I'm a lil fellow, 5'4, kinda whispy, flamin red goatee, tatted up and scarred... and around christmas time I likes to wear me a Santa hat. Anyhow, I'm at starbux and this lil girl comes up and asks me,"Mr Elf, why do you look so grumpy?" Looking down into that sweet lil face full of beliefs in fairy tales and such I simply didnt have the heart to tell her there was no santa and I am no elf... so,"Well we work a lil hard this time of year and I am a bit tired but... I'll be fine. Thank you for caring though I will be sure your name is on the good list."
My question is though, do you ever feel that way when talking to religous believers? Face to face that is, its easy to fuss about things online but... dont ya sometimes feel like it would be wrong to shatter their illusions?
2007-12-07 16:30:08 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I hate to admit it, but I do...
It's a struggle between honesty and compassion... cause let's face it, sometimes honesty can seem brutal. It's too easy to just placate the believers, especially children. The children are victims caught in a debate of adults...
2007-12-07 16:34:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 2⤋
Sorry, I'm not an atheist, but sometimes I feel that way about atheists. Particularly when they put such effort into "proving" that God doesn't exist and trying so very hard to get us believers to ignore all the things that have happened in our lives. As always, I fall back on "Treat others as I want to be treated," so I don't shatter any illusions and I smile and listen and go on with my life afterwards. Letting non-believers believe what they want is not harmful to my beliefs so why not?
BTW, that was very kind what you did for that little girl.
2007-12-07 23:20:22 · answer #2 · answered by Michael B - Prop. 8 Repealed! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
shattering their illusions is not only wrong, it would produce mass chaos.
although i believe that God is not real, the message... is.
love and kindness, etc...
the "abolishment" of God would mean that the message would be lost as well. The world needs this message, and if the only way it will survive is if there is a God to believe in, then so be it.
i I don't have to believe in God to understand the teachings of the bible, and i think if people can start realizing this and stop arguing about how real God is, and who's right and wrong, and just focus on the morals of the bible, the world would be a better place.
The real purpose of the bible has been lost over time, and has become a never ending war,
respect other religions... while keeping your own, and live your life, practicing what is preached.
2007-12-07 17:33:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have a detector for a lot of religious non-factual statements that people make. I honestly ignore it mostly, but as another poster meant, there maybe some times when you can deliver the magic bullet. Take advantage of those times.
I however wouldn't have kept the elf misconception unless it was funny and worth the gag. In your case, maybe it was a funny situation enough at the time. You sound like a thoughtful person. Kids can have fantasies, I think it's ok for a few years. Heck a lot of early learning is through pretend. Mostly it fades.
2007-12-07 16:40:07 · answer #4 · answered by anon 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Hey, I'm a lil guy, too! 5'2", but built like a miniature refrigerator. Not at all. Most theists are grown adults. They know that not everyone adheres to their illusions. As far as being polite to people, I'm only as polite as they are. If I know mormons or JWs are coming to the door and have proper amounts of time, I'll grab my goth clothes and makeup. I can't wait to get a big black book with a pentacle on it for just that purpose.
2007-12-07 16:40:10 · answer #5 · answered by Phoenix_Slasher 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
"Whenever I see an atheist asking a troll question, posing as a Christian (always a bigoted one), " Or you just want to think that. Because there are some very bigoted very idiotic individuals on the Christian side. But I guess it is easier to just call them atheist trolls. "and not the Christians." Uh huh. "his question doesn't even sound like what a Christian would say." I've seen Christians spout the most hateful drivel imaginable. People like NCWJ.
2016-05-22 02:59:27 · answer #6 · answered by marget 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To be honest I have no real desire to shatter their illusions. I'm more than happy for people to believe whatever makes them feel good as long as they don't think that their beliefs deserve special treatment (over everyone elses)
2007-12-07 23:53:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. I've never felt like an elf when talking to religious believers.
Ok, seriously, no. I'm not so concerned about hurting feelings, as I am about damaging working relationships.
2007-12-07 16:34:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 2⤋
the kid thing was cool-and a good thing to do-as for christians it seems a fair portion of my friends and acquaintances are christian and i am very vocal about my thoughts-makes for interesting conversations sometimes so i guess nope i dont feel that way with adults---just me--smile and enjoy the night
2007-12-07 16:39:24 · answer #9 · answered by lazaruslong138 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Not really. I don't mind shattering their illusions. However, there is a time and place.
2007-12-07 16:34:58 · answer #10 · answered by dawnsdad 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