Damn. That happens to me all the time.

It's a good point, Strega. I'm definitely more relaxed about people who don't use their religion as a handful of magic beans to cure health issues and such...but still, as someone who thinks it's nuts to believe in some supernatural being/creator/judge/ward, it's kind of difficult. I mean, people I love deeply believe in god. And yet, I don't. I think it's a delusional thing, and I'm not plugged into the matrix. And I understand that's an offensive thing to believers.

How can you sit across someone at a table who thinks a belief you hold so deeply is completely ridic? Wouldn't you be all, "why do I want to hang out with someone who thinks this thing that is so important to me is false?"

I had our friend S cracking up the other day.

I tried to get a hold of Joe - no answer. My mom - no answer. My sister - no answer. Joe again - still no answer. Finally, I tried S as he always ansswers his phone. Except this particular day. I yelled into his voicemail, "Did the god-damned rapture happen and I get left behind? WHERE IS EVERYONE??"

How can you sit across someone at a table who thinks a belief you hold so deeply is completely ridic? Wouldn't you be all, "why do I want to hang out with someone who thinks this thing that is so important to me is false?"

IMO, because me holding that belief (generally) doesn't make the other person love me any less. Personal example: I'm Christian, Joe's very not. I believe in God and Jesus and I pray for people and I pray quite a bit during the day and I try to live a life that I think God will be pleased with. Joe has his own sets. He doesn't believe what I believe, but he believes in me and for that, I love him.

On the other hand, I think he's a heathen and going to Hell.

(Just kidding.)

And becuase I forgot to bring it around to why I'm a hypocrite, while it doesn't bother me if someone goes to church on Sunday and has issues with abortion and such, it makes me bonkers when someone holds up a copy of The Secret in the same way as a friend would hold up the Bible.

And it's all coming from the same belief in the supernatural. Therefore, I am a hypocrite and haven't found a way to sort it all out.

I am not offended by people thinking my beliefs are ridic, as long as those people treat me as a person with respect.

I am however offended by people who try to claim hold of my beliefs for their hatred and moral issues, no matter how they treat me as a person.

How can you sit across someone at a table who thinks a belief you hold so deeply is completely ridic? Wouldn't you be all, "why do I want to hang out with someone who thinks this thing that is so important to me is false?"

Again, someone got there first, but there are lots of things people believe that are very important to them-political and social issues alone-and still they manage to shuffle along, forming relationships with people who hold hugely different belief systems.

And becuase I forgot to bring it around to why I'm a hypocrite, while it doesn't bother me if someone goes to church on Sunday and has issues with abortion and such, it makes me bonkers when someone holds up a copy of The Secret in the same way as a friend would hold up the Bible.

That's not hypocrisy. That's Correct-Thinkingness!!

but still, as someone who thinks it's nuts to believe in some supernatural being/creator/judge/ward, it's kind of difficult. I mean, people I love deeply believe in god. And yet, I don't. I think it's a delusional thing, and I'm not plugged into the matrix. And I understand that's an offensive thing to believers.

How can you sit across someone at a table who thinks a belief you hold so deeply is completely ridic? Wouldn't you be all, "why do I want to hang out with someone who thinks this thing that is so important to me is false?"

Maybe you don't have to think its rediculous or delusional?

"Love" is similar to "God" in many ways.

You can't see it, taste it, touch it, prove it exists in a lab, etc. Many terrible things are done in the name of it. Any behavior people attribute to "love" you can readily explain by social expectations, conditioning, evolution, the biological drive to protect your genes, etc.

And yet most people believe in this notion of "love." Most people set great store by it. It seems rediculous and even delusional if you try and look at it factually.

I'm not saying that if you believe in "Love" you have to believe in "God".

But if you think the belief in "Love," (despite its complete intangibility and readily explained-away phenomenon) can be held by non-rediculous non-delusional people maybe you can extend that same assessment to people who believe in "God."

How can you sit across someone at a table who thinks a belief you hold so deeply is completely ridic? Wouldn't you be all, "why do I want to hang out with someone who thinks this thing that is so important to me is false?"

The thing for me is (and I know I'm not a conventional believer) that the belief I hold is ridic. There's just no way around it. It's not a reasonable thing to believe. I choose to believe despite its ridiculousness. Enough stuff has happened in my life for me to feel like it's not all that possible for me not to believe, despite everything.

So for me, people that don't believe are perfectly rational. I've got no problem with anyone thinking it's false and I'm delusional. It feels that way much of the time for me anyway.

I have more to say about it, but I think I'll stop there for the moment.