*edit*. the bible.....ugh.

Let me start out by saying, I have no problem with anyone being religious, believing in god, or anything like that. I don't know how I feel about evolution, I really have my own personal beliefs. It's fine with me, but I could not believe any of it for all the money in the world.

Alright, today at work ( I work at a grocery store where ALOT of old people shop) an older lady came up to me and asked if I prayed today.

"um no?"

Then asked if I believe in god.

"nope"

Then acted completely shocked out of her mind. Like she has never seen anyone ever that doesn't believe in god.

She then told me to wait while she goes to her car to give me her bible to read.

I said, "No thanks, I dont read that, I never will ever again"

She goes on. and on and on. About what will happen to me if I dont find god.

I tried politely multiple times to leave the conversation but she kept following me around!

Finally I said " I apologize, but this is none of your business, I do not want your bible, I don't want ANYTHING to do with it and I think that God is absolutely ridiculous, Please leave me alone"

 

THEN she went and talked to my supervisor about it.

I know I was at work, and I was not rude to her at all, but seriously I don't want people talking to me about religion! It's totally inconsiderite.

 

Agreed?

Disagreed?

I DON'T CARE IF YOU BELIEVE IN GOD OR NOT.LIFE IS HARD ENOUGH TRYING TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

 

BUT TELL THE TRUTH...

 

1.IF YOUR MOTHER WAS DYING WOULD YOU MAYBE PRAY FOR GOD TO HELP HER???

       &nb sp;               &nb sp;               OR

2. IF YOUR LITTLE BOY/GIRL WAS HIT BY A CAR AND HE/SHE WAS DYING IN YOUR ARMS.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY???WOULD YOU MAYBE PRAY FOR GOD TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BABY OR WOULD YOU TELL YOUR BABY .YOU WILL NOT BE ALONE GOD LOVES YOU AND GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU

ITS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.

ANIMALS DO NOT BELIEVE IN  NOTHING  THEY JUST  EAT,SLEEP &  S**T.

WE ARE NOT ANIMALS.I THINK WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN SOMETHING OR SOMEONE. 

Aren't there any old people who don't believe in 'God'?

OH, and everyone watch the movie Jesus Camp.  It's a great documentary and you'll get a kick out of it.

-

"WE ARE NOT ANIMALS.I THINK WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN SOMETHING OR SOMEONE. "

Then what the heck else could we be if we weren't animals???!  I'm pretty sure it's bacteria, protists, fungi, plants, animals..  yea there is only the animal kingdom, not the human kingdom.

Original Post by toonice:

I DON'T CARE IF YOU BELIEVE IN GOD OR NOT.LIFE IS HARD ENOUGH TRYING TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

 

BUT TELL THE TRUTH...

 

1.IF YOUR MOTHER WAS DYING WOULD YOU MAYBE PRAY FOR GOD TO HELP HER???

OR

2. IF YOUR LITTLE BOY/GIRL WAS HIT BY A CAR AND HE/SHE WAS DYING IN YOUR ARMS.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY???WOULD YOU MAYBE PRAY FOR GOD TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BABY OR WOULD YOU TELL YOUR BABY .YOU WILL NOT BE ALONE GOD LOVES YOU AND GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU

ITS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.

ANIMALS DO NOT BELIEVE IN NOTHING THEY JUST EAT,SLEEP & S**T.

WE ARE NOT ANIMALS.I THINK WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN SOMETHING OR SOMEONE.

 Just because humans want to desperately believe a wise and loving all-powerful being will make everything All-Better does not mean there is one. It's not such a deep 'thing to think about' as you say. Have you ever cracked a psychology book?

...also stop internet shouting. 

Original Post by enzyme1:

agnostics are just as bad if not worse than atheists, But I'm embarrassed because of the extremists soiling a perfectly good religion but I think its just the Christian society responding to the Muslim threat. Christians are trying to better themselves and in church we are told to help others "convert them" so they to can share in the joy of jesus and god, but really if people think they dont need god to be happy and be a good person then fine but in our eyes you are now evil, psalm 14, and 1 john 2:22. and christians should not try and convert people who dont want to listen matthew 7:6,

 how "bad" someone is has nothing to do with her religious belief system.  i find this quote quite offensive.  obviously not everyone on this forum is christian, and obviously, we are all trying to "better ourselves."

Original Post by aasil:

Original Post by enzyme1:

agnostics are just as bad if not worse than atheists, But I'm embarrassed because of the extremists soiling a perfectly good religion but I think its just the Christian society responding to the Muslim threat. Christians are trying to better themselves and in church we are told to help others "convert them" so they to can share in the joy of jesus and god, but really if people think they dont need god to be happy and be a good person then fine but in our eyes you are now evil, psalm 14, and 1 john 2:22. and christians should not try and convert people who dont want to listen matthew 7:6,

how "bad" someone is has nothing to do with her religious belief system. i find this quote quite offensive. obviously not everyone on this forum is christian, and obviously, we are all trying to "better ourselves."

