Respect towards religious people

[Werewolff]

Do you have religious friends or acquaintances or do you make a point of staying away from them?

[frankiej]

Do you have religious friends or acquaintances or do you make a point of staying away from them?

I have many religious friends. I must add that I often silently judge what they say...

I am also ridiculously sceptical of claims they make, no matter how far they are from any religious topic. It cannot be helped.

[Norfolk And Chance]

Do you have religious friends or acquaintances or do you make a point of staying away from them?

Nobody I spend time with is religious. Religion in my country (England) is a behind closed doors sort of thing, there aren't many people going oround pushing it publically.

[Werewolff]

What about privately?

[frankiej]

All my regular hookers are religious.

[Norfolk And Chance]

Privately? What do you mean?

[Werewolff]

I mean, do you often encounter theists pushing their views onto you when it's just one on one?

[Norfolk And Chance]

Not really. Get the odd door knocker and the odd person saying "blah, blah, blah when I went to church the other day" and I just simply dismiss their existence.

[Cyberman]

I've had the odd person (very odd, sometimes) trying to convert me on the sly. They don't seem able to go all-out fire 'n' brimstone on me, so they've let little things slip out, little quips that they've been visibly disappointed I haven't agreed with; or worse, I've argued back. One of my friends about whom I've written elsewhere would do this when he was in his devout phase. One time I particularly recall was when we were in a local bookshop, just browsing, and he came out with something like "There's nothing more dangerous than knowledge". I'm glad to report I shot that down with "Except ignorance". Gad, I could be quick-thinking in those days.

Then there was a guy I used to know at school, he's since gone into the church himself which never surprised me. He'd have this little rejoinder, which he thought was terribly witty, if anyone used the popular phrase "fucking hell"; he'd come back with "Why would you want to fuck in hell, when you can make love in paradise?" Yes, that vomit taste in your mouth is exactly how I used to react. On one memorable occasion, just after the Challenger shuttle disaster, he was terribly hurt after the entire class burst out laughing at his revelation that God had personally reached down and tampered with the fuel valve because he was fed up with humans trying to get into Heaven. I wish I could say Iwas joking.

[The Grand Nudger]

Respect, for me, is a two way street. It won't be offered to anyone who enters into interaction with me already deciding that I am a member of the damned, prone to all manner of terrible shit, and somehow lesser by elusive cosmic decree. Thankfully, most people don't go so far, even if their scriptures would suggest that they should. That's the influence of secular society on religion right there..lol. Used to be they didn't have to say a word to me other than "light the kindling". Let's not let that stop us from creating hilarious polls about whether or not religious people are being disrespected though eh?