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Post by frozenmenace on Jul 27, 2010 13:16:54 GMT -5
I have noticed that in the spirit of diversity and trying to be all-inclusive, we Christians are often expected to downplay our beliefs in order for other people to feel comfortable. In December, people expect us to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" so that someone who is not a Christian will not become offended, yet it is ok for someone else to proudly say that they are a Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, etc and we are supposed to grin and accept it. Even in the workplace, they will make provisions for someone of another religion to be off on a certain day of the week if they say it is their day of worship, but we Christians have to be at work on Sunday if the boss wants us to be there. When will we as Christians make a real stand and let people know that we don't have to apologize for our beliefs? Why should I have to apologize to someone else because they may not have the same religious beliefs as I do? If you ask me to pray, I will pray in the name of Jesus and make no apologies for it. I will not say a politically correct prayer so that no one will be offended. I will preach the gospel of Jesus and all he has done for me regardless of whether or not you have the same beliefs as I do. I have an atheist friend, and when we talk about our lives, I tell her about how good God has been to me. If that offends her, tough. I will stand for Jesus because he did not hesitate to die for me.
Just my rant...respond if you wish. If not, so be it! God bless you!
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Post by T-Rex91 on Jul 28, 2010 6:49:50 GMT -5
Here's my question.......how do you wish a non-Christian "Merry Christmas"? Not being antagonistic but if you're wishing it for them and they may be of another faith, shouldn't it mirror THEIR faith not YOURS shouldn't it?
I think I've mentioned before that my father is agnostic at best. He recently went through surgery and is recovering and it makes him uncomfortable when Christians want to have faith convos and want to pray with him because once again, it's about the offerer and not the recipient.
We as Christians get the rceeption we do because often we are overbearing in our expression of faith and feel we should do so in a manner that supercedes rather than respects the diversity of everyone else's faith.
And God bless you too!
<----Feels that's OK since Froze has established that he shares the same belief system
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Post by Julie Art on Jul 28, 2010 9:23:40 GMT -5
What DST said, I couldn't have said it better.
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Post by Ms. RedamnDickulous on Jul 28, 2010 11:03:53 GMT -5
"I have noticed that in the spirit of diversity and trying to be all-inclusive, we Christians are often expected to downplay our beliefs in order for other people to feel comfortable."
Froze, I feel the same way as a non-Christian. I feel that many things are forced on me such as "Let us Pray" in meetings, gatherings etc...People often look at you through their belief system and have expectations of your behaviors based on what they believe and not who you are. My family totally disregards my feelings and often choose to debate or explain why I should believe in xyz whenever I do tell them, "I'm offended", "No thanks" etc...I dont feel like going through that crap all of the time so I often choose silence. I often feel uncomfortable at weddings, funerals, dinners and many other public functions due to the religious rituals and banter- especially when ceremonies are conducted and people are asked to participate in subtle ways. Let's not start on the so-called debates here- it's more like a damning converson session, so I never get involved. What's worse is, people question your morals, abilities, values etc if you arent Christian- like you cant live righteously, fair and balanced as humanly possible w/o a conduit. It's just as difficult to stand as a non Christian w/o offending folks it seems...
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Post by frozenmenace on Jul 28, 2010 18:05:34 GMT -5
Here's my question.......how do you wish a non-Christian "Merry Christmas"? Not being antagonistic but if you're wishing it for them and they may be of another faith, shouldn't it mirror THEIR faith not YOURS shouldn't it? Let me begin by stating that I do not force my religious beliefs on anyone, nor do I seek to condemn them for not sharing my beliefs. I don't believe that religion should be FORCED onto anyone. With that being stated, I would not go up to a Muslim friend or an atheist friend and say, "Merry Christmas" to them knowing that they are not Christian. However, they should know not to approach me on Christmas day with "Happy Holidays". My response will be "Merry Christmas" because that's what is celebrated on December 25th. I normally would not say anything to a non-Christian at Christmas regarding the holiday. That would be like a Jew coming up to me saying "Happy Hannukah" knowing that I'm not Jewish. The main point that I was making is that if someone who is an atheist asks me how I made it through a traumatic event in my life (for example), I am going to tell them that my faith in God pulled me through it. I don't see that as being disrespectful to them..and I shouldn't have to modify my answer in order to be "politically correct". However, that individual should know that my faith and spirituality are very important to me, so I may speak about God and Jesus sometimes. It's not to offend them or to force my beliefs on them, it's being true to who I am. If they are offended by my mentioning God or Jesus, then they may want to think about whether or not they want to be my friend. It would not bother me if my Buddhist cousin says something to me about her beliefs. If I felt that she was trying to be disrespectful or facetious, I would let her know. |
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Post by T-Rex91 on Jul 29, 2010 8:20:06 GMT -5
Froze, your response mentions several times what you wouldn't say to someone you know is not Christian. I get that. I'm talking about what we say to strangers without knowing their faith. I'm talking about wishing the lady who rang up your gifts in Macy's a "Merry Christmas" without knowing if she actually celebrates it. The point of "Happy holidays" is that Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and other regional/faith holidays occur during that part of the year so it's a safe bet.
I have no issue with your comments about how you'd respond to questions about your faith. That's about you, no foul. My comments were more directed at how we assume that everyone must either embrace or sit out (i.e. being mad the school isn't having a Christmas pageant and saying that any kids who don't celebrate Christmas can just not participate). I'm talking about people who want to pray with my father without asking whether he prays and then press him to explain why he diesn't believe in God like that's not his right. Make sense?
