Taphophilia Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 I have a very good friend who sends me Christian Chain Letters via email. It's always some inspirational Christian saying. At the end it says, "If you want Jesus to bless you, or your prayer answered, etc. send this to 10 people you know in the next 5 seconds. She came to visit me this summer and I explained to her when she was here that I am no longer a Christian. I explained to her why and all she said was, "Huh." I don't really want to tell her to go scratch and stop sending me the Christian Chain Letter crap, but I'm getting freaking irritated since it seems that is all she sends out. It's not just to me; it's to everyone on her buddy list. She's in a wheelchair and is subject to recurring mini-strokes which leave her worse than before. She needs constant care and could die any minute or in a few years. Should I just continue to press delete or should I tell her next time I talk to her I don't want the Christian crap. If I tell her, how can I put it to her so she be offended and possibly have a stoke? Taph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycorth Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Tough call. I am in a slightly similar position; I haven't come out of the Deist closet to my father, who is over 80. He is a quad-bypass survivor and isn't in the best of health and is prone to overstressing. Wonderful man, but I know he wouldn't understand. My folks are deeply religious, but coming from a typical Polish-American community, Roman Catholicism is deeply ingrained in us. My folks aren't the kind to dwell on religious issues or topic much, and certainly not question their religion. So if I came out to them, especially my father, it could upset him terribly. Things are hard enough around here - I'd rather not make it worse. If living a little lie for a little while makes a nice old man happy, then so be it. I have my whole life to be open about my beliefs. I'd rather be able to be open about it, but I know it wouldn't be smooth at all. I'm not telling you what to do here, but if my experiences are any help, feel free to draw from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianka Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Tough call. I am in a slightly similar position; I haven't come out of the Deist closet to my father, who is over 80. He is a quad-bypass survivor and isn't in the best of health and is prone to overstressing. Wonderful man, but I know he wouldn't understand. My folks are deeply religious, but coming from a typical Polish-American community, Roman Catholicism is deeply ingrained in us. My folks aren't the kind to dwell on religious issues or topic much, and certainly not question their religion. So if I came out to them, especially my father, it could upset him terribly. Things are hard enough around here - I'd rather not make it worse. If living a little lie for a little while makes a nice old man happy, then so be it. I have my whole life to be open about my beliefs. I'd rather be able to be open about it, but I know it wouldn't be smooth at all. I'm not telling you what to do here, but if my experiences are any help, feel free to draw from them. Wow, how strikingly similar to my situation with my mother. Minus the declinig health Taph, I just delete the Xtian e-mails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycorth Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Wow, how strikingly similar to my situation with my mother. Minus the declinig health Taph, I just delete the Xtian e-mails. Yeah, living in the closet sucks. I feel like Roger on American Dad. Basically, like Dianka said - just hit the Delete button. If an opportunity to do otherwise comes along, you'll know it. Otherwise, play it safe for now. It's not the end of the world if you never tell her. It's not like you'd get sent to burn eternally or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spamandham Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 I receive this shit from my mother, my father, three of my sisters, and an aunt - all of whom know I'm an atheist except maybe the aunt. I've been tempted to play tit for tat to make the point, but the bigotted special pleading most believers use would end up making me look like the bad guy. But then again, hmmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ nivek ♦ Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Taph, Let it pass over you like water. Can't hurt you, can't influence you, won't fuck your day up to punch DELETE after you've read the first few words. Folks are gonna do as they damn well please, expecting the rest of their world to fall in line to what they think they believe. Don't sweat it, your life along with rest of we isn't long enough to address *every* religigous well intended friend or fool.. Of course daFatman's SkuLLe of Insensitive Clodation would say... Well nevermind, she is a freind still.. kl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreasBolle Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Maybe your Email client can zero in on a keyword that is common with all the emails and move them to a junk/spam/trash folder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 I've received emails like this, both chain letters plus ones written by relatives in a very "preachy" way concerning politics and religion. I've had to inform them that, while family news is welcome, chain letter spam and attempts to indoctrinate me are unwelcome, so messages that fit these two descriptions will be deleted. I had one person protest, but since then I don't think I've received any more such emails. I still sometimes get those "alert!" type emails, like "Needles with AIDS are being placed on gas pump handles!", or "Target bans the Salvation Army!". I simply look up the details of the urban legends on snopes.com, and send out the info along with a link to the snopes report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueGiant Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Not much of a fan of chainletters in general. I'd probably hit the delete button as well, though, as it sounds like you don't want to risk a fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Broke Free Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Defending your beliefs (or lack thereof) is important, but we must choose our battles wisely. Making these emails an issue would be a loose/loose situation and would only make both parties feel terrible. Give the old lady a break and just delete them. She is lobbing cotton-candy at you; no need to bring out the guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godless Dave Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 If you want Jesus to bless you, or your prayer answered, etc. send this to 10 people you know in the next 5 seconds. Man, that would really bother me if I WERE a Christian. Do they really think that's how Jesus decides to send blessings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I would just continue to press delete or use a filter to filter them into my trash bin automatically. No harm done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MQTA Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 someone posted a thread in GA on CF saying Christianity WAS a Chain Letter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts