The initial comment is more likely thoughtlessness and the fact that they genuinely don't know how else to comfort someone. It's not until they persist after being told it makes you uncomfortable that I ascribe malevolence.
@@serpentinious7745 I would have agreed that it was thoughtlessness if he hadn't started it with "ye of little faith who desire a meaningless nothingness life...". When they start out by telling people what they think they're not in it to be nice. At the risk of doing the same, he was probably already mad at Mr. Tick simply for being an atheist.
I feel for you. When your kid is sick, it's scary. All you want is some sympathy and support, not preaching. 6 months ago my husband died. It has been rough. I'm not out as an atheist, so I had loads of Christian friends who said things like "praying for you". That actually didn't bother me. Whether it was prayers or lightning candles or some sort of ritual, I feel it was coming from a good place. They believe it will help somehow so I'm okay with that. The one that really hacked me off was people quoting bible verses at me about god's love and shite like that. I feel no comfort in knowing that their sky wizard killed my husband and is now expecting me to run to him for cuddles. Not happening. If their god had wanted me to be comforted and feel loved, he shouldn't have killed my husband. I just can't see how any of this makes god good.
My deepest sympathies for your loss. I had a somewhat similar experience, as I buried both of my parents last year. As I have progressed in my journey of being an atheist, I have pondered many questions. Like how transparent I should be, and how I should react to various explicitly Christian actions, such as prayers. It is hard to know ahead of experience, how they turn out. I have discovered that a Christian praying for me is not something that bothers me. What does bother me, is when the prayers or whatever, start crossing over into pushing their faith onto me. My parents both got the Christian memorials they wanted. I even read a prayer at my fathers service, one that he personally wrote. It wasn't meaningful to me because it was a prayer, but it still had deep meanings. Not to mention it informed about who he was. I think we can usually tell when someone has sincere feelings of wanting to help. Hollow platitudes, or worse, manipulative evangelism, are not hard to detect.
Sending some e-hugs your way - I'm sorry for your loss and, as odd as I'm sure this will sound (or maybe not), I wish you the best in your grieving. It's a hard, challenging road, but it's one that needs traveling, unfortunately. Again, hugs! ❤
@@stevewebber707 Fuck... both in one year...I lost my dad not long ago, and it was rough. I hope they both lived long, fulfilled lives and you and your/their loved ones got to sy their goodbyes. ❤
You married a smart one, for sure. One time my wife collapsed in a coffee shop (she was undergoing chemo during that stage of her life). Several friends and staff rushed to help her, and they ended up calling for an ambulance. One Mormon neighbor was there, and after the immediate scare had passed and my wife was feeling better, he asked if he could pray for her. She agreed, and he did. And while both my wife and I agree on the uselessness of prayer for any people other than the one doing the praying ... we both accepted his actions as expressions of his care and concern. I was almost tearful when I thanked him later. And that's how most atheists react to prayer, when it is offered sincerely and without offense. Your situation was completely different, and I don't blame you for your reaction. Christians often fail to realize the privilege they have in this society, where shotgunning their religious beliefs in public is expected to be accepted without objection, but where stating the obvious ("Jeezus, faith is irrational") is not allowed by standards of curtesy.
I once had an MRI done on my aorta to make sure a previous heart surgery was still holding up ok. After, the technician said they'd pray for me. I spent a week waiting to hear the results, thinking that the technician saw something ominous. It turned out the result was completely normal. But that was a terrifying week. It was one of the meanest things anyone has ever said to me.
Studies have shown that people who know people are praying for them can actually get worse, because of the stress of feeling like they NEED to get better. So you got lucky the stress that week didn't make something worse.
not sure why a technician making an empty statement that means "I hope the MRI shows no problems" would mean they saw something ominous. Technicians don't do the interpreting to begin with... That wasn't mean, that was you reading a bad meaning into a vague attempt at encouragement.
I feel you, man. When I was 15 my mom had a brain aneurysm and it looked like we were going to lose her soon. One of her sisters took me aside at the hospital and told me this had happened because me and my dad had rejected god. Sometimes it sucks to be sensible in a world that’s completely mad.
I've heard of such things happening - In my younger years I assumed it was an unfair stereotype of theists, that no person would actually do something that horrible. It was like a cartoon villain twirling his mustache, or movie racists putting a "kick me" sign on the back of a black coworker. Too ridiculous to be true, I though. Now I know better.
