[plekhanov]

Originally Posted by Grahame

Agreed. No one is saying any different.

Also agreed is that people have their own minds and are perfectly capable of making their own decisions.

Then how do you explain the fact that most Buddists just happened to ‘decide’ to follow the same religion of their parents as do most Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Animists…

[Phanerothyme]

I used to be moderate on the subject.

No longer - religion is a disease of the mind, and together we can stamp it out in the space of a generation.

[Heeley tyke]

I, like the majority of children was sent to Sunday School. I enjoyed going there and accepted it as natural that I should be a Christian.
It became more of a habit but when I was turned thirteen, it was just a useful place for meeting a few girls. (I went to an all boys school)

It was when I was around fourteen that I was attending confirmation classes. I suddenly realized that I wasn't prepared to accept the tenets of the Christian faith and I dropped out.
When my children were young, my wife sent them to Sunday School. I let them get on with it until they decided for themselves whether or not to continue.
Two out of the three dropped out before they were fifteen and the other child carried on attending church.
This was a decision of their own making and I never interfered in any way to either encourage or dissuade.

[melthebell]

im very anti religious and not very happy about the school giving em RE but i suppose i had all that **** too

[plekhanov]

Originally Posted by melthebell

im very anti religious and not very happy about the school giving em RE but i suppose i had all that **** too

Religious Education, atleast that given in most British schools is not the same as religious indoctrination.

[melthebell]

Originally Posted by plekhanov

Religious Education, atleast that given in most British schools is not the same as religious indoctrination.

in my eyes it IS indoctrination
they dont really have any choice whether to take it or not, i hated it
it only gives you one sense of religion

[Grahame]

Originally Posted by plekhanov

Then how do you explain the fact that most Buddists just happened to ‘decide’ to follow the same religion of their parents as do most Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Animists…

I think you need to get your facts right plekanhov

http://www.cathnews.com/news/511/142.php

http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2006/10/8918.html

http://sathfilms.wordpress.com/2007/...B-blaze-talks/

G.

[Grahame]

Originally Posted by Heeley tyke

I, like the majority of children was sent to Sunday School. I enjoyed going there and accepted it as natural that I should be a Christian.
It became more of a habit but when I was turned thirteen, it was just a useful place for meeting a few girls. (I went to an all boys school)

It was when I was around fourteen that I was attending confirmation classes. I suddenly realized that I wasn't prepared to accept the tenets of the Christian faith and I dropped out.
When my children were young, my wife sent them to Sunday School. I let them get on with it until they decided for themselves whether or not to continue.
Two out of the three dropped out before they were fifteen and the other child carried on attending church.
This was a decision of their own making and I never interfered in any way to either encourage or dissuade.

Thank you Heely tyke for that personal testimony and for providing further examples of people making their own minds up.

G.

[plekhanov]

Originally Posted by melthebell

in my eyes it IS indoctrination
they dont really have any choice whether to take it or not, i hated it
it only gives you one sense of religion

It would seem you had a different experience but the RE I received in school primarily consisted of learning a few basic facts about world religions and what they do for their festivals, one of my teachers was obviously a Christian and certainly tried to push that but was restricted in her ability to do so by the syllabus she was required to teach.

We had legally required religious assemblies which I most certainly object to but RE in itself if done right is not a problem.

[plekhanov]

Originally Posted by Grahame

I think you need to get your facts right plekanhov

http://www.cathnews.com/news/511/142.php

http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2006/10/8918.html

http://sathfilms.wordpress.com/2007/...B-blaze-talks/

G.

Let me get this straight are you seriously denying that most Hindus have Hindu parents, most Muslims Muslim parents and so forth?

