Cudds Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Hi All, I have a christian friend who takes every opportunity to tell me that my worldview is incomplete. I am having trouble expressing why a worldview needn't have all the answers, incorperate an afterlife, ultimate justice, etc (not that christianity is just anyway)... He just keeps repeating it every time we communicate. Does anybody have some thoughts that might be of use to me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted October 3, 2009 Super Moderator Share Posted October 3, 2009 I think what he's really saying is simply that he thinks it is foolish for you to disagree with him. Conversely, his view is truly incomplete because the blinders that religion has fitted to his eyes prevents him from fully engaging in the variety life has to offer. The difference is that you don't have the audacity to think you have all the answers and a corner on Truth. You don't really care if everybody else thinks as you do, but it is of utmost importance to the Christian who believes he possesses the only means to save your soul. If he has become a pest or an irritation I would tell him this: "Your own worldview is incomplete because you haven't embraced the truth of Allah. You've never meditated yourself to enlightenment, and you dismiss out of hand the wisdom that Scientology has to offer. Your arrogance in insisting that those who don't share your unfounded beliefs are categorically wrong is unacceptable. Everyone draws their own conclusions about things, and not all of those conclusions will match yours. Learn humility, and stop presuming you have some special knowledge that I lack - you don't." But I can be kind of a hard liner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Davka Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Cudds - I assume that you were once a Christian and are no longer one? If that is the case, you can reply that it is his worldview which is incomplete. You have incorporated all that he currently believes, and more. He is still a child in comparison, having seen only one side of the coin. You've been where he is, but he has never been where you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Hi All, I have a christian friend who takes every opportunity to tell me that my worldview is incomplete. I am having trouble expressing why a worldview needn't have all the answers, incorperate an afterlife, ultimate justice, etc (not that christianity is just anyway)... He just keeps repeating it every time we communicate. Does anybody have some thoughts that might be of use to me? The reasonable person tends to admit "the answer is unknown". The morontheist claims "the answer is gawd, about which no one really knows anything for sure either". Translation: What the morontheist really says is "I don't have any answers that you don't have, I just give my ignorance a name. Saying the cause/reason/whatever of whatever is a mysterious gawd is soooooo much better than just saying it's a mystery!!!!111!!!!oneoneone!!!!" I'd cordially invite that person to explain how the term gawd gives any answers that an honest "I don't know everything" can't give. Of course the morontheist will start babbling about da wholly babble clearly explains how blah yadda blah... it's painfully easy to contradict every babblical claim with another babblical claim though, so now the morontheist is left without anything. And you laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I don't know that I would give the time of day to someone who continually badgered me for an answer of any kind. I would simply say "My worldview IS complete and sufficient for ME." Then I would say the subject is not up for further discussion. Yes, I am old and cranky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Send him these videos: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlerman Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Cudds - I assume that you were once a Christian and are no longer one? If that is the case, you can reply that it is his worldview which is incomplete. You have incorporated all that he currently believes, and more. He is still a child in comparison, having seen only one side of the coin. You've been where he is, but he has never been where you are. As I was reading through the responses I was thinking how to put together how to say this, and you've already done it exactly as I would have. Ask him where his worldview respects the earth as a starter? As him how war is the answer to world-peace (Armageddon)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Hi All, I have a christian friend who takes every opportunity to tell me that my worldview is incomplete. I am having trouble expressing why a worldview needn't have all the answers, incorperate an afterlife, ultimate justice, etc (not that christianity is just anyway)... He just keeps repeating it every time we communicate. Does anybody have some thoughts that might be of use to me? If you just recently left Christianity, or if you're still young, I can tell it will take time to build up your worldview. It's not done overnight. But that's the beauty of it. You take your time to make sure you get a quality worldview, instead of just accepting a pat-answer written in some old holy book, by some stoneage old fart who doesn't know crap from roses. This is the answer you should give them: A worldview is very important, and it has to be good, well constructed, and make sense, and it takes time to make sure I got it right. So instead of just jumping on a bandwagon and accepting a worldview from peer pressure, I will work on it, because I take it seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlerman Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Hi All, I have a christian friend who takes every opportunity to tell me that my worldview is incomplete. I am having trouble expressing why a worldview needn't have all the answers, incorperate an afterlife, ultimate justice, etc (not that christianity is just anyway)... He just keeps repeating it every time we communicate. Does anybody have some thoughts that might be of use to me? If you just recently left Christianity, or if you're still young, I can tell it will take time to build up your worldview. It's not done overnight. But that's the beauty of it. You take your time to make sure you get a quality worldview, instead of just accepting a pat-answer written in some old holy book, by some stoneage old fart who doesn't know crap from roses. This is the answer you should give them: A worldview is very