I can perhaps have religious friends. Although it depends what you mean by "religious". Not if they refuse to have a proper conversation with you once the differences in your beliefs are realized. And the debates go no where.
Or they don't want to be questioned about it. But they expect to keep claiming it. That just does my head in. If I socialize with a "friend" who keeps making wacky claims and saying wacky things and doesn't want to be questioned about it critically! I'd have to resort to only small talk. I could be friendly with them...but only in part time. Because if I actually tried to go deeper, actually tried to get to know them. They don't want to be questioned.
Its ok if they're more rational....if the differences are big and we're kind of left to small talk only. That kind of kills the friendship in my experience. As with the two online friends I had....
The friendship couldn't progress because there were huge differences and this huge barrier in between them.
Evf
Or they don't want to be questioned about it. But they expect to keep claiming it. That just does my head in. If I socialize with a "friend" who keeps making wacky claims and saying wacky things and doesn't want to be questioned about it critically! I'd have to resort to only small talk. I could be friendly with them...but only in part time. Because if I actually tried to go deeper, actually tried to get to know them. They don't want to be questioned.
Its ok if they're more rational....if the differences are big and we're kind of left to small talk only. That kind of kills the friendship in my experience. As with the two online friends I had....
The friendship couldn't progress because there were huge differences and this huge barrier in between them.
(December 20, 2008 at 11:28 am)LukeMC Wrote: If somebody fervently believed in the stork theory of pregnancy, you'd find them a little weird and crazy. If somebody believed in a mighty being with fairytale lands to send you to and floods and fermements and dinosaur riding humans and arks and talking snakes and magic trees and the power of telepathic requests... You'd be like "excuse me?Great post luke.". You can't help but think "is this person crazy or something?", but you hold back these thoughts and try to discuss it. Then they get offended, offensive, defensive, emotional, undebatable and then you have this little awkward patch in your friendship and from there everything just seems to crumble.
EDIT* : All I'm saying is that it's hard to be a rational person and take somebody elses blatently reason-defying beliefs seriously. We all feel a need to say "woah, you're better than that type of thinking"
Evf
