This situation happened to me recently, and the more I think about it the more frustrated it makes me. What would be the appropriate response?
I was out at a restaurant with my daughter and my mother, who is a fairly devout christian, and one of her church friends joined us. We were having neutral, casual conversation, jokes and random trivia for the most part. I asked at one point, "Did you know that black holes actually shine?"
Both my mother and her friend immediately responded, "God made it that way." I tried to say that was simply an evasion, that a real explanation doesn't require a miracle, and they asked me, "Do you know what faith is?"
My answer was more or less the dictionary definition of the word 'faith', and my mom's friend became so offended that she immediately got up and left the restaurant before her food had even arrived. My mother was telling me I need to apologize, and for a short time I almost agreed with her, but the more I think about it now it seems to me that I was not the one who made the conversation offensive. The fact that she chose to ACT offended first should not mean that I am at fault, in my opinion.
What is the appropriate way to act in situations like this?
I was out at a restaurant with my daughter and my mother, who is a fairly devout christian, and one of her church friends joined us. We were having neutral, casual conversation, jokes and random trivia for the most part. I asked at one point, "Did you know that black holes actually shine?"
Both my mother and her friend immediately responded, "God made it that way." I tried to say that was simply an evasion, that a real explanation doesn't require a miracle, and they asked me, "Do you know what faith is?"
My answer was more or less the dictionary definition of the word 'faith', and my mom's friend became so offended that she immediately got up and left the restaurant before her food had even arrived. My mother was telling me I need to apologize, and for a short time I almost agreed with her, but the more I think about it now it seems to me that I was not the one who made the conversation offensive. The fact that she chose to ACT offended first should not mean that I am at fault, in my opinion.
What is the appropriate way to act in situations like this?