A guy in the 1940's with a caterpillar under his nose prayed all the time, see what it did for him? While it's true he became Time's man of the Year - Twice! I mean because of all his prayers and worshipping Jesus - Everybody on earth knew about him. So prayers do work, honestly they do . Unfortunately those prayers in the past lead to a billion or so people suddenly becoming unalive by said people issuing said prayers. They always seem to forget their words are literally written in The red Ink of innocent spilt blood.
You're one of my favorite RUclipsrs, and I'm so sorry to learn your baby is sick. I wish I could help you. And I'm so sorry that on top of such an anxious moment you have to deal with ALL the Christian "love". Love is to be there for those we care, so just don't worry about stupid people and know that you and your wife are not alone. Be strong for each other and for your beautiful child. Lots of ❤ for you and your family! I wish religious people knew when to shut up.
Thanks for sharing, SkepTick. Sorry some bible thumpers think more of themselves than assisting you and your family. Here's something from a fellow Atheist in hopes it will help. 🙂
@@SoraQuill Aw, shucks... 😊 In this day and age where the idiots and snake-oil salesmen are getting all the support and attention, it's time to stick up for our like-minded science-embracing truthers.
The fact that they not only say they are "showing complete humility and love" and are so psychotic as to actually believe that while being the most disrespectful, arrogant, see you next Tuesday that they possibly can be.
My daughter spent 3 days in quarantine with rsv as a infant and over the 72 hours of staying awake next to her I had allot of ppl doing the same crap. Worse was when my wife died in an accident at 30yrs old all these theists kept telling me she was in a better place or she's happy now, it's so insulting cuz she was happy very happy we had a great relationship since we were 16yrs old . These people were so upsetting I've never been so angry as I was at that time hearing the same B.S from stupid christians. It's truly madning and doesn't help anything.
Where you live Christianity isn't about following Christ but about politics and tribalism. Proven by trying to put you out of livelihood. I do hope the circlet is doing okay. Wishing all of you resilience and for the circlet to be restored to full floating power.
Yikes, that was nuts! You say "I find this offensive, please stop," and they reply "sorry you were offended," then proceed to do it again! And then again... And again and again! It was funny there towards the end where they are like "well I guess I'll just go away." Yes! Do! That's what we've been saying this whole time! There's "facepalm," then there's "rubbing my temples in sheer disbelief." That was painful.
My toddler was in the hospital last year with RSV. It’s horrible and nobody should have to go through it. I’m going to pray to the god of doctors and thank him for curing your kid.
If it’s any consolation, small children usually have an amazing ability to not only overcome such adversity, but also almost completely repress it. I had cancer when I was 3-4 years old, and the only things I can remember of the entire period (apart from things I’ve been retold) are a few glimpses, of which only one distinctly negative. If anything, you keeping it together yourself while being with your child through the ordeal is more important than anything, because children are a lot more perceptive than we realize. They may gauge your reaction more than their own experience.
@@ArKritz84Yes, I think you have said the most important part of what an adult needs to do for their child when they are in the hospital. Children take their cues about how to react in any given situation from their parents. If you are strong and determined to do the best you can, your child will follow your lead. I hope that your family is doing well now. Peace 💚
The same theists get really mad if you don’t celebrate their holidays, or if you follow a different faith. They don’t respect boundaries in my experiences. I’m sorry you’re dealing with them, and with the medical situation. You and the wifey are brilliant, lovely, talented and kind people. I’m very fortunate that I know y’all. Also, yeah. As part of the lgbtq, I lost 10k followers, lost my income, lost my friends, all to that rhetoric, and yeah… that’s why my father had walk away from the church. He sees too much hate and too much predatory and forceful behavior.
When you don't celebrate their holidays they way they want you to as well. Basically they want to control your every move and when they can't, they delight in the "knowledge" you're going to Hell.
Besides i've had the same myself, I fell 30 feet from a roof in 2013 and i'm like: if there was a god, it would not have send me up that GODFORSAKEN roof.
My younger sister died a few years ago, after a blameless life of service to the community and a long slow debilitating illness. At her funeral people did insist on telling me that “god has a plan” and “Jesus wants her for a sunbeam”. I was too upset to get angry.
