This is my first post here so hello everybody!
I am an agnostic scientist first of all. I'm having some problems with a couple believer friends on Facebook. I do have a many thoughts on the issue but I would like to hear others as well. It appears some of my friends are feeling "attacked" by my non-believer posts. I may have been somewhat reckless on a few things I shared recently but I suspect they would feel attacked by most anything I posted that was non-believer based.
I will add that none of the people whom have been vocal to me about this are nut-job fanatics posting religious nonsense and dancing with snakes. In fact neither of them have posted anything about religion on FB I can recall. They are the type of believers I can respect, are quite intelligent, and are mild-mannered.
So here is an email I got tonight.
"XXXXX, I don't want to argue with you and honestly for many years I was a non-believer as well, but many things have changed in my life that have caused me to re-evaluate what religion means to me.
Now, I write a private message because I don't really like to discuss my personal beliefs in public, regardless of who's reading it etc... It's not that I'm ashamed of my beliefs or anything like that, I just honestly don't believe it's anyone's business but mine.
But I see all your posts about religion and I understand that you are well within your right to believe and say anything you want, and I can at any point just stop paying attention to you if I don't like your message, but that's not my point.
My point is this: You seem to be a genuine and honestly caring man, you seem to care about others, you care for the under privelaged and fight for those who can't fight for themselves, is that a fair assessment?
I would argue that being religious and believing in God are not necessarily the sole property of the moral majority and the right wing conservatives.
I believe in God, I want my children to believe in God... I don't want to tell you that you have to, but I do feel a sense of remorse for people who I think are great people and they don't have an understanding of faith. Church and religion are much more than just giving money and getting dressed and going to church on Sunday's.
For us it's about support, community, morality, pride, enlightenment and faith. I'm not rich, I'm not overly good, but I do believe in God and I do see the advantage for my children to be involved in church.
I 100% believe you're wrong, but I do respect your right to believe as you do. However, I question your motivation and relentless mocking of those of us who do believe.
Please don't be angry, as I do respect you and have found you to be a great guy and am glad we're friends, but I wish you'd reconsider your postings of things that don't really need to be mocked... I mean I get the humor, I'm not a complete asshole... but I also get the difference between the Bible and a Spiderman comic book...
Anyway, these are just my thoughts, and I make no claim to being right or wrong on everything, but I know what I believe and I know there's more to life than what's here right now, that there's more out there, there is a creator, there is a higher power, there just is... However, I'm NOT trying to convince you, you can feel however you want... that's your right... but the mocking just seems mean spirited...
Let me know what you think, I definitely want your opinion...
XXXXX"
This is a really great guy and I went to high school with him and I don't want to disrespect him. I don't think he knows that I had three years of in-depth Jesus training at the Assembly of God Church when I was married years ago. I actually do know quite a bit about the bible and have read a lot of it. I think he honestly means well and is offended deeply by the things I post.
I do mock faith with my "shares" on FB, I admit that. There are times when I am angry about faith when I see people let their children die because they believe prayer will heal them. Honestly, I do feel believers are not making a rational decision about having faith and are almost always pressured into believing or are down and out and have nothing else to turn to.
At the same time I get religious postings in my feed all day long and I feel it deserves a response. As Christopher Hitchens said "...Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence...."
So what can I post that won't offend him is the question I think. How would you deal with this situation?
I am an agnostic scientist first of all. I'm having some problems with a couple believer friends on Facebook. I do have a many thoughts on the issue but I would like to hear others as well. It appears some of my friends are feeling "attacked" by my non-believer posts. I may have been somewhat reckless on a few things I shared recently but I suspect they would feel attacked by most anything I posted that was non-believer based.
I will add that none of the people whom have been vocal to me about this are nut-job fanatics posting religious nonsense and dancing with snakes. In fact neither of them have posted anything about religion on FB I can recall. They are the type of believers I can respect, are quite intelligent, and are mild-mannered.
So here is an email I got tonight.
"XXXXX, I don't want to argue with you and honestly for many years I was a non-believer as well, but many things have changed in my life that have caused me to re-evaluate what religion means to me.
Now, I write a private message because I don't really like to discuss my personal beliefs in public, regardless of who's reading it etc... It's not that I'm ashamed of my beliefs or anything like that, I just honestly don't believe it's anyone's business but mine.
But I see all your posts about religion and I understand that you are well within your right to believe and say anything you want, and I can at any point just stop paying attention to you if I don't like your message, but that's not my point.
My point is this: You seem to be a genuine and honestly caring man, you seem to care about others, you care for the under privelaged and fight for those who can't fight for themselves, is that a fair assessment?
I would argue that being religious and believing in God are not necessarily the sole property of the moral majority and the right wing conservatives.
I believe in God, I want my children to believe in God... I don't want to tell you that you have to, but I do feel a sense of remorse for people who I think are great people and they don't have an understanding of faith. Church and religion are much more than just giving money and getting dressed and going to church on Sunday's.
For us it's about support, community, morality, pride, enlightenment and faith. I'm not rich, I'm not overly good, but I do believe in God and I do see the advantage for my children to be involved in church.
I 100% believe you're wrong, but I do respect your right to believe as you do. However, I question your motivation and relentless mocking of those of us who do believe.
Please don't be angry, as I do respect you and have found you to be a great guy and am glad we're friends, but I wish you'd reconsider your postings of things that don't really need to be mocked... I mean I get the humor, I'm not a complete asshole... but I also get the difference between the Bible and a Spiderman comic book...
Anyway, these are just my thoughts, and I make no claim to being right or wrong on everything, but I know what I believe and I know there's more to life than what's here right now, that there's more out there, there is a creator, there is a higher power, there just is... However, I'm NOT trying to convince you, you can feel however you want... that's your right... but the mocking just seems mean spirited...
Let me know what you think, I definitely want your opinion...
XXXXX"
This is a really great guy and I went to high school with him and I don't want to disrespect him. I don't think he knows that I had three years of in-depth Jesus training at the Assembly of God Church when I was married years ago. I actually do know quite a bit about the bible and have read a lot of it. I think he honestly means well and is offended deeply by the things I post.
I do mock faith with my "shares" on FB, I admit that. There are times when I am angry about faith when I see people let their children die because they believe prayer will heal them. Honestly, I do feel believers are not making a rational decision about having faith and are almost always pressured into believing or are down and out and have nothing else to turn to.
At the same time I get religious postings in my feed all day long and I feel it deserves a response. As Christopher Hitchens said "...Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence...."
So what can I post that won't offend him is the question I think. How would you deal with this situation?
