Religion

[Glyph]

I hope things are different everywhere wlse. I went to a choral concert put on by the public school district where I live a couple of weeks ago. There were 29 songs sung all together, and 19 of them were Jesus songs. It was a freakin' nightmare.

Where do you live, Glyph?

Mississippi. Talk about your Christian backlash. Yeesh.

[Glyph]

Actually, I appreciate the sane ones standing up and saying, "We're not all psychotic zealots! Some of us can reconcile evolution with intelligent design. Some of us recognize Jesus as a fundamentally decent person and an example to follow rather than a get out of jail free card, and don't take every word in that inscrutable tome to be the word of God."

I'm not a big Christian, but I appreciate the good ones trying to stake their own claim on it.

I understand what you're saying, and I don't totally disagree with it. Thing is, one could very easily adopt the teachings of Christ and still be an atheist. Religions like Buddhism, Taoism, they're all atheistic religions. It's not a god they put 'faith' or belief in, it's not a system of worship but of personal enrichment. (And as such, you'll NEVER hear me honestly say a negative word about Buddhists or Taoists. I may not be one, but putting emphasis on your life and actions on earth, rather than belabouring the idea of an invisible man, isn't a bad thing).

At its core, Christianity stresses a belief in something that cannot be observed at all. You just . . . have to swallow that there's some big man in the sky. And while, yes, that's awesome that some people are being a lot more mellow about things, they don't judge, they don't attempt to harm people with their beliefs or shove them off on people - it's almost like being a half-assed intellectual, in my opinion. My frustration comes from the fact that they're SO CLOSE, they're so very near wisdom (live your life for now, stop worrying about what happens when you die), yet they keep a clutch on a religion that, in its honest form, in the way it was intended, contradicts all of that.

Why attempt to reform something that whacko in the first place? Worshipping and "loving" some entity you've never even seen or met, whether you do so passively or aggressively? It's collective insanity. Of course, that's my opinion but the reasons why people do that elude me (other than the old theory that it's the opiate of the masses).

[Gribble]

other than the old theory that it's the opiate of the masses.

That's part of it. Brainwashing is another. I don't know about you, but when I was a child adults were legendary. They always knew the answers and they were always right. Especially my parents. So when my parents told me about Jesus and God and the Angels, well, that must have been the truth. And then there's that awful thing called faith. It's instilled at an early age so you can shield yourself from logical arguments against your god. It isn't easy to give up religion. Furthermore, we've all lost loved ones. How wonderful is it to think that one day we'll be reunited with all the people we care about. Sadly that sort of thinking leads us to neglect our loved ones while they're still here.

[vashti]

Eh, I don't mind pluralistic religions. I just can't stand the ones that claim to be the only way in.

[Gigabitch]

That's part of it. Brainwashing is another. I don't know about you, but when I was a child adults were legendary. They always knew the answers and they were always right. Especially my parents. So when my parents told me about Jesus and God and the Angels, well, that must have been the truth. And then there's that awful thing called faith. It's instilled at an early age so you can shield yourself from logical arguments against your god. It isn't easy to give up religion. Furthermore, we've all lost loved ones. How wonderful is it to think that one day we'll be reunited with all the people we care about. Sadly that sort of thinking leads us to neglect our loved ones while they're still here.

Gribble, I can promise you that being raised by atheistic pot heads didn't get me any closer to the truth. I spent half of my childhood wishing I was Catholic so I could fit in with the other kids at my school.

I think religion provides a cohesive social structure that remains intact when other systems fail. We weak little monkeys cling to it, for the most part.

[random1]

Well, I guess I can't blame your parents... You don't say how old you are, but if you are anywhere near the age where you MIGHT be marrying someone, they are naturally gonna worry about you making babies that will be banished to Hell. Who wants to make an emotional investment in someone going to Hell?

