calls to prayer...

[Henry]

I can only operate from the position that the Bible is indeed the inerrant, inspired Word of God. This fact alone puts me in opposition to many people in a discussion on religion.

Understood, but there is a difference between what you religiously believe, and what practices you follow in society - one of which is a freedom of religious expression (which is allowed in every democracy I am aware of). In order to maintain a civility, you have to concede the point that people will disagree on beliefs. One may believe others as misguided as one wishes, but respect for their beliefs and opinions is required by law.

One point: When disagreements especially between Christians break out, I am always reminded of The Gospel of Luke: "...John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us." Pretty straightforward guy, that Jesus.

I'll stop now, since I've wandered off topic, but I will say that the (more than acquaintance) outright friendship shown on these boards, even in mini-flame wars, is quite different from every other site I've ever visited on the Internet. The only other place I've ever seen as much tolerance is on Nutkinland, but that doesn't really surprise me.

 

[eXodus]

Well, I'm Jewish, not Christian. There are still some people in the south who think we are demonic

Balsamic Dragon

demonic or not, you folks and your hebrew national hotdogs reign supreme in my book!

 

[rackabello]

A friend gamed while he was becoming a priest and even introduced it to all the priests, nuns, and other people in training there. They had weekly games set up.

the first DM i ever had was a priest, for a single night of D&D at the rectory with my dad and i. sadly, he was not the epitome of Christian agape as far as my PC was concerned. he took one look at my halfling archer, who i'd equipped only with leather armor because i figured platemail would slow him down, and said, "leather, a bow and a dagger? this is the kind of slack-jawed idiot walking around just hoping to get killed."

more to the point, i will concur with others who've pointed out the simple decency shown on these boards about all manner of oft-divisive subjects. that's what's kept me coming back and led me to step out of the shadows where i've been lurking.

it's heartening to see that "calls to prayer" are answered by each of us according to our means to each according their need.

--rackabello

 

[kingpaul]

Then their's the closed minded people like Jack Chick who give Christians a bad name.

Ah, yes, Mr. Chick. It is because of this gentleman that I was banned from playing D&D with my friends and watching the D&D cartoon when it originally came out. Here's Dark Dungeon if you want to take a look at it.

 

[alsih2o]

"Today shelves in major bookstores literally groan under the weight of various of books on Wicca, for example."

the above is quoted from the author of the tract....i have been in many major bookstores, and the only groaning i have heard is from people who see the prices of the avg hardback book lately

 

[Taloras]

Feh. Anyone can be an ordained minister of the ULC if they're willing to take the 90 seconds to fill out the online registration form - _I'm_ an ordained minister, and I'm an atheist. In keeping with your generosity, though, I won't hold your "religion" against you.

I know. I thought about becoming an ordained minister myself, but.....nah. Why waste the 90 seconds?

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

What amazes me to this day is, we were still allowed/encouraged to believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

It's not really that amazing. Children are encouraged to believe in these three beings as part of a cultural mythology that helps socialize children just entering the Piagetian "con-op" stage of development. At this point, children no longer believe that they can order the world around through magical wishes- so they need to create a pantheon of "magical beings" to do it for them. If they aren't introduced to them by their society, the kids will just create their own- has anybody here had imaginary friends when they were growing up? I remember what happened after my parents debunked Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Faerie- I merely created my own pantheon of imaginary aliens, giant robots, talking animals, mad scientists, city-sized starships, forest-dwelling goblins, magic rituals, and weird cosmological conceptions- much of which was inspired by Star Trek, David the Gnome, and Carl Sagan. If you don't give a kid beliefs, he can create his own! The only reason that Santa Claus and his ilk are perpetuated is because they create a common mythos among children that helps them bond as a group- similiar to mythic/conformist religion. I was often shunned by my peers because I didn't believe in the same things they did- I was off in my own world of whimsy, which didn't conform to theirs.

Not that I think this was a bad thing... I've grown up to be far more independent minded and free-thinking than most of my shee.... er... peers...

As for my own religious beliefs? Well, I haven't formally taken vows yet, but I'm considering becoming a buddhist. Even though I don't believe in literal interpretations of reincarnation, the bodhisattvas, the six realms, the deities, etc... the ideas of nirvana, sunyata, and liberation make sense to me, and the psychology of Abhidharma, Dzok-chen, and Mahamudra makes Freud, Jung, and Maslow look like schoolboys...

 

[the Jester]

I know. I thought about becoming an ordained minister myself, but.....nah. Why waste the 90 seconds?

So you can marry your friends, among other things!

the Rev. Jimmy

 

[Voadam]

I thought this was going to be a thread about incorporating a concept like the 5/day muslim call to prayer into a campaign, but from the discussion here that is obviously not what you mean when you say "call to prayer."

What exactly do you mean by that term in christian terms?

Is it a request for prayers for specific others who are hurt or whatnot?

 

[kingpaul]

I know. I thought about becoming an ordained minister myself, but.....nah. Why waste the 90 seconds?

What do you mean by ordained? Are you referring to the paperwork necessary to be considered a minister in your state of residence? Frex, in Pennsylvania, it doesn't take much to declare yourself a minister, and then be able to conduct marriages...among other things. If this was the case, then yes, 90 seconds would about cover.

However, if you are referring to ministers in mainstream religious groups (my background is Christian, so I can only speak from that perspective), then it takes much more than 90 seconds to get ordained. My mother just did a mid-life career change. She went to seminary, full-time, for 4 years. She is now in her 3rd year of probation (minimum 3 years), in which she is a full-time local pastor, but has limited rights within the denomination. If it is determined that she has met all of the requirements (and I don't know what they all are to be quite honest) at the end of 3 years, then she will become a fully ordained elder in the Western Conference of Pennsylvania of the United Methodist Church. If not, she will be held over until such time as it is deemed she has met the qualifications.

Edit: added some additional information concerning my mother's path to becoming a full elder.