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[–] 112 points 10 months ago (13 children)

More honest:

My religion says I can't do that.

I don't care.

My religion says you can't do that.

I don't care.

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  • [–] 104 points 10 months ago (10 children)

    That's unfortunately not how it works. The religious very often use their religion as an excuse to control other peoples' lives.

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    [–] 65 points 10 months ago (13 children)

    love how the bible literally says public displays of faith and prayer is wrong yet people who've never read the bible will claim otherwise.

    Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

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  • [–] 26 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

    For what it's worth, that's not an especially relevant passage here, as it's less to do with being open about your faith and moreso about intent. For example, those who would go to the synagogue to pray or who would give alms to make themselves feel better and appear righteous. The Bible is crystal clear that you should be openly expressing your faith to others should the intent be to spread the religion. Mark 16:15–16, for example, reads (NIV):

    He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

    Probably more relevant for your case are the passages along the lines of: "Look, give it the old college try, but if they aren't willing to listen, don't be a bitch about it; just move on." For example:

    Matthew 5:43–44:

    “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

    Matthew 7:1–3:

    “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

    “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

    Matthew 10:13–15

    If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

    The Parable of the Weeds.

    Etc.

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  • [–] 16 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    My brother was studying to become a Jesuit and there was this running joke amongst the Jesuits about praying where they would go "Why? God doesn't exist." This may sound hypocritical and it kind of is, but they consider the religion more a moral framework rather than something to rigorously believe in. That's also why Pope Francis resonated with many non-believers because, at least the modern Jesuits, apply the moral lessons of the New Testament with a healthy dose of rationality (they are considered the intellectual branch of the church for a reason).

    Very few, if any, Jesuit these days believe in the existence of a god, but they find value in the moral framework and how they can apply that to make this world a better place. It's the only religious order I can stomach to have conversations with.

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  • [–] 11 points 10 months ago

    This right here I think is the ultimate way to practice religion. It’s an excellent framework for helping understand your connection to the universe and how your morality intertwines.

    I’ve been reading up on Taoism and one of the things I resonated with is that it accepts the idea that you can worship anything. Even a rock. It’s not about actually believing that the thing holds power, but rather allowing yourself to give in a bit to the universe in an understanding that you are ultimately powerless. You have to give up some of your agency to the idea that there is power beyond your control and understanding and you have to accept that.

    If you believe you’re an individual being separate from the world around you, the world will catch up to that idea. Aggressively. But if you accept that the world does not cater to you, and if you surrender some of that responsibility to a higher power, you’re not nearly as blindsided when the world finds you.

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  • [–] 8 points 10 months ago (4 children)

    Uhuh, more from your Bibble.

    “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew chapter five verse sixteen

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    [–] 52 points 10 months ago (9 children)

    Actually "fuck off" to the above statement as well in many cases. "I'm a gynecologist. My religion says I can't do an abortion." Fuck off. Where I live (Croatia) pharmacies can refuse to sell you contraceptive pills if the person on the counter says it disagrees with their religion. Fuck off.

    People's values are never a purely private matter.

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  • [–] 16 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    I’m a gynecologist. My religion says I can’t do an abortion.

    I would say that if "you" won't perform an abortion, "you" are not actually a gynecologist. Go study and practice urology, or proctology, or gastroenterology, or oncology, or neurology, or cardiology, or dermatology, or any other field where "you" will not be called upon to perform a simple, routine procedure.

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  • [–] 8 points 10 months ago

    You provided a good counterpoint. These self-imposed restrictions can become obstructive or even weaponized. It's like a variation of weaponized incompetence.

    These restrictions can also lead to people making onerous demands of others to accommodate.

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    [–] 49 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    The issue is that the vast majority of people don't view religion as "what I should or shouldn't do." They view it as "what should and shouldn't be done." They can't just follow the tenants themselves; in order to follow their religion - at least not the way they interpret it - they need to make sure the tenants are being universally followed. That's why religion is always at odds with society as a whole unless that society is already overbearingly religious. It will never change unless there are no major groups within society with different beliefs than the norm.

