Comments on: God Abroad: Defending Your Spirituality To The Locals

By: Turner

Turner — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:53:01 +0000

Back when I didn’t have the choice about whether to go to church, I used to do internet searches late Saturday night, find some appropriate quotes from inspirations atheists and agnostics, and tape them to my bedroom door for my parents to see when it was time to “save” me. Didn’t take.

I’ve encountered similar problems trying to justify my beliefs or lack thereof when they don’t seem to fit into any category. In the end, I just choose the closest: Buddhism. However, I have been meaning to pretend I’m Hindi if Jehovah’s Witnesses or Evangelicals come calling:

“Do you believe in Jesus?”

“Yes of course. He is the son of Shiva, brother to Buddha. Praise God.”

“No, no, no; he died for your sins. Do not speak such blasphemy.”

“Ahh, brother, I understand you. Jesus forgives all. Are you saying you do not believe.”

“What?? I…”

Well, maybe…

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By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:51:34 +0000

Similar to defending your spirituality abroad, I often find myself deliberating over whether or not to comment on these kinds of posts. I am a devout Christian, and while I believe that what I believe is true, I often find myself debating whether or not to try to defend it in an online venue. The discussions almost always spiral out of control, with lots of finger-pointing and stereotyping from all sides. In my opinion, this does little to breed understanding amongst the different points of view.

That said, I think I could try to sum up my thoughts on the topic at hand as follows: You should be prepared to defend something. All worldviews (religious and non-religious), contain propositional truth, which you either do or do not believe. We could all be wrong, but we cannot all be right. The man who told you it doesn’t matter which one you pick strikes me as someone who understands neither Christianity nor Islam very well. They do have a few similarities, but also some very fundamental differences. Thus, if I’m deciding how to align myself on matters such as God, life, death, heaven, hell, etc.; I’m going to need more information than “just pick one.”

Even if your worldview differs significantly from that of the other person, they will generally respect you more if you can articulate (at least to some degree) why you believe what you believe.

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By: mmlinke1

mmlinke1 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:44:59 +0000

I find it so very difficult sometimes to actually state what I believe. I want to allow others their opinions and beliefs but I am often afraid of sharing mine. I have an incredibly deep and beautiful personal spirituality which bothers some people. They either believe you are a New Age nut or are trying to suck them into some religious cult. Neither of which renders a fair description. If people would allow themselves to be more tolerant and open minded and respectful of whatever another person chooses to believe – most of the wars would never happen.

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By: joshywashington

joshywashington — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:33:45 +0000

Wonderful topic for us non-religious spiritual vagabonds.
I tread a thin line of being respectful and being plain old fed up with arcane and often constricting notions of God, what God wants and who God likes.

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By: Jonathan Lockwood

Jonathan Lockwood — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:05:59 +0000

If you’re familiar with Myers-Briggs temperament sorting, you’re familiar with the temperament known as “The Guardian.” You’ll find them in different varieties–and they are one of the largest groups of human beings.

To a Guardian, there is little more important than upholding the structures of society. They are highly motivated to cooperate with the larger group–be it the nation, the town, the organization or the church–and are frustrated that many of us prefer to go our own paths. “Follow the rules and submit to those in authority or all will go to hell in a handbasket!” is their constant admonition.

Those of us non-Guardians, I think, just need to come to grips with the fact that they exist, and are going to come after us sooner or later. But we always have the authority to say, “Thank you, no.”

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By: Liv

Liv — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:42:36 +0000

Such a good topic, Allison. I’m an Atheist and often find myself having to answer questions like the ones you described, although more often I have to deal with the disbelief at home rather than abroad. I don’t understand why saying “I am not religious” can’t suffice. Because I was raised Catholic and have a Spanish last name, people like to deem me as such, which I suppose I could just use to silence the questions except for the fact that it’s a lie and offensive to real Catholics.

How hard is it to live and let live? Why must we all subscribe to the same circle of belief systems? The man who told you “pick one” echoes much of what I’ve heard growing up. Does our unwillingness to “believe” in pre-determined codes make us an outsider … or a threat?

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By: Mathieu Laprise

Mathieu Laprise — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:43:06 +0000

I was put in this same situations many times during my stay in Benin. I lived in both, a catholic and Muslim family (both with a Voodoo twist to them of course.) The two of them were very clear about the fact that I needed to “choose one”. I tried to expain to them that I went threw life with a belief system from the experiences and philosophies I gathered and that it was my guide. After many discussion they came to the conclusion that it wasn’t going to change. I still participated to they’re religious festival and went to church every once in a while ect…I am grateful that I never lost they’re respect because of my belief, or lack of.

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