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Post by LejaOMG on Jul 29, 2010 9:00:48 GMT -5
This happens inter-denominationally as well. In my experience, people sometimes forget that not all Christians are the same. People view me through the lens of their respective doctrines and somehow come up with the idea that I (and Christians who believe what I believe) am/are somehow less faithful, devout, etc.
For example, in this thread, Christmas was mentioned a few times. I don't celebrate it. Never did. Still a Christian. Always have been. Now, if a person said "Merry Christmas" to me, thinking that he was being sensitive to my beliefs, I actually wouldn't know what to do with that. The large umbrella of Christianity/Christendom is waaaay bigger than many of us tend to remember. It's not just the Catholic/Protestant American faiths. You ever said "Merry Christmas" to a Greek Orthodox or Coptic Christian? See what I mean?
This is a big one too. People on the periphery (of any situation) learn how to deal with this. People like myself who conscientiously abstain from such things are actually not offended and would not be served better by an all inclusive "winter-pageant" -- which is usually just a po-co veil over what we all know is a religious celebration anyway. I tell my coworkers all the time, who in a well-meaning way bend over backwards to make their holiday parties inclusive of my beliefs, not to worry about it. Have your Christmas party. I just come here to work. I honestly take no offense
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Post by frozenmenace on Jul 29, 2010 10:52:08 GMT -5
Froze, your response mentions several times what you wouldn't say to someone you know is not Christian. I get that. I'm talking about what we say to strangers without knowing their faith. I'm talking about wishing the lady who rang up your gifts in Macy's a "Merry Christmas" without knowing if she actually celebrates it. The point of "Happy holidays" is that Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and other regional/faith holidays occur during that part of the year so it's a safe bet. I have no issue with your comments about how you'd respond to questions about your faith. That's about you, no foul. My comments were more directed at how we assume that everyone must either embrace or sit out (i.e. being mad the school isn't having a Christmas pageant and saying that any kids who don't celebrate Christmas can just not participate). I'm talking about people who want to pray with my father without asking whether he prays and then press him to explain why he diesn't believe in God like that's not his right. Make sense? Yes, you are making complete sense and I can't speak for those people. I can only speak for myself. I don't go around saying "Merry Christmas" to people I don't know. A lady wouldn't be ringing up my gifts at Macy's because I don't give or accept gifts at Christmas. If someone says "Happy Holidays" to me, I usually will just say "Thank You" or "Same to you"....those are my responses to strangers. As for people wanting to pray for/with your father, their error is not asking his or your permission first before they just launch into a prayer. That's just common courtesy. He could be a Christian and still not want any and everybody praying with him. I personally have asked atheists I've met if they have always been atheist out of curiosity to know their story, and to understand them...but not to condemn them or suggest that they should believe in God. But I agree with in regard to the Christmas pageants at school. I view schools the same as I view places of employment. School is a place for people to be educated. It should focus on the needs of each student. Therefore, if every student is not of the same faith, then they should just stick to educating. |
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Post by T-Rex91 on Jul 29, 2010 12:51:45 GMT -5
Ok Froze. I gotcha.
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Post by frozenmenace on Jul 29, 2010 13:45:22 GMT -5
The USA is a country where we believe in "majority rules" and that isn't always a good thing. This mentality is used in many of the things that take place here. So people feel that if there are 30 people in a meeting and 27 are Christian, then the 3 who are not just have to deal with it. In some cases, I can understand the disdain of the 3. In others, I can't. For instance, a wedding isn't about the religious beliefs of those in attendance. It's about the two people who are getting married. So if you receive a wedding invitation and see that the wedding will be in a church, then you should know that it definitely will be religion based. If they say, "Let us pray", don't. If they expect you to participate in something you don't want to participate in don't. You don't have to explain your reasons to anyone if you don't want to. The same goes for funerals.
Christians are not the only ones who will try to force their religious beliefs on you. I have met some Muslims, Jews, etc who will belittle and judge when they hear that you are a Christian. They will proceed to try to tell why they think that Christianity is warped. I have also met an atheist or two who will tell you how crazy they think you are for believing in God. My response is to tell them that we can agree to disagree and then cut them off. I don't allow someone else's religious beliefs or practices (or lack thereof) to make me uncomfortable, and I exercise my right to not take part in anything that I think conflicts with what I believe in. I think that's where respect comes in. If you and I were to have dinner together, I would quietly ask God to bless my food. I wouldn't expect you to pray with me. However, my choosing to pray shouldn't offend you or make you uncomfortable if we are mutually respectful of each others' beliefs.
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Post by denounced on Jul 30, 2010 19:43:00 GMT -5
John 14:6 was said by Jesus. Is that offensive? The problem people have with Christianity is its exclusivity. There is no other belief system like it. It is unique.
This country has become increasingly hostile to Christianity. The reports have been and can be chronicled. Diversity is nothing but a code word for anti-christian. I have known this for years, and it has become increasingly obvious. So Theo, you are right, there should be no offense when there is mutual respect. But in all honesty, there is no true mutual respect when Jesus' Name and a Biblical Worldview is in play.
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Post by Julie Art on Jul 31, 2010 0:33:30 GMT -5
You do know that the word diversity encompass more then just religious beliefs, right? Religion is a facet of it, but not the only part so how you say it is a code word for anti-Christian is   |
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