GUS Annoying Facebook proselytising

[keptwoman]

What would you do with this?

I posted the Marcus Aurelis quote that I saw in someones sig:

‘Live a good life. If there are gods and they

are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will

welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods,

...but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no

gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will

live on in the memories of your loved ones.’

 

And an aquantaince replied with something about Jesus and forgiveness not virtues, or something along those lines. I am really quite annoyed.

I feel that if I did something similar to her, for instance suggested that the occurance she was praising Jesus for was due to karma, well, I think she would be a bit mad and find it disrespectful to her beliefs. But when I suggested that she had been disrespectful to mine she argued the point and welcomed well reasoned debate or something. Well I'm not interested in debating Jesus, or being proselytised to.

 

So, who is right, am I overreacting and being precious or is she rude and disrespectful? What says the Hive?

[EJCMom]

Well, I don't know that there is a 'right' or 'wrong'. But, I do think it is a provocative quote. If I were to post it on my Facebook, I would expect responses from people who didn't agree with it. As to whether she was being rude, I can't really say either way without reading exactly what she wrote.

[keptwoman]

To me it's a statement of belief, there's no way I'd argue with someone elses statement of belief, regardless of how I may feel about it.

[Kate CA]

Well, I don't know that there is a 'right' or 'wrong'. But, I do think it is a provocative quote. If I were to post it on my Facebook, I would expect responses from people who didn't agree with it. As to whether she was being rude, I can't really say either way without reading exactly what she wrote.

 

Yes, I agree with this. I would never post something that I was not ready to discuss or debate on FB in my status. It is a public place with people of many beliefs--kind of like here except you get to choose your friends there. :D If you don't want people to comment why post it at all? I don't agree with everything my FB friends post and I am quite sure they don't all agree with mine. It is what it is. If you want a place that is wholly your own then a blog with no comment capability is what you are really looking for.

 

If one of my non-Christian friends posted something like that I might or I might not comment on it, as they might or might not comment on my praises of Christ when I post them now and then. Most of the time my non-Christian friends rejoice with me in my happiness as I do in theirs.

 

That's life.

[Heather in Neverland]

sigh...this is always such a tough topic.

 

1. if you post it they will come. FB and WTM and others like it are public places and people WILL post. I have been flogged many times here over my beliefs. It is the nature of the beast.

 

2. It IS your FB page though so you must have "friended" this person. Either delete their offensive comment or delete them entirely.

 

3. It is part of the mandate for Christians to go out and make disciples. What we believe requires us to share it with others, solicited or not. Now unfortunately, sometimes the WAY we share it isn't always the smoothest, or most popular, or even the most loving. We are a work in progress. :D

 

BUT, one of my best friends is a secular Jew. I have done my very best to share the gospel with her. And at one point she simply said to me, "I am aware of my options. I really don't want to discuss it any more." And I never brought it up again. And we are still best friends.

 

I think christians probably need to be a little less rabid in their sharing of the gospel and non-christians could stand to be a little more graceful when rejecting it.

 

Perhaps a simple statement of "I am aware of my options and I don't want to debate/discuss the topic" to your friend might work?

[Peela]

I think I would just be a tad annoyed but many Christians (not all, though) do see it as their duty to say something. And unfortuNately if you respond it is usually like talking to a brick wall because there is no room for debate with those sorts of dogmatic beliefs.In other words, you cannot argue with a belief that the person sees as fact. So the only way to deal with them without raising your blood pressure is to respond to the behavior rather than the content...maybe unfriend them, or simply say you feel it was unnecessary and you don't liked being preached at and don't do it again.Set a boundary and leave it at that.

I think if younreacted there is something for you to learn in how to deal with such situations- Facebook is a public place. I have seen far more blatant "attacks" on quotes even in my own circle, on Facebook, so obviously people do see a quote as provocation to debate and opinions, whether or not that is your intent.

[Pamela H in Texas]

What *I* did when I was on FB and people posted stuff that was offensive to me for whatever reason was to unfriend them. We can be friends/acquaintances/whatever IRL or on a message board possibly; but I don't want to constantly read things (or see things) that are offensive to me for one reason or another. At one point, I got rid of all but 6 people. Then I slowly added some of them back, then finally just deleted my FB altogether.

