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"Don't force your beliefs on others"
#1
"Don't force your beliefs on others"
I read/hear this quite a bit: "Don't try and force your beliefs onto me". To be fair it's not always amongst religious people, it also seems to apply to other beliefs that people have that they don't have a good reason to hold, other than culture/traditions etc.

I find the whole idea absurd for a few reasons:

1) If the evidence and/or reason for your belief is that suspect/lacking that a few people disagreeing makes you change it, then this is a good thing and likely to bring you closer to the belief supported by the most evidence.

2) If your beliefs are only influenced by whoever has the loudest voice, again you should question why you hold them.

3) If you have solid evidence for your belief, then a few people questioning them is a good thing. You can check whether there are any good arguments against your belief. I personally belief the Earth is a sphere, however I don't have any problem with people teling me it is flat. If they had any solid evidence to show me I would investigate further.


I don't think I have ever heard someone claim that having changed their beliefs about something has been a bad thing, and that the person/people that convinced them to change their mind were wrong to do so.

There is also a weird cultural aspect, where questioning a political view is seen as more acceptable than questioning a religious belief.

Any thoughts?
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Messages In This Thread
"Don't force your beliefs on others" - by FreeTony - January 6, 2014 at 6:03 am
RE: "Don't force your beliefs on others" - by Napoléon - January 6, 2014 at 8:41 am
RE: "Don't force your beliefs on others" - by LostLocke - January 6, 2014 at 8:55 am
RE: "Don't force your beliefs on others" - by FreeTony - January 6, 2014 at 10:07 am
RE: "Don't force your beliefs on others" - by Minimalist - January 6, 2014 at 11:36 am
RE: "Don't force your beliefs on others" - by Jacob(smooth) - January 6, 2014 at 11:38 am
RE: "Don't force your beliefs on others" - by EgoRaptor - January 6, 2014 at 12:03 pm
RE: "Don't force your beliefs on others" - by Minimalist - January 6, 2014 at 12:04 pm
RE: "Don't force your beliefs on others" - by Jacob(smooth) - January 6, 2014 at 12:35 pm
RE: "Don't force your beliefs on others" - by Minimalist - January 6, 2014 at 12:47 pm

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