by Terry 116 Replies latest jw experiences
Terry - You handled it great.
I would have poked her in the eye, nutted her, got her in a half nelson, and asked her to start praying and see what God was going to do about it.....but then I've got a nasty temper on me when riled. (No, only kidding)
I too find it annoying when someone condesends to 'pray for me'.
Why? What makes them think they're more important than me?
You were cool...especially with the Greek quote! Sheer class...wheras with me with would have been sheer crass!
Christians do creep me out, though.
Christians in general don't creep me out. It's the ones who are so fanatical about it that they start speaking in Old English or simply lose touch with reality who give me the creeps.
As for many of the 'milder' and more tolerant Christians, I simply don't understand their way of thinking. They call themselves Christians, but are very vague about what it means to be a Christian (or at least very simplistic about their approach). They often say that they follow Christ, not a book. Well what else do we know about Christ other than what's written in the book? Why even choose to believe in him if they consider other aspects of the Bible to be shaky or something not to be strictly followed?
To each his own for sure, but I can't make sense of it. I compare some people's approach to Christianity to someone who reads the dictionary and picks out words that they consider to be fictitious. I wouldn't read a book at all if I didn't consider it at least 90% reliable.
I still think the point is that some people are arrogant and think they have the right to force their views on us ...
"You should always pump the gas, you know, before you turn on the car."
"If I were you, I'd cut my hair."
"Set your desk up like mine, it is much more efficient."
"I will pray for you, as you MUST accept JC as your saviour."
My reply is, "So who asked for your (stranger's) opinion?" to any of the above unsolicited comments.
We are just focussing on that personal (undesirable) character trait that is found in the 'in your face' type of Christians. The folks on this board are mostly not of this kind of character.
tal
I do find it interesting when people get offended when someone offers to pray for them. I can only speak for myself, but I am not sure why someone offering goodwill is offensive.
The stated intention of her prayer was for God to change me into what she already was: a pod person.
There was no neutral statement of merely asking her God to generate a miraculous visitation or blinding light (like Paul). It was established in her head that I was broken and needed her kind of fix. Period.
Her certainty was the "button" issue.
I remember the virile glow of Absolute Certainty as a JW which kicked ass and took no prisoners.
That mindset almst made me want to vomit when I smelled the stench of it again.
It is like having eaten a piece of liver as a child (my grandmother made me do it) and throwing it up for an hour. Now the smell of cooking liver sends me green and trembling from the room.
Hey, Pavlov---thanks alot!
Anyway, that is why I reacted to the offer of prayer. It was a Makeover prayer. It was like she saw my face and was going to schedule a nose job and facelift for me! No thanks.
Terry
Billygoat:
If I ever say, "I'll pray for you", it's NEVER meant in a derogatory way. It's always meant as a way of saying I'll do everything in my power to help spiritually.
If I'm sick and someone tells me they'll pray for me to get better, I have no problem with that. I don't think it will do any good, but it would be a pretty perverse universe if it caused me any harm. If I am discussing religious beliefs with someone, and they tell me they'll pray for me so my eyes will be opened and I'll buy what they're selling, I will be as offended and disgusted as Terry was.
Terry, you say this customer pissed you off. Could it be that you pissed yourself off? You said, "Company policy is to NOT engage in discussion with the customers; ESPECIALLY on subjects that are controversial. I abide by this 99.9% of the time..."
Well, yesterday I erred.
You capitalized NOT & ESPECIALLY, why?
Golf
Clearly, part of my nature is didactic. I'm a natural teacher-wannabe. Given the slightest chance I'll pour out anything I've learned if I see an eager mind.
I incorrectly deduced she was an enquiring mind.
That is why I emphasized I was aware I was skirting the letter of the law, so to speak, for a greater purpose: inculcation.
You don't know how frustrating it is to know things and be around people everywhere who not only don't know things, but, the things they know are wrong or poorly reasoned. That is why I enjoy the "fellowship" on JWD. There are some terrifically endowed minds here hungry for information.
Being in company with thinkers to whom an idea is precious is wonderful. When you are around people smarter than yourself you get the rough edges taken off of you quickly.
T.
Terry,
I totally understand where you're coming from and think the woman was offensive.
