[Serious] Questions about Belief and Personal Identity

[Abaddon_ire]

I have a problem with someone believing that their race makes them better than anyone; even if they're not vocal about it, vocal enough that I know about it is too vocal.

I don't have a problem with someone following pro-social religious teachings like lovingness and kindness, even if they're vocal about it. I have trouble living up to that standard, I tend to reflexively reflect what's thrown at me, but I admire people who can pull it off, even if I think their claimed source is suspect.

I don't have a problem with someone following somewhat stricter religious practices as long as they don't try to drag me into it and they're loving towards their children, even if I don't agree with what they're teaching their children. I don't see any ethical way to make sure they teach their children only things I agree with, and kids tend to turn out okay as long at they're loved and know it.

I do have a problem with American religious people who try to insert their religion into the laws of the land. If you can't articulate a good nonreligious reason for a law, preferably supported by evidence, it shouldn't be a law.

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I have an acquaintance, whom I used to consider a friend, back when I was a libertarian. He seemed to be a libertarian-leaning Republican. He made a charitable effort to teach entrepreneurial skills to youths in Allendale country, then the poorest county in SC with a predominately black population, one of the few counties in SC to vote  democratic. I admired him for that, he seemed to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

I'm not sure how much of this is change over the years or I'm just discovering more about who he really is. We had arguments over immigration, he was really worried that Syrian refugees were harboring terrorists and no amount of evidence could convince him otherwise. He was a big Trump supporter. He thinks the election was stolen. He was at the capital on Jan 6, though not involved in the insurrection, which he blamed on Antifa. I've recently learned he's a flat-earther, and I don't know if he was back when I used to see him in person or whether he fell down that rabbit hole since.

I can still credit him with good intentions, he's at least kind to law-abiding Americans even if he doesn't agree with him; but I am no longer able to respect him, because frankly, his beliefs make him a loon.

Agreed.

Imagine meeting anyone for the first time. It will predictably proceed from name, occupation, hobbies, family, cars, sport, TV, etc, through a whole lot of apparent small talk. But it isn't unimportant, it is the necessary lubricant that allows one to develop an outline of the individual one has just met.

If, however, they start with "Hi, I'm Joe Bloggs and I am a member of <insert denomination here>" They have drawn the outline in one sentence. They are defined by their faith. It is the first and most important thing on their mind.

Worse, if they start with "Hi, I'm Joe Bloggs and I am a member of <insert denomination here> would you like to visit my church?" Not only have they drawn the outline, they have coloured it in. And they haven't stayed inside the lines either.

Does that seem judgmental? Of course it does, because it is. Do I feel bad about that? Not even slightly. Normal life consists of making judgments like that every day. Have I seen all three in real life? Yup. And again, anything in between, too. I find it most disturbing when it happens in a business meeting. That is plain weird.

It also cuts both ways. Years ago, I had a company in SoCal as partner, client and customer. No equity involved, it was simply a mutually beneficial arrangement. Business trips in both directions were a blast, usually involving hard work in the day and hard alcohol in the evening. Good times. Anyhoo, the two principles decided that they wanted to depart and do other things. They didn't terminate their company, they just moved out to pursue other things. You can imagine the surprise when one of them became a pastor. Nobody had a clue that was coming. Not even his business partner.

Once again, there is no single answer.

Edit: Sry, I accidentally swore. Not good in a serious thread.