 

Part of me says that if you post it, you should be ready for response. But the other part of me feels that it's YOUR right to choose the way you're going to think, believe, etc. God says THAT. A few times, I did PM a quick thought if I could do it nicely and concisely, but mostly, I just try to avoid things that I find disturbing for whatever reason.

Edited July 1, 2010 by 2J5M9K

[Karenciavo]

Facebook is weird isn't it? Is it a conversation? Is it talking to ourselves? Is it simply letting the words out of our brains to float around and have random people comment? If one of my non-Christian friends posted that I probably wouldn't post anything, I also don't tend to post when one of my liberal friends posts something I don't agree with about life/politics. Because to me Facebook is not really a conversation that tends to move toward productive debate and conclusions, although sometimes it does.

Edited July 1, 2010 by Karenciavo

[Pongo]

I think I would just be a tad annoyed but many Christians (not all, though) do see it as their duty to say something. And unfortuNately if you respond it is usually like talking to a brick wall because there is no room for debate with those sorts of dogmatic beliefs.

 

Ouch!

 

I agree Facebook, is a public forum, you can say whatever you want. Remove the comment, unfriend them. Unfortunately, that's the nature of online conversation, you can comment on whatever you want, even if someone finds it offensive. I stopped using FB, not because I got comments like these , but because I saw many of my friends and family say and act so differently from how I knew them. It stinks.

[Carrie12345]

To me, religious (or opposite)-type statements "should" be left alone unless someone wants to add a "like", or other affirmation. Period.

 

Now, if someone were to outright post "People who believe/don't believe exactly what I do/don't are evil, awful, stupid people," I'd simply de-friend them.

 

It's a matter of manners, and I do expect my friends to have them. I mean, if I posted a picture of an ugly child (you know, if I had an ugly child :tongue_smilie:), I'd expect my friends to either ignore the picture or say it was cute. You don't tell someone their kid is ugly. There's no room for in-between when it comes to these things.

[KnitWit]

Facebook is weird isn't it? Is it a conversation? Is it talking to ourselves? Is it simply letting the words out of our brains to float around and have random people comment? If one of my non-Christian friends posted that I probably wouldn't post anything, I also don't tend to post when one of my liberal friends posts something I don't agree with about life/politics. Because to me Facebook is not really a conversation that tends to move toward productive debate and conclusions, although sometimes it does.

 

I agree.

 

I have to admit though, the most obnoxious stuff DOES come from fellow Christians who use their FB as a soapbox to *repeatedly* post their political views. This is weird to me, because with the tendency for *like* to friend *like*, they are kinda preachin' to the choir. (Or, maybe everyone else is being affected like me. I'm disturbed by what I read.)

 

At any rate, it has certainly made me more *thoughtful* regarding my *own* posts.

[Jenny in Atl]

I'd just ignore her :D and let the comment roll off your back.

[elegantlion]

Honestly, I'd probably let it go.

 

What I'd *WANT* to do is ask if she has read anything from Marcus Aurelius. I'm a christian and I'm reading Meditations right now, I find it fascinating and have some great wisdom from it. Then I might offer her a copy of Meditations, maybe.

[chiguirre]

:iagree: with Jenny. Although I might be tempted to post back something like "We'll see when we die," which is MA's point. If she keeps proselytizing, I'd defriend her. While Christians think it's their duty to tell everyone about their faith, my GUS morality leads me to avoid discussing my metaphysical views unless I'm asked by an adult.

[G5052]

I'm still trying to unravel why people are so devoted to it frankly.

 

Ignore.

[MelanieM]

I think I would just be a tad annoyed but many Christians (not all, though) do see it as their duty to say something. And unfortuNately if you respond it is usually like talking to a brick wall because there is no room for debate with those sorts of dogmatic beliefs.In other words, you cannot argue with a belief that the person sees as fact. So the only way to deal with them without raising your blood pressure is to respond to the behavior rather than the content...maybe unfriend them, or simply say you feel it was unnecessary and you don't liked being preached at and don't do it again.Set a boundary and leave it at that.

I think if younreacted there is something for you to learn in how to deal with such situations- Facebook is a public place. I have seen far more blatant "attacks" on quotes even in my own circle, on Facebook, so obviously people do see a quote as provocation to debate and opinions, whether or not that is your intent.

 

:iagree:Excellent post! Yes to responding to behaviour and not beliefs. Yes to setting boundaries. Yes to looking at the lesson and what you can learn from it.