important, and it has to be good, well constructed, and make sense, and it takes time to make sure I got it right. So instead of just jumping on a bandwagon and accepting a worldview from peer pressure, I will work on it, because I take it seriously. Actually this is true. It could be a case of developing a new worldview. One doesn't simply switch from one view to another, but we certainly can find a current worldview to be insufficient, no longer fitting with who we are becoming. You don't have to have a complete, cohesive new worldview in place to move away from one that is no longer fitting. You're looking for a new worldview, because his didn't work for you with where you are at. And that describes my experience very well, not just back then, but every time I grow more and some new important thing to incorporate comes along. This friends mistake is that to say he has THE one and only correct worldview, the ONLY cohesive one, is to state the nothing changes. Humans don't gain any new insights. Humans don't encounter any new situations in which to try to understand, relate to, and interact with. No new perspectives. Claiming to have THE worldview, would mean he is static, unchanging, non-nuanced, non-dimensional, flat, lifeless, ungrowing, dead - intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. But a worldview that allows for adaptation IS a cohesive one, even though it may not know in advance ALL the specific answers. But his is a worldview that says everything must conform to one idea. That is anti-life. Life adapts and conforms to the environment in the interest of living, not the other way around. That's why his worldview fails for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godlessgrrl Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 He says your "worldview isn't complete"? What the hell does that even mean? What does he say if you ask him what he means? Does he say it means you don't have all the answers? Or that you have a "god-shaped hole"? What would a "complete" worldview look like to him? Why does he think not having a "complete" worldview is something worthy of criticism? Does he think holding a "complete" worldview is a virtue or is somehow superior? Y'know, it occurs to me that the root meaning of the word "perfect" is the Latin for "finished" or "complete". Is this guy trying to tell you that he's perfect, or that you're not? Or that there's something wrong with you because your worldview isn't perfect? Heh, I don't even know this guy and already he's pissing me off. He criticizes you and refuses to listen to your point of view, so frankly he sounds like an arrogant, smug jerk to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Davka Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 It could be a case of developing a new worldview. One doesn't simply switch from one view to another, but we certainly can find a current worldview to be insufficient, no longer fitting with who we are becoming. Yeah, I feel you, man. My worldview used to revolve around Calvin and Hobbes (the comic, not the theologians), but then that strip ended and I was forced to embrace a new worldview. For a while Bloom County filled that awful gaping hole in my psyche, but then Berke Breathed ended the strip (woe is me, for my Comix Carma doth surely bite!) and I was washed up on the harsh, comicless shore of an unpitying world. With the advent of Over The Hedge my soul has begun to heal somewhat, but it's just not the same. This worldview thing can be brutal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 You beat me to it. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cudds Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 [Wow, a lot of discussion took place while I was sleeping, more than I expected. People on this site always have great insight. Cudds - I assume that you were once a Christian and are no longer one? If that is the case, you can reply that it is his worldview which is incomplete. You have incorporated all that he currently believes, and more. He is still a child in comparison, having seen only one side of the coin. You've been where he is, but he has never been where you are. Yes, I am a former Christian and this is exactly how I feel. Of course, If I actually said this to him, he'd play the whole "you could never have been a Christian in the first place' card. Actually this is true. It could be a case of developing a new worldview. One doesn't simply switch from one view to another, but we certainly can find a current worldview to be insufficient, no longer fitting with who we are becoming. You don't have to have a complete, cohesive new worldview in place to move away from one that is no longer fitting. You're looking for a new worldview, because his didn't work for you with where you are at. And that describes my experience very well, not just back then, but every time I grow more and some new important thing to incorporate comes along. This has been my experience too. Thank you for articulating it in a way that I couldn't. He says your "worldview isn't complete"? What the hell does that even mean? What does he say if you ask him what he means? Does he say it means you don't have all the answers? Or that you have a "god-shaped hole"? What would a "complete" worldview look like to him? Why does he think not having a "complete" worldview is something worthy of criticism? Does he think holding a "complete" worldview is a virtue or is somehow superior? Y'know, it occurs to me that the root meaning of the word "perfect" is the Latin for "finished" or "complete". Is this guy trying to tell you that he's perfect, or that you're not? Or that there's something wrong with you because your worldview isn't perfect? Heh, I don't even know this guy and already he's pissing me off. He criticizes you and refuses to listen to your point of view, so frankly he sounds like an arrogant, smug jerk to me. Lol, he is an arrogant, smug jerk! There are just some people you can't escape. Part of my problem is not even being able to wrap my head around his screwed up frame of mind, so that I can reply in a way that would have any kind if meaning to him. Its like we're speaking different languages. I don't think my worldview is lacking and I don't really see how it could be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cudds Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 Send him these videos: Thanks for these. Now I'll be spending my whole afternoon on You Tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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