I have a question to ask

[davidinalameda]

how do y'all deal with some of the people on here?

I have recently started exploring my spiritual side again after many years and for lack of a better term, I'm out of the spiritual closet

but I can't understand how some people on here lump together anyone who has any sort of religious beliefs with the right wing fundies, of any faith

[Maeve]

1. Some of them, you can't deal with

You can only ignore. Others, you can agree to disagree with on the subject and they won't argue with you. Stay calm with them and they will treat you decently in return.

Some you have to just forgive--they have been hurt by fools in the clergy or over-zealous idjits and can only seem to cope by hitting out. Pray for them. Others are just trying to get a rise out someone for their own jollies. Hit "alert" and then ignore them.

Yeah, pray for them, too. God grant they figure out that being rotten to people hurts them more than anyone else.

[SOteric]

3. Much of what Maeve has said, plus...

be patient and let them get to know you.

Over time they begin to see you more clearly and to respect your perspective.

[meow2u3]

2. Fundamentalism isn't limited to the right wing--or even religious people

What we're up against is left-wing secular fundamentalists. Many of them seem to have taken over the Democratic Party, thus alienating Catholic Democrats.

On the other hand, many Catholic bishops are also swallowing whole the propaganda that to be a good, practicing Catholic, you also have to be a one- or two-issue voter, namely on matters of sexual and reproductive issues, while ignoring, or putting on the back burner, equally pressing moral issues such as social justice. In other words, some bishops are expecting the faithful to toe the Republican party line or face excommunication.

To sum up, we're fighting fundamentalists right and left!

[Maeve]

4. "To sum up, we're fighting fundamentalists right and left"

I could swear, when I read that line, I heard the Holy Spirit sigh over my shoulder and say "Tell me about it!"

There is a foolish idea that there are two sides to every issue; there are almost never that few.

[pelagius]

6. Well said! n/t

[Reverend_Smitty]

5. You would think that because we are members of DU in the first place...

that we do have progressive/liberal values. Unfortunately people seem to forget that. I just posted in another thread that when it comes to religion it is always the squeaky wheels that get the grease. The Pat Robertsons of this world squeak all day long, which gives all of Christianity a bad name. People over here generalize just as much as people over at FR. It is silly to think that all Muslims are terrorists and so is thinking all Christians are all RW nutbags.

I guess you just have to ignore the really bad ones, and if you feel like you are being ganged up on, alert the mods. Even drop in over at this board and talk about it, I'm sure just about every regular poster in this group has had to deal with anti-Catholic bigotry (and thats exactly what it is) on DU at some point. We've all experienced it in some way or another