 

Also, I have to say I was completely tickled to see GUS in the subject line here. Hee hee. :D

 

Love that quote!!

[Marylou]

To me it's a statement of belief, there's no way I'd argue with someone elses statement of belief, regardless of how I may feel about it.

 

I've never seen a "statement of belief" with the word "if" in it, but ymmv.

 

Why don't you just hide/unfriend her? If you're not interested in debating, don't debate!

[Quad Shot Academy]

Well, I don't know that there is a 'right' or 'wrong'. But, I do think it is a provocative quote. If I were to post it on my Facebook, I would expect responses from people who didn't agree with it.

 

:iagree:

 

This is one of the main reasons I have backed off using FB. People post things that they would never say to an aquaintence in person.

[SailorMom]

I agree with it being annoying. Facebook just isn't the right place....

I would just delete the comment and not say anything, though... not worth it.

[NanceXToo]

Well. I don't know. I'd have to take it with a grain of salt, and not be too bothered by it, I guess. If you're going to put an opinion out there in such a public way, you're going to get public response. And some of it will be in agreement with what you've said, and some of it won't. I mean people always respond to posts and comments people put on their facebook pages, regardless of whether it's an "I don't believe in God" type comment or an "I washed my car today" type comment. It's just kind of the nature of something like facebook, right?

 

By the way, I just noticed that same quote in someone's signature in the past day or two and I liked the quote, myself! But I wouldn't go post it on facebook or a blog or myspace or whatever and reasonably expect that no-one would comment on it, good or bad.

[Mejane]

I thought your wall was your wall - you know, where you post what you want about yourself. Not up for debate, imo. I'd be tempted to write something snarky on her wall, but that's just how I am. ;)

[momofkhm]

I would just delete the comment and not say anything, though... not worth it.

 

This is what I ended up doing for one. I post a Bible quote almost daily. One day I went back and one of my friends from high school said something like "lay off the Bible quotes" or something. It hit me as rude and hurtful. I deleted his comment figuring that he would unfriend me. Nope, I still see his stuff pop up. And he hasn't posted again to any of my verses.

[simka2]

Maybe someone said something similar, but I'll add my 2 cents worth ;). I tend to leave those type of comments on my wall or respond sickningly sweet tp them. The point being that peoples own words tend to make them look like idiots :)

 

I have a huge variety of friends on FB...and some not so friends. Recently, I had someone post some really nasty stuff on my wall....accuseing me of some really hurtful things...that weren't true. I very calmly replied....pointing out the fact that she was writing on my wall...and that reflected on her character, not mine. Then I left it up. I had a mtg later that night and I had about 5 people approach me and say, "Wow! I can't believe she wrote that!"

 

I still haven't deleted that person...I think it's petty unless they are really dangerous...or haveing stalking type qualities.

 

I would probly either leave it, or say, "Thankyou so much for the time you took to express what you believe. Obviously we do not quite believe the same thing, nut I appreciate your heart!" Then you just end up looking magnanimous and gracious ;)

[fivetails]

I thought your wall was your wall - you know, where you post what you want about yourself. Not up for debate, imo. I'd be tempted to write something snarky on her wall, but that's just how I am. ;)

 

It's not really like that though - because everything you post on your wall comes up in other people's feeds and has buttons for 'like' and 'comment' ...which sort of invites people to say something, know what I mean?

[Mejane]

It's not really like that though - because everything you post on your wall comes up in other people's feeds and has buttons for 'like' and 'comment' ...which sort of invites people to say something, know what I mean?

 

 

Oh, yeah. I should've known that from stalking my kids' accounts. :001_smile: I was thinking it was like a siggy.

[fivetails]

It's not really like that though - because everything you post on your wall comes up in other people's feeds and has buttons for 'like' and 'comment' ...which sort of invites people to say something, know what I mean?

 

Oh, yeah. I should've known that from stalking my kids' accounts. :001_smile: I was thinking it was like a siggy.

 

There *is* a spot that you can put a sig sort of thing...it's over to the left, under your profile pic :)...there's no 'comment' thing there like wall posts, it's just a space where you can write whatever. Mine just says 'meow' at the moment, and our homeschool group page's little spot says "Have fun storming the castle!"

[Kathleen in VA]

It's not really like that though - because everything you post on your wall comes up in other people's feeds and has buttons for 'like' and 'comment' ...which sort of invites people to say something, know what I mean?