You were absolutely in the right here and I’m sorry you had to deal with all this during an already stressful moment. I hope your little baby circle is feeling better. ❤️
They think they are helping through prayer I doubt these people would help with a disabled person in a wheelchair get something from a high shelf at a store and instead pray over them
Being in Kentucky I'm surprised it took you this long to have a heated exchange with the self proclaimed "Soldiers of Christ and the Keepers of the Faith"! My opinion, you definitely did the right thing, personal boundaries must be set and enforced. All the best to your child and if "wrongful termination" or "First Amendment Violations" are in your future retain an attorney. It's the American way🫡
I once had a massive pain in my shoulder that was preventing me from going to work that day, so my evangelical step mother decided to faith heal me. I didn't ask for it, nor wanted it but she did it anyway and i was in too much pain to tell her to piss off with that shit. That has been the running theme with certain types of Christians. They take advantage of people in their lowest moments probably hoping that the one in pain, either emotional or physical, will suddenly see the light and turn to Jesus. This predatory behaviour really pisses me off.
Yep, I’m fine with my friends saying they’ll pray for me because I take that as a caring gesture. But, it isn’t caring to ignore your friends’ request to not have prayers at all. I tend to be honest and say something along the lines of that I’m thinking of my friend and hoping all the best for them.
This is how I feel as well. I take someone saying they'll pray for me as a caring gesture because even though I don't share their belief they genuinely think it's a helpful thing and a way to express their care and worry. However, I also agree that the person immediately deciding to proselytise was really disrespectful and tone-deaf. I cannot believe those sorts of people- imagine someone being so pushy and ignoring your request in a difficult time...
@@DAYBROK3what bothers me is clearly people are not happy with other people not being Christian’s so they got to force someone into becoming a Christian through a tragic event even though that person has no plans on being a Christian ever
5:23 That kind of blatant insistence at quoting bible verses at you when you are in a weak position (in hospital with your child) and have specifically asked _not_ to be "prayed" for - This is basically verbal bullying. If someone had done this to me I would tell them privately that I had no desire to maintain a friendship and I will consider any further communication to be harassment.
Kinda fun fact: there was a study done on intercessory prayer, and the results showed that those who knew they were being prayed for did worse than control, while those who did not know they were being for did no better than control
Yea, and there's another with results that says it helps, but those are outliers because other studies say there is no effect. And I think each study was for a different illness or injury. But it does make me giggle a bit.
There's a huge difference between someone praying for you, and someone posting "prayers" on your social media page to grandstand. The first is pointless and banal. The second is harassment.
Sorry to hear what you're going through. Mrs S really nailed them to the lower case T with her well worded, and thoughtful response. It would be a less imperfect world if you could say "no, I'm good" when they come at you with their religion, and instead of being offended, they said " no worries mate, here if you want to talk, or would you prefer some financial support, as health care is not a right in the 'greatest' country on earth?"
I don’t understand why anyone would go against the wishes of an exhausted and anxious parent, no matter what the circumstances. Doing as someone has asked will help them and going against their wishes will cause them negative feelings at a minimum. How easy just to do as they ask and show your concern in that way…I am so sorry it was such an awful time for you.
I grew up in (and recently moved to) what I would describe as "Hyper-Christian" regions of the USA. I have been fired for refusing to join prayer at work. I will lose my job if my current boss finds out I'm an atheist. I bit my tongue so often it literally bleeds. All of that is to say ... Thank you. Thank you for sharing your experience. Thank you for saying in a better way than most can what needs to be said. You (and those like you) give strength to those of us who can't speak up. I hope your child recovers and is well. I hope you and yours find health and happiness going forward. I hope your employment situation improves and that you no longer need fear for your financial well-being because of the bigotry of others. I hope for these things because that is all I can do. I hope for them for yourself, myself, and all others in similar situations. I hope that one day we no longer need to hope for these simple things. I hope one day respect and acceptance truly are the norm for everyone. I hope ...
I'm glad you shared this. It happened to me recently at a food bank. The guy just wouldn't stop preaching damnation over me and telling me how much he loves me and how bad I am and how I should be grateful for the torture and murder of jesus. It was just pathetic. There's nothing one can do.When someone will not yield to reason, they are lost. Thanks. I hope things turn out well with your son.
When we had Covid back in 2021, our believing friends all "prayed" for us. (Did they really? Or did they just say they did?) Our non-believing friends went to the grocery store for us, one of them got us a blood oxygen meter, and took our dog to the vet when he got sick. I appreciate the sentiment of those who say they'll pray, but it was the non-believers who really did stuff for us.
2:43 When I say "I'm sorry to hear that" I mean it and I care. I also usually accompany it with, "If there is anything I can do to help, let me know," which is more than their floaty sky man is capable of.
The brother of a coworker of mine was diagnosed with end-stage cancer after neglecting his health for decades. "Well, fuck" was the only reply necessary to convey all emotions. You don't need to make it about yourself by pretending you want to help. There's nothing you can do, after all. You can offer an open ear, but that's about it. But being so arrogant you think your prayers could change anything is utterly disgusting. One more reason to not like christians.
@@Finckelstein "You don't need to make it about yourself by pretending you want to help." I trust you aren't directing this at me specifically. Things people can do to help - Take his dog for a walk. Feed the cat. Drive him to the grocery store if he's finding it hard to get around, etc.
@@fepeerreview3150 "I trust you aren't directing this at me specifically" Of course not. I was talking mostly in general but also specifically about the self-aggrandizing POS in the video. And sure, there are things you can do to help in many situations. But in my example I don't think anyone could've done anything other than offer emotional support.
I hope your baby Circle is improving with the science based care he is receiving. I'm looking forward to hearing that he is fine. As for those people in your life who went against your wishes, they were wrong. If they felt so strongly about the power of prayer they could have prayed in private, without telling you. Then they'd be happy that they "did the right thing" and you'd be happy because you wouldn't know about the useless prayers. But, no....they had to tell you that they'd done exactly the opposite to what you asked. I feel you had every right to call them out.
"I'll pray for you" is just grandstanding to say, in the words of Weird Al: "I'm the pious guy the little omelettes wanna be like, on my knees day and night scoring points for the afterlife."
Thanks for sharing your personal experiences. I've been in a kinda similar situation, being diagnozed with cancer 8 yrs ago. As an atheist, burning candles in church has no meaning to me other than observing a chemical reaction at hand. Depending on prayers for my recovery didn't put me in comfort, since I was told to life 5ys, max 10yrs, and didn't feel ready to die at 55. Instead, I put my believe in the competence of the doctors. And here I am typing this message, not because of burning candles or prayers (as scientifically shown that doesn't cure) but because of the knowledge and competences of 'my' medical doctors. I'm glad my friends and family didn't responded so harshly as yours, The SkepTick. Last but not least, how's mrs SkepTick and off course little SkepTick doing? Cheers!
I live in Alabama, so if I vocalize being atheist in the wrong place I might actually get shot. I was actually followed one from the grocery store to a gas station miles away just because I was dressed a bit different. I just stopped letting anyone know when I was having any kind problems. Hope the small one is feeling better and that you've gotten some rest.
When theists say they will pray for me I tell them to save it for the roughly 15,000 children that die each day due to malnutrition and the effects of poor drinking water and their "god" does NOTHING 😑 Side note...guaranteed those parents, many of them, prayed sincerely and still NOTHING 😑
I watch a lot of this kind of content. Much of it is thoughtful and considered. This was emotional and passionate. I loved it. I didn't understand what the illness was, I hope all is well. Sometimes a rant is exactly what is needed and if this video got a million negative comments but made the Skep tick feel better, it would still be worth it. That is all.
As someone who's been living in the Bible belt for most of my life, I'm sorry that you have had to deal with people who are so indoctrinated. They can't accept that other people don't believe like they do. It's their refusal to accept the fact others don't believe that makes them arrogant and potentially dangerous. Thank you for sharing this very personal difficult situation. I hope you and your family are doing better now. Peace 💚
Prayers are like masturbation. It's something that should be done in private and it's primarily to make them feel good about themselves, not the receiver.
I wish I had possessed the wherewithal to stick up for similar feelings 4 years ago. My wife was in ICU, imminently dying, and when i turned down hospital staffs' offer to send a priest to perform last rights because she was atheist, her parents said 'well just in case'. I folded and said whatever helps you guys. It has never sat right with me that her dignity couldn't be respected in passing.
