I was at work today. I work at a health food store in Eugene, Oregon. Most of our customers are non-religious or pagan but at the same time most also aren\'t hateful towards Christians and generally show some interest (I believe that is a good thing).
Well today a man came in who isn\'t well liked among most of our employees because he will try to talk someone\'s ear off. He was going on about how this is the year 666 and stuff about Isaac Newton and Ben Franklin that wasn\'t making sense. He came up to me at the checkout and was acting like I was in on what he was saying. He was going on about how the USA\'s founding fathers were all Christian which isn\'t really true and how this country has long been indoctrinated by it or something along those lines. At this point I told him that I am a Christian and he started insulting me for it, saying how the Bible says God loves me more than God loves him and other things. I asked him where it says that and he started mocking me. I told him I don\'t appreciate him mocking my faith and that he had a severe misunderstanding of Christianity but he wasn\'t interested in hearing any of it. He then went on to blame the war in Iraq and every other war on Christianity.
It ended when I went on the subject of logical fallacies and pointed out where his arguments were totally ridiculous. This is the first time I\'ve been confronted like this.
I\'m hoping that I stayed calm and not insulting and that maybe he got a new look at Christianity. I know for myself it took a lot of undoing before I got over all the Christians who assailed me in similar ways before I was baptized.
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Sounds rather like schizophrenia. Logic, in that case, is pointless. Just try not to take it personally.
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Misha Sarov
#2
when Bush administration claims that they are \"christian\" and at the same time bomb civilians and kill thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan there ll be a very logic reaction towards \"christianism\".
what we,as Orthodox christians,have to do is to clarify that orthodoxy has nothing to do with \"christian\" fundamentalism,\"christian\" or religious wars etc.
anyway,mentally ill people will be always around.....:)
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dmitri mosier
#3
I don\'t think they\'re so much \"christian-haters\" as they are \"anselmian theology haters\".............as well they should be. The problem is that they equate anselmian theology with christianity. In case anyone is wondering what I\'m taking about read here: http://www.philthompson.net/pages/library/riveroffire.html
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#4
MuseOfFire wrote:
well, i get the same stuff hurled at me by people who are not mentally ill.
it's a drag. all we can do is stand our ground, as nicely as possible, and keep saying what we think is right.
some people come around. some don't.
i move in some circles of serious Christian-haters. i just try to stay cool and be a good example of a friend, listener, etc.--some people never get it, but others do come around to at least not berating me all the time.
The fellow in the dorm across the hall was scared to death of me because I had a huge poster/icon of Christ in the window of my dorm room, because he is gay and feared that if I found out I would preach to him and yell at him about it.
I only discovered this a few nights ago when he was talking to me, thinking I was my roomate, and was asking about whether I was one of those \"annoying, preachy types\". Somehow this really amused me. Anyway, I told him about why and how I came to Orthodoxy and he now (at least, so he said to me) has a completely different view of what a \"real\" Christian is, after having met me in person.
I forgot what my point here was, if I had one.
Oh, yes. Just be calm, and gentle, and try to explain things without seeming forceful. After all, there was a saint who said (forgive me, I do not recall exactly which one) \"Preach the Gospel at all times, but use words only when necessary.\"
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Andrew Leer
#5
\"I point out that the wars and death and suffering caused by non-Christians throughout history far exceeds any damage errant Christians have ever done.\"
Death and suffering are also brought about by viruses, bacteria, and physical imperfections, not just mankind and non-Christians.
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