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A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 2:52 pm
I don't know how to handle this. I have two religious friends, and whenever I go out to eat with either of them this is a problem. I meet one only at restaurants. He always says a prayer before eating. It makes me feel awkward, as though by waiting until he's finished I am in agreement with the prayer. I'm not.
I have another friend who I met for dinner at someone's house. Before we ate she said a prayer, while we all waited. (Several of us are non-believers).
Again, the awkwardness while waiting for her to finish the prayer. This is just me, but I find that to be a little rude and self-serving.
I am tempted to eat before she finishes the prayer, but that would be construed as rude.
I wish I knew how to deal with this problem. Any suggestions?
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RE: A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 2:57 pm
Hand me the hammer, please.
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RE: A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 2:58 pm
(August 30, 2019 at 2:52 pm)Denverguy Wrote: I don't know how to handle this. I have two religious friends, and whenever I go out to eat with either of them this is a problem. I meet one only at restaurants. He always says a prayer before eating. It makes me feel awkward, as though by waiting until he's finished I am in agreement with the prayer. I'm not.
I have another friend who I met for dinner at someone's house. Before we ate she said a prayer, while we all waited. (Several of us are non-believers).
Again, the awkwardness while waiting for her to finish the prayer. This is just me, but I find that to be a little rude and self-serving.
I am tempted to eat before she finishes the prayer, but that would be construed as rude.
I wish I knew how to deal with this problem. Any suggestions?
Prayer is bullshit, it is merely the reflection of humans not wanting to face our finite existence.
Having said that, it is not to say those who buy into prayer are bad people. It just means they are mistaken as to how you go about living life.
If prayer worked like theists claim nothing bad would ever happen.
If the entity you pray to doesn't answer your prayers, is it really about you? Or is it about narcissism?
I don't believe in any God/god/gods or even "karma". I simply accept humans are all we have.
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RE: A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 3:18 pm
(August 30, 2019 at 2:52 pm)Denverguy Wrote: I don't know how to handle this. I have two religious friends, and whenever I go out to eat with either of them this is a problem. I meet one only at restaurants. He always says a prayer before eating. It makes me feel awkward, as though by waiting until he's finished I am in agreement with the prayer. I'm not.
I have another friend who I met for dinner at someone's house. Before we ate she said a prayer, while we all waited. (Several of us are non-believers).
Again, the awkwardness while waiting for her to finish the prayer. This is just me, but I find that to be a little rude and self-serving.
I am tempted to eat before she finishes the prayer, but that would be construed as rude.
I wish I knew how to deal with this problem. Any suggestions?
Tell your friends that prayer makes you uncomfortable. If they have an issue with that (or you do), decline their dinner invitations in future.
Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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RE: A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 3:19 pm
(August 30, 2019 at 2:58 pm)Brian37 Wrote: (August 30, 2019 at 2:52 pm)Denverguy Wrote: I don't know how to handle this. I have two religious friends, and whenever I go out to eat with either of them this is a problem. I meet one only at restaurants. He always says a prayer before eating. It makes me feel awkward, as though by waiting until he's finished I am in agreement with the prayer. I'm not.
I have another friend who I met for dinner at someone's house. Before we ate she said a prayer, while we all waited. (Several of us are non-believers).
Again, the awkwardness while waiting for her to finish the prayer. This is just me, but I find that to be a little rude and self-serving.
I am tempted to eat before she finishes the prayer, but that would be construed as rude.
I wish I knew how to deal with this problem. Any suggestions?
Prayer is bullshit, it is merely the reflection of humans not wanting to face our finite existence.
Having said that, it is not to say those who buy into prayer are bad people. It just means they are mistaken as to how you go about living life.
If prayer worked like theists claim nothing bad would ever happen.
If the entity you pray to doesn't answer your prayers, is it really about you? Or is it about narcissism?
I don't believe in any God/god/gods or even "karma". I simply accept humans are all we have.
It's not about the efficacy of prayer, Brian.
Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
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RE: A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 3:25 pm
You could try masurbating.
That way after everyone is done making themselves feel better - with a bit of luck - you will actually have something to show for the efforts.
Prayer? Not so much.
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RE: A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 4:01 pm
Hum you favorite show tune loudly during the prayer. 
I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem.
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RE: A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 6:10 pm
Ignore it. Why does this bother you so much?
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." - Richard P. Feynman
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RE: A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 6:33 pm
It's rude and self-serving to assert your beliefs on them. Let them pray. Ignore it. It's not about you. This situation comes up a lot in life, and that's just how it is. If they don't insist you pray with them or involve you, that's their business. That's what it takes to get along in with other people. It's hard to find another living soul who has the exact same set of values as you, and dictating what others should and should not do is why wars happen.
If The Flintstones have taught us anything, it's that pelicans can be used to mix cement.
-Homer Simpson
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RE: A prayer before dinner
August 30, 2019 at 7:47 pm
(This post was last modified: August 30, 2019 at 7:49 pm by Denverguy.)
(August 30, 2019 at 6:33 pm)Mermaid Wrote: It's rude and self-serving to assert your beliefs on them. Let them pray. Ignore it. It's not about you. This situation comes up a lot in life, and that's just how it is. If they don't insist you pray with them or involve you, that's their business. That's what it takes to get along in with other people. It's hard to find another living soul who has the exact same set of values as you, and dictating what others should and should not do is why wars happen. But it's NOT self-serving for someone to make everyone else be silent and to delay eating while they do their prayer thing.
Got it.
If it were me and I wanted to say a prayer I would do it silently and not involve others. But that's just me.
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