 

That's what I was going to say, too. Right under your wall people are invited to comment. If you don't want comments on FB, don't post anything on your wall. If you want to post something because you believe it and want others to know, then be prepared to have folks say what they think.

 

I don't think someone sharing their beliefs in a comment (even if they differ from yours) should be taken as offensive. They think they are telling you the truth and they are doing it because they care about you. Think about it. This person truly believes you will die and spend eternity in hell suffering. No matter how laughable you may find that, it still shows that she is genuinely concerned for your spiritual welfare. She stands to gain nothing by convincing you of this other than the knowledge that she has helped someone. Her motive is not unkind, so take it in that spirit.

 

Now if she said something like, "That's a stupid quote" or "What a bunch of rot" then that would be offensive.

 

I think FB is a place for people to share their thoughts and have others respond. Sharing your beliefs kindly should not be considered offensive behavior; treating people rudely by calling their beliefs stupid or whatever would be offensive. You didn't really go into detail about the way she put things, so it is difficult to tell if she commented in an offensive way.

[Tidbits of Learning]

I have a friend that inevitably responds to my wall comments with something that is a bit odd. Just delete the comments from said friend don't reply to them.

I responded to one of the odd comments and it started a dialog that lasted quite a few comments later. I thought about it and went back and deleted both her comments and mine all the way up to the odd comment. Then I sent her a message and addressed it privately.

You have the power to delete anything that you don't want on your facebook no matter whether you wrote it or someone else. Just delete it and move on.

[Mejane]

To me it's a statement of belief, there's no way I'd argue with someone elses statement of belief, regardless of how I may feel about it.

 

Put it on the sidebar, as Fivetails suggested, then it won't invite comments. I like it, too. :)

[Mejane]

I post a Bible quote almost daily. One day I went back and one of my friends from high school said something like "lay off the Bible quotes" or something.

 

My sil praises God for everything from sunshine to a good hair day. It's tiresome to read, but I'd never write that on her wall - it's her wall, y'know? I don't have to read it.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

I don't like that either! (And, I'm a Christian missionary!!!) People do that to me as well, putting their opinions on when I post something personal I believe and they disagree with. I choose to ignore it. I won't feed that.

[Joanne]

You are free to "share" anything in your status.

 

"Friends" are free to respond.

 

While I agree that her response to your quote was tacky, the media itself is designed for interaction and the nature of spiritual content posts invites elevated feelings.

 

I have some uber liberals on my FB: their posts typically drive me insane.

I have some uber conservatives on my FB: their posts typically drive me insane.

 

I make "friend" and "unfriend" decisions based on behavior, not belief.

 

That said, I am torn. I believe faith and spirituality to be highly personal. Yet, I am spiritual in nature and desire to express that. So, if I posted a spiritual status update, I'd *want* it left alone. But I'd be knowingly posting it in a place designed for interaction.

 

It would be like posting about spanking, eating meet, not believing in Dave Ramsey, welfare or unschooling here. ;)

[i.love.lucy]

sigh...this is always such a tough topic.

 

1. if you post it they will come. FB and WTM and others like it are public places and people WILL post. I have been flogged many times here over my beliefs. It is the nature of the beast.

 

2. It IS your FB page though so you must have "friended" this person. Either delete their offensive comment or delete them entirely.

 

3. It is part of the mandate for Christians to go out and make disciples. What we believe requires us to share it with others, solicited or not. Now unfortunately, sometimes the WAY we share it isn't always the smoothest, or most popular, or even the most loving. We are a work in progress. :D

 

BUT, one of my best friends is a secular Jew. I have done my very best to share the gospel with her. And at one point she simply said to me, "I am aware of my options. I really don't want to discuss it any more." And I never brought it up again. And we are still best friends.

 

I think christians probably need to be a little less rabid in their sharing of the gospel and non-christians could stand to be a little more graceful when rejecting it.

 

Perhaps a simple statement of "I am aware of my options and I don't want to debate/discuss the topic" to your friend might work?

:iagree:

Facebook is weird isn't it? Is it a conversation?

Yes, FB is weird. I ran into a friend that I haven't seen for a year. But it didn't strike me that I hadn't seen or talked to her in so long because I have been getting FB updates so it seems we are still in touch, in eachother's lives. But we aren't. We aren't talking at all. It's very strange.

