Veritaserum Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Do you think of them as sincere? A testimony? Spiritually uplifting? Pious (in a negative way)? Insincere? Off-putting? Sacrilegious? Not being one to publicly share my personal religious thoughts and experiences, I doubt I see them in the same light as someone who is more open. To me they feel insincere if they make up the bulk of a person's postings. Sometimes they border on feeling sacrilegious.... Anyone else have that reaction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggie Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Rameumptom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Instant left click -> hide story in most cases. Possibly unsubscribe or unfriend if it becomes overwhelming, constantly negative, and judgmental. (We're secular UUs). I agree in general to someone who does this often it feels insincere and disingenuous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeeBeaks Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 It depends on the personality posting them IMHO. If that person is the same way in real life, I don't think much of it honestly. I have some older generation relatives that way. It doesn't bother me in the least. Their faith permeates everything they do and say; it is them. I have one person who seems to do it for show, the same as she seems to do things for show in person. That irritates me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 It depends. If Every.Single.Post is about their religion, then, yeah, annoying, insincere, pretty much all of what you said. I would (and do) block that person's posts. But,....I tend to think that of anyone who posts in an annoying way. (for instance, MLM'ers who feel the need to post constantly about their "home business"... "It's a great day for a Scentsy party!" "I'm so blessed that I get to help people realize their dreams and goals with Body by Vi shakes!" etc. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Rameumptom :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 I think it would really depend on the kind of things they post. I sometimes post things that might be considered religious - I mentioned St Nickolas was coming to our church tomorrow and there were special activities for kids, for example. Some people's religious posts bug me, but some people's non-religious posts bug me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 :confused: Vain prayer. Prayer/religious acts for the sake of being seen as a great religious person, is the way I understand it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHowell Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 It really depends on the person. I have two friends on FB who post about GOD every. single. post. However, I do not think badly of it because they are both pastors. :) Yes, sometimes it drives me a bit crazy because my feed is filled by it, but there are other times where it brightens my day. I also have a friend (or 2, or 3) who will live as unholy of lifestyles as possible, and when they post something religious I admit I usually roll my eyes and hide the post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xuzi Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 :confused: That's a Book of Mormon reference. It refers to a tall tower built by religious leaders (who were also among the richest in the society at the time) so that they could go up and pray loudly about how blessed they are to be so righteous, and to be so blessed with riches, and how happy they are to not be one of the poor people, who they had banned from participating in the religious life of the community. I'm in the "it depends" camp. I don't like some of the religous ones that seem to be emotionally manipulative, like the "chain status" ones that make a heavily politicized religious statement that ends with "If Jesus is welcome in *your* home then repost this!" But I've seen (and sometimes do myself) people post scripture that perhaps uplifted them (me) that day, or quote a hymn that's their personal favorite. Similar to people who post quotes from secular people that offer insights or inspiration. I have no problem with those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Depends on what you mean by "religious." Posts links to blog posts about religion? Won't bother me, I usually find the articles interesting. Posts about how great it was at church today? Honestly, I'll probably roll my eyes - excused if you're like that in real life or a pastor. Posts about how you need to ask JESUS into your HEART every day? I'm going to find that super annoying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Honestly, I think Pharisee in the Temple. I'm not a fan of publicly proclaiming faith, especially when it's ten lines of text every hour. Screams cut and paste to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted December 3, 2011 Author Share Posted December 3, 2011 I agree that it depends. An occasional scripture or hymn mixed in with the funny kid stories or what sad/happy thing happened reads totally differently from constant religious messages. So, they generally read as insincere to me because who is really that perfectly holy all the time? Like a friend recently had a birthday. Her greatest gift was Jesus. I dunno. That just made me cringe.... Her other posts tend to be related to self-improvement/MLM-feeling types of things. We were close friends IRL until I moved five years ago. Just Facebook friends now, so I don't know how "real" all this religiosity is.