But what does "their religion" or "they're a tory" actually mean? Flyboy
Well *I* meant the political party they vote for or the church they go to. Given that they're not secret plant worshippers or rebel BNP members mislabelling themselves, and are correctly identifying themselves as (say) Catholic, I don't see that as reason enough to shun them. I am pro-choice, pro-contraception, scoff at the transubstantiation and Papal infallibility, but am happy to overlook those differences because my Catholic friends tolerate my godless unbelief.
I am friends with people who have similar beliefs to me about how to behave (open mindedness, tolerance, equality etc.) and not friends with those whose beliefs are too divergent from mine (BNP, religious fundamentalists) because they behave in ways I find unacceptable. That's the line between values and beliefs I mean, and I accept that it's not a clear boundary but it is there.
You don't need to kill for your beliefs to cause harm to other human beings. In some cases, all you need to do is disseminate those beliefs. Flyboy
Well said.
Which of our friends have had the most influence on us? Seth
For me it's the ones who very passionately care about something I'd never considered. For example when I first became friends with someone gay and they pulled me up on using 'Pouf' as an insult, even jokingly (I was a teenage boy from a small culturally homogonous town please forgive me) I stopped and began considering my language more carefully. It simply hadn't occurred to me I might be offending, callow youth that I was. |