[coffeefreak]

:iagree:

 

This is one of the main reasons I have backed off using FB. People post things that they would never say to an acquaintance in person.

:iagree:

That's why I canceled for about 6 weeks, and now, only use it for long distance friends and family. Local friends were offending me inadvertently because their posts were always a personal agenda (Drs are evil, don't buy food from Walmart, etc). I decided, if I wanted to have any friends IRL, I needed to unfriend them on facebook.:lol:

 

I agree with it being annoying. Facebook just isn't the right place....

I would just delete the comment and not say anything, though... not worth it.

 

If FB isn't the right place, than the OP shouldn't have posted her quote either. FB is a two way street, you post and it asks for comments. If you don't want comments, you shouldn't post (much like here :D)

 

Put it on the sidebar, as Fivetails suggested, then it won't invite comments. I like it, too. :)

 

:iagree:

[milovany]

I deleted his comment figuring that he would unfriend me. Nope, I still see his stuff pop up. And he hasn't posted again to any of my verses.

 

He probably "hid" you -- so that your Bible verses no longer show up on his news feed.

[kiana]

It would be like posting about spanking, eating meet, not believing in Dave Ramsey, welfare or unschooling here. ;)

 

Or crockpots?

[StephanieZ]

Know that you have a good bit of control in fb to limit what you see and who can post/see what on your fb!

 

I have one very old acquaintance (elem school) who friended me and then kept posting obnoxious things on my wall. This girl was the ONE person I was actually pretty mean to as a kid, so I feel eternally guilty and have been overly nice to her since then. Thing is, I realize that I didn't like her back then b/c she has no social skills and says inappropriate things.

 

Like, there was a thread on my wall where several friends said really nice things about me. . . and this girl posted "wow, sounds like you've changed a lot". :001_huh:

 

A couple weeks ago, I posted that dh and I were off for Guana Cay (Bahamas). She posted "that sounds nice but hope there isn't a lot of guano there" or sth like that. . .

 

There were many intervening obnoxious posts over the last year since she friended me. She is the ONLY person whose comments I have ever felt inclined to delete. I kept wanting to defriend her but my guilt over my childhood unkindness prevents me from doing it.

 

After the guano comment, I finally figured out that I can

1) create a friend "group" for her.

2) then limit what that group can see and do on my wall

 

(I had long ago figured out how to "hide" her from my newsfeed so I don't see her posts unless I go to her wall on purpose.)

 

So, her special group can no longer 1) see my wall posts 2) post anything to my wall

 

I am happy, happy, happy.

 

A few days after I did that she actually PMed me a link to some video (she'd never done that before) so I am guessing she has figured out that suddenly my wall is blank and she can't post there. LOL. Well, she has many other fb friends and I assume she'll forget about me now that she doesn't see my stuff.

 

HTH someone.

[Shelly in the Country]

So, who is right, am I overreacting and being precious or is she rude and disrespectful? What says the Hive?

 

No idea. I don't think there is an online etiquette book...

 

As an evangelical Christian, I generally try to ignore it if one of my FB friends posts something offensive. I haven't had a problem with anybody posting any debate-type things on my own page either. My dh has though. He just deletes any comments he doesn't like and "unfriends" if necessary. <shrug>

 

If one of my "friends" on FB annoys me continually, I just turn off their Newsfeed. Then if I wish to check in with them, I have to do it manually.

[smrtmama]

I would find it rude and I would likely remove that person from my FB, which has been declared a drama-free zone.

[asta]

I thought your wall was your wall - you know, where you post what you want about yourself. Not up for debate, imo. I'd be tempted to write something snarky on her wall, but that's just how I am. ;)

 

That reminds me:

 

If it makes you feel any better - during the election, one of my dearest friends responded to a news report I had posted in a very well thought out manner and my own sister attacked HER. Not me, HER - on MY wall! It was a mean spirited, vicious attack. And poor form as well (all sorts of ad hominem bits, etc.).

 

And then my own sister de-friended me!

 

That was the beginning of the end for me and facebook.

 

Like someone already said, people will say and do things on fb that they won't seemingly do in real life; it's like they view teh internets as this place wherein they can attack and run without repercussions. I find it very sad. If the solar flares come in 2012 and wipe all of this out, I can't honestly say I'll be disappointed.

 

 

a

[dragons in the flower bed]

That is annoying, but if I post something like that on Facebook, I expect argument. Posting anything about politics, religion, and etiquette is like putting a target on your chest. It shouldn't be that way, but there it is. I do post about these things, but I don't answer all the replies.