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 . Screams cut and paste to me. Exactly. If people do this constantly, I feel like they're just reposting from other sources which I'd subscribe to if I were interested. If people post an article now and again with comments on why it's meaningful to them, that's a whole different ball game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 I like when people share a favorite Bible verse or part of a song they love. I like when people ask for prayer or rejoice over answered prayer. These are all things my friends and I do in real life, too. What I don't like is when someone 'beats' all of us over the head with her beliefs. I have a irl / FB friend who preaches all. the. time. via FB. She is a homeschooler on the fast track to quiverful/vision forum type thinking. She is forever posting articles and links to posts about how to raise Godly children and the evils of 'normal' life. The other day she was on a tear about the evils of iPads and how they take you away from your home and family. Yeah...no thank you. I skip or hide those status updates often...someday I'll hide or unfriend her, but I'm trying to keep the threads of friendship alive. FWIW, I have a politically liberal friend (whom I dearly love in real life) who posts inflamatory posts from time to time. Stuff he would NEVER say to our face. I have to hide those to save our friendship. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 I can tolerate the religious posts slightly better than the political ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 I can tolerate the religious posts slightly better than the political ones. Agreed. Which means not at all. I usually hide posts that get my dander up. It took me a few years, but I've finally learned to let political and religious debates go. They get ugly fast and rarely change people's thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 (edited) the only people I know who wear their "spirituality" on the sleeve, talking about it all the time, seem rather . . . spiritually immature to me. some are just young. my brother is downright "shove-it-down-other-people's-throat" with his beliefs. (feels like he is looking for validation.) frequently likes to talk about his "spiritual experiences" etc. of course, he's changed what he believes so often, I'm not sure he knows what he believes. He's told me I"m not a spiritual person because I won't talk about mine with him. . . . . . :lol: Rameumptom :lol: that fits some to a "T". Please, spare me. If I want to deal with that - I'll talk to a particular relative. Vain prayer. Prayer/religious acts for the sake of being seen as a great religious person, is the way I understand it. in a *very ostentatious display* sort of way. Edited December 3, 2011 by gardenmom5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 It depends on what I know about them. Sometimes people put stuff on there and I think to myself that it's all a show because I know that they don't live like it! Sometimes people put stuff on there and I'm encouraged because I know that they are living it and I know what God is doing in their lives. It's encouraging to me to see Him work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in CA Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Well, honestly, all of my FB friends are *friends* of mine. I love my friends, and it would take a LOT of offense for me to be critical of what they'd posted as their own status. So, while I understand where you're coming from, I don't really share the sentiment. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Well, honestly, all of my FB friends are *friends* of mine.I love my friends, and it would take a LOT of offense for me to be critical of what they'd posted as their own status. So, while I understand where you're coming from, I don't really share the sentiment. :001_smile: Mine are all friends as well, but I feel like the public Facebook persona is different from reality. I know these people and they are usually not this way face to face, which means they are my *friends* on Facebook, but hidden so I don't get annoyed and let it spill over into real life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigger Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 It really depends on the friend/family who is posting and what it is - I have a cousin, who each morning reads a devotion and sometimes posts a sentence or two from the Bible passage. I don't feel bothered by that, it is who she is and she isn't "preachy" in person, but she is religious. Sometimes friends will post a picture of a passage or something - doesn't bother me unless it's all.the.time and those, I just hide them after a while if it's all they post. I look at it this way - my friends and family know my religion and my beliefs, I really don't need to use FB as a place to post about it. I think what bothers me more is gratuitous slamming of religion and beliefs - just to get a rise out of folks - it's kind of mean, ykwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 They grate on my nerves, but for the most part, most of the religious posts I see aren't deeply spiritual. More like, "Wow, I just got a great deal on this super-expensive scrapbooking machine, God is really blessing my family today!" :rolleyes: The real, heartfelt ones don't bother me. Now that I think about it, it tends to just be the posts that have the word "blessed" in them somewhere that get annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Original thoughts, scripture or book quotes, I see as sincere. I figure it's something that inspired the person that they want to share. Reposts I ignore like other reposts. The remind me of forward emails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I've always admired people who openly share their faith. I grew up in an environment where religion was considered personal and private and not a thing to talk about with others. Maybe that suits some people, but it didn't suit me. I don't see an expression of thoughts about religion to be something to hide. People who openly cheer for their favorite sports team, but must be quiet about their religion don't make sense to me. I also don't attribute a person's actions/statements to their level of holiness. We would all be in trouble then:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 If they have a scripture quote, or something from their devotionals, it doesn't bother me in the least. My dh posts something to that effect nearly every day. It's the ones that say things like "Re-post this if you believe in Jesus" that really grate on my nerves. Yes, I believe, but no, I am not reposting your stupid chain letter via FB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma aimee Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 It depends on the personality posting them IMHO. If that person is the same way in real life, I don't think much of it