Some are so superstitious they can't bring themselves to do the simplest things.
We went to the Asian Buffet once, and this girl was afraid to open a fortune cookie. When we asked her why, she said that it was "ungodly," and that "god should decide her future, not an evil cookie."
A fortune cookie?!?!?! A dark sided fortune cookie!?!?!? WAKE UP GIRL!!!
Sometimes my religious friends are so lame-minded I just want to shake them.
2007-02-16 03:29:48 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
OK - but are you telling me that all of your
non religious friends are NOT weak minded?
Why are you trying to incite hatred with
inappropriate generalizations?
2007-02-16 03:33:44 · answer #1 · answered by Elana 7 · 3⤊ 3⤋
So far I have not really seen any good answers so I will try to help by sharing with you some of my experiences.
At one point in my life I was a fundamental Christian. Strangely this did not bring me any joy as I believed the vast majority of people were going to suffer for eternity. Not only this but I believed I lived in a fallen and corrupt world. This caused me to see everything as evil which did not directly related to Christianity. Therefore I only read the Bible and other auxiliary Christian writings, music (i.e. Jar of Clay and Rush Mullins, to note some of the better ones, the rest of my CDs I had destroyed with a hammer), as well as movies (there was not much to chose from then so other than movies about Jesus' Life and Veggie Tales the picking were quite slim.
In short the more zealous I became in my faith the more I felt totally surrounded by evil. Now that I have broken out of that ethos I feel a weight lifted off of me which manifests as sense of freedom and joy. I see the beauty and humor in things I would normatively have shrunk away from.
This does not mean you cannot be a Christian and still experience some of the Joys that I do but it does mean you cannot be so legalistic and uptight. Kudos to you for trying to find a healthy balance. It seems you intuitively have some wisdom your friends do not. Try not to be too harsh on them. Remember a soft word can break a bone so try to tap into finding the few right words that may plant the seeds to finding a happier perspective.
2007-02-16 11:50:38 · answer #2 · answered by Love of Truth 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree with your point. However it could be that in the experience of this girl a number of people take a fortune seriously, so she felt she had to "take a stand".
Another reason: maybe she has just started to reject stuff like horoscopes, etc. Could be before becoming a Christian she was really into that stuff and allowing it to control her life. So once free of that stuff it would be natural to go to extremes.
These are more positive interpretations of her reaction.
On the other hand, some Christians are so into "do's and don'ts" (we call that legalism) they seem to be afraid of doing a "no-no", as if God was standing critically over her shoulder to give her a slap whenever she did the slightest questionable thing. It's too bad, but some Christians do have a distorted biew of God. I don't think most do though.
2007-02-16 11:36:51 · answer #3 · answered by Mr Ed 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you really care about your friends...
The question is are they lame minded because they don't think or because they simply don't think like you do? It appears that they might be the same to you.
The Bible (both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament) command us to love God with all our minds. Granted, that means more for some people than others. I would choose in your situation to understand your friend rather than condemn her.
Otherwise, she might think you lame minded. Believe it or not, many Christians are very smart and extremely rational thinkers. Philosopher J.P. Moreland is recognized not just as a Christian Philosopher, but as a Philosopher without a qualifier. There are others like him in the fields of science, medicine, law, and business. Christian does not equate with dumb or with throwing out all rationality.
That said, I love fortune cookies, unless they are the orange flavored kind.
2007-02-16 12:01:42 · answer #4 · answered by goofyguy47 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry, not all Christians are like that. I'm a devout Christian and i read fortune cookies all the time lol. This is because i acknowledge that God is in control, so i know thaat some silly cookie message won't decide the future. Your friend is giving the cookie power over her by fearing it. She's putting it on a pedastal on which it was not meant to rest, which is ungodly in itself. Christians like her are stereotypes. We don't all lquote scripture maliciously, and curse gays and athiests lol. Some of us are really cool laid back ppl who just so happen to love God
2007-02-16 11:36:57 · answer #5 · answered by fachizzzzle 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wow, the answer to that question could fill volumes. But I'll keep it short.
Like everything, there are zealots in every walk of life. Taking things to the extreme and being all inclusive is their nature. And many people that claim to be Christians have become just that, zealots. Christianity is about patients, kindness, love, forgiveness, understanding and of course the word of God, which is, simplistically speaking, reiterations of those ideals.
As a Christian myself, is your friend a little of her rocker over fortune cookies? Well, honestly, yes. Should you cast disparages on her because your ideologies do not coincide with hers, no.
If she is truly your friend, then as a friend you should allow her, her idiosyncrasies that make her who she is and that is your friend. It might do you a little good to exercise a little tolerance for others in the same way that you tolerate your vegetarian friend, or the one that smokes if you don't; who doesn't drink if you do; the one who loves rocky mountain oysters and they make you yack, and so on.
Tolerance of others is not making sweeping generalities like “why are some of my Christian friends so weak minded”. So who's the weak minded individual, the one that has some eccentric behaviors or the one that can't accept that behavior?
If you’re that interested in helping your friend, read the Bible and show her where she is in error. Would you scream at people at the top of your lungs that 2 plus 2 dos not equal 5, or would you show them why it doesn't? Who knows, in your quest to correct her odd behavior, you might suddenly find yourself looking at people differently. Instead of forcing your beliefs down someone’s throat like a zealot, you might find yourself allowing people to be themselves and still have you as a friend. Imagine that.
2007-02-16 12:30:26 · answer #6 · answered by Wil 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People use anything as an excuse NOT to have to do things. If you ask someone to do something, and they do not want to, they have to give an acceptable excuse. If they say "Its against my religion", how are you supposed to call them on it without getting into a frustrating conversation?
This girl is probably boring as all hell anyway. The proper response to "god should decide her future" is "what if god put your future in the hands of this cookie?"
2007-02-16 11:36:19 · answer #7 · answered by Mike 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oh, do I ever know what you mean. I know a fundie couple that threw out all their "secular" CD's and fast-forward through any mention of "magic", "witches" etc. in a movie. It must be horrible to life in that kind of fear. I think it's precisely because that brand of christianity has no official doctrine, only their own interpretations of the bible and the constant goading, even competition, of their pastors and friends to eliminate more and more "worldly" things from their lives. They seem to think that any idea that crosses their minds to the effect of "such-and-such is evil" comes from the holy spirit and must be obeyed. Ironically, they criticize catholics for supposedly making "man made rules" when they do it far, far more.
2007-02-16 11:37:16 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The church ladies got together at a Japanese restaurant and we all opened our fortune cookies after our meal. We laughed about it, but I don't think any of us put any faith in it. I know I didn't.
However, if she is new to Christianity or feels some sort of temptation from reading it, you should support her reasons no matter what and help her to be strong in not reading it
2007-02-16 11:34:48 · answer #9 · answered by Christian93 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
They aren't lame minded. Their church has been teaching them fear since birth. They can't help it.
This is why fundamentalists preachers should not be allowed to preach. If you look for sin and evil in everything, you will find it. If you look for good in everything, you will find it. It's self-fulfilling prophecy.
Moderate preachers and down home true preachers are better. They aren't so whipped into a frenzy about saving the world, they just want to help their congregations live as good a life as they can with God's love and help.
2007-02-16 11:35:07 · answer #10 · answered by janicajayne 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Total subservience to a religious doctrine requires irrational thinking and emotional dependence on the religious community and superstition of prayer.. =\
Besides, fortune cookies taste like cardboard
2007-02-16 11:34:18 · answer #11 · answered by Dr. Socks 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