[Mrs Mungo]

That is annoying, but if I post something like that on Facebook, I expect argument. Posting anything about politics, religion, and etiquette is like putting a target on your chest. It shouldn't be that way, but there it is.

 

:iagree:, otoh, you can always delete comments from your wall. I've unfriended a couple of people due to the amount of inflammatory political rhetoric that they were posting.

[dragons in the flower bed]

I'm a christian and I'm reading Meditations right now, I find it fascinating and have some great wisdom from it.

 

It's one of my favorites. When I was a teenager I kept Marcus Aurelius, Emerson and the Tao Te Ching on my nightstand all the time. (Actually on the floor under my hammock/on the shelf in my loft, depending on the house.)

[keptwoman]

Thanks for all your interesting perspectives, it's been great to read :)

I actually tried to put it in the little comment thingy at the side, but it wouldn't fit, that's why I put it on my wall. Oh well. Fortunately I don't post stuff like that often, if it happens again I have a few options to deal with it now :)

[Geek]

It was my sig quote so I guess I'd like to say something here, if you don't mind.

 

Well, I don't know that there is a 'right' or 'wrong'. But, I do think it is a provocative quote.

I'm curious about something. :) Why do you call it provocative? Because it differs from what you believe? (If so, how is that any more provocative than a scripture in someone's signature?) Or is it provocative in that it simply made you think?

 

I don't want to single you out so please realize that what I'm saying is me speaking generally. But when I look at American society I see this sort of double standard quite frequently. Anything that is not Christian is seen as "provocative" at the least, or "anti-Christian" or "attacking Christianity" at the worst.

 

Yet nonbelievers are subjected to Christian culture every. single. day. And we just do what we do: "Smile and wave, boys. Just smile and wave." Finally there are nonbelievers and non-Christian faithful speaking up in this country, and of course there are believers crying foul and claiming they are being persecuted. :confused: (Please know that I am not speaking to you, just speaking to general trends and to various experiences of friends and multitude of articles I've read.)

 

3. It is part of the mandate for Christians to go out and make disciples. What we believe requires us to share it with others, solicited or not.

Really? Solicited or not? Wow. I was raised as an evangelical Christian and I do know what you are saying, but I thought it was rude when I was a kid just as I do now. Believe me, I *do* understand the Christian command to take Christ to the nations, but I do not see how that must translate into "solicited or not". I do know that many, many Christians would disagree with you on this point.

 

How would you feel about atheists deciding it was intellectually required of them to share their beliefs with others, solicited or not? Would that be persecution? Or acceptable? Would you find that it rubbed you the wrong way?

 

Now unfortunately, sometimes the WAY we share it isn't always the smoothest, or most popular, or even the most loving. We are a work in progress. :D

Just as we all are. :001_smile:

 

BUT, one of my best friends is a secular Jew. I have done my very best to share the gospel with her. And at one point she simply said to me, "I am aware of my options. I really don't want to discuss it any more." And I never brought it up again. And we are still best friends.

I admire your friend for how she handled it.

 

I think christians probably need to be a little less rabid in their sharing of the gospel and non-christians could stand to be a little more graceful when rejecting it.

Might their lack of gracefulness be because they are feeling overrun by it? Christianity permeates our culture and many non-Christians have just put up with it for ages. That is changing.

 

Perhaps a simple statement of "I am aware of my options and I don't want to debate/discuss the topic" to your friend might work?

Agreed. This was well said. Edited July 2, 2010 by Geek

[Murphy101]

I didn't find anything provocative about it.

 

It's true.

 

Virtue is like education - it should be valued for it's own sake if nothing else.

 

Now if you'd defined something not virtuous as a virtue - that I might have found provacative. I might have felt compelled to speak to you about it. But not on FB. That would have been a private conversation unless YOU made it a public one.

[Sophia]

I've been trying to figure out what GUS means all day.

 

I give up.

 

:bigear:??:D

[Heather in Neverland]

Really? Solicited or not? Wow. I was raised as an evangelical Christian and I do know what you are saying, but I thought it was rude when I was a kid just as I do now. Believe me, I *do* understand the Christian command to take Christ to the nations, but I do not see how that must translate into "solicited or not". I do know that many, many Christians would disagree with you on this point.

