'... or the fact that they can't without crusading in much the same manner as the religions they despise and accuse of the same. I have read all the previous post regarding Icon... he crossed a line... but he didn't go over it first. He was kicked for taking his complaints outside of the forum it appears... and maybe some other BS he shouldn't have been doing. But is this being addressed here by anyone? If a religious zealot is not tolerated here... why should a Anti-Theist zealot be?

[The Guro]

(I am re-posting this here where it is more appropriate)

You guys do get that I am not offended personally by "What" you say or believe?

I just don't agree with where you're saying it. And the fact that it's really not conducive to the philosophy, or core Dudeist 'values' (unless I am miss reading everything on the site, books, interviews, etc...). We should be able to abide together like the set up of a good joke... "So you have a Christian, a Hindu, a Buddhist, and an Atheist bowling together..." kind of thing... "And the only thing they complain about is the other team going over the line."

Or something like that.

No one here in this forum did anything to elicit 23 Anti-Theist threads (in the section purposed for contributions from other faiths... and Christianity specifically). And yes... You have seen this before... and will continue to see... as long as this behavior continues. Many of you have admitted it several times in various threads. Others have commented they have observed the trend to attack other faiths (and most particularly Christians) on this forum and that it is a very 'undude' thing to partake in. No one is going to misread the abundant evidence to be found on this forum... or fail to identify the leaders of that crusade.

If The Dudeist powers that be don't want to only attract, be defined by, stereotyped by, and represented by, an extremely narrow demographic of people (what's that called?) who when examined don't quite line up with what's advertised as

Down through the ages, this ?rebel shrug? has fortified many successful creeds ? Buddhism, Christianity, Sufism, John Lennonism and Fo?-Shizzle-my-Nizzlism. The idea is this: Life is short and complicated and nobody knows what to do about it. So don?t do anything about it. Just take it easy, man. Stop worrying so much whether you?ll make it into the finals. Kick back with some friends and some oat soda and whether you roll strikes or gutters, do your best to be true to yourself and others ? that is to say, abide.

Now, it?s a basic tenet of the Dudeist ethos to just say ?Fuck it,? or ?Yeah, well, that?s just, like, you?re opinion, man,? when someone micturates upon our faith. But we?re talking about unchecked theological aggression here, drawing a line in the spiritual sand, Dude. Across this line you do not?also, Dude, ?faith? is not the preferred nomenclature??worldview,? please.

Ethics (rules about human behavior): Although this isn?t ?Nam, there aren?t many behavioral rules in Dudeism, either. However, we do recognize that we may enter a world of pain whenever we go over the line and we are forever cognizant of what can happen when we fuck a stranger in the ass.

Don't fuck Christian's in the ass on this forum

Social (a system shared and attitudes practiced by a group. Often rules for identifying community membership and participation): Racially we?re pretty cool and open to pretty much everyone?pacifists, veterans, surfers, fucking lady friends, vaginal artists, video artists with cleft assholes, dancing landlords, doctors who are good men and thorough, enigmatic strangers, brother shamuses?And proud we are of all of them.

Those we consider very un-Dude include: Rug-pissers, brats, nihilists, Nazis, human paraquats, pederasts, pornographers, fucking fascists, reactionaries, and angry cab drivers. Friends like these, huh, Gary?

Stop pissing on Christian's 'spiritual rugs'... it ties their desire for Dudeism together. At least the ones who would come to Dudeism... Why else do you think some find their way?

Like Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, Dudeism is a non-theistic religion. That isn?t to say Dudeists necessarily don?t believe in God or a godlike power in the universe, only that passing judgment on this issue is not one of Dudeism?s goals. Like the Eastern religions just mentioned, Dudeism is interested in the here and now, not the there and then. The Dudeist objective is to make our lives more pleasant and meaningful to ourselves and each other.

Dudeism, on the other hand, takes the essential messages of all the world religions and simplifies them, purging them of all their dogma and superstitions, leaving only the easygoing, useful and fortifying parts. Moreover, one can be a Dudeist and still remain a Christian, or a Buddhist, or a Hindu, etc. Dudeism isn?t a strict system ? it?s more of a method of living, a state of mind. In order to keep your mind limber, Dudeism needs to remain limber as well.

This is why I came to Dudeism... This is what I am going to do with it here...

As we have all heard/seen The Dudely Lama say...

?Life is short and complicated and nobody knows what to do about it. So don?t do anything about it. Just take it easy, man. Stop worrying so much whether you?ll make it into the finals. Kick back with some friends and some oat soda and whether you roll strikes or gutters, do your best to be true to yourself and others ? that is to say, abide.?

