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So, you’re nice, attentive, caring, and friendly, and because of that I should convert to your religion.
Really?
Dream on.
Car salespeople are nice, too, but that’s not the reason why I buy their vehicles. Actually, the more they kiss ass, the wearier of them I become. I dislike extreme attention for two reasons. One, their constant hollering annoys me, at a time when I have a critical decision to make, and I need all the brain power I can muster. Two, I think they are trying to make me feel obligated to buy, by being so nice.
I make decisions on the basis of facts. There is no place for becoming emotional when it comes to hard-earned money, or to the way I live my precious life.
Your being nice to me—or not—has nothing to do with whether I accept your god. The facts of your religion are what matters. And, to this day, I haven’t found any worshipping group with strong, verifiable doctrines.
I do realize, however, that niceness does work, both for selling cars and for increasing church attendance. I just wish they would stop applying the technique to me. It’s never going to work.
Exactly.
Can I get an amen?
Wise Fool — Amen!
I’ve found that once it becomes clear that you’re not going to convert to their religion, the niceness wears off reeeaaaal quick.
There are also some pretty nasty worshippers of whichever god is in question, so a few people being nice doesn’t sell their religion to me.
As well as the issue of whether there’s any evidence, I judge religions on how they’re actually practised in the world. And most of them are pretty unpleasant, whether it’s denial of human rights to women and gay people, abuse and rape of children and systematic cover-ups of thereof, muderous violence towards those who don’t share the same faith or have left the faith… Need I go on?
A few good people who happen to be religious don’t outweigh the enormous evil that is done in the name of religion. As a method of regulating human conduct, religion clearly fails spectacularly.
Yes, Ahab, the niceness does wear off pretty fast, especially if you are honest about why you aren’t interested. Answer “no sale” and they nicey nice church person turns into a troll in sixty seconds. Besides I’m pretty fed up of the emotional blackmail that is religion.
Amen, to all that!
Being inside the circle means you see the “niceness” for what it often is – attempts to befriend people with the sole aim of saving their souls. Not because they’re people worthy of friendship, love and respect in their own right.
There’s even a term for it. ‘Friendship evangelism’. (Although friendship with an ulterior motive isn’t at all friendly!)
Ok, so now I’m in the thick of it. Although I don’t generally state too many things on facebook, I posted a link about the Gay Rights Movement. It is a montage of newsclips or news articles from about the 50′s to the present. It is against discrimination of all kinds. I am for Gay Rights period. I am just so tired of all the talk about Adam and Steve, changing the meaning of the word “marriage”, etc. from all my Christian acquaintances.
What a backlash I am receiving. They have said I am changing what God has said, and going for what man says. I am accused of not standing for the TRUTH because one of my children has come out and I can’t see clearly anymore. This is one more example of presumption from some people who haven’t had a decent conversation with me in years. If they had conversed with me, they would have discovered that I had different views(about many things) years before my child came out. So much for niceness. Now that I’ve posted that, I am sure some won’t even talk to me or will tell me they’ll pray that I’ll see the TRUTH.
Again thanks Lorena for posting. I know this really isn’t on topic, but I truly needed to vent to someone. Thanks!
I don’t know what to say, really, other that I’m sorry you’re going through a hard time.
On the one hand, you want to promote gay rights. You don’t want to keep silent on the face of injustice.
On the other hand, though, your relatives behaved as expected. They’re blind, brainwashed. I’m sure you know that. Perhaps wishful thinking made you hope they had a soft side?
But that just goes to show how Christianity hardens people. Obviously, they want you to reject your son. If they had an ounce of heart in them, they would at least understand that you love your son and will always take his side.
Religion makes morons of people who are basically decent and have a great potential for goodness.