 Not everyone on this forum has a soul, people that can't commune with god are disadvantaged, and I shouldn't say I believe in god I should say I know god, not everyone should love jesus because he didn't die for Muslims sins or Hindus sins he died for my sins so that I can sin and still be holy that kind of sacrifice deserves acknowledgment, people don't realize their evil being mean isnt enough you can just tell if someone is evil,

Not everyone on this forum has a brain.

enzyme1, I have to take issue with your last comment, particularly this part...

"he didn't die for Muslims sins or Hindus sins he died for my sins so that I can sin and still be holy"

This subject was actually addressed by Pope Benedict XVI this week.

"As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: How can I save myself? We should also ask: What can I do in order that others may be saved?"

"We must acknowledge that modern Christianity, faced with the successes of science in progressively structuring the world, has to a large extent restricted its attention to the individual and his salvation, In doing so, it has limited the horizon of its hope and has failed to recognize sufficiently the greatness of its task."

"How could the idea have developed that Jesus' message is narrowly individualistic and aimed only at each person singly? How did we arrive at this interpretation of the 'salvation of the soul' as a flight from responsibility for the whole, and how did we come to conceive the Christian project as a selfish search for salvation which rejects the idea of serving others?"

All that being said ...  bugging someone while at the grocery store is really rude and annoying.   You will never win someone over to you way of thinking by wagging your finger in their face. Actions and deeds speak 1000 times louder than words.

he died for my sins so that I can sin and still be holy

see, that's where we differ.  i love the catholic mentality of confession, where you go do something wrong, confess it to a priest, and then you are cleared of any sins, so you can go ahead and repeat the wrongdoing so long as you confess it again.  it doesn't work that way in my book.

feanor - haha.  nice one.

 

Original Post by hooligan:

All that being said ...  bugging someone while at the grocery store is really rude and annoying.   You will never win someone over to you way of thinking by wagging your finger in their face. Actions and deeds speak 1000 times louder than words.

And, IMO, that's the biggest part of this discussion.  I don't care if the woman was trying to convince her of Pastafarianism - she got in another person's face, wouldn't leave her alone after expressing disinterest, and actually bugged her boss about it!

Just rude, no matter what the subject was.

aasil,     thats not exactly how confession works, there is a little more to it than that.

I really didnt see the comment of "he died for my sins so that I can sin and still be holy"  as exclusively a Catholic statement,   actually I didnt even see it as a Catholic statement at all. 

santonacci, I agree totally, (we can always count on good old midwestern pragmatic common sense!)  although the original poster's severe dislike with christianity was very thinly veiled, the point of being preached to at inappropriate times was sound.  It is no better than being berated by some random vegan while ordering a steak at a restaraunt.

What drives me nuts is when Christians do it to other Christians of different denominations because they have a different tradition or a variation in a service. As long as you arent wrapping rattlesnakes around your kids necks in some mountain church, go ahead and kneel, or dont kneel, play rock music, speak in latin, do whatever the heck moves you, its all the same Jesus last I checked.

Of course you were completely in the right.  Whether you are atheist, Buddhist, or woship the flying spaghetti monster, nobody should think they have any business proselytizing to you WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO WORK.  Sounds like a very unbalanced person.

 

I think it's fine for people to want to share their spiritual beliefs and discoveries with friends and loved ones - at HOME, and if the friends and loved ones are not interested, GIVE IT A REST.

 

I have been a long-time atheist myself, and only in the last couple of years have started praying - not necessarily to "God", but to whoever or whatever might be the brains behind the whole universe thing.  And honestly, it has helped my keep my sanity.  I still HATE religious dogma, groupthink, and organized religion in general, but prayer on an individual basis or with someone close can be a really good thing.

 

Take care, schnooder!

Original Post by feanor:

Not everyone on this forum has a brain.

 That's the second looney-tunes post I've seen from enzyme today.  In the other one, enzyme eggs on a 17 BMI SKINNY girl into losing MORE weight.

 

And look at his/her skeletal profile pic.  Ask Jesus to save you from anorexia! 

Original Post by hooligan:

aasil, thats not exactly how confession works, there is a little more to it than that.

I really didnt see the comment of "he died for my sins so that I can sin and still be holy" as exclusively a Catholic statement, actually I didnt even see it as a Catholic statement at all.

 hooligan - you are completely right.  enzyme's quote reminded me of a similar conversation with friends and i drew more on that conversation without explaining it.  my initial point was that i disagree with the claim "so that I can sin and still be holy."  

As far as the actual topic goes, I'm also pitching in with the original poster.

