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Question for religious parents



 
 
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  #21  
Old February 20th 06, 07:57 PM posted to misc.kids
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Default Question for religious parents

In article ,
user wrote:


I travel fairly frequently to the South ( Tennessee and NC, mostly ),
and I don't think there's been a single trip in which I haven't had
someone bring up religion. The last time I was in Nashville, I stopped
to get a haircut before meeting with a client, and the *first* thing
the woman asked was, "And have you found Jesus?"


Wow! Since I generally enjoy religious discussions, the upcoming move
to North Carolina could prove most interesting for me. (Unfortunately,
those who lead with "have you found Jesus" aren't usually interested in
a "discussion" -- but once in a while they are.)


Unfortunately, the standard rejoiner of "Yes, he's been hiding behind
the living room couch all this time! Can you believe that little devil?"
didn't seem appropriate when dealing with someone holding sharp scissors. ;-)


Alas, probably not. But *I* rather like it.


But even in areas with lots of Yankee immigrants, like the RTP area,
it seems like small talk with the merest aquaintance gets around to
religion very, very quickly.


Cool. I shall look forward to lots of religious discussions.

--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care
  #22  
Old February 20th 06, 08:11 PM posted to misc.kids
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Default Question for religious parents

On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 18:57:01 GMT, dragonlady wrote:
In article ,
user wrote:


I travel fairly frequently to the South ( Tennessee and NC, mostly ),
and I don't think there's been a single trip in which I haven't had
someone bring up religion. The last time I was in Nashville, I stopped
to get a haircut before meeting with a client, and the *first* thing
the woman asked was, "And have you found Jesus?"


Wow! Since I generally enjoy religious discussions, the upcoming move
to North Carolina could prove most interesting for me. (Unfortunately,
those who lead with "have you found Jesus" aren't usually interested in
a "discussion" -- but once in a while they are.)


Unfortunately, the standard rejoiner of "Yes, he's been hiding behind
the living room couch all this time! Can you believe that little devil?"
didn't seem appropriate when dealing with someone holding sharp scissors. ;-)


Alas, probably not. But *I* rather like it.


But even in areas with lots of Yankee immigrants, like the RTP area,
it seems like small talk with the merest aquaintance gets around to
religion very, very quickly.


Cool. I shall look forward to lots of religious discussions.


I enjoy them as well, but unfortunately, I find that people who
bring up religious discussions with someone who is, for all intents
and purposes, a stranger, aren't likely to be the same people who
like to compare, say, Sunni to Shia philosophies. ;-) My
just-passing-through impression, combined with comments from
friends who have moved to the RTP area is that there tend to
be quite a lot of fairly vocal and intrusive fundamentalist
church members who take any opportunity to grab your ear, and
are rather leech-like in their persistence.

Personally, I prefer the North, where you know you're an
accepted part of the community when they stop referring to your
house by the name of the previous owner. ;-)

- Rich
  #23  
Old February 20th 06, 08:24 PM posted to misc.kids
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Default Question for religious parents

Sidheag McCormack wrote:

Barbara writes:

Marie wrote:
SNIP I tend to stay away from the bible thumpers,
because I'd rather not be told that I'm going to hell, or my kids need
to be in church.
SNIP


And this would differ from religious people who would prefer that their
children not play with non-religious people ... exactly how?


In whether the person concerned is attempting to impose their beliefs on
someone else, or not. A "Bible thumper" is by definition a person who does
this wrt Christianity, or at least that's my understanding.

I do think there's a difficult angle where children are concerned, though.
As an adult, I don't need to avoid religious people as a group: if someone
does push their religion on me, I can recognise what's happening and choose
whether to avoid that individual in future. I'm slightly concerned, though,
that preschoolers may not have adult sensitivities on this. If it ever
happened that someone else's preschooler told mine he was going to hell, or
that Jesus saved us, for that matter, I'd be a lot more concerned about
whom he talked unsupervised to in future, and yes, if that happened, I
could imagine wanting myself or a trusted adult to be present any time he
talked to a child from a fundamentalist household.

I'm not sure whether this is a reasonable concern, or whether actually even
very young children have enough tact that it isn't likely to happen in
practice. I *do* remember this kind of talk directed at me by other
children when I was a child, but age 8-10, at which point I could more or
less cope.


There was a case - in one of the Carolinas (?) where the young boy
(grade school age) was coming to school and preaching on the
playground (I mean the kind of preaching that was LOUD) and telling
not only the other children but also the teachers that they were going
to hell. His parents felt that this was his right to do under free
speech and freedom to practice his religion. OTOH this was on public
property (not a private or religious school) where religion shouldn't
be practiced. [Note - this is a US public and private school - I know
the terminology is different in England]

The teachers did not care for him telling them that they were going to
hell as they felt it was disrespectful and disruptive (which it was).
The parents of the other children were upset and so were the children
themselves. I don't remember how this was resolved.

