We are all persecuted at some time for our belief and for what other's assume we believe?

Question

How do you personally handle it when this happens?
Have you built up a resistance to it and can you just brush it off now?
Have any advice for someone who has a hard time with it?

Personally i have been ridiculed and verbally abused for just about everything you can think of by people who don't know the slightest thing about me or what I believe, and I'm sure many people have had similar experiences. I have built up a resistance but some things still get to me and i do have trouble dealing with it.

No matter what you believe, someone somewhere will always have something bad to say about it.

Answer 1

flowergirl, don't be patronizing and add "hun" when answering. it's unbecoming.

i find that a sense of humor is essential in order to withstand persecution. more often than not, it really is the perception of our belief system and not the true beliefs that get scrutinized and judged. too many sheeple. too many folks that have ceased thinking for themselves. it is far easier to persecute others than to seek to understand and to accept.

one difficult thing, that i have found, is to resist becoming someone who in turn persecutes others for their beliefs/opinions. as someone who suffered for being different, for how i look, for the clothes i've worn, for growing up being picked on ruthlessly, and now as an adult been harassed, teased, called names, and even been fired from a couple jobs for being gay/transgender, i have found it very hard to not become hateful of those who have caused me to suffer. so, personally, i have a lot to learn in terms of how to deal with being attacked/abused for who i am, and what i believe. i can handle people who think differently, believe differently and have different points of view. as long as they aren't harming anyone, and leave folks alone. its far worse to be attacked and hated for WHO i am. i have a hard time with it. the only things that really help are to pursue things that strengthen me - spirituality, meditation, reading (fiction and non-fiction), poetry, writing, relationships, family, love, animals, nature, etc. The more things i do that are positive for me, that strengthen me inwardly, time spent laughing, time spent deepening connections with others/with nature/with the universe and simply the passing of time, makes the negative stuff that other people have to say so much less relevant. you can't sacrifice your tenderness or harden your spirit/heart/emotions in order to get by. those are the best parts of you. just don't let other sick people poison you with their misery by staying mentally healthy yourself, whatever your mental vitamins are, so to speak. just take care of yourself first and foremost.

Answer 2

You're right.

When I am ridiculed, it's not because I try to force my beliefs upon others, it's more like they are trying to force ME.

I am a Christian (but not in the traditional sense anymore), and Christians almost always ridicule me.

My advice - avoid them if you can. Show them that your beliefs haven't changed just because they rant and rave. Don't be rude - even if they are - just tell them you're not interested in what they think.

If you can't avoid them, well, if it's not doing them any personal harm, it's none of thier business - and you should do what you believe, not focus on what they will do to you if you don't change.

Many people are very ignorant about what others believe, and that's because they chose to follow thier own. It becomes intolerable only when they try to force thier beliefs on others. That becomes harrassment, and in most communities there are laws to protect people from it. But U.S. laws also protect free speech, so people can pretty much say what they want. You don't have to believe what they say, though.

Answer 3

In the US, I haven't seen people persecuted for what they believe as much as for being too public about beliefs that are best kept to themselves and their intimates.

I don't know you, but many pagans and other non-Christians go out of their way to be offensive to Christians (Aleister Crowley, for instance). It's no wonder to me that people embracing the same symbology are pre-judged by many Christians.

I'm more Buddhist than anything else, but very few people know that; and I've only told people who have earned the right to know by engaging me in serious discussion. Those who put a pentacle, a cross, a goat-head, or a buddha around their neck are asking for whatever reaction they get.

I am not interested in applying for martyrhood. Though I do not know you, it seems from your question and avatar that you are.

Answer 4

Each person you meet is at a specific stage of their life,a stage you may have passed or not yet reached. Judging them by your standards and experience is therefore not only unfair but could lead to unnecessary anger and frustration. love and light this has been my own experience.

Answer 5

I have experienced much the same - I come on here and try to correct misunderstandings. My wife calls me a grumpy old man. I think shes right

Answer 6

I simply reiterate what I actually believe then move on...

As demonstrated most people will continue to believe what they choose even when faced with me telling them the facts about what I believe..



All I can do is continue to tell them what I really believe and move on...

Answer 7

When you feel very strongly about what you stand for, it does not matter what other people think or say.

Answer 8

That hun is the reason WHY i have made a choice to have my OWN personal relationship with God. =)