Respecting other's wishes
My roommate emails several friends a "Haiku of the Day" from a book she picked up at B&N. I will now share with you the haiku for Wednesday, October 6. Please clear your minds from all distractions at this time.
After the atheist's sneeze
I bite
my tongue.
-- Alexis Rotella
Thank you.
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5 comments:
Brilliant.
cute haiku, but i just wonder, why do some christians feel compelled to lambaste people who do not believe in god? granted you are not as abrasive or arrogant about it compared to some, but why not just let them be? isn't it a bit arrogant, for example, to go up to someone who lost his family in chernobyl and chide him for not believing in god? life is a different set of experiences for everyone. don't take this the wrong way, but it's always christians doing this. and this leads me to wonder why christians aren't secure enough in their faith to just leave other people alone.
hey anon, isn't it funny how some times we know the truth but we don't see that we know it?
You said the answer: Those people aren't secure enough in their faith.
Because I believe--in fact, know--that Jesus Christ, beyond a shadow of a doubt, offers something to mankind that no religious system can even begin to touch, I can stand not only confident, but full of compassion even with those who haven't yet come to that revelation. End of story.
If you meet people that behave otherwise, avoid yaar! You don't want what they've got no matter what they're calling it.
=0)
that's absolutely wonderful that you have realized that jesus has provided mankind with this wonderful gift. but muslims believe allah has also granted them this absolutely wonderful gift. and so do jews. and hindus believe their gods have also gifted them. now what will the response be? "no, i know for a FACT that jesus is super duper number one awesome excellent the best." great.
you are insecure, t-hype, because you cannot internalize your faith and have to publicly patronize and condescend those who do not believe in it by posting silly haikus about atheists and the sort. tell me, why are you doing this? because by chiding those who do not believe, you are strengthening your own position. and you do not feel enough in your own position - your own faith, your own beliefs - to just believe and not prosletyize and condescend. end of story.
i am a lesbian atheist from santiago, chile. my parents were tortured in the previous policital regime. when people like you subtly dismiss my position, i feel hurt. but i also know that your day cannot be brighter without dumping on those who do not believe in the same way you do.
i just wonder...do you believe shah rukh khan is going to hell?
Hey, give me some credit here. ;0)
"jesus is super duper number one awesome excellent the best" LOL. That would make a cute youth group t-shirt but it would be a lazy answer. My original response wasn't intended to be in the vein of supremacy but a categorical one. It's a radical concept but the historical Christ is categorically distinct from any "religious" figure. We (Christians) have a human tendency to simplify, squeeze Christ into an old (religous) system which he never intended to be a part of.
[Perhaps my use of bold font was excessive!] But I don't see the idea of stating "Jesus Christ offers something to mankind that no religious system can begin to touch" any more condescending than people who state "Evolution is scientific fact." There's no need to go into a long philosophical discussion on logic to know that both statements presuppose several other statements and allude to several conclusions. [When I say 'NO religious system,' Christianity is included.] It gets condescending when people are like "Jesus Christ is the best & if you don't believe you're going to hell" (or you're stupid, etc.) Likewise, "Evolution is scientific fact and anyone who doesn't subscribe to it as such is a religious imbicle of obviously inferior intellectual capacity," etc. Ouch! That's condescending.
Athiesm is an interesting choice and a bold one. I'm sorry if the haiku came across as patronizing. The title was my own. Like I said, I get a haiku a day and this one stood out to me because of the dichotomy it presents: Do you ignore the other person's beliefs and say what you would normally say under any other circumstance, or considering that this person does not share said beliefs, do you avoid the entire situation by maintaining silence? Which is more offensive: excluding someone from a "common courtesy" or being inclusive and in a sense, ignoring someone's belief system?
I'm sorry to hear about your parents. That's jacked up. I have no idea what it would be like to be under that kind of stress and I don't imagine that you came to your worldviews flippantly. This comment though, "i also know that your day cannot be brighter without dumping on those who do not believe in the same way you do." makes you sound like a hater I wouldn't have pegged you as a hater though since you took the time to initiate this dialogue...
As far as who's going to hell, thank God I don't have to make the call on that! I think we all have a few people we'd like to add to the list though...
[Straight answer: I have no idea! Maybe I'll meet King Khan and get to bring it up. If the underlying question was "Are Muslisms going to hell?" I'll say only this: "People don't go to hell because they're Muslim/gay/"insert offense here". People go to hell because they reject God."]
Feel free to keep the dialogue open. -t.
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