[discodown]

Originally Posted by melthebell

in my eyes it IS indoctrination
they dont really have any choice whether to take it or not, i hated it
it only gives you one sense of religion

If it is education then I don't see the issue. Better to give them the facts and let them make a decision based on that then forcing them one way or another

[melthebell]

Originally Posted by discodown

If it is education then I don't see the issue. Better to give them the facts and let them make a decision based on that then forcing them one way or another

education IS forcing one view on children

RE IS forcing one point of view on em


i always did about christian stuff....always jesus, always moses...never muslim, hindu whatever stuff

[Grahame]

Originally Posted by plekhanov

Let me get this straight are you seriously denying that most Hindus have Hindu parents, most Muslims Muslim parents and so forth?

I am saying and have been for I don't know how long, that when children reach an age where they can think for themselves they adopt the religion of their choice, or no religion at all as the case may be.

[discodown]

Originally Posted by melthebell

education IS forcing one view on children

RE IS forcing one point of view on em

My experience of RE was the same as Plek's. I never felt as though I was being forced to choose

[melthebell]

Originally Posted by discodown

My experience of RE was the same as Plek's. I never felt as though I was being forced to choose

thats it, you never got to choose, you were told about a christian way of life, that was it, my eldest mentions jesus etc now, so it aint changed

[Phanerothyme]

Originally Posted by Grahame

I think you need to get your facts right plekanhov

http://www.cathnews.com/news/511/142.php

Dalai Lama urges Christians not to convert to Buddhism-
The Dalai Lama has said that Western Christians and Muslims should embrace the teachings of compassion and peace that can be found in their own religious traditions, rather than convert to Buddhism.

Originally Posted by Grahame

http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2006/10/8918.html

Thousands of people have been attending mass ceremonies in India at which hundreds of low-caste Hindus (Dalits) converted to Buddhism and Christianity.

The events in the central city of Nagpur are part of a protest against the injustices of India`s caste system.

Originally Posted by Grahame

http://sathfilms.wordpress.com/2007/...B-blaze-talks/

G.

Evangelicals hope to convert Dalai Lama & Buddhists


How do those links demonstrate that Plekhanov needs to "get his facts right"? None of them seem to even remotely relateto how many buddhists have buddhist parents. I would imagine in buddhist countries (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, Japan etc.) It's quite a high percentage and that he's absolutely correct.

[discodown]

No i wasn't, I was told about most of the major religions

[Grahame]

Originally Posted by Phanerothyme

Dalai Lama urges Christians not to convert to Buddhism-
The Dalai Lama has said that Western Christians and Muslims should embrace the teachings of compassion and peace that can be found in their own religious traditions, rather than convert to Buddhism.
Thousands of people have been attending mass ceremonies in India at which hundreds of low-caste Hindus (Dalits) converted to Buddhism and Christianity.

The events in the central city of Nagpur are part of a protest against the injustices of India`s caste system.
Evangelicals hope to convert Dalai Lama & Buddhists


How do those links demonstrate that Plekhanov needs to "get his facts right"? None of them seem to even remotely relateto how many buddhists have buddhist parents. I would imagine in buddhist countries (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, Japan etc.) It's quite a high percentage and that he's absolutely correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...o_Christianity

G.

[plekhanov]

Originally Posted by Grahame

I am saying and have been for I don't know how long, that when children reach an age where they can think for themselves they adopt the religion of their choice, or no religion at all as the case may be.

Then how to you explain the fact that most Muslims ‘choose’ the religion of their parents, as do most Christians, Hindus… and so forth?

If people were making genuinely free choices and not ones heavily constrained and restricted by lifelong indoctrination you’d expect parents religion of ‘choice’ to have very little correlation with their offsprings religion of ‘choice’. However this is most certainly not the case, how do you explain this?

[Grahame]

Originally Posted by plekhanov

Then how to you explain the fact that most Muslims ‘choose’ the religion of their parents, as do most Christians, Hindus… and so forth?

If people were making genuinely free choices and not ones heavily constrained and restricted by lifelong indoctrination you’d expect parents religion of ‘choice’ to have very little correlation with their offsprings religion of ‘choice’. However this is most certainly not the case, how do you explain this?

Get yourself up to speed plekenhov. People are genuinely making free choices, I don't have any explaining to do, you need to get your facts right.