Firstly, sorry about your wife, man. I can't even imagine how hard that must have been. You have my admiration. For some reason the 'read more' click isn't under your comment, so I only got the first part, but I reckon your wife wouldn't have wanted you to be feeling all uncomfortable about it. The benefit of their not being a god-infested afterlife is that it really doesn't matter to her, eh. Unless I missed a point further on, about any last or unexpected conversion or specific wish, I reckon you're fine. You did the right thing under a level of stress I can't even imagine. I wen't through a similar thing with a good friend many years ago. However, I was expecting it and I'd had time to consider the whole thing and to discuss it with them. Normally, I would probably have just bitten my lip for the sake of the parents. However, there's a dark background of shunning, and probs with "the gays" (ie. their son), and the fact these so called parents legally disowned their only son when they told them about their HIV diagnosis (it was the mid 80s, so it was a brutally short death sentence, basically. (RIP Billy, I miss you)). You know the sort of people I mean. I'm still proud of myself (a sin, clearly) for handling it calmly. I'm an old peace-punk, so I rarely get explosive, but in this situation I was on the top end of angry. Here in Scotland, we have a phrase for this level of anger, frustration and disgust: "I was fuckin' beelin!". I didn't go into the fact that this whole idea suggests their god is a gullible ultimate being, who either doesn't know if you mean it or not, doesn't really care if you mean it or not, or who's happy to accept your praise etc, from a completely different person to you. This is confusing, I'm sure it wouldn't accept someone being allowed to take on a torturous death sentence in place of others, leaving the original sentencees free to swan about doing what they always did. Would it? Oh, hold on... This whole 'just in case' thing's just Pascal's Wager Lite, basically. You'd better make damn sure you pick the right god and the correct way to approach them, though. Most of them don't like it when you worship a different one, and we all know just how feeble and fragile their wee ego's are. Could we, then, maybe just get representatives of ALL theistic religions, and have all of them mumbling around the bed? Nope. That doesn't work, apparantly. Theoretically, if you genuinely believe in this 'convert, just in case' route to a religion, logically you would pick the one with the worst version of an afterlife for the apostate or non believer. Sounds like an effort to turn folk onto Islam to me. You're certainly not going to pick Judaism. That's the one you CAN get wrong, without suffering horrendous consequences. If you don't get into the club, you just go back to the way you were for the 3.8billion years before you were born. It's even the same god you need to placate and glorify and worship and lick and... (cont. ad nauseam), so you're all just trying to get into the same club, but of the three entry doors to YHWH, one let's you in, and the other two either send you to hell for eternity or annihilate your existence (the most preferable option, imo). It's like the Monty Hall Problem, but with the eternal future of your 'soul' being the thing you're playing for, rather than a car or a goat. Oh, my. That went on a bit, eh? Your comment really took me back to that whole awful situation. Thank you, and I mean that. A bit distressing as a specific memory, maybe, but you've reminded me of my friend and given me a smile.🙂 Again, I could only see the start of your comment, so I hope I haven't completely misjudged this whole exchange. No harm meant, eh.
You had every right. It’s your child. These people are impinging on you. They can pray in the privacy of their homes and keep it to themselves. When told not to this, going ahead and doing it, is disrespecting your overt wishes.
Best I can do RN to help. Here's hoping your Tiny Floating Circle gets well soon. I apologize on behalf of my fellow Yanks. I promise not all of us in the Bible Belt are this ... Dense is the best word I can think of. There are a lot of us that can respect boundaries
It's rather ironic that people like this, also feel the need to always have the last word. They can't just leave after you've said something, they have to have that final statement no matter what, and it's never just "goodbye". It's always some passive aggressive statement. Why do they almost certainly always pop up when people are in a crisis, and try to prey on them? Oh right, because it's way easier to convince people things when they're in need of emotional support. (I wrote this before finding out mid way through, that this person had the same done to them. Go figure that they now do it to others. Disgusting) I've had to deal with people like this in my life, and I cut them out. They tried to tell me I should be stronger in my morals and beliefs, so I did it. Just didn't turn out the way they expected it to. My life was full of the worst kind of hypocrites who'd claim to be one thing, do exactly the opposite, then pray for forgiveness and continue the cycle all over again. I'm forever grateful not for God, but by getting away from it.
If they really believed in prayer, they could have just prayed for you in private without you knowing. But no, they have to tell you so they can be seen as doing something. So they can feel useful. It's incredibly selfish.
This is so sad, I’m sorry you had to go through that. I also live in KY, have my whole life, and I come from a Pentecostal family so I can’t even be skeptical on FB bc my family might see and that’s a whole issue I don’t want to go down. I call myself loosely pagan and say that my beliefs are just my beliefs, to the point where I don’t even like talking about them with other people. It’s a private, extremely personal thing for me. But I recognize that it could all be made up and “in my head,” so I don’t base decisions on it- rather I decide based on empirical facts. The person who dogged you should have had the same outlook and just respected your views.
Being from England I can't comprehend an employer using non belief against an employee. Is that really what goes on over there? I thought America was a civilised country. Apparently I was wrong. Being surrounded by the religious is my personal hell.
The USA is a Christian supremacist oligarchy, it's a mess... Bible thumpers will use any excuse to hate on someone they don't like. Some of them have started saying Jesus would have been a woke snowflake and such... -_- Though I say this as an Australian, so I'm not a first hand expert.
Unfortunately, there are religious people prejudiced enough to try and fire someone for their lack of belief. Fortunately, there are laws against such behavior, and gracious people only too ready and willing to take up the fight on behalf of those so threatened.