honestly. I have some older generation relatives that way. It doesn't bother me in the least. Their faith permeates everything they do and say; it is them. :iagree: myself and many of my freinds are very vocal about our faith -- we share passages, talk openly about seeing God in our daily lives, dicuss moral challanges -- it is a real part of our lives and yes it is all over FB for us -- that is us; just like having coffee with us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 If it is someone I know is very sincere, posting about how blessed they feel, or a quote that fits a specific situation, they don't bother me at all. If it is a "if you are proud to be/agree that blah blah blah/have this or that in your heart, repost this as your status", then :ack2:. I just pretend I didn't see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 It depends upon the person and the post. If it's a "like Jesus and pass it on," I might dump you. If every.single.post is about religion, I might dump you. I recently unfriended someone because every single time they posted, it was about Jesus as in, "I had a marvelous toast breakfast today. Jesus really loves me!!!" Seriously. I couldn't delete that "friend" fast enough. :lol: And if you post anything about a homophobic or racist or sexist Jesus, you're all gone! I happen to like the political posts but I'm a political science major. What can you expect?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 If it is someone I know is very sincere, posting about how blessed they feel, or a quote that fits a specific situation, they don't bother me at all. If it is a "if you are proud to be/agree that blah blah blah/have this or that in your heart, repost this as your status", then :ack2:. I just pretend I didn't see it. :iagree: If I know the person posting is a genuine person, it doesn't bother me at all. If I know the person to be a bragger, it might annoy me but then most of their posts would annoy me because I would see most of their posts as attention-seeking. Just because the post is religious in nature wouldn't color how I viewed it. I'm equally irritated by the "look how wonderful I am and how wonderful my children are" when posted by someone who needs lots of attention. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I like to hear what's going on in people's lives. The ones that annoy me are the "repost if you love Jesus. Let's see who loves Jesus and who is a godless secular humanist who should be burned at the stake. I bet 95% of you won't repost this!" ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 My dad, who was forced to retire from ministry for health reasons, posts wonderful devotionals, for lack of better term, every day. Many people find joy from these. I often hear, "Please tell your dad I really enjoy his FB statuses." Maybe it's just because he's my dad, but he is the only one who puts up religious statuses that I can handle. Maybe it's the quiet, contemplative nature. Maybe it's because it's not a typical "share" status, but from his heart and genuine. Anyway, he's the only one I don't hide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) I enjoy my friends' updates. Religious ones do not bother me in the least. I like to know what my friends are thinking. Edited December 4, 2011 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I like to hear what's going on in people's lives. The ones that annoy me are the "repost if you love Jesus. Let's see who loves Jesus and who is a godless secular humanist who should be burned at the stake. I bet 95% of you won't repost this!" ones. I don't have any friends, religious or not, who would post this. Yikes. LOL I am not saying some might not be thinking it, but they wouldn't actually post it. Even one relative of mine, who is insane via email, is totally sane via FB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I'm another "it depends" person. Sincere, thoughtful religious posts are welcome, as far as I'm concerned. I have friends of several different faiths who post occasional religious thoughts, and I enjoy seeing what they're thinking about. I enjoy (polite!) discussion about religious topics, both IRL and online. On the other hand, I am mildly annoyed by hokey, trite, superficial, "repost or burn" posts. I only have a couple of FB friends who do that, but they're my friends for a reason and I'm willing to tolerate their quirks if they're willing to tolerate mine. I am much more bothered by posts with obscenities in them. And one friend got hidden for a while because her constant home business promotions were making me bonkers. But I don't dump friends just because they have different views from mine, be they religious, political, or what have you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I don't have any friends, religious or not, who would post this. Yikes. LOL I am not saying some might not be thinking it, but they wouldn't actually post it. Even one relative of mine, who is insane via email, is totally sane via FB. well, I WAS being a bit hyperbolic :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 well, I WAS being a bit hyperbolic :D Oh, there is probably one very similar making the FB rounds right now. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Do you think of them as sincere? A testimony? Spiritually uplifting? Pious (in a negative way)? Insincere? Off-putting? Sacrilegious? Not being one to publicly share my personal religious thoughts and experiences, I doubt I see them in the same light as someone who is more open. To me they feel insincere if they make up the bulk of a person's postings. Sometimes they border on feeling sacrilegious.... Anyone else have that reaction? For the most part, I'm pleased that I'm able to rejoice with my friends over blessings or mourn with them over sorrows. I'm not much of a fan of the copy and paste updates of anykind, be they political, anti-cancer, or religious. But I don't see why I should be annoyed with someone mentioning a faith that is a significant part of their life, when posting about sports, recent recipes, the latest exploit of ones kids or a vacation are no issue. I might roll my eyes at any post that sounds like the person assumes all right thinking people agree