For VERY young children (pre-school) I would not think this would be a
problem. For elementary school age in public school it shouldn't come
up, and if it did I would complain if it were me.

grandma Rosalie
  #24  
Old February 20th 06, 08:26 PM posted to misc.kids
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Posts: n/a
Default Question for religious parents

In article , user says...

On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 18:57:01 GMT, dragonlady wrote:
In article ,
user wrote:


I travel fairly frequently to the South ( Tennessee and NC, mostly ),
and I don't think there's been a single trip in which I haven't had
someone bring up religion. The last time I was in Nashville, I stopped
to get a haircut before meeting with a client, and the *first* thing
the woman asked was, "And have you found Jesus?"


Wow! Since I generally enjoy religious discussions, the upcoming move
to North Carolina could prove most interesting for me. (Unfortunately,
those who lead with "have you found Jesus" aren't usually interested in
a "discussion" -- but once in a while they are.)


Unfortunately, the standard rejoiner of "Yes, he's been hiding behind
the living room couch all this time! Can you believe that little devil?"
didn't seem appropriate when dealing with someone holding sharp scissors. ;-)


Alas, probably not. But *I* rather like it.


But even in areas with lots of Yankee immigrants, like the RTP area,
it seems like small talk with the merest aquaintance gets around to
religion very, very quickly.


Cool. I shall look forward to lots of religious discussions.


I enjoy them as well, but unfortunately, I find that people who
bring up religious discussions with someone who is, for all intents
and purposes, a stranger, aren't likely to be the same people who
like to compare, say, Sunni to Shia philosophies. ;-) My
just-passing-through impression, combined with comments from
friends who have moved to the RTP area is that there tend to
be quite a lot of fairly vocal and intrusive fundamentalist
church members who take any opportunity to grab your ear, and
are rather leech-like in their persistence.

Personally, I prefer the North, where you know you're an
accepted part of the community when they stop referring to your
house by the name of the previous owner. ;-)


Which can be decades! Unless you do something like paint it salmon pink! ;-)

Banty (it's *my* house fersure)

  #25  
Old February 20th 06, 08:33 PM posted to misc.kids
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Default Question for religious parents

toto wrote:

On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 11:33:12 -0500, "Marie"
wrote:

"toto" wrote in message
. ..
Most religious folks I know don't generally bring up religion
with others who are not of their own faith. Most children who are
religious don't tell other kids they are going to hell either.


I have had, over the years, several strangers come to me and my children in
the grocery store, or a restaurant, and just start talking about Jesus and
if I went to church. This happened just a few weeks ago, actually, in
Walmart. An elderly man came to say what cute kids I have and then started
telling me he hopes I have them in church and he just went on and on about
it. When I first meet people, one of the first questions is where I go to
church. When I answer nowhere, Oh how shocked the people look and just can't


I think in the case where people were approaching me like that, I
would respond that my religion was my own business and that I did not
want to discuss it. Politely at first, and then increasingly
emphatically. I would not tell them that I didn't believe
specifically although I might say that I was not a Christian and did
not want to be saved.

I had people outside the PO once who wanted me to sign a petition
outlawing Halloween celebrations because they were worshiping the
devil, and I told them that I did not believe that Halloween was devil
worship, it was the celebration before All Saints Day, and they should
be petitioning FOR it instead of against it. I tend to be a
rabblerouser.

get over that I don't BELIEVE. There have been several times strange
children at the park, on finding out my kids don't go to church, have told
them they are going to hell. You people who are saying it's not common- you
are so lucky. My family couldn't even join a homeschool group in my area b/c
they required a signed statement of faith. We drive an hour to get to our
group (which is worth the drive, it's a wonderful group, but I do wish it
were closer). Christian groups try to ban movies and tv series. (brokeback
mountain was banned here but we went to another city to see it, and book of
daniel was cancelled on NBC) It's something you just can not avoid here.
Marie

I only recently moved to the South and I hope that I never have that
experience. It was certainly not common in Chicago despite the fact
that there were plenty of Southern Baptists around. There were people
who preached on the street corners, but they were pretty easy to
avoid. I have actually seen less of those in New Orleans than I did
in Chicago.

I have never had anyone come up and start talking about Jesus to me in
the grocery store or mall stores here (but I have only been here about
a year).


grandma Rosalie
  #26  
Old February 20th 06, 08:48 PM posted to misc.kids
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Posts: n/a
Default Question for religious parents

In article ,
Rosalie B. wrote:

I had people outside the PO once who wanted me to sign a petition
outlawing Halloween celebrations because they were worshiping the
devil, and I told them that I did not believe that Halloween was devil
worship, it was the celebration before All Saints Day, and they should
be petitioning FOR it instead of against it. I tend to be a
rabblerouser.