Yup. At-will employment means they can fire you for no reason, and while religion is _technically_ not a legal reason you can fire someone (it's specifically protected by law, like race, marital status, nationality, sex, age), as long as the employer doesn't _explicitly_ articulate that that's the reason then there's really nothing you can do about it even if you know that's why. The boss would pretty much have to say almost verbatim "I'm firing you _because_ you're an atheist" for there to be any recourse. In lots of Bible Belt communities, if the community finds out somebody's an atheist, they'll treat that person as a pariah. Violence isn't unheard of. Lots of small towns are still very much church-centered monoculture cults. Some of them have some pretty wacky views about what "good" and "evil" are. Evangelical Christianity in the US has very much an us-versus-them framing, and it actively encourages many psychotic antisocial behaviors. It's main premise is basically SPREAD (OUR VERSION OF) JESUS AT ALL COSTS. It's a completely different beast than any Christianity y'all have on your side of the pond. It's more comparable to fundamentalist _Islam_ than any modern European Christianity, and it's the largest Christian faction in the US. That's why there's a very real and dangerous active genuine attempt to take over the government and institute a fascist Evangelical Christian theocracy. At least _some_ of them _actually_ express the intent to start rounding up people and putting them in camps. They've recently begun getting more publicly vocal about such ideas. Keep an eye on the US for potential genocide in a few years if the theocrats take back political power. That's not everywhere in the US, though. But psycho religion is more normalized here in general. The Evangelicals specifically happen to vote more often than other demographics, so they're overrepresented politically. Most towns are pretty civilized in the South, but lots of small towns are still enclaves of medieval thinking, and having lived in one before I can say that for me that place was indeed a personal hell. Regardless, you can find these people everywhere in the US, they're just far more concentrated in the South.
@@johndemeritt3460 How sad to know that there are supposedly "righteous" people that are prepared to ruin someones life because of what they believe. You shouldn't need laws for someone to have human decency. Shame on them.
Thankyou very much for sharing, it's good to know I'm not the only one that goes through stuff like this. I had something similar with my cousin. He's family and the closest thing I have to a brother, but I cut him out of my life for a few weeks. I eventually talked things over with him and set boundaries. This happened twice, but if anything we're closer now. We don't talk about religion anymore, pointless anyway, and he doesn't let me know he prays for me anymore. He's stopped frequenting my online chat channels where we discuss things he doesn't always agree with. That's his choice, he can join and not let it bother him or he can avoid it. He knows we don't intentionally rub it in his face. It's tricky to keep that divide, but it's sometimes possible. However you have to ask yourself how important someone is to you, vs the impact they were causing. For my cousin it was more than just god stuff, for the most part I can ignore that, but I think I triggered him unknowingly or he was having a bad day, then he did the whole I'm not doing anything that could be seen as annoying, but he knew it was annoying so did it more thing. I really hope your tough situation gets better.
This triggered flashbacks to discussions with my family. Thank you for sharing this, and I'm sorry it occurred under such a heavy cloud. Theists need to see these discussions and hopefully they'll lose their persecution complexes.
I'm sorry you encountered that sort of person, but it seems he showed you who he really is. Anyway, I hope the baby circle is doing better. Leaf Be Upon You. ❤
Reminds me of when my mom passed and i had to sit through that for weeks, honestly was agonizing since from my perspective she was just gone no afterlife no waiting at the gates and people were trying to convince me otherwise it really sucked.
I'm sorry to hear that your kid is in hospital. As a mother of a nearly eight-month-old son I can imagine the stress of your child being hospitalized. I hope he gets well soon.
Thor got bitten and poisoned by Jormungandr the world serpent, Odin got eaten by Fenrir the giant wolf, Tyr and Garm (another giant wolf) killed each other., Check out the song Twilight of the Thunder God, it's about Thor's end (the Rage of Light cover is my fav)
"We're praying for you" = "I am throwing tomatoes at a wall. It's completely ineffective and a waste of good food. But I'm letting you know because, having done so, I can now claim I have divine powers if your situation gets better. I'll become a celebrity, own a mega church, and get given a lot of money in return for my blessings. Basically, I'm praying for my benefit, not you."
