If you're pissing them off, you hear about it directly. If they're proud of you, they tell everyone else.

Yep, that's pretty much my mom in a nutshell.

I understand that, better. That's a personal thing.

It's a thing I feel kind of bad about, too, because his faith is such an important part of Dad's life. But at the end of the day I think you believe what you believe, and if there's one thing that ticked Jesus off it was folks professing a belief just so people would think better of them. And while I don't believe in the Trinity I do buy into a heck of a lot of what Jesus said.

It's a thing I feel kind of bad about, too, because his faith is such an important part of Dad's life. But at the end of the day I think you believe what you believe, and if there's one thing that ticked Jesus off it was folks professing a belief just so people would think better of them.

Gris, you need to watch Homicide and meet Detective Munch...he'd be so right there with you...otherwise, just enjoy your hamburger, you lucky bastard. I hate your guts now...does that give you some equilibrium back?

Um... yes? I guess?

It's funny, Calli, I flirted with conversion to Unitarian Universalism for a long time in high school, and for some reason it never pinged my parents' radar either. If I were to mention my agnosticism, though, or say I was considering converting to Judaism or Islam or Hinduism or whatever, I think it would make them very... sad, maybe? Either way, it would be a shift they would disapprove of. I'm not sure why, so far as not-Christian religions go, Unitarian Universalism gets a pass on their disapproval.

I love it when my home church does baptism ceremonies (infant sprinkling), but I've never attached any sort of Hell-preventative feelings to them - they are a community acceptance of the baby into the community of the church, for me. Plus, a chance to show the pretty baby off to the other people.

Of course, my knee-jerk response that "Well, the baptism ritual in the Church of Satan is really hard on babies" doesn't do anyone any favors.

Heh. I was going to suggest you just tell them you're waiting for Halloween and let them draw their own conclusions.

My family is supposed to be sponsoring the child of some good friends for baptism on Christmas day. It's making me wonder - these people are totally non-religious, haven't set foot in a church since the last child was baptized, aren't members - I think their only connection with the church at all is through us. Does this bother people who do consider themselves people of faith, or members of a particular church?

'Cause it's kind of bothering me, and not just because it's disrupting our xmas morning traditions. Some of you know I have somehting of a minefield of issues regarding churchy stuff, so I don't know that I trust my own reaction on this.

I'm not sure why, so far as not-Christian religions go, Unitarian Universalism gets a pass on their disapproval.

Back in the day (like when John Adams and John Q. Adam were in it), UUism passed a lot more closely to mainstream Protestant Christianity. I think it still has some residual Founding Father respectability--all Calling of the Pagan Quarters and so on notwithstanding.

If I ever went UU, my dad's reaction would be a never-ending steam of question-mark burning jokes. So it can never be.

I was baptized Episcopalian as an infant. I'm not sure it counts, becaue neither of my parents is actually Episcopal and they more or less picked the church out of a hat as the closest thing to a Catholic/Presbyterian hybrid, which is how they actually raised me. I haven't been inside an Episcopal church since I was five.

(Also? I'm not sure I can actually *spell* Episcopalian.)

Wow. My first post in a month and it goes three times.

My browser must have really *missed* you guys.

flirted with conversion to Unitarian Universalism for a long time in high school, and for some reason it never pinged my parents' radar either.

Since my parents pretty much founded the Unitarian group in my hometown (during a period when my dad was still into religion but getting away from it, and my mom was getting into it but hadn't gotten craxy yet), I think they would've been okay with me converting to UU.

Seriously, if they wanted me to be a member of a religion, though, they maybe shouldn't have thrown them all at me, one per year.

ION, I've gone from mildly annoyed to seriously depressed. The guy who washes car windows on our corner told me that his wife is pregnant. He showed me her ultrasounds. He says he'll have to get a euro from every car, and work all day, and he still doesn't know if he can pay for the delivery. Let alone the baby.

I could give him money, but it won't solve the problem. It won't even put a bandage over the problem.