(February 11, 2013 at 2:56 pm)Stimbo Wrote: This isn't quite the same, at least not in scale, but I have a couple of longtime and very dear friends, now married, who are more like hobby xtians; ie in it for the feeling of belonging to a club type of thing. Anyway, in the past they were much more blatant about proselytising to me than they are now. I well remember one occasion in a bookshop with one of them, when he came out withe a comment about how knowledge is the biggest cause of evil in the world; to which I replied "Second only to ignorance." Then there was the time when he tried to convince my nephew, then probably aged about six, that devils and demons were everywhere just waiting to punish the wicked etc. Later, when we were alone, my nephew came up to me, his favourite uncle, and asked me if all that stuff was true and that it had really frightened him. Of course I reassured him it was all bollocks (though I used a more age-appropriate term) and he forgot all about it. One short sharp, um, chat with my friend later, and he never tried that stunt again.
The reason I bring these examples up is that these friends are otherwise perfectly rational and down to Earth without these odd ideas. In fact, over the years their faith - such as it may have been - seems to have dwindled to the extent they don't appear to be a factor anymore. I'm sure it's due to my influence. So these stories don't always have to have an unhappy ending.
Wow thanks for sharing. Yeah i have alot of people i am close to friends, family, and even my boss( i feel almost bad when talking to him cause i'm thinking a kid Santa isn't real). My sister is kinda like your friend. Okay up till the point where she saying things but doesn't stop to realize what she is
saying. For example i just had a son and while his mother was getting prepped she thought this would be a great time to testify to me and eventually imply i would be a bad parent or wouldn't be raising him right if i didn't raise him in Christian faith. I was pissed but she still doesn't get where she is wrong. Alot of people have gotten use to me being atheist but then others not so much. My girlfriend (mother of my children) is christian but in the sense of what you said hobby xtian. She doesn't give me any problems and accept that it was how she was raised and faith is irrational but it's what she wants. We can talk about it with no problems and her faith still not be shaken but others well i can't say as much for.
