Hello everyone!!! Just wanted to ask you. When someone challenges your faith do you become offended?

Answer 1

No I try not to get offended
but sometimes I do let "my alligator mouth over load my mocking bird butt" from my dad when I was young

Answer 2

If they're making a serious challenge to my faith, no matter how strongly I disagree with them, I respect their ideas and beliefs... so no, I'm not offended by sincere disagreements or challenges.

I am sometimes offended by people who spend little or no time examining themselves or what they believe (or why they believe it)... but who will go out of their way to attack the beliefs of others, just for their own amusement or as a way of venting their own insecurities and frustrations. Those people are ill-intended and immature.

And I'm not offended by what they think, because generally... they don't think. If I'm offended it's because they would challenge me, or anyone, without first examining themselves.

And incidently, I'm just as offended when it's some mindless, dogmatic challenge coming from a Christian, Muslim, etc... toward an atheist or agnostic. Those can often be every bit as ugly, destructive and foolish.

Answer 3

It depends on how they challenge my faith. My boyfriend, an agnostic, constantly tells me (jokingly) that I'm going to hell. I laugh, because I know he's joking. When people want to know why I believe what I believe, that's fine, too. When someone wants to have a spirited debate about it, that's still okay. It's when people challenge my faith and then don't even want to hear about it, or are completely closed-minded when I tell them what Wicca ACTUALLY is that I get offended. If someone challenges me with the intent to change my mind and tell me I'm wrong and a servant of Satan rather than hearing about my path and why I follow it, that's where the offense comes from.

Answer 4

No. If you offend me I have a little more right to become offended but I am usually not that easy to offend. I figure God can handle himself so my need to defend Him is like a fly trying to defend an elephant. And in order to be offended one generally has to care about the opinion of others. I think everyone has a right to their own opinion just like me so I try to overlook the opinions that are simply rude, ignorant , or intolerant. Life is too short to carry a grudge about something you cannot control.

Answer 5

Not at all. I like a good challenge. The only time I have a problem is when I'm told I going to hell for not buying into another religion. But it doesn't offend me.

Answer 6

I'll be honest. Sometimes I am a little offended. I hate TV depictions of Buddhists. There is a commercial about a Buddhist that doesn't want to kill his own cold germs that sort of goads me. But I do not react with negativity.

How do you know you have embraced a belief? When you feel offended on it's behalf when it is made light of.

I realized that I was hard core Buddhist this way! I want to defend Buddhism!!!

Answer 7

I do not become offended. I see it as an opportunity and challenge to tell an aspect of myself that they previously didn't know before. Also, they might learn something about my faith that they like.

Answer 8

Not unless they start making fun of it and at that point I'm just disgusted with the small mindedness of that person not offended. If they have a different view and ask intelligent questions about it no problem.

That's the great thing about the America we can all have different choices of religion.

Answer 9

No. There is no reason to become offended. I just trust and believe that my faith is True. I will not argue with anyone to state my case. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. However, there are some that will try to debate with me and try to offend me but, I just walk away from them. It's not worth it.

Answer 10

I only become defensive when they are condescending. I have many friends of many different faiths, and we are all respectful of one another and our differences. We are Pagans, Jews, Christians, Seikhs and Buddhists and we all get on fine.

There are many paths to divinity. Accepting that divinity is big enough that each individual may have their own path is hard, but necessary to living in harmony. Those who insist on preaching at someone and "witnessing" to them are exhibiting a lesser form of the same intollerant fundamentalist extremism that the Islamic Fundamentalists of Al Queda and other groups practice. Both see themselves as doing the will of their gods by forcing their will on the world.

Power corrupts, absoulte power corrupts absolutely. And those who claim to speak for god never do.

Answer 11

My faith is skepticism (I'm agnostic). People challenge it all the time - I'm not offended. People can believe whatever works for them, just don't assume that I need exactly what you need - just like I don't have exactly the same interests as anyone else.