Post by Laura on Mar 11, 2009 18:25:20 GMT -5
[Found this saved as an unfinished post on my laptop, and thought I’d better finish it... even if I didn’t really finish it very well]
At church this sunday, our minister did his mini sermon that he always does before all the kids go out to sunday school, and it got me thinking. Basically, he brought his son, Sam, up to the front, and smeared tomato ketchup all over his face. He then said something along the lines of this: "Say Sam's been eating his dinner, and gets tomato ketchup all over his face. He doesn't realise this, and goes out to see some of his friends. No one tells him he's got ketchup all over his face, so he doesn't realise he's being laughed at. He doesn't know he needs help, so he's not going to ask for something to clean his face with."
He then made the generalised statement that if someone doesn't know they need help, they're not going to ask for it. The same applies to religion; if a person doesn’t realise they need God, they are not going to reach out for Him. But then, it could also be interpreted to mean that if someone doesn’t understand religion, they’re not going to reach out. You can tell someone a hundred times that they have ketchup all over their face, but if they’re not listening then they’re not going to do anything about it. And if someone doesn’t want to listen, then they’re not going to. From what I’ve seen, a lot of people are stubborn when it comes to religion. I’ve been told quite adamantly in the past that the Bible is a bunch of fairy tales, but when I tried to argue back, that person wouldn’t listen to me or anything I was saying on the matter. How are you supposed to show someone that they need something, if not only are they not listening, but they are forcing you to listen to their own viewpoint that is directly contradictory?
I’ve found some people are directly opposed to religion of any kind – I’ve been told that Christianity/religion (can’t remember which) is dangerous to the survival of humans and only has bad effects. I’ve been told that I don’t believe in science, because I’m a Christian. Should you even try with people like that? When they blatantly don’t understand, but obviously have no intention of even trying to see your view? They think they know what they’re arguing against, when usually all they’re using is very bad stereotypes that, for the most part, aren’t at all accurate. Should you try and discuss the matter with people who are willing to argue and are open-minded? Or with those who are most against it? Or should it not matter?
At church this sunday, our minister did his mini sermon that he always does before all the kids go out to sunday school, and it got me thinking. Basically, he brought his son, Sam, up to the front, and smeared tomato ketchup all over his face. He then said something along the lines of this: "Say Sam's been eating his dinner, and gets tomato ketchup all over his face. He doesn't realise this, and goes out to see some of his friends. No one tells him he's got ketchup all over his face, so he doesn't realise he's being laughed at. He doesn't know he needs help, so he's not going to ask for something to clean his face with."
He then made the generalised statement that if someone doesn't know they need help, they're not going to ask for it. The same applies to religion; if a person doesn’t realise they need God, they are not going to reach out for Him. But then, it could also be interpreted to mean that if someone doesn’t understand religion, they’re not going to reach out. You can tell someone a hundred times that they have ketchup all over their face, but if they’re not listening then they’re not going to do anything about it. And if someone doesn’t want to listen, then they’re not going to. From what I’ve seen, a lot of people are stubborn when it comes to religion. I’ve been told quite adamantly in the past that the Bible is a bunch of fairy tales, but when I tried to argue back, that person wouldn’t listen to me or anything I was saying on the matter. How are you supposed to show someone that they need something, if not only are they not listening, but they are forcing you to listen to their own viewpoint that is directly contradictory?
I’ve found some people are directly opposed to religion of any kind – I’ve been told that Christianity/religion (can’t remember which) is dangerous to the survival of humans and only has bad effects. I’ve been told that I don’t believe in science, because I’m a Christian. Should you even try with people like that? When they blatantly don’t understand, but obviously have no intention of even trying to see your view? They think they know what they’re arguing against, when usually all they’re using is very bad stereotypes that, for the most part, aren’t at all accurate. Should you try and discuss the matter with people who are willing to argue and are open-minded? Or with those who are most against it? Or should it not matter?
