I am hosting a gay Christian scientist in my b&b. He's very pleasant and never prostlisizes. He invited me to lunch today and I went. I've been helping him find an assisted living for his sister and I think he wanted to say thank you.
We went to a local Mexican restaurant and sat in a booth. We did discuss religion as part of our conversation and unbeknownst to us a woman sitting behind us was listening. She was evidently watching us too because just as we finished eating and asked for the check she jumped up and wanted to know if she could talk to us a few minutes and if we agreed she wanted to buy our lunch. He is extremely pleasant and he sald it's okay with me if it's okay with my friend. I was pretty sure it was going to be someone trying to convert us to their religion because she said she had been listening to our conversation. I didn't object because I thought it would be good for him to know what happens in Oklahoma regarding religion since he's thinking about moving here. I was definitely right she basically said you know if you don't accept God there is truly a hell and you will go and if you're right, looking at me, then no harm done but if I'm right you're going to burn folks.
I bit my tongue and only asked a few questions out of respect for my kind lunch mate. He very tactfully explained to her that they'd have to agree to disagree because he does not believe in a literal hell or heaven. He protested when she insisted on buying our lunch but he finally gave in. I thought we'd definitely earned it and I hope my tongue heals by tomorrow.
Was your friend a scientist who happened to be a Christian or a follower of Mary Baker Eddy ie. a "Christian Scientist"
Follower of Eddy
@Lorajay Why is he looking for assisted living for his sister then, are they not just supposed to be able to pray illness and injury away?
@LenHazell53 he's also vaccinated and boosted. Like any other part of society, Christian Scientists are not all exactly the same. Just as we have found that to be true about atheists. He does believe in mind over illness to a great extent.
@Lorajay I was just being flippant about their holy book and church doctrine, I'm glad your friend has the good sense to not simply rely on doctrine at this awful time
@LenHazell53 I should have told you as well that his sister has Alzheimer's and is past the stage for praying about it.
My only question during the conversation was about Judaism. Evangelical Christians seem very supportive of Israel so I asked her whether Jews were going to all go to hell since they did not believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God. She informed me that most Jews now did believe that Christ was the son of God and those that didn't believed he was a prophet. I did not pursue whether the ones that believed he was a prophet were going to hell or not. Especially since she claimed that most or rather the majority believed he was the son of God. Google tells me only one fifth do.
"Religion poisons everything"....Even other religions evidently
I love the Christian edict that since Hitler was a baptised Catholic he is entitled to go to heaven despite all he did as he is saved by grace, but the Jews he burned will all still burn forever in Hell since they chose not to accept his precious "gift"
And yet Jehovah is in their eyes still a just and merciful god
Thanks for posting that Lorajay, a stark reminder of why the world needs more well mannered atheist objective thinkers and less fools who think that "believing" is seeing and not the total reverse!
She would not have liked me at all. You did well, but I would have told her of the hell that started out as your grave, went into being the dump outside the city where the trash is burned, then ended up as a place where you are bodily burned and tortured forever and ever. The big difference being that when you get to this stage you have no body. Some imaginary and invisible part of you burns in a location you are not aware of. This seems totally on par for your imaginary and invisible god. The evolution of hell came about over many years and got to this stage some 300 plus years after the time of Jesus when the bible as we know it today first came into existence.
There is no discussion here. No facts to try and enter into what I have already said. You learned from your preacher and your bible and you cannot prove anything using the bible. It does not and cannot prove itself.
Good on you, giving her no grounds to criticize your manners or behavior!
If you never tell someone like this "No," or "I'm not interested," etc., they never learn to mind their own business and STFU What was she doing eavesdropping on your conversation? That's amazingly rude and intrusive on her part.
Thankfully, I have somehow avoided any conversation about religion for decades. LOL except here. I don't wear my atheism on my sleeve. Yes, we have many churches on my island (too many), but the subject matter apparently stays within those hallowed halls. Maybe, its because living in the Keys the two main topics are fishing & drinking.
I'll let a motherfucker tell me I'm going to hell the entire time I'm eating some LaCasita they're paying for!! Where can I get in on this action?
Good for you Larajay. I'm not sure I could have managed your polite restraint. But I think it was the right thing to do. Often, organized religion, especially in the form of missionaries, seems so intrusive and arrogant that I want to scream at these people. But as long as they are not rude, I think polite discourse is good for both of us.
I'm not certain I could have been quite as restrained either. Not certain what else I might have done. Perhaps the best I could have managed would have been to excuse myself.
Yes, you definitely earned the free lunch, though your lunch would have been free with or without the crazy stranger. There must be something about me that says "don't bother and piss off" because I don't think anyone, friend or stranger, has tried to force their religion on me like that. I wouldn't mind a free lunch every now and then in exchange for listening to a few minutes of nonsense! Lol
Nonsense is right !!