Welcome!
So you are right to be offended, and you should say to your grandmother that with due respect she can put in her own offering and you will put in whatever you feel like.
If your church is not involved in the community then I can totally understand why you wouldn't want to give. I want my money to be accountable! I'm an Anglican, and as you should know - but probably don't - we (Anglican's that is) do more charitable work here in Australia than any other NPO including the RCC, even though they're bigger, and including all the churches like the Salvation Army Church that specifically specialize in such ministries.
Furthermore, just a couple of weeks ago (and you can search my posts as I already mentioned this), I was at the funeral for a Christian lady who lead a truly amazing life. She used her own home as a shelter for the homeless - and I do not know anyone else (obviously myself included) who would be so generous as to donate their own home to charitable means! I would not let the homeless sleep in my house. But she did, and did so for over a decade and I'm still amazed by that every time I think of it, and not just it, but many other parts of her life where generosity most certainly lead the way.
And just for the record, because I seem to get this a lot here, no - what she did, and what the Anglican church does for the community generally, never ever, ever, is discriminatory in any way. That would undermine the most basic principle of charity which is to be available to "all".
(November 17, 2013 at 4:22 pm)katiefranco Wrote: Hi, so I'm new here, as well as fairly new to atheism (a few months.) Anyways, my grandmother who I live with knows that I am, yet forces me to go to church every Sunday, and makes me go to holiday services. So, I'm not THAT annoyed by going, I'm more annoyed that she makes me bring her offering to the plate. (In front of everyone.) I mean, is there a reason for it? It pisses me off to a crazy extent, and just, ugh. Is there anything I could do about this without causing too much drama? I'm just really annoyed at this point.I don't disclose to anyone, and I mean anyone, what I put into my church. And any real Christian would abide by a similar methodology. I know, and I've mentioned this before, a couple at church in their middle ages who are both practising doctors and who live a more simple life than I do, and although I can't prove it - because they don't do it in front of anyone for any recognition - the bulk of their income must be donated to charity.
So you are right to be offended, and you should say to your grandmother that with due respect she can put in her own offering and you will put in whatever you feel like.
If your church is not involved in the community then I can totally understand why you wouldn't want to give. I want my money to be accountable! I'm an Anglican, and as you should know - but probably don't - we (Anglican's that is) do more charitable work here in Australia than any other NPO including the RCC, even though they're bigger, and including all the churches like the Salvation Army Church that specifically specialize in such ministries.
Furthermore, just a couple of weeks ago (and you can search my posts as I already mentioned this), I was at the funeral for a Christian lady who lead a truly amazing life. She used her own home as a shelter for the homeless - and I do not know anyone else (obviously myself included) who would be so generous as to donate their own home to charitable means! I would not let the homeless sleep in my house. But she did, and did so for over a decade and I'm still amazed by that every time I think of it, and not just it, but many other parts of her life where generosity most certainly lead the way.
And just for the record, because I seem to get this a lot here, no - what she did, and what the Anglican church does for the community generally, never ever, ever, is discriminatory in any way. That would undermine the most basic principle of charity which is to be available to "all".
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
