A frog in a pond

[quinntar]

After observing Christian's up close (Online & Offline) I've noticed a pattern of behavior. They seem to always ask these following questions, this has become a standard for them.

 

A: Are you a Christian?

B: Do you attend a Church?

C: What do you believe?

D: What is your age?

E: What country are you from?

F: Do you work? 

 

Now I can't say 100% why they seem to ask these particular questions, to me it's like being dissected like a frog in a science class. But once they're through with dissecting 

these basic elements of information, they can then move on to instruct me that I'm still missing the truth of Jesus (Their Jesus)

 

It's like they're convinced no one knows Jesus but them. They have to work out anything flimsy about my belief's or my motives towards the truth in their head's, before they feel sanctioned to prosecute me to the fullest of the law they believe only they have.

 

 

 

 

[◊ DestinyTurtle ◊]

I used to be like that, as well as Xians around me, when I was Xian. Except in my case I broke down their theology and denominations until I came across something I could disagree with, and thereby denounce them as being a false Xian (and therefore worse than a non-Xian). I didn't know any better. Everyone in my family behaved that way and I was instructed to follow. Eventually I came to realize that I was next in line for being booted for being a fake Xian. Go figure. Insincere people always need someone to pick on to prove their depth of sincerity. 

[quinntar]

11 minutes ago, DestinyTurtle said:

I used to be like that, as well as Xians around me, when I was Xian. Except in my case I broke down their theology and denominations until I came across something I could disagree with, and thereby denounce them as being a false Xian (and therefore worse than a non-Xian). I didn't know any better. Everyone in my family behaved that way and I was instructed to follow. Eventually I came to realize that I was next in line for being booted for being a fake Xian. Go figure. Insincere people always need someone to pick on to prove their depth of sincerity. 

It's notable to say that Jesus never acted that way, to the religious hypocrite he would point out the obvious. Strange how the Christians today have become exactly like the Pharisees of his time. Will it take another Messiah to come and point out the obvious to them? As the saying goes

 

"To many Messiah's at the wedding banquet make's poor wine"

[◊ DestinyTurtle ◊]

9 minutes ago, theanticrash said:

It's notable to say that Jesus never acted that way, to the religious hypocrite he would point out the obvious. Strange how the Christians today have become exactly like the Pharisees of his time. Will it take another Messiah to come and point out the obvious to them? As the saying goes

 

"To many Messiah's at the wedding banquet make's poor wine"

I agree completely. In a weird way the bible makes a lot more sense to me now that I'm no longer a Xian.

[TrailBlazer]

Those questions are so annoying. 

I try to respond to them like a woven finger trap- the more you pull against it, the more tightly caught your fingers become and the more uncomfortable it gets all around. 

If you meet these questions with least resistance and passivity, you have a better chance of getting out of that constricting trap. 

A: Are you a Christian? I was, for a long time. 

B: Do you attend a Church? Not anymore. 

C- What do you believe? I believe that’s a personal journey for everyone. 

D-  What is your age? 28

E: What country are you from? USA

F: Do you work? I do.

 

My response to why I left the church: I felt that I needed to find my own spiritual path. 

My response to the enevidable preachiness: thank you for sharing your beliefs with me. 

 

& No, thank you, personally, I’m not interested in opening myself up to Christianity again. But I’m happy for you that you have such a great sense of fulfillment with Christianity, it seems like it’s been deeply important to you. *plaster on a cheesy fake smile/pained grimace here*

 

[Hedge_Rat]

My guess for questions D, E, and F is that they're hoping you'll say something that will either discredit you (in their eyes) or give them an excuse to be condescending towards you. They're probably hoping that you'll reveal that you're an evil furriner, a lazy layabout, or that you're younger than they are and therefore your experiences don't count because they obviously have more than you.

 

I actually had to deal with that condescension more when I was  a Christian than now. Now, they might be somewhat annoying (like assuming the reason I don't believe is because I can't physically see God, or informing me that I'm actually an agnostic and not an atheist at all), but the condescension was much more pronounced (and relentless... although that was my fault because I kept actually going to places like Bible study) when I was a believer.

 

Regarding the age one, there was one guy in particular who tried to make it sound as though I only popped into existence when he met me, and that (despite the fact that I was 24 when we met) I couldn't possibly have learned or done anything prior to that time. Therefore, only his opinion counted if we disagreed on ANYTHING because I couldn't possibly hope to understand the world as he did, not when he'd seen so much more. 

 

He hadn't. Also, he was only 26. But he tried to make two decades of condescension fit into two year's worth.

 

One nice thing about not being a believer is that I don't feel obligated to let people run roughshod over me anymore... I'd deal with him better nowadays, I'm sure. 

 

Anyway, that's my take on why they probably ask those questions.

[Hedge_Rat]

On ‎7‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 3:57 PM, TrailBlazer said:

Those questions are so annoying. 

I try to respond to them like a woven finger trap- the more you pull against it, the more tightly caught your fingers become and the more uncomfortable it gets all around. 

If you meet these questions with least resistance and passivity, you have a better chance of getting out of that constricting trap. 

 

 

Sorry for the double-post, but this ^^.

 

The expression `If you can`t go to a party, don`t give an excuse,`  is true here... I used to have a bad habit of always explaining or defending myself, which gave others the impression that of course they had a right to challenge or lecture me (on things that weren`t actually their business). I`m getting better at not doing so. The very last time I had a believer challenge me on my beliefs it was comical, because you could tell he WANTED to argue with me but I just wasn`t giving him anything to DO it with.

 

Snip of the conversation:

Him: Why not?  :::(i.e. Why don`t you believe in God? ):::

Me: I don`t see any reason to.

Him: Well, why don`t you?

Me: I simply don`t see any reason to.

 

You could practically see the cogs behind his eyes turn as he struggled to find some part of that to latch onto and argue with.

It was a very unsatisfactory conversation for him. I found it hilarious.

 

It WORKS.