I know that's a lot of quoting... But it has been implied that I am pulling what I perceive Dudeism to be about out of my ass or something. If you look at these quotes... Is this what you think you represent? If not... and you can admit it to yourself at least... Every day, hour, minute, second... is a fresh start. I don't think I am the Uber-Dude... I am digging Dudeism because I aspire to be a better dude. I can't go back and fix anything I might have done before... or posted here on this forum if the there is anything undude... I can only be a Dude 'in the here and now'.

'Insert Dudes Names Here', there is schtuff that I can learn from you... we have several common interests... I would love to benefit from that. I feel no need to evangelize you, challenge your 'world view', or imply your 'whatever' for following it. If we can only abide with those who are similar to ourselves or share a common 'enemy/hatred/whatnot'... that's not abiding.

Have no worries... I am 99% sure that Dudeism will not ever be a hot spot of Christian participation as it exists in the world today. They have mostly lost the 'rebel shrug' and forgotten that their own book said they would be rejected and few in number... Those few who seek it might come here. What will they find?

Abiding Dudes... or at least wanting to

[SagebrushSage]

*deleting old posts*

[BikerDude]

I just fail to accept that Christianity should get special treatment.
Nobody seems to be saying anything about any of the very many threads about politics that are critical of one or the other party or candidate. But the minute people are critical of Christianity we hear how undude it is and how it is a personal attack. It's really only different from the Muslim reaction to pictures of the profit in how extreme the reaction is. But the aim is identical. To put criticism of their beliefs out of bounds. Nobody would suggest that criticising the platforms of the Democrats or Republicans is undude or calling Metallica a bunch of assholes. No one would feel abliged to say "take it easy on the Republicans because we have Republican members".

I can't even begin to relate to the idea that I would have any more desire to connect with other atheists than I would want to connect with other people who don't believe in Bigfoot. I might want to connect with people who for instance like classic rock or people who like the big lebowski. But I can't relate to a desire to connect with people who don't believe the same thing I don't believe. It's a bit of an absurd concept.

To me Christians are like the cops. I don't hate them but I can't help noticing that everybody seems a lot happier when they aren't around.

[SagebrushSage]

*deleting old posts*

[The Guro]

Christians should be more forgiving when they encounter resistance to their beliefs on the internet.  Christians often make life difficult for non-Christians in the United States IRL, so it is not really their place to complain about receiving some flak on the internet for their beliefs.

Atheists are not abundant in the population and do not have churches or Sunday services.  Many do not have an opportunity to converse with other atheists IRL, especially those in rural areas.  Some face real persecution from their families or communities, or have to hide their beliefs out of fear of retribution.  The Bible clearly states that atheists are not to be trusted or associated with (Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1, Revelation 21:8, etc.) in the same way that we do not associate with rapists or murderers.  This results in lots of real discrimination, much of it not visible or obvious for those not on the receiving end of it.

Because of a common lack of IRL social connectivity among atheists and because of the real societal oppression of atheists and other non-Christians, many atheists turn to internet forums to vent, to socialize with each other, and to express themselves.  Receiving their satire and arguments patiently is the least that Christians can do for atheists, considering the Christians' many centuries of crimes against humanity within Christendom against atheists and other heretics.

Remember, if you don't like encountering Christian-bashing in forums on the internet, you can always stop and read something else instead.  Why should you care what a bunch non-theistic Dudes have to say to each other about what you think?  They're only shooting the breeze.  There is little enough happiness in the world.  Please just let the godless heathens enjoy the small comfort that their conversations give them.  Abide.

What your saying almost equates to the same thinking being applied to "White Privilege" that is going around. But I get what your saying... and have no problem with people having a place to gather for whatever purpose they want without someone from the outside complaining about what they choose to do in their own gatherings. But Dudeism is not exclusive to any one 'world view'. Their are many places in this forum dedicated to a number of things to discuss, share, and what have you. That OT stuff pretty much excluded anyone not in the tribes... let alone Atheists. I believe that while a Christian is not to be 'unequally yoked' and a few other considerations... Jesus hung out with the people that the Religious leaders shunned... part of his Dudeness. I thought a lot about this today... I think I can make a better statement regarding my interest in Dudeism... One that only time to show my colors will really tell...

I believe that Dudeism can make Christians (or any 'World View') better Christians ('Insert Worldview). I am not here to make Dudeists in Christians... but rather the inverse... Now I know several dudes opinions on that here... and the fact they see it as not possible to abide the two. Leave that to a Christian to decide and communicate to others. Whether there is or is not a lake of fire or whatever waiting for those who don't worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster AND whether or not someone believes it to be so... is not contradictory to being a Dudeist if they can conduct themselves in a Dudely manner. Thinking that ___ is your end reward for not following a given TOE doesn't mean you can't interact with those destined to ____. And in the case of Christianity... Nothing they believe they are obtaining is based on any works of their own (in contrary to what some may privately interpret). So give or take some in and outs about this or that whatever... they have no reason to judge themselves any better that anyone else based on their own efforts. But I have to save some material for my site... so that is enough on that.