I think the issue is that someone came in, attempted to proselytize while the OP was at work, and kept pushing and pushing. I am sorry, but I do believe that's rude. I don't care if the religion is Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Wicca, or even Atheism. You do not have the right to do that. 

I'm a receptionist at a veterinary hospital and one of our clients answers her phone with "Praise the Lord."  The first time I called her she kind of threw me off with this greeting. I am used to a standard, "Hello"-    I don't really have a point- I just wanted to share...

And how do we know animals don't believe in a higher authority.?  I believe my 2 dogs look to me as a "god" because I bring them food and take them out to exercise.  And one day, I hope to be re-united spiritually with my other pets that have passed and with relatives that have passed.  I believe my mom is my guardian angel.  

I do think that woman with the bible was being rude but perhaps she was a bit crazy and just lonely. I'm not sure how I would have handled the situation.  I hope your supervisor didn't get mad at you...

 "Not everyone on this forum has a soul, people that can't commune with god are disadvantaged, and I shouldn't say I believe in god I should say I know god, not everyone should love jesus because he didn't die for Muslims sins or Hindus sins he died for my sins so that I can sin and still be holy that kind of sacrifice deserves acknowledgment, people don't realize their evil being mean isnt enough you can just tell if someone is evil"

Why don't you take an English class? RUNNNNNN ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

"he died for my sins" --Wow, well aren't you selfish!

Oh, and aren't you suppose to be capitalizing 'God' 'Jesus' and 'He'?

I started a sh*storm of a thread about door to door Mormons in my area a while back. There is really nothing more I hate then having someone blabbing about their religion to me. It's rude, obnoxious, selfish and plain idiotic. People are actually sympathetic to this; it's befuddling. 

 

On an unrelated note, I was buying stamps at the grocery store. The cashier looked really apologetic and said "We only have Christmas stamps, is that ok?" Now that's what I'm talking about! Yes that's fine, and thank you for asking. Someone gets it.

Ethical Humanist here.  I avoid all contact with people seeking to "save" me by lying.  That's right, I lie and it works too!  - when they ask me if I believe in the Bible, or Jesus, or if I've been saved, or if I prayed today.  I answer "Yes!  10:15 this morning." , or, "I was saved 20 years ago last Thursday." They go right away and don't bother me.  I don't want to get into a discussion with them, I just want them to go away.  I've had Bibles and tracts shoved at me, so I take them and then leave them on the nearest park bench or shopping cart.

By the way, to the people who made cracks about old people, I'm 65 and my spirituality is deep and lasting, based on a long life of experience, but I don't believe in an all powerful being, nor any other superstition.  My beliefs are based in reality.

I wonder how many converts they get by pushing their literature door-to-door. Did anyone here find their religion after reading a pamphlet handed to you at a bus station?

Okay, I am probably going to get pounded in here for confessing this but here it goes anyway.

First, I agree that you have a right to turn down a conversation about religion. Also I agree that this lady should have stopped when you made it clear that you didn't want to talk about it. I don't talk to anyone about religion who doesn't want to talk about it. However do not think it to be impolite to inquire what someone believes. They can simply say they do not wish to discuss it and that would be that.

Here is my confession. In college I would take part and head up the street evangelism team. We would go into Chicago and talk with people who WANTED to talk. I was not looking to shove Christianity down someone's throat. I was simply looking to inform those that were interested or curious.

Now before you start bashing me, understand that as a Bible-believing Christian I am told to share the gospel. I am not there to convince you of anything, just share. I believe God will put it on those hearts that are meant to find him just as he did my heart many years ago. Its personal conviction that brings people to Him, not other people.  But still I am asked to share so I try to be obedient.

This is very hard for me, as I am not an outgoing person and don't like approaching people. I also know that people think that I am going to harass them or something because many people aren't considerate about it. On a given night several would turn down the conversation, but then there would be at least one that would embrace the conversation. I don't think I offended anyone since if they said no they didn't want to talk I would just wish them a good night.

Julius, a homeless man I spoke with for a couple of years, told me the first night that I was doing it wrong. (He had his share of evangelists.) He said I was just suppose to preach to him and move on. That was what everyone else did. I wasn't suppose to ask about his day or what he believed or how I could pray for him. We became pretty good friends and think about him often and wish I had a way of knowing how he is.

The point of my post was to explain that the evangelistic part of christianity IS a part of the core belief of the religion. No one is trying to offend you and many (Christians) should realize that God sets certain people in our path for this purpose. Those that don't want to hear about it shouldn't be the ones we evangelize to.

And not everyone has heard the gospel just because they have heard about Jesus. The gospel has to do with why we need to be saved in the first place. Email me if you want me to explain.

And for those that don't want to hear any of this, I am not trying to preach to you just stick up for Christians. We get a bad rap for the many zealots that stand out. Everything in this post in based on my beliefs and is not in anyway meant to offend those that do not believe as I do.