To fake conversion or not to fake, that is the question

[Pat Mustard]

I received bad news last night. My grandma is very ill. I don't have grandpas. I never met them. I have two grandmas. One of them I haven't spoken to in about 10 years. Never will. I had an aunt who was like a grandma, but I lost her to cancer. So, this is my grandma in bed, very weak and kind of "out". Doctors watching her say she's tired and depressed. They're looking for other things, too.

Skip the emotional part, because oh mah gah it hurts.

When my aun died, I was holding her hand. She asked me to pray for her. I was still a believer, so I prayed. She was looking up and smiling. She said, "God, my savior, I'm ready for you to take me. All my children will continue for me. Take me home." She then sang worship songs in a state of elation until she passed.

My grandma is a religious fundie. She has hurt at the knowledge that some of us no longer serve the church. So my question is, and oh gawd it hurts to think about it, if she doesn't get better, would you fake a prayer? Would you pretend to believe, so she can pass away comfortably?

Thank you.

It depends for me, I went atheist at a period when my aunt's Alzheimer's was diagnosed (she was a nun), so I would never have considered broaching the subject with her. Now if it were only her kindeys were wrong with her, I'd have probably talked to her about it. With my mother, long may she live, I wouldn't be able to pretend, because she knows already that I'm an atheist.