A few years back one of my beloved dogs was critically ill. Lots of FB and real life friends and acquaintances said they'd pray for him. My response was, "Thank you." One of them started a GoFundMe to help us cover expenses, and some of those "sending prayers" also sent dollars. One of our friends offered to take care of our other dogs while we spent two days traveling to see a specialist. When he died, people shared our grief - some while saying they were praying. My response was "Thank you." At no time did anyone go off on a thoughtless, rude, detrimental rant about our "meaningless" lives. Not a single person who said they were praying for us witnessed or preached about God's plan. None of my Christian friends or family said he was in a better place. They all - even my most Bible verse posting friends and family - simply said they were sorry and were sad, too. Your "friend" isn't a friend. They're a selfish, self-absorbed douche nozzle who ultimately did more harm than good to their professed faith. I hope your sprogling is getting better. And leaf be with you
Jeeeesusssss Chriiiist! This thread is fucking _WILD!_ Thanks for sharing, and best wishes over there, bud. I'm glad to hear in the comments that babySkep is doing better. Cheers.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Using someone's sick child as an excuse to push unwanted beliefs is disgusting.
Taking advantage of people's pain and low points in their life is a common cult tactic.
And acting like they're the victim when called out on their BS.
Well, their God makes babies sick and kills them to prove his point so I guess they're just following his examples of human exploitation.
The initial comment is more likely thoughtlessness and the fact that they genuinely don't know how else to comfort someone. It's not until they persist after being told it makes you uncomfortable that I ascribe malevolence.
@@serpentinious7745 I would have agreed that it was thoughtlessness if he hadn't started it with "ye of little faith who desire a meaningless nothingness life...". When they start out by telling people what they think they're not in it to be nice. At the risk of doing the same, he was probably already mad at Mr. Tick simply for being an atheist.
"I don't want prayer"
"I'm praying for you"
"I asked you not to do this? Why do you need to be so disrespectful"
"How dare you disrespect me!"
???
That’s exactly it
Bro, Nani the fuq?!?! What is that ex-friend's excuse to be this fucking petty?
"I'm under no obligation to respect your delusion. "
I'm sorry there are such ridiculously petty jerks out there creating chaos in your life. I hope your baby feeling better. ❤
Well, as SirSic would say, "God doesn't the real."
And "where's my whiskey?"
He's down with a serious case of nonexistence.
Wut?? I don't get it
He was high on whisky, but not high enough to say stupid things.
@@-TheUnkownUser
„was“?
Are you implying that there is a time where SirSic is NOT high on whiskey?
Blasphemy! 😂
I feel for you. When your kid is sick, it's scary. All you want is some sympathy and support, not preaching.
6 months ago my husband died. It has been rough. I'm not out as an atheist, so I had loads of Christian friends who said things like "praying for you". That actually didn't bother me. Whether it was prayers or lightning candles or some sort of ritual, I feel it was coming from a good place. They believe it will help somehow so I'm okay with that. The one that really hacked me off was people quoting bible verses at me about god's love and shite like that. I feel no comfort in knowing that their sky wizard killed my husband and is now expecting me to run to him for cuddles. Not happening. If their god had wanted me to be comforted and feel loved, he shouldn't have killed my husband. I just can't see how any of this makes god good.
Sorry for your loss.
My deepest sympathies for your loss.
I had a somewhat similar experience, as I buried both of my parents last year.
As I have progressed in my journey of being an atheist, I have pondered many questions. Like how transparent I should be, and how I should react to various explicitly Christian actions, such as prayers. It is hard to know ahead of experience, how they turn out.
I have discovered that a Christian praying for me is not something that bothers me. What does bother me, is when the prayers or whatever, start crossing over into pushing their faith onto me.
My parents both got the Christian memorials they wanted. I even read a prayer at my fathers service, one that he personally wrote. It wasn't meaningful to me because it was a prayer, but it still had deep meanings. Not to mention it informed about who he was.
I think we can usually tell when someone has sincere feelings of wanting to help. Hollow platitudes, or worse, manipulative evangelism, are not hard to detect.
Sending some e-hugs your way - I'm sorry for your loss and, as odd as I'm sure this will sound (or maybe not), I wish you the best in your grieving. It's a hard, challenging road, but it's one that needs traveling, unfortunately. Again, hugs! ❤
@@stevewebber707 Fuck... both in one year...I lost my dad not long ago, and it was rough. I hope they both lived long, fulfilled lives and you and your/their loved ones got to sy their goodbyes. ❤
I'm very sorry for your loss.
There literally is no hate stronger than Christian love.
True Words Have Never Been Spoken
I've never seen them try to rebut this
It might have something to do with Luke 14:26 (?). Something about having to hate their own families in order to be a true disciple.