**disclaimer: this post does not represent my personal views about God.**

Well, both of us are 20 (so, I don't think we're near the age of marriage). Actually, I'm not a Christian, but he's one. I know that he wants to convert me, but I really do not have any interest in becoming a Christian (Sorry if I have offended anyone). Actually, maybe I should say this a little more precise. It's his mom that wants her sons' girlfriends (or even daughters-in-law) to be Christians. However, the thing is that my bf knows that I'm not a Christian when we started dating. In fact, he said it a few times (when we talked about this religion problem) that he thought he can convert me, but he's giving up now. So, I don't even know if he implied anything with "I'm giving up now"?

[LoveTwist]

Well, both of us are 20 (so, I don't think we're near the age of marriage). Actually, I'm not a Christian, but he's one. I know that he wants to convert me, but I really do not have any interest in becoming a Christian (Sorry if I have offended anyone). Actually, maybe I should say this a little more precise. It's his mom that wants her sons' girlfriends (or even daughters-in-law) to be Christians. However, the thing is that my bf knows that I'm not a Christian when we started dating. In fact, he said it a few times (when we talked about this religion problem) that he thought he can convert me, but he's giving up now. So, I don't even know if he implied anything with "I'm giving up now"?

I really feel for you, its a tough situation to be in. Seems like this guy is pretty religious and you're not at all? Anyway, from what you say sounds like its not going to work out unless you're willing to convert.

So I'd say the best thing is probably to try and talk to him to see if he's willing to continue dating you and accept you're not religious, or move on. If you split up now it might hurt for a bit, but would probably be better than waiting and the same problem coming up again somewhere down the line when you love each other even more. There’s plenty more nice guys out there. No it’s a bit of a cliché but its true.

But its up to you. I’d try talking to him again first to see how he feels about the situation. Whatever happens, hope things work out for you.

[vashti]

Well, both of us are 20 (so, I don't think we're near the age of marriage). Actually, I'm not a Christian, but he's one. I know that he wants to convert me, but I really do not have any interest in becoming a Christian (Sorry if I have offended anyone). Actually, maybe I should say this a little more precise. It's his mom that wants her sons' girlfriends (or even daughters-in-law) to be Christians. However, the thing is that my bf knows that I'm not a Christian when we started dating. In fact, he said it a few times (when we talked about this religion problem) that he thought he can convert me, but he's giving up now. So, I don't even know if he implied anything with "I'm giving up now"?

Sorry, but I don't see any long-term good coming out of this situation. People tend to embrace their religious backgrounds as they get older rather than reject it. For the record, I agree that you are too young to be thinking about marriage, but some of those religious people actually encourage young marriages (at least where I live).

[DoesntMatter]

Your boyfriend should not be trying to convert you to Christianity. It's ashame his mom is putting pressure on him to bring home a Christian girlfriend. But this guys mom should not be telling her son who to date.
Both of my parents are Christian. My dad is from Italy, and was brought up Roman Catholic of course, and went to church weekly. My mom was Protestant and went to church weekly too. Before they got married, my mom converted to Catholicism (to the dismay of her mom). But guess what? They loved eachother, and it worked out. They were able to work through their differences.
I have a friend whos dad is Jewish and his mom is Christian. I guess my friend would be considered half Jewish, half Christian. His parents have been married for 25 years I think.
What I am getting at is, if you put forth the effort, you should be able to work out a solution to this problem, which doesn't really sound like much of a problem to begin with.
I personally could care less what religion a girl was. There is a Muslim girl at my school who I think is cute, along with a Jewish girl. As long as they aren't super religious. And most people these days aren't. So much of religion is just a title anyways. Technically I'm Catholic, but my morals differ so much from the church's I may as well be a nihilist.

[LostNotFound]

me and my SO are the same religion but he is more religious than me. but i see it as a good thing because he can educate me (religious wise). we both want to be more religious.

if we were not the same religion i guarantee we wouldn't be together. our religion is half our relationship.

[Miss hotty]

I can't but yet again it can't everyone is different

[Chimeros0]

Religion in a relationship is like a hobby.
If you both share the same hobby,fireworks may happen.
If you don't,a relationship can happen,you just need to accept each other.
It just depends on how determined the other person is to try & "peak" your interest in his/her hobby.& whether or not you are interested in it.
One could also consider how much time the other spends on their "hobby" to affect the relationship.