You made it abundantly clear where you stand, yet she chose to slap you in the face with, "I'll pray for you." It was a rude act of defiance whether she realizes it or not. I've seen this type of behavior time and time again because many 'Christians':
a) have been brainwashed to collect as many converts as possible
b) believe 100% that they're right and everyone else is wrong
c) have NO RESPECT whatsoever for anyone else's belief system but their own
I can't help but think that the Bible promotes such ideology.
Terry:You say that you misjueged her motives. Do you mean at the start of the conversation?She basically attempted to trample over you, with no comprehension of your beliefs or history. IMHO you had every right to feel incensed. Actually, I had to laugh at the greek John.1:1 bit, too. That was classy
I'm afraid the quoting Greek was the dark side of old Terry. I have an awful smartass side of me you'll be astonished to hear :)
Reigning in my tendency to draw a sword and slice is a constant battle.
Here is an example of blurting out.
A fellow worker, a real hard assed Manager, was explaining the Library of Congress code to a new-hire. I was standing close by as were three other employees. We were within earshot. This manager, Mark, is a no-nonsense type with a zero sense of humour about business related matters.
Anway, he was telling the new-hire...
"Josh, you see these letters here inside the front of the book? These letters are the Library of Congress code that identifies the genre of the book in case you are ever undecided what section it belongs in. For example, Romance is "G", History is "L H", the Bible is "BS"...."
I blurted out: 'IT CERTAINLY IS"
And everybody erupted in laughter....for about three solid minutes as Mark got hotter and hotter and started changing color saying "That is inappropriate! That is inappropriate!".
I immediatley apologized; but, the damage was done.
I can't put a brake on some thoughts before driving off the cliff, I'm afraid.
Terry
**(I can't remember the actual Library of Congress codes for the subjects other than the Bible, I just made those up. If I weren't lazy I'd have looked them up for you. But, I'm too groggy from sleep right now.)
ROFL
That's a cracker - especially Mark's reaction. I can imagine it - priceless!!!
When someone tells me they will pray for me, I tell them thank you. I do admit that I cringe though, when someone implies that I am doomed because I haven't accepted Christ as my savior in the exact, technically correct way that their church teaches we should.
I have people tell me all the time that God isn't just a god of love, he is a judging God. Oooooooo. They are trying to scare me and well, that has always pissed me off, ever since I was a child and people implied other people were going to hell. Like when my best friend died at 12 of leukemia. This lady, who was the grandmother of the twins I babysat for, asked me if Faithie was saved. I told her I supposed she was. The lady informed me that if she wasn't saved, she was now in hell. Now, I was a precocious child, so I forgave her lack of judgement, thinking, "She's a nice lady. She meant well. I won't hold it against her." What a thing to tell a kid who has just watched her friend slowly die. If I had not been hellfire savvy, I might have believed that crap and been traumatized by it. I NEVER believed in hell. This life we live now, maybe this is hell.
I live in SW Michigan. The predominate church here is Christian Reformed. Want to hear this: "Ohhhhhhhh, *cough* we uh really should examine very closely whether or not we are in the right church and really following Christ." Just tell them you go to any church, but were raised in the Episcopal Church and that is what you feel most comfortable with.
I don't consider myself a Christian. I do like to go to the Episcopal Church when I go though. Why? Because if you've been baptized in any church you can take communion there. The priest will admit to you when they don't believe in hell, etc. I've never had communion because I wasn't confirmed as child and back then you had to be. But if I decide I want to take communion, I can. I like that. Plus the services are quite beautiful with only 15 minutes of sermon.
I ask people of all religions to pray for my family. Christian, Native American, Pagan, etc. When I pray, I pray to them all. Anybody up there that can help, please help! Any of you. All of you!
As for Jesus, I have gone back to feeling about him as I did when I was a child. I never thought Jesus was sent to condemn anyone but hopelessly mean people, as he did the Pharisees. I hope he did come to save humankind. And if he did, I don't believe for one nanasecond that he came to save only Christians. All that is just a mechanism of control some savvy guy set up thousands of years ago, to scare people into submission. It started long before Christ hit the earth. Was Christ part of it? I don't think so.
"Oh, Heather dear. Read the scriptures, your beliefs don't jibe with them." Well, a lot of the Bible doesn't jibe with 1 John 4:8 and the bible's definition of what love is in 2 Corinthians. Think about that.