 

Well, Scripture is chock FULL of examples of those spreading the gospel without an invitation and it tells us that we WILL be rather unpopular for it and we should expect that. You may consider it rude but I promise you it isn't meant to be.

 

How would you feel about atheists deciding it was intellectually required of them to share their beliefs with others, solicited or not? Would that be persecution? Or acceptable? Would you find that it rubbed you the wrong way? A lot of atheists DO feel this way. and I do not consider it persecution unless there is some kind of physical harm being caused, etc. Just "hearing about it" would not upset me...I hear about it all the time. All you have to do is turn on the TV or open a textbook.

 

 

Might their lack of gracefulness be because they are feeling overrun by it? Christianity permeates our culture and many non-Christians have just put up with it for ages. That is changing. I guess it is a matter of perspective. See, when I look at the world around me it feels permeated by everything that violates what I believe in. Everywhere I look I am bombarded by humanistic, materialistic culture. I guess it just depends on the viewpoint you are coming from.

 

Again, sharing my faith with my friend, to me, is an act of love not persecution. But she asked not to talk about it any more and i respect that.

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[keptwoman]

I've been trying to figure out what GUS means all day.

 

I give up.

 

:bigear:??:D

It's code for secular content. I'm trying to find the thread where it was first discussed to explain properly.

Here tis:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161705&highlight=GUS&page=4

Post 39 first mentions it, and is then followed by a discussion to use it to label secular content.

Edited July 2, 2010 by keptwoman

[jewellsmommy]

It was my sig quote so I guess I'd like to say something here, if you don't mind.

 

I'm curious about something. :) Why do you call it provocative? Because it differs from what you believe? (If so, how is that any more provocative than a scripture in someone's signature?) Or is it provocative in that it simply made you think?

I would think that anything religious, Christian or otherwise, as provocative. But, I don't see provocative, in this sense, as bad.

 

 

I don't want to single you out so please realize that what I'm saying is me speaking generally. But when I look at American society I see this sort of double standard quite frequently. Anything that is not Christian is seen as "provocative" at the least, or "anti-Christian" or "attacking Christianity" at the worst.

 

Yet nonbelievers are subjected to Christian culture every. single. day. And we just do what we do: "Smile and wave, boys. Just smile and wave." Finally there are nonbelievers and non-Christian faithful speaking up in this country, and of course there are believers crying foul and claiming they are being persecuted. :confused: (Please know that I am not speaking to you, just speaking to general trends and to various experiences of friends and multitude of articles I've read.)

 

It really does go both ways. We tend to notice the opposite of what we are more, though. And by the way, I love the penguins too! :D

 

 

Really? Solicited or not? Wow. I was raised as an evangelical Christian and I do know what you are saying, but I thought it was rude when I was a kid just as I do now. Believe me, I *do* understand the Christian command to take Christ to the nations, but I do not see how that must translate into "solicited or not". I do know that many, many Christians would disagree with you on this point.

 

It depends on how you do it. If the message is shared appropriately (after a report as been established, with the right motive, proper timing) then it is intended as an act of love and not rudeness. However, offense will always be in the eye of the beholder.

 

How would you feel about atheists deciding it was intellectually required of them to share their beliefs with others, solicited or not? Would that be persecution? Or acceptable? Would you find that it rubbed you the wrong way?

 

I feel fine about it. They "advertise" too. I see the Darwin fish eating the "christian fish" on the back of cars often. I also notice the "coexist" bumper stickers a lot. I have had both non-religious and "other" religious groups engage me in conversation. I know many Christians who enjoy the opportunity for free exchange.

 

ETA: I must admit that I find the car magnet with the boy peeing on a cross, just a wee over the top. But I understand that it is totally their right to express that thought. We all have to put up with those who feel the need to express their pov in a way that is intentionally "picking on" another group, KWIM?

 

Just as we all are. :001_smile:

 

I admire your friend for how she handled it.

 

Might their lack of gracefulness be because they are feeling overrun by it? Christianity permeates our culture and many non-Christians have just put up with it for ages. That is changing.

 

This is an example of that whole perspective thing. Maybe it depends on where a person lives, because I feel this same way (from the opposite side). I am sure we could both throw out a dozen or so examples to support/prove our point of view on this.

 

Agreed. This was well said.

 

 

Blue is mine. :001_smile:

Edited July 2, 2010 by jewellsmommy