Do you really believe in... ??

I fully believe in a few things, the first thing is GOD. Oh boy, I said it, God. It's sad how rare it has become for someone my age to say that they believe in God, Well I do. I believe in God because there are so many creatures in the world but there is only one type of creature (humans) that have a set of morals. Why is it that we are the only ones with morals? It's because God created US in HIS image. another thing I have an undeniable belief in is Love. why is it that I can be pissed off at my little brother but never want to hurt him, why is that my girlfriend can annoy me so much yet I still want to see her, why is it that when I don't see my parents for a while I feel empty. It's one word, LOVE. It's what makes the world go round and it's what can stop the universe for a brief moment when you hear the girl/guy you love say "I love you too" the last thing I believe in is our soldiers, They give all they can give day and night thousands of miles away from their home for people that, no lie, hold up signs saying "thank God for IED's" (improvised explosive devices) They are #2 only to God in things I believe in and more people should feel that way

I have never thought of the question of "Do you really believe_____?" as offensive because I have always just thought of a question of this nature as...well, "duh!" I mean to me it is a stupid question. Of course the person really believes in ______ . If they didn't, they wouldn't express that they did! I have asked people why they believe whatever is it they believe from time to time. I ask that question because not to offend or judge, but to learn or to gain a better understanding of the person or both; but I do not ask people if they really believe (whatever it is). That's a dumb question and I don't like asking dumb questions. lol

I don't think it would bother me. I can see in this instance where you might get upset. I think it depends on the belief. When it comes to Gods and religions, just about anything goes. And who is to say what beliefs are true or not? For me, I do believe in a God, and also Goddesses. In fact she is the woman living down the street...lol. I don't question anyone's beliefs simply because I have no power of judgment.

Offended? I would be livid and I would answer the way you did and that would be the last conversation we would ever have.It shows how insensitive she is and that she couldn't finish her thoughts on why her G-d was better shows how stupid she is on this topic.It is like there is this big competition among religions. it is like a line from the movie Wrath of God, " My father in heaven can beat your father in heaven". And it is so unnecessary. There are many paths and they all are valid and should be respected. A person who can't at least be respectful of other religions is a person I don't want to be around.

I won't try to convince him/her. But don't you touch my beliefs!! I think each of us believes in different things, for different reasons, they way you grew up, an experience you had, etcetera. So there's no way of talking anyone into believing the same as you do. There's no rational explanations for most things we believe in. A history teacher once told me, she was sure that God existed, since "God is people's need to believe". So God exists, after all, no matter what we call him. =) great post, lecanis!

It is easy to become offended when your beliefs are challenged, especially in a disrespectful way. However, chances are pretty good that she doesn't really know what she believes any way. She just thinks that is the norm and that is how it should be. We all want to believe we are right and for many of us, if we are right that means anyone who believes something else must be wrong, crazy, and or demented. By the way, with all respect to what you believe, what Gods and Goddesses do you believe in?

What has it got to do with me what they really believe in or not.I will never ask anybody this question.

When I joined mylot I was terribly ignorant in the area of religion. Being here and learning about other's beliefs has been a journey. What an eye opener. Anyone who asks someone that is ignorant and rude and tactless. I don't mean that in a nasty sense, I mean they really don't know anything except their own beliefs. I've seen a lot of people here who are closed on the subject of religion, meaning, they don't want to know about anyone else's beliefs unless they coincide with their own....you know the one's i mean. I think these people need a lesson in tolerance above everything else.

Lol. I've been in a conversation like this. Mostly, I just smile and say, "Yes, but then, though not at all being an expert, I did alot of research on this and many other topics similiar from around the world as well." and if they sputter that their God is somehow better than mine, I'll reply; "Can you claim you're more educated than me?" _ yes, I'm quite fine with manipulating a conversation to the point where if they continued on with that, they would be purposefully insulting me lol. *does it often and on purpose so people leave me alone* Because the whole; "My god is better than your god" thing...I consider to be childish. It's like "My dad can beat up your dad"...stupid, pointless, not worth my time lol.

No, I wouldn't be offended at all. I would tell them about the Lord and invite them to ask Him into their lives as well. God bless:)

Hi lecanis, I try not to be rude and I think what your coworker said was very rude. Maybe she hadn't thought about how it would sound to you. I believe that life neither began with this body nor will it end with it. I don't believe in the traditional heaven or hell of the Christian religion in which I was raised. Other then that, I'm pretty open, so not much offends me. Blessings.

Very enlightening Lecanis! I never really thought about that phrase in that way, and yes I would feel very offended if someone asked me something like that. How rude! Come's across that they feel your out of your ever loving mind, how rediculous! Really makes someone look like they are so much better than someone else too. I hope she realised what she did to you. She might not say so, but I hope she just recognized that it was not the right thing to say. Bay Lay Gray xx

Your right people can't seem to wrap their mind around something that is different! I love it though- I don't bash anyone for their beliefs. The fact that you didn't blow up in her face says alot about what you believe in as far as respecting others. What is your "faith" exactly- in another discussion you mentioned winter solstice- are you Wiccan? I may sound stupid- but I love learning about other faiths- they intrigue me and I think I want one that I can connect with! Anyway, I don't think I would be offended, depending on how close I was to the person, I would try to share knowledge about a faith if it was one of those that people in the general population deemed out of the main stream or weird for lack of a better word.

