Why do people feel it is okay to sermonize in answers?

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   Julie Fletcherposted 12 years ago

   Why do people feel it is okay to sermonize in answers?
   
   I know this is going to cause a big hoo-haa, but WHY do people feel it is okay to sermonize in other people's questions? I get the whole fishermen of men thing and even appreciate it. BUT Jesus said - go forth and be fishermen of men, NOT go forth and annoy everyone via every method possible. There are all religions, belief systems, and non-beliefs represented here. Why can't some people 'get' that?

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   nightwork4posted 12 years ago

   lmao. sorry but i have often thought the same thing and your question made me laugh. a friend once told me that the reason people push their ideas and beliefs on others is because they don't actually believe fully so they are looking for others to believe them to make it seem more real. he was a very wise person.

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      Julie Fletcherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree, your friend seems wise :-) Thank you for answering.

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   endless seaposted 12 years ago

   Well what Jesus said in context to tell people about GOD is be fisher of men..When you look at fishers they put their net and wait patiently for fishes. Its just like they have covered an area of water that is now dangerous for fishes. If fishes can feel they might feel very irritated cause now they are not free to move in water. Now when we look at people preaching about Jesus they are far more decent than a fisherman unlike them they approach you and talk to you about Jesus in place of forcing you or creating a scenario where you are sure to follow them. You can either choose to listen to them or ignore them its totally up to you. Its not someone is irritating you he/she is just doing what he/she believes in you can just move without giving an eye. So its not that those people don't 'get' that its rather people easily get annoyed over small and useless reasons.

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      Julie Fletcherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      In personal preference I feel that someone living the way they are commanded would sway me more to their thinking than yelling at me or calling me 'bad'. In everything, love and respect wins. Thank you for your answer!

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   TheLifeExperimentposted 12 years ago

   I guess, at least in my experience on hubpages, that around 80-90 percent of hubbers are Christian or some variant of that. I'm not, and I'm fine with people who are, but my guess is that they enjoy using this space to rave about their religion because so many people agree. I don't think its the place, because I think hubpages should be about writing interesting and useful hubs that everyone will want to read, and the answers page should be for fun and interesting answers and questions. All in all, I think people just enjoy discussing their religious beliefs, especially when there is a weird balance between people who oppose and people who agree.

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      Julie Fletcherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly. Well said. I enjoy helpful Hubs and answers. It is bothersome to pick through comments in order to find those that are well thought out, not a regurgitation of religious cannon. Thank you!

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   Georgie Loweryposted 12 years ago

   I guess the power of Christ compels people to share. I find it interesting that the faithful are more apt to comment in the ways you've mentioned than people who profess having no religion at all.

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      Julie Fletcherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly - that's my point. Being rude doesn't help anyone or their stance.

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   wingedcentaurposted 12 years ago

   Hi Julie Fletcher!
   
   I thought you might be new to HubPages, so I went to look at your profile. I see you joined four years ago? But then, I also observed that you hadn't had a chance to be very active here. I hope we can hear from you more often now.
   
   Now then, if you think people sermonize in the Question & Answers section, have a look at the forums! The forums are not very high quality generally, and they are particularly tiresome in dealing with religious and political issues -- they keep recycling the same arguments over and over and over again, apparently making no attempt to develop new information and bring something new to the table. The forums in general tend to be mean-spirited and repetitive.
   
   I agree with your 'live and let live' sentiment. Personally, I wouldn't mind the sermonizing so much if they were just better at it. As I like to say, this certainly isn't the age of Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine. These men were Christians, fairly orthodox Church Fathers and all that, but they were well versed in Greek philosophy, science, history, logic; and they were able to bring a vast store of 'worldly' wisdom to bear in making their arguments about what they saw as the 'truth' of Christianity.
   
   If any of the sermonizers on HubPages could muster arguments with anything like one-tenth of the elegance that was commanded by men like Augustine, Aquinas, Origen, or Al Ghazali in the Islamic tradition, etc, the sessions about religion would at least be interesting and thought-provoking.
   
   And so on and so forth.
   
   Well, good luck!

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      Julie Fletcherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I joined, then nabbed a large handful of paid ghostwriting jobs. Cut down on some and decided to give HP another go. Your answer is excellent. Thank you so much for answering.

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   Civil War Bobposted 12 years ago

   Julie...length of answer is usually in inverse proportion to quality of statement, regardless of Christian or non-Christian writer.  Try asking your questions with a 100-words-or-less caveat, then remove them if they transgress...good lesson for wordy Christians!
   I'll have to disagree with Life Experiment about the % of Xns here on HP for the total number of folks, based on my Hopping these last 2 months.  She's just run into the activist-evangelist wannabees.
   In principle I agree with Winged Centaur...in practice, those theologians were REALLY wordy, at least in my reading experience...and not always interesting.
   I think Jaggedfrost might have an apt thought, too!
   Lastly in this sermonette...they lack a sense of humor in a lot of cases. 
   Enjoy your day!

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      Dubuquedogtrainerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      "They" do not lack a sense of humor - "they" is me and my sense of humor is quite intact, thank you. Next time, avoid speaking in generalities and participating in gossip about someone you don't know and situations with which you are unfamiliar.

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      Civil War Bobposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Dubuque...thanks for the rebuke and the reminder!

