Tip #49 No, You Don't Own Everything
Jan. 31st, 2016 04:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wingedbeastA list of things that Christians have told me are created by Christianity and only used by non-Christians by borrowing from Christianity.
The Golden Rule.
An empathy based morality, in general.
Humanism (which is actually a moral focus on benefiting humanity as opposed to relations with deities or the divine)
The abolition of slavery.
Women's rights.
Any consideration for the less fortunate.
Charity as a concept.
Empathy as a concept.
Compassion as a concept.
Love as a concept.
I've also been told that I'm reading more into this than is there. But, after being told that supporting marriage equality is something that comes from Christian values, but misuses Christian values, it's clear, to me, that this is a matter of claimed ownership.
Not even most Christians buy into this thinking, but it seems prevalent among those who want to convince me to become a Christian. I can see how this happens, because preaching to the choir means preaching to people who are already biased in favor of such claims, making them seem more credible than they are.
Aside from simply not being accepted as true on the face of it, this shows a superiority complex. You think quite highly of yourself, at least on a Tribal basis, to say that the basic elements of goodness are your faith's to dictate and control.
One way you might respond to that notion is that it isn't a superiority complex if it's true. Obviously, I don't agree that it's true and will advise you to challenge that notion, yourself. If you don't do that or if you still believe after subjecting that belief to challenge, remember that I still don't believe that claim. You have to make the case in support of that claim, not just make the claim. Otherwise, making the claim has all the convincing power of repeating "is so".
Alternatively, you might respond that it can't be a superiority complex because you see yourself as every bit as lowly as you're depciting us. I have a couple responses, there. Firstly, I've already said that there's a matter of show vs tell*. Secondly, inferiority complex and superiority complex don't actually contradict... which leads into my next tip.
* http://wingedbeast.dreamwidth.org/20895.html
The Golden Rule.
An empathy based morality, in general.
Humanism (which is actually a moral focus on benefiting humanity as opposed to relations with deities or the divine)
The abolition of slavery.
Women's rights.
Any consideration for the less fortunate.
Charity as a concept.
Empathy as a concept.
Compassion as a concept.
Love as a concept.
I've also been told that I'm reading more into this than is there. But, after being told that supporting marriage equality is something that comes from Christian values, but misuses Christian values, it's clear, to me, that this is a matter of claimed ownership.
Not even most Christians buy into this thinking, but it seems prevalent among those who want to convince me to become a Christian. I can see how this happens, because preaching to the choir means preaching to people who are already biased in favor of such claims, making them seem more credible than they are.
Aside from simply not being accepted as true on the face of it, this shows a superiority complex. You think quite highly of yourself, at least on a Tribal basis, to say that the basic elements of goodness are your faith's to dictate and control.
One way you might respond to that notion is that it isn't a superiority complex if it's true. Obviously, I don't agree that it's true and will advise you to challenge that notion, yourself. If you don't do that or if you still believe after subjecting that belief to challenge, remember that I still don't believe that claim. You have to make the case in support of that claim, not just make the claim. Otherwise, making the claim has all the convincing power of repeating "is so".
Alternatively, you might respond that it can't be a superiority complex because you see yourself as every bit as lowly as you're depciting us. I have a couple responses, there. Firstly, I've already said that there's a matter of show vs tell*. Secondly, inferiority complex and superiority complex don't actually contradict... which leads into my next tip.
* http://wingedbeast.dreamwidth.org/20895.html
