A cousin of mine was finally able to overcome his addction to illegal drugs. He has also quit stealing and talking profanely. He contributes this to his recent faith. Would it be rude of me to tell him there is nothing to put his faith into but himself. He really believes he wouldn't have come out of it otherwise. Do you think he would relapse if his hope was squashed?
2007-01-09 05:12:48 · 23 answers · asked by joe 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Meh. I'd just keep my thoughts to myself.
2007-01-09 05:16:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
In order for you to do that with any honesty, you would have to assert with 100% certainty that there is no God. Since that is not logicvally possible, you at the very least must accept the possibility of God in order to remain intellectually honest. Thus, not only would you be squashing his hope, but considering your cousins changed life I would say you are likely also wrong. Things which do not exist do not change peoples lives the way your cousins faith has changed his.
2007-01-09 13:19:32 · answer #2 · answered by Tim 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First of all, if it's working for him, why would you want to ruin it, even if by chance?
Second of all - if his faith is real, what you say wouldn't even test him. The question really should be why you don't believe something that has caused your cousin to make such changes in his life.
Third - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
If I was like you, I wouldn't have that conversation until he tries to push God on you, because really, why should anyone push their views on another unless they think their life is at stake?
Point being, YES it would be rude and I hope he won't relapse.
2007-01-09 13:22:46 · answer #3 · answered by CHRISTINA 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If he is secure in his faith then he won't listen to you anyway and nor should he. Sorry, my opinion. How about celebrate his accomplishments with him and be supportive. He was able to overcome with the help of something you do not understand and should be a testimony to you. If he were to tell you in love about what great things have taken place in his life will you ridicule him and say that he is delusional, because he has faith and you don't? I hope that his faith is grounded and remains that way. Leave him alone.
2007-01-09 13:22:09 · answer #4 · answered by Goober W 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Religion is a drug, so it's not like he's made a big leap. He's replaced one crutch with another.
How wonderful it would be if you could show him that it was not a all-powerful man in the sky who cured him of his addiction, but really only HIMSELF! Perhaps he would no longer look to the skies for wisdom and look within himself, finding his own power instead of attributing it to an outside force.
If your friend thought that the Earth was flat, or that Santa Claus was real, no one would tell you to let him continue believing it. But belief in God is a special belief that is beyond reproach and ridicule. How nice and convenient for Him! or more to the point, those who gain their influence and power from others' belief in Him.
It is truly a shame that your friend could not fix himself until he was convinced that it was an outside force doing the fixing.
Ultimately I don't think you will convince your friend. But if your friend does accept what you say, I think he will be better off, because he will realize that it wasn't magic mud on his nose or a lucky rabbit's foot or a man in the clouds that gave him his power, but that it was all in himself. He will have self-confidence instead of dependence on mass imagination.
All in all, between those two likelihoods, you will not squash his hope. In the worst case, he will simply not believe you, maybe hate you, as he is encouraged to do; in the best case, he will have even greater hope, because he will know that he is in control of himself.
2007-01-09 13:29:17 · answer #5 · answered by romulusnr 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
What! Are you nuts? He found something that works for him! Why would you even think of quashing his hope? Anybody who is off a drug addiction and has quit stealing, quit profanity or other acts of crime seems to me someone I would rather know and find out about rather than retain my smug opinion that nothing but my "take" on life is correct. It seems to me the cousin is ok ... you seem to need to practice some tolerance. Sorry, but this is the way I see this one.
2007-01-09 13:24:23 · answer #6 · answered by brensbren 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Before you "enlighten" your "saved" cousin with your perception of the truth, ask yourself if this will do harm. By doing harm, I mean, will his acceptance of your truth cause him to go back on drugs?????. You may not believe in punishment from a god, or karma, but the point is you would definitely be the CAUSE OF HIS RELAPSE. Now, if you are a true human being and not a psychopath, you will keep your ideas to yourself and rejoice in your cousin's sobriety. Rude is not what it would be to tell your cousin, it could possibly be murder.
2007-01-09 13:37:12 · answer #7 · answered by sashali 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think one person tellign him something he has heard a million times will cause him to fall off the wagon. But if you care about your cousin why would you even consider doing something you know might harm him? Try being supportive. There a plenty of things to talk about besides religion!
2007-01-09 13:42:23 · answer #8 · answered by caseofyou2003 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why would you feel the need to do this? What would you gain from it, despite a temporary sense of pride? All people have the right to believe what they want, however fanciful it may be. If his faith is helping him, leave him to it.
2007-01-09 13:20:22 · answer #9 · answered by N 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That would be immensely painful to him and it would also be false. The human mind has no reason to do what he did with his old habits. The sinful self compels us to do what your friend used to do. His faith changed him and i'm suprised it hasn't changed you seeing what an impact it had in him. I don't know what faith your friend believes in, but i have many books that have proven Christianity logically, philosophically, scientifically, and naturally.
2007-01-09 13:19:07 · answer #10 · answered by Droppinshock 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
if his faith is true and solid, there is nothing that you could ever say or do to ever make him question his faith. Faith comes from an eternal presence and faith is an eternal virtue...your words are mere finite and transitory and can do nothing to squash any kind of faith. :)
2007-01-09 13:17:28 · answer #11 · answered by the BREEZE 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