I didn't jump into an Atheist discussion group and complain they were having a Roast of Christianity. So it really does just go back to basic point of 'where' the posts were made. My opinion of whether Dudes should be doing it is a whole other thing that doesn't really connect to the first. Heck... I probably would not have bothered responding or making an issue if they hadn't flooded the one place it didn't seem to fit. I could have happily enjoyed a forum thread dedicated to my area of interest in applying Dudeism someone hadn't pissed on:)

I have no defense for the actions, inaction's, failures, tyranny... whatever attributed to, committed by anyone if the name of whatever... Maybe applying even a few principles from Dudeism is the key... to abiding at least. And that just might be enough. The answers at the end or what someone believes them to be don't have to cloud how they live... unless they think their own works somehow require them to piss on other peoples rugs to get there. I don't believe my beliefs do... or that you have to tear people down to build them up.

[The Guro]

Biker Dude:

You only have to fear cops if you're breaking the law

I thought this was clear... ug.

Do you go out of your way to go to a Metallica forum thread to say they are a bunch of assholes? That would be trolling. Maybe? There is no way around this reasoning except to say "Fuck it", "I really don't care... And just want to be free to say whatever I want... Where ever I want... And if you don't like it don't read it... Go somewhere else... Even if I am posting it in a place that is supposed to be saying positive things about the subject... And I want to make sure people that think they are going to see something positive... know I think that 'world view' is bullshit". 

I answered the rest in abundance in other posts...

But I can't relate to a desire to connect with people who don't believe the same thing I don't believe. It's a bit of an absurd concept.

I think that is a possible definition of someones ability to abide and the basic idea of Dudeism... and that almost anyone can embrace Dudeism when they differ from other Dudeist beliefs outside the flexible scope of the concerns of the Dudeist 'world view'... which IMO is distinctly separate and not impeded by other beliefs in most cases.

[BikerDude]

Well again you seem to be merging into gibberish but I will say that yes I do believe that people should be able to say whatever they want. And you seem to constantly be legislating what is and is not allowed.
I think that it is perfectly acceptable to go to a forum on physics and take the position that string theory is a bunch of bullshit if I so please. I actually think that is the perfect context to express that opinion. And I would expect that all the supporters of string theory would interject in a sensible way rather than whining about how mean it is that someone didn't agree with them.

[The Guro]

Again with a bad and not comparable analogy...

The forum in question is not a general topic area on Jesus or Christianity (which would imply anything you want about those general subjects)... The whole "Under the Influence" section is for discussing the aspects of the various subjects contributing to Dudeism... I must be crazy to assume that based on what the forum descriptions say... Should we make a quick list of your on-topic forum threads in that section laying out "The Jesus: There was a lot that was very Dudeish about Christianity's original, uncompromised first draft."

I must be missing that promoting Jesus as a Dudeish contributor was the actual intent of your posts... Damn. You are really scoring the troll points today!

Gotta go an abide with the family... Later Dudes!

I am pretty darn confident that most people reading all these posts in the years to come won't have any difficulty following what I have very eloquently written in an attempt to entreat your sensibilities and call to the table the nature of your activities in contrast to the principles we supposedly admire.

No more to say if none of you can get it really... too bad. Maybe my real intended audience to benefit from these exchanges is reading this in the years to come. Actually that's exactly my point:)

[SagebrushSage]

*deleting old posts*

[DigitalBuddha]

  I humbly submit that the answer to all these deep questions is .......



Even the Good Book says so.........

Deuteronomy 14:26

"And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,"

MARK IT EIGHT!!

[The Guro]

I dig the quote!

I am fine with criticism or debate and could even engage in it with little personal grievance. Especially in a place it was to be expected or as a matter of course was the intent of the location. I learn a lot from people when I get a chance to see where they are coming from and it allows me a chance to see if they got shafted by people in a way that should reflect on the people rather than the supposed source of their inspired actions. I would still keep matters beyond the here and now, deities, or other supernatural matters out of it... I am more than happy to approach matters from a scholarly, literary scope.

Just fighting for some real-estate that people can abide in that just want to dig different influences... not shit can them.

Stress has abated... Abiding back in place.

[BikerDude]

Christian dude your whole line of objection is not the content but the location of the content?
Come on. Give us a break.
What are you a park ranger?
I stick to my position that it is perfectly appropriate to take the position in the given context that Christianity is undude. And as far as I'm concerned your endless tirades and continued demands about what people should or shouldn't say and where they should or shouldn't say it certainly seem to lend a pretty clear evidence of that position. Whatever the purpose or expectations of the under the influence section of the forum are I am certain that it was not intended to be a place where only one opinion would be allowed.
If you seek sanctuary get thee to a nunnery.