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    [–] 47 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Even the top part is not innocuous when it's vaccines they say they "can't" do.

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    [–] 33 points 10 months ago (4 children)

    My religion says to love and have compassion unconditionally, full stop

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    [–] 32 points 10 months ago (13 children)

    "My religion prohibits it!"

    THEN DON'T FUCKING DO IT.

    Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

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    [–] 25 points 10 months ago* (9 children)

    Whenever I tell people I don’t drink tea or coffee because of my religion the conversation goes like this

    “Your Mormon?!”

    “Not really, not so much anymore”

    “So why don’t you drink it now?!”

    “Because it’s gross. It’s an acquired taste I never acquired “

    “How do you wake up then?”

    “Cocaine”

    Edit: I don’t like the taste of cocaine either but I love how it smells.

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  • [–] 8 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    I was never a coffee drinker for unrelated reasons, and also never acquired the taste for it even though the smell is generally nice.

    But now I'm in my 40s and have multiple medical conditions (i.e., more than just the AuDHD, lol) that are treated with stimulants, so I will usually supplement my adderall with a cup of coffee in the morning and one at lunch time.

    The nice thing is that I don't have decades of tolerance and habit around the stuff, so it is still nice and potent. Instead of adding a bunch of junk to it, I just let it cool off then drink it quickly or add a chocolate protein shake to it for a few breakfast calories if I didn't eat.

    Plus even though I don't like the taste I think the coffee at work is decent because it's a machine that grinds whole beans, and the operations manager for our location fills the hopper with the beans himself. Some Starbucks somebody gave me recently tasted rotten in comparison. And that's not "mischievous child" rotten, that's carcass rotten.

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  • [–] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

    Some Starbucks somebody gave me recently tasted rotten in comparison

    Sbucks always tastes like dogshit because they burn the absolute shit out of their beans. No one goes there to taste coffee, they go because they want caffeinated vanilla pumpkin mace choco cinnamon. I can't imagine they started that way when they were a little shop in seattle so I think when they exploded they needed a consistent flavor as the base, and the way they accomplished that was by over roasting all the variations out of the beans they got.

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  • [–] 6 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    I think the disconnect comes from the phrasing of the first sentence. Perhaps combine it with the third?

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  • [–] 24 points 10 months ago

    'My magical delusions forbid me from using common sense'.
    Aight man, godspeed I guess 😅

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  • [–] 20 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    idk I think people shouldn't be able to sell their children into marriages at 14 years old just because they don't share my beliefs that that's horrible. Meanwhile they think that an abortion harms a child in a way that outweighs b the mother's right to decide whether or not her body gets used as life support and I don't. I think whether or not it's important to meddle in other's private and family lives is actually a fairly complicated question.

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    [–] 17 points 10 months ago (8 children)

    Metal is my religion.

    And Judas is my Priest.

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    [–] 11 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    I don't have a religion so anyone that uses their's to try to enforce their rules on me can hang

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  • [–] 9 points 10 months ago

    My "religion" says you shouldn't be religious. Oh, you're suddenly offended? Too bad...

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  • [–] 8 points 10 months ago (7 children)

    If you can be convinced to believe in a god/gods that can never be proven to be real, you can be convinced of anything. Religious=gullible

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    [–] 8 points 10 months ago* (1 child)

    Welcome to what it's like being a practicing member of the LGBTQ+ community in the USA.

    Although usually in my neck of the woods they phrase it as "I don't believe in..." For example, I don't believe in gay marriage, I don't believe a man should lie with another man, I don't believe in Halloween.

    I mean seriously, you don't believe in Halloween or gay people? It does explain a lot, but I can't even take people seriously when they say shit like that.

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    [–] 8 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    Yoo r reeding rong.

    “She lusted after her lovers, whose flesh was like that of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.”

    Ezekiel chapter twenty three verse twenty

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    [–] 7 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    what if my religion says you can't do that but so does the law because they share their core moral system?

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