Actually, Halloween is All Hallows Eve, and is the evening BEFORE All
Saints Day. (And All Souls Day is November 2.)

It is, however, an old pagan holiday celebrating the New Year (Celtic),
and many of the traditions we have -- bonfires and costumes and even
trick-or-treating -- DO draw from the old pagan traditions.

It is one of the many pagan holidays that the Christian Church co-opted.

(Just general rabble rousing.)

--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care
  #27  
Old February 20th 06, 08:52 PM posted to misc.kids
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Posts: n/a
Default Question for religious parents

In article ,
Banty wrote:

Personally, I prefer the North, where you know you're an
accepted part of the community when they stop referring to your
house by the name of the previous owner. ;-)


Which can be decades! Unless you do something like paint it salmon pink! ;-)


Where my parents lived (way north of Duluth, on the Iron Range) it was
more than decades; I swear, if your parents weren't born there, you
were considered a "pack-sacker" (new comer). They lived there for over
20 years, and, even though they were very involved in the community, Mom
said she never felt that she was accepted as anything but a nice
newcomer. It was one of the reasons they left the area after Dad
retired. (That and the fact that the last winter they were there, Mom
decided to not leave the house until it got above 20 below -- and was
housebound for more than 2 weeks. These days, she summers in northern
Wisconsin, and winters in Brownsville, Texas, making retirement look
damned good.)

--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care
  #29  
Old February 20th 06, 09:35 PM posted to misc.kids
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Default Question for religious parents

On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 18:50:41 GMT, dragonlady
wrote:

I've had people do it even here in California -- generally, they waylay
you at the store entrances with leaflets. (I've also had people selling
Jesus door to door almost everywhere I've lived.)


Well, I lived in the Chicago area for most of my adult life and yes,
there were street corner proselytizers in downtown Chicago, but in the
suburbs, I never encountered it. Not even leaflets unless you count
the JWs who sometimes went door to door. I rarely had them come
to my house actually either. I think we had 3 or 4 visits in the 30
years we lived in the same house. Never had any at store entrances
at all. Of course, we were in a very diverse area. Many different
Christian sects, lots of Jews and Hindus and Moslems as well. Oh,
yeah, and some approached people on the *el,* but again they were
pretty easy to keep away. I just ignored them, continued to read and
most of them didn't bother talking to me.




--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits
  #30  
Old February 20th 06, 09:41 PM posted to misc.kids
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Posts: n/a
Default Question for religious parents

On 20 Feb 2006 11:26:37 -0800, Banty wrote:
In article , user says...

On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 18:57:01 GMT, dragonlady wrote:
In article ,
user wrote:


I travel fairly frequently to the South ( Tennessee and NC, mostly ),
and I don't think there's been a single trip in which I haven't had
someone bring up religion. The last time I was in Nashville, I stopped
to get a haircut before meeting with a client, and the *first* thing
the woman asked was, "And have you found Jesus?"

Wow! Since I generally enjoy religious discussions, the upcoming move
to North Carolina could prove most interesting for me. (Unfortunately,
those who lead with "have you found Jesus" aren't usually interested in
a "discussion" -- but once in a while they are.)


Unfortunately, the standard rejoiner of "Yes, he's been hiding behind
the living room couch all this time! Can you believe that little devil?"
didn't seem appropriate when dealing with someone holding sharp scissors. ;-)

Alas, probably not. But *I* rather like it.


But even in areas with lots of Yankee immigrants, like the RTP area,
it seems like small talk with the merest aquaintance gets around to
religion very, very quickly.

Cool. I shall look forward to lots of religious discussions.


I enjoy them as well, but unfortunately, I find that people who
bring up religious discussions with someone who is, for all intents
and purposes, a stranger, aren't likely to be the same people who
like to compare, say, Sunni to Shia philosophies. ;-) My
just-passing-through impression, combined with comments from
friends who have moved to the RTP area is that there tend to
be quite a lot of fairly vocal and intrusive fundamentalist
church members who take any opportunity to grab your ear, and
are rather leech-like in their persistence.

Personally, I prefer the North, where you know you're an
accepted part of the community when they stop referring to your
house by the name of the previous owner. ;-)


Which can be decades! Unless you do something like paint it salmon pink! ;-)

Banty (it's *my* house fersure)



We have a neighbor three doors down, who, I kid you not, painted his house
like a huge U.S. Flag, right after 9/11. It covered the entire front of his
2-story house, including the garage - stars and bars, and in as correct
proportion as he could get. The house was painted like that until last
Summer.

It will forevermore be "George's House", as long as there's still one of
us neighbors still breathing, no matter who else moves in there. ;-)

- Rich

 




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