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      Julie Fletcherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Dubuquedogtrainer- if you continue to say such things on my answers- which involve not just you but SEVERAL run-ins with people that don't know when to stop- I will report you for personal attacks.

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   Cherrietgeeposted 12 years ago

   Julie,
   
   I think a person's answer depends on the question. I happen to be a Christian (the only reason I bring that up here, is because I feel it's pertinent to the question), but I typically don't bring up my faith, unless the question pertains to my faith or somehow impacts my faith. I can't answer for everyone, though.
   
   I seem to see a great deal of questions asking people to clarify certain aspects of Christianity, religion, God, etc. So it seems natural that, as Georgie Lowery said, some people feel compelled to share. If given the opportunity, who wouldn't share about the most awesome thing that's ever happened to them, whether it's the birth of a child, the winning of the lottery or anything else.
   
   Perhaps what one person perceives as sermonizing and preachy, could be perceived by another as simply sharing their faith. I think there's a huge difference in telling people what you believe and pushing those beliefs on other people. But again it's all a matter of perception.
   
   The beauty of this mode of communication is that people can freely express all manner of views. The downside is that the spirit, meaning tone or attitude, in which something is written is not always the spirit in which it is received.
   
   I hope that helps.

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      Sushma Webberposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I like your balanced approach to the question.

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      Dubuquedogtrainerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well when you ask for peoples' opinions about the end of the world it is only reasonable to assume there will be different takes on the subject, and some of those will come from a Biblical perspective.

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   MilesArmbrusterposted 12 years ago

   Hmmm... What a great question, although I am not exactly sure what you mean by "sermonize." Most of the time when someone accuses someone else of sermonizing it is because they disagree and want to shut them down. In other words, "sermonize" means "wrong." Nevertheless, let me respond to your question, and if I sermonize, please let me know. (I do think that they teach in preacher school that a sermon is supposed to have three points, so I will do that.)
   1) As I understand it, Hubpages is an open forum that covers just about every topic imaginable. It should not surprise us, therefore, if some people express their religious beliefs in answers to questions. If the question is one of a religious nature, then fine! Say whatever you want.
   2) I understand what wingedcentaur is saying about the quality of the writing and argumentation on hubpages. For the record, even Aquinas had to summarize his own "Summa Theologica" because it was too long and complex. (And people have written summaries of Aquinas, oh my!) Anyway, the fact that people can't argue or write well is sad but not surprising. I taught World Religions at a college for a while and had to read endless papers from people who couldn't string two coherent sentences together. How did they get into college? But, once again, Hubpages is an "open" forum, which means we are going to be exposed to writers who demonstrate a broad spectrum of giftedness. Some people won't be as eloquent as Aquinas, but that doesn't mean they are wrong. And it isn't only Christians who argue poorly.
   3) If by "sermonize" you mean that the writers are "insufferable," or "incomprehensible," or "frustrating," or "imprecise," or "illogical," then don't pick on people who follow Jesus and fish for men. I have read comments and hubs from people of many different faiths who are nasty, or arrogant, or who present emotional arguments or who demonstrate no knowledge of science, history, psychology, rhetoric, diction, logic, or kindness. Again, in an open forum, you should expect jerks from every religion there is.
   Let's close in prayer...

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      Julie Fletcherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm referring to a comment I deleted that was offensive, in my eyes. It was basically a sermon on how sinners would be wiped out in a biblical end times scenario, I should have been more clear.

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      MilesArmbrusterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Julie, thanks for the clarification. I certainly understand, I get tired of those kinds of comments too.

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    whonunuwhoposted 12 years ago

    Julie, some people get comfort in expressing their feelings about issues on hub pages. Some are very dedicated in their religious faith and some more than others. Hub pages offers every one a chance to express their thoughts, beliefs and feelings about many issues and religion is one of the most chosen topics. It is important to many people's lives and they need the chance to state their belief and devotion to their religious persuasions. Some take every opportunity to show that they are devout in Christian beliefs and it is up to us to give all the chance to write their feelings . Respect is more than a seven letter word. Patience is also important when we all share on hub pages. We are all human beings and there are a great many differences and likenesses in all of us. "Don't worry, be happy", is something you can remember when worrying about life's challenges. You are right, it is good to laugh at ourselves and situations sometimes, even though things are serious. Birthdays will be celebrated for many years to come. Perhaps in times of trial, we learn to appreciate their celebration that much more, every year we are here.(this in answering a concern mentioned earlier). Be well and keep the faith that we will all have many happy years ahead of us.

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       Julie Fletcherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you for answering. I try to be polite in my answers or comments. It's just hard to continue to do so when some people are very rude. I don't mind the sharing, it's only when people get rude that I get angry. Be well!

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       Dubuquedogtrainerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       It is a far cry from "polite" when you delete someone's good faith answer (and that has nothing to do with religion, it's an expression)and then start a discussion which is reminiscent of junior high school about that person on HubPages!

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    Dubuquedogtrainerposted 12 years ago

    I guess freedom of speech is freedom of speech, which includes freedom of expression of religious preference. So, why is it ok for people to express distaste for "religion," but not ok for others who have religious preferences to express their preferences? Either we have freedom of speech or we don't. You can't have it both ways.

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    Julie Fletcherposted 12 years ago

    I'm closing this question as something entirely impossible happened to me this morning that's making me rethink my stance. Dubuque - I apologize.

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