with them or hold the same beliefs. But I seem to notice that more with politics than religion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 It depends on the personality posting them IMHO. If that person is the same way in real life, I don't think much of it honestly. I have some older generation relatives that way. It doesn't bother me in the least. Their faith permeates everything they do and say; it is them. I have one person who seems to do it for show, the same as she seems to do things for show in person. That irritates me. :iagree: It just depends on the person. Most of the time I just ignore them. I don't click and hide, I just move on down the page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I hate the posts that include "X number of people won't repost this" or the latest round of who's killing christianity (right now it's how everyone is taking the CHRIST out of CHRISTMAS!). I have a high school friend who posts a Bible verse almost daily, however they're almost always "applicable to all decent people" kinds of verses - the "be kind to others" sorts of things. As examples, over the past week he's had Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others - 1 Peter 4:10 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34 "The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools." - Ecclesiastes 9:17 (he also posts a lot of football stuff because he works for ESPN, and pictures of his family). His religious stuff doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me when he posts on his anniversary that he's thankful God sent his wife to him (or whatever - I can't remember if he said that). I met up with him at a reunion a couple years ago and he said something about how much he enjoyed my FB posts. I had posted several anti-religion things over the previous several months so I actually was shocked. When I mentioned that (apologetically) he just said, "eh - whatever. you post really funny stuff too." Phew. So, yeah - well rounded posts = good. Repeated refrains of the same kind = bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 "I'm so blessed that I get to help people realize their dreams and goals with Body by Vi shakes!" etc. :glare: :lol: I had someone doing that SOOOOO annoying. Blah. And self promotion of blogs annoys me too. If I wanna read your blog I will so be it. I don't mind people who do things in sincerity, but I also can't judge ones heart. What really bugs me is the people who see someone post something for an orginization and then in turn feel they should instantly be posting these things too. Drives me nuts. I equally hate being bombarded with "do this or give money here" Blah.. maybe I should hide those kinda posts I normally scroll really fast instead. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Their faith permeates everything they do and say; it is them. I hope the above can be said of me. I post a lot of Bible verses and quotes from religious authors, and a lot of my friends do as well. I certainly hope no one thinks I am doing it for show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I ignore them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I don't like chain posts period and don't participate in them. I have a step sister who frequenly shares articles from religious sources and these don't usually bother me and often I look them over mainly to better understand where she's coming from as we are very different, but if they don't interest me I just ignore it. Sometimes they can be obnoxious. Other then that it's just the random verse and again I just ignore and move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I don't mind them most of the time but there is one person who seems like they are trying too hard to be a "prophet" and it gets on my nerves. I can't stand "post this if you agree" type things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I don't mind them even if I don't agree with the individual's faith (I've got some friends who are devout Mormons, Jews, Baha'i, etc.) If I saw a specifically anti-Catholic status, I'd probably "unfriend" the person or at the very least hide their feed. But fortunately that has never happened to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 To each his own. I am a Mormon who was raised by extremely ethical but hardcore non-believing atheists. In this society we are expected to be "tolerant" of so many things and keep our traps shut or be labelled intolerant. If someone feels the spirit and wants to post, I would not expect them to self-censore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 They really don't bother me. I have a lot of missionaries as my friends on FB because I grew up in a Missionary family. I know they are sincere. It is the political comments that infuriate me. Some of them are quite inflammatory. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I think they're ridiculous, vain, and ignorant, but I think that's my basic view of people who shout their religion out to the whole world. How then should Christians follow Jesus' teaching to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you"? (Matthew 28:18) Now personally I'm a big fan of St. Francis of Assisi's quote: "Preach the Gospel always; when necessary use words." I'm not always successful in having my actions reflect God's love, but I do try. OTOH, I'm not going to hide my faith just because certain people find it annoying to deal with. Jesus specifically warns against that in Matthew 5:15: "Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under a bushel, but on a lamp stand; and it gives light unto all that are in the house." It's a balancing act, and I'd personally prefer to err on the side of being too vocal a Christian. After all, in Galations 1:10, Christians are warned by St. Paul: "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missiemick Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 I see it as a reflection of who they are. They may be deeply faithful or totally insincere -- either way, it's them. I enjoy knowing my friends for who they are and it doesn't annoy me -- if it did then we wouldn't really be friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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