People are closed minded and brought up to believe that the religion that they are taught when they are younger is the only one. Personally I have been asked the same thing in the past..and I countered with a similiar response...Its funny to see the look on peoples faces when you do that. The girl that I had countered back to tryed to go into a huge explanation as to why her religion was the "only" religion..I laughed kinda and asked her one simple question...Why? And then how do you know? I asked her for facts and she couldnt give me any..And I also spoke to my boss about it because this isnt the first time this girl has been pushy to people about religion...He told her to save people off the clock because its not ethical to discuss it in the workplace. Its disturbinh that people feel the need to be pushy instead of just listening stating their opinions and leaving it at that. And if people ask me if I really believe in something the answer is yes...Im not going to change my mind just because they want me too, or because they cant see past their own noses :)

LOL first off kudos to you for not slapping her in the mouth ;-) Secondly, yea I find that sort of thing offensive simply because its just such an arrogant attitude for one to have ya know..No one way is better than any other and no two ppl are alike so to assume that we should all believe the same thing OR that one persons beliefs are "less than" (by asking a question like that its implying a less than IMO) is ignorant. I also find comments or questions of that nature to be patronizing really almost as if the person asking is seeing the askee (is that even a word LOL) as a child or something ya know which to me is HIGHLY offensive....Dont talk down to me cause i WILL pop you in the mouth then lay such a verbal strip into you you'll be in a daze for yrs... Do I ask others questions like that? No I dont think I have...I may say during a conversation somethign like "but is that really what YOU believe or is it what you've been conditioned/raised/told etc to belief"....but no I dont think I've ever taken the "do you really believe in....." approach with anyone and I'd be very surprised to find out that I had if ever ya know..simply because I'm such a curious person it would be totally out of character for me to downtalk someone like that..Ask questions? Sure! all the time..LOL I'm a living breathing "Johnny 5" and need tons of input but to ask in a sense like what you are saying..no thats not my style.... crap I'm yappy today LOL

My next door neighbor, Nancy, is one of my closest friends. She is a Catholic, but she is also a person and does not identify her entire being by what her religious affiliation happens to be. She is also a wife, a mother of 5, a volunteer to many charity committees (president of several of them). Although her husband brings home a 6-figure income easily, she still shops at thrift shops, her husband and herself drive vehicles that are well over 10 years old, they just got their first cell phones about 5 months ago and only because I kept pressuring her to do so since she has a daughter in college who is on the road quite a bit. She is an amazing woman with a doctorate in chemical engineering but is so freaking down to earth and her goal is to somehow get involved in midwifery. She does not go to confession because she thinks it highly offensive that she should have to confess to a man. As I said, I love this woman dearly. When we were first getting to know each other and when I was still involved in some spell work she happened to come over as I was working a kitchen spell. I had all of the herbs ground, the mortar and pestle were still sitting out, the correctly colored candle was burning, the crystals were aligned with the cardinal directions, and the herbs were burning atop the charcoal incense inside the black cauldron. For my privacy's sake, I was grateful that I was just finishing up. She got into the huge decorative tin box that I keep all of my baggies of herbs in and started looking through them. I loved the fact that she was reading the "uses" for them as they were printed on the bags. She was doing this as I was making tea for us. Neither of us was saying a word. When the tea was made, I got each of us some cookies, plated them up, put everything on a tray with cloth napkins, then went over to the table and removed all of the herbs and everything else that she had been looking at to place down the tea tray. We sat in silence for a few minutes and then she asked, "What are you?" I knew what she meant, but the ornery nature in me made me ask her what she wanted me to answer. She then said, "Well, I notice you never go to church on Sunday, do you believe in something else or do you just not believe in anything, or what are you?" I then just told her, "Oh, Nancy, that's simple, "I'm Everything". She had no problem at all accepting that. Perhaps that is something you could try. I think that we all believe in the same "basic" universal light/life force and choose to call it by the name(s) that we can best relate to it/them to give us the peace and comfort we need. ~Donna Momma

I agree that's an offensive question and I'd never ask someone that! I think you said the right thing back to your co-worker and maybe she didn't finish her sentence because she'd realized what a dumb question she'd asked you. At any rate, I wouldn't be speaking to her again any time soon! Annie

That is a very offensive phrase. Whether or not I would take offense if it were said to me depends completely on the person saying it. When I was a teen and then into my twenties, I would have felt like I needed to defend myself no matter who said it. But as I have aged I've grown to understand that there are just shallow, narcicistic people in this world who really can't think outside of their own beliefs. These people aren't worth defending my beliefs to because that wont really hear what I say. If I recognize those traits in the person who would say such an ignorant statement to me, I would completely let it slide off my back and maybe even feel bad for them and all they are missing in life by having such a shallow existence.

i do agree that this is the most offencive phrase! the people who ask these kind of questions themselves are not sure enough about their believes, as per my knowledge no religion teaches to hurt others by the name of religion. may bu these kind of people want to creat enimity among people by proving their religion supperior to others.