I just transferred colleges, and I plan to again soon once I get enough credits. But I met the most annoying christian today. I take two to three daily walks, and I was walking around campus and one came up to me and kept following me telling me that unless I embraces Jesus I was going to hell, and she kept trying to get me to her church. I don't mind the fact she's christian. I can respect her for her opinions and beliefs, but why can't she do that to me. I'm an atheist, I don't force it on anyone. Why should anyone force religion on me? She was so bad if I had seen a cop, I would have waved him or her down.

I can understand and sympathize. My dad is a Southern Baptist, and I really don't have a faith. I am still trying to figure things out, and I am 32. My beliefs are hard to explain, and i won't go into it, but man, my dad can lay a good guilt trip, LOL

wolfquilter

Yeah, it happens. You'll run into people like that wherever you go. Best thing to do is tell them you respect their view and that they should respect yours. I'll admit, that doesn't always work, but there's not much else you can do that won't stress you out.

quote:

Originally posted by MidnightStar:
Why should anyone force religion on me?

Because a brainwashed creature was told that this is the only way to go, and that if she converts more non-believers she will get a better treatment at heaven.

Next time someone harasses you like that on campus, ask for their name/ID and file a complaint. You will be wasting your time being nice to them. They are on a mission and won't take "no" for an answer unless that "no" means trouble for them. Evangelists who respect your beliefs leave you alone as soon as you tell them to, some even ask beforehand if you are willing to talk to them.

I don't know why people feel the need to force their beliefs on others. I live in NC which is the bible belt big time and very hard to live here if you aren't a church going person (which I'm not). I don't know what I believe but I despise when people come up to me or knock on my door talking about their religious beliefs!!!!!!!

yeh ain't that crazy... i've gotten so used to that by now.. used to effect me u know like make me feel like obligated or pressured.. but funk that noizzze - - tell em 'not interested' and walk away...
i can't see how one would be banned from anywhere for it...
but who knows... my exlaws are jehova.. u wanna talk annoyed, lol... for the rest of my bloody life i will receieve bibles in the mail !@!!!!!!

lol

My friend and I went to an amusement park recently and some young kids were handing her church pamphlets! They knew better to hand them to me since I had this pissed off look on my face!

My dad is a huge...I mean f*ckin' huge religious nut! If only he knew what my feelings are on the subject.

Haha, I'm lovin' this... sorry. My family are ALL religious nuts! Of course, I'm not. I'm completely the opposite, they're freakin' crazy. My grandma's getting an operation and she is all telling me that I should do all this religious stuff to be on good accounts with Jehova... I just replied a lot uh-huh... I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but yeah... its a pain in the ass.

I went to a Christian music festival a year ago and there were these baptist groups sitting outside the entrance of the festival, picketing it.


Christians are against other christians now. Interesting.

We are not all bad. Just keep that in mind. There are extremists in every religion.

I still haven't figured out how to handle the Jehovah Witnesses who keep coming to my door. I try to be nice and then they don't give up. Not answering my door doesn't help either.

There are people who are not Christians who try to impose their views on everyone too.

I think what they are doing is wrong, I would not do that. I'm just saying, we aren't all like that. I find that stupid people come in all shapes and sizes if you get my point.

quote:

Originally posted by metal chick:
We are not all bad. Just keep that in mind. There are extremists in every religion.


I think what they are doing is wrong, I would not do that. I'm just saying, we aren't all like that. I find that stupid people come in all shapes and sizes if you get my point.

Amen.

Okay...lemme take a little stab at it here:

Have you ever been so happy about something, that you couldn't wait to tell everyone you knew? EXAMPLE: My mother found out she was pregnant with me on the day that Bob Hope received the Thayer Award (a prestigious civilian honor awarded from the United States Military Academy). My father, being an employee (and a fan of Mr. Hope) got seats for him and her at the parade. They were right along the front line - and Bob rode right in front of them. My mother said she was SOOO tempted to jump out and grab Bob and yell, "Guess what? I'M PREGNANT!" (Fortunately, she didn't...)

When she passed away Jan 1, 2005, I had a series of events happen (a particular priest showed up to give her last rites, certain worrisome issues for my uncle were mysteriously clearing themselves up, and --- the kicker: my name was misspelled in the obituary in the paper. Not just misspelled: I was listed as "Susan" - which, in fact, was my father's sister's name. Thing is, very few people knew my father had a sister named Susan, as she'd died as a child). These little things CONVINCED me that my mother was reaching out to me, to let me know that she was okay...and the "obit" thing was letting me know that she and my father were together again... These things made me SOOOO happy, in the midst of my grieving. And I tried to tell people...not because I wanted to "convert" them or anything like that. Just because I was bursting at the seams with joy and excitement! Most people, though, upon hearing my stories would just go get the white jacket with the buckles on the sleeves...

Granted, there probably are some "brainwashed" individuals out there, but I would say for the most part, they are just people who've been "touched" by some event that convinced them there is a "God" who loves them, and they just want to share that joy with everyone.

quote:

Originally posted by sharonkateri:
Have you ever been so happy about something, that you couldn't wait to tell everyone you knew?

