2006-12-10 17:24:20 · 25 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
Perhaps you could try and exercise the same tolerance as you would like to receive from them. If they want to say grace, let them. If you don't want to, don't.
Don't require them to live to your expectations any more than you are prepared to comply with theirs.
2006-12-10 17:28:04 · answer #1 · answered by poptop 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
It all depends. Where is the dinner held? At your house or somebody else's?
If at your house, your are the host then you could have indicated in the invitation that saying grace would not to be done to avoid the problem (for you). If you neglected to mention that in the invitation, you can still skip the grace routine by just starting the dinner without saying the grace and the guests would just follow. If a guest insists on saying the grace, you as the host can still turn that down. It's your house, the guests must comply.
Now, if the dinner is at another person's house, then you are just a guest. There is nothing you can do. You don't have to bow your head though. Keep it up and look at a picture on the wall or something .... or you can close your eyes and think about something, like what to do tomorrow. C'mon, lighten up. Be tolerant.
2006-12-10 18:13:33 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Grace makes me uncomfortable too, but the best approach is to sit in respectful silence. You don't have to bow your head or mumble "amen," just sit and wait. Sometimes peaceful reflection can make the time go by faster. I like to think about how lucky I am while it's happening. Just because I'm not a Christian doesn't mean I'm not thankful for my good fortunes.
If you're dead set on not hearing grace, politely excuse yourself before the meal and wait it out elsewhere. Making a scene would make everyone in the room uncomfortable and you even more so than you already were.
Having other people's beliefs thrust upon you can be difficult, but thrusting your own beliefs (or lack thereof) back will lead to more trouble than it's worth.
2006-12-10 17:45:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I dont like to hear grace either. I have learned to just put my head down for the whole 2-5 minutes of it and tune it out. I think about a song or something else. There is no way to politely say shut up about your graces. Make sure that you do thank them for the meal and that you enjoyed being invited though.
2006-12-10 17:29:41 · answer #4 · answered by kort 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Why would you want to? As soon as you ask them not to you are insulting their religion. The meal would not be eaten under friendly circumstances. The best thing is for you to have a moment of silence while the blessing is said and then you can have a nice dinner with everyone.
2006-12-10 17:58:51 · answer #5 · answered by sweetpea 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Basically its about being thankful for the food and company. Surely you can live with that. When you serve the meal, from your house, you can skip grace. When at someone elses house abide by their rules that is just basic respect. If your ears are going to fall off from the words - so be it!
2006-12-10 17:43:23 · answer #6 · answered by obenypopstar 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps stop attending functions with people's beliefs that are different than yours. Or offer to say a blessing of your own that steers away from God or a certain religion. For example, It is wonderful that we have all been able to come together to share this abundant meal and happy time together.
2006-12-11 02:49:34 · answer #7 · answered by Unity 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You could always cover your ears or excuse yourself before the saying of the grace.
2006-12-10 18:24:20 · answer #8 · answered by BookLady 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is a God. And how rude of you, do you tell everyone not to eat broccoli cause you don't like it. Get some counselling and solve your God resentment. Good book to read is "why bad things happen to good people". Most likely you think there is no God, because of the tragic things that happened to you and/or the tragic things in the world. Good luck, take a deep breath and listen to the small still voice inside you.
2006-12-10 18:01:21 · answer #9 · answered by Jean M 2 · 4⤊ 2⤋
if you are in our own home you can ask them not to but for those that say grace they will probably do so silently. But when you or out then you will just have to deal with it. It may be offensive to you for them to do this but may to them you not doning it just as offensive. You should be as supportive in them being happy with prayer as they should be in you not being thankful that you have food to eat
2006-12-10 17:32:28 · answer #10 · answered by texas_sandie 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