Yes. When I had my Zen-influenced mini revelation that things are not what they seem (as in: form is an illusion, ego is an illusion, etc.) I was literally bursting with joy. The world finally made sense to me. No, I didn't tell anyone. It was no one's business. Unlike with pregnancy

quote:

When she passed away Jan 1, 2005, I had a series of events happen (a particular priest showed up to give her last rites, certain worrisome issues for my uncle were mysteriously clearing themselves up, and --- the kicker: my name was misspelled in the obituary in the paper. Not just misspelled: I was listed as "Susan" - which, in fact, was my father's sister's name. Thing is, very few people knew my father had a sister named Susan, as she'd died as a child). These little things CONVINCED me that my mother was reaching out to me, to let me know that she was okay...and the "obit" thing was letting me know that she and my father were together again... These things made me SOOOO happy, in the midst of my grieving. And I tried to tell people...not because I wanted to "convert" them or anything like that. Just because I was bursting at the seams with joy and excitement!

Most people, though, upon hearing my stories would just go get the white jacket with the buckles on the sleeves...

See, there is a huge difference between sharing the overwhelming experience and oozing proselytism to the point where a proselyte becomes inconsiderate towards others. And I am having difficulty imagining someone who threatens total strangers with hell and eternal damnation while being so very happy at the same time.

Alan Watts in one of his books has a nice collection of testimonials from common Christians who were touched by the divine revelation, and those recordings sound truly joyous. None of them involves hell or telling others what to do or how to go about their believes. Rather they express the notion about everyone being saved and everything being eventually all right.

quote:

Granted, there probably are some "brainwashed" individuals out there, but I would say for the most part, they are just people who've been "touched" by some event that convinced them there is a "God" who loves them, and they just want to share that joy with everyone.

Touched, that's for sure. But how? What sort of revelation makes people run like chicken with their heads cut off, impelling others to change their views? Where, say, in the Bible, is it said to bother strangers to death when they ask you nicely to get lost? Out of what joy do they come up to a Mom in the park with a sleeping baby and rather loudly start to go about their business? What kind of love makes them bang at your door at 7am like the house is on fire or something?

I had enough of those love-possessed individuals in Russia, moved to the other side of the globe and found their exact counterparts in US. Joy, joy! Mind you, none of them looks happy to me; determined - yes, business-like - very often, on a mission with a tunnel vision - more often that care to remember. I am talking only about those evangelists who are a bother. If someone asks me if I'm interested, I say "no," and we wish each other the most wonderful day - it's not a problem at all. Luckily, a good deal of Christians don't feel any need to convert others, so all in all things are good. Until another creature obsessed with my personal salvation comes along

quote:

What sort of revelation makes people run like chicken with their heads cut off, impelling others to change their views? Where, say, in the Bible, is it said to bother strangers to death when they ask you nicely to get lost? Out of what joy do they come up to a Mom in the park with a sleeping baby and rather loudly start to go about their business? What kind of love makes them bang at your door at 7am like the house is on fire or something?

Not having had such a revelation, I wouldn't begin to imagine. My friend Mike is constantly trying to...well, not quite "convert" me, as far as religions go, but somewhat alter my "approach" to life, regarding taking on a more "positive" outlook, and "praying" in a different manner...something like that. (I know I have Mike's book on the Power of Positive Thinking - by Norman Vincent Peale...I've probably read the first page of it...). I know that deep down, it's that he cares about me, and seeing all the BS that goes on around me, he's trying to lift me out of that rut. And I feel that, given that, well, to be honest, most everything is falling apart around me in life, I've still got a pretty positive outlook on most things. And even in the bleakest situation, there's something... (My general life philosophy...). Since HE'S been doing all this, he's been "praying" - not for "rewards" or "things" to work a certain way or whatever...but asking God to use him in certain ways.

Most notable (and the one Mike's still stunned about): In his prayers, he was feeling, well, old (as I keep reminding him that he's 2 months older than me!), and not having and prospects for procreation in sight (he may be paralyzed on his left side, but supposedly THAT still works...he told me that once), he asked "God" to send him a child that he could work with. Not to adopt, but a kid in need of a mentor - preferably, in Mike's case, a handicapped kid (as, being paralyzed from age 7, he kinda knows a thing or two about being labelled and stereotyped). Next day, this old lady who attends Mike's church stopped him on his daily bike torture...er, ride. She told Mike of her grandson - a 7 yr old boy, who is developmentally disabled with some motor-physical deficiencies, who's parents were so "shielding" him from the world, and the kid was starting to REgress, instead of progress. "Grandma" said that the boy told her he'd love to learn to ride a bike (RIGHT up Mike's alley!), and "Grandma" had tried to teach the boy, but he fell, skinned his knee and was terrified of going back on the bike. "Grandma" offered to hire Mike to work with the boy, as maybe seeing Mike and his predicament might aid the little guy. When Mike got to meet the kid about a week later, Mike was asking him what he liked to do...and the boy pulled out a harmonica (ironically, the instrument Mike plays in his church's band!). Seems the other grandfather played, and when he died, they gave the harmonica to the boy as a memento of his grandpa.

Mike's now got a little buddy...and he firmly believes God sent him this child...or sent Mike to this child...whatever. Thing is, Mike may come off "preachy" about all this - but it's just that he's so happy, and believes that God really does interact in his life, that he will tell you.

---As for the "door-knocker" - what the heck are you doing answering a unexpected knocking door at 7 AM?!! Security, Owl-ie! Security! Simply, if I'm not expecting anyone at my door, I don't answer. They can leave me a flyer or whatever...