Hmmm if i see the world,islamic faith is even stronger hate. They litteraly slaughter each other
You married a smart one, for sure.
One time my wife collapsed in a coffee shop (she was undergoing chemo during that stage of her life). Several friends and staff rushed to help her, and they ended up calling for an ambulance. One Mormon neighbor was there, and after the immediate scare had passed and my wife was feeling better, he asked if he could pray for her. She agreed, and he did. And while both my wife and I agree on the uselessness of prayer for any people other than the one doing the praying ... we both accepted his actions as expressions of his care and concern. I was almost tearful when I thanked him later.
And that's how most atheists react to prayer, when it is offered sincerely and without offense. Your situation was completely different, and I don't blame you for your reaction. Christians often fail to realize the privilege they have in this society, where shotgunning their religious beliefs in public is expected to be accepted without objection, but where stating the obvious ("Jeezus, faith is irrational") is not allowed by standards of curtesy.
I hope your wife continues to be okay
as an atheist I wish it to be known, you do not speak for me. I hope your wife is well .
I once had an MRI done on my aorta to make sure a previous heart surgery was still holding up ok. After, the technician said they'd pray for me. I spent a week waiting to hear the results, thinking that the technician saw something ominous. It turned out the result was completely normal. But that was a terrifying week. It was one of the meanest things anyone has ever said to me.
Studies have shown that people who know people are praying for them can actually get worse, because of the stress of feeling like they NEED to get better. So you got lucky the stress that week didn't make something worse.
@@kyledadumb4354that and they sometimes stop treatment that could have helped because let god deal with it
"Hallelujah! Nothing is wrong! It's a miracle!
not sure why a technician making an empty statement that means "I hope the MRI shows no problems" would mean they saw something ominous. Technicians don't do the interpreting to begin with... That wasn't mean, that was you reading a bad meaning into a vague attempt at encouragement.
@@nagranoth_ I people’s reaction in that situation would be “why? What did you see?”
I feel you, man. When I was 15 my mom had a brain aneurysm and it looked like we were going to lose her soon. One of her sisters took me aside at the hospital and told me this had happened because me and my dad had rejected god. Sometimes it sucks to be sensible in a world that’s completely mad.
I’m sorry to hear that.
I've heard of such things happening - In my younger years I assumed it was an unfair stereotype of theists, that no person would actually do something that horrible. It was like a cartoon villain twirling his mustache, or movie racists putting a "kick me" sign on the back of a black coworker. Too ridiculous to be true, I though. Now I know better.
It's not true that prayer doesn't work, as long as the goal is to be freakin' annoying.
And theists seem determined to reach that goal.
They are quite good at it aren't they
A guy in the 1940's with a caterpillar under his nose prayed all the time, see what it did for him? While it's true he became Time's man of the Year - Twice! I mean because of all his prayers and worshipping Jesus - Everybody on earth knew about him. So prayers do work, honestly they do .
Unfortunately those prayers in the past lead to a billion or so people suddenly becoming unalive by said people issuing said prayers. They always seem to forget their words are literally written in The red Ink of innocent spilt blood.
@@graffffikforget? No, the entire religion is predicated upon blood magic. Of all things…
You're one of my favorite RUclipsrs, and I'm so sorry to learn your baby is sick. I wish I could help you. And I'm so sorry that on top of such an anxious moment you have to deal with ALL the Christian "love". Love is to be there for those we care, so just don't worry about stupid people and know that you and your wife are not alone. Be strong for each other and for your beautiful child. Lots of ❤ for you and your family!
I wish religious people knew when to shut up.
You weren't out of line SkepTick. Theists always say the most stupid things. They're sort of good at that.
Theists always get triggered when you stop them from being judgmental .
@@2l84me8I think you mean JUDGMENTAL
BUT THEN THEISTS HAVE NEVER BEEN CONCERNED WITH TRUTH AND ACCURACY..
@@oldedwardian1778 that was the correct spelling, also i think your caps lock is stuck.
@@nealgrimes4382 You are CORRECT about the spelling of JUDGMENTAL, my apologies, an oversight on my part.
Programming is a hell of a drug. You can feel their eyes glaze over as they activate the command routine to dump empty platitudes.
Thanks for sharing, SkepTick. Sorry some bible thumpers think more of themselves than assisting you and your family. Here's something from a fellow Atheist in hopes it will help. 🙂
Holy shit that was generous~ ❤
@@SoraQuill I got a retroactive raise in at work, so I had some extra money to put to good use! 🙂
@@andrewjones6693 is it weird I have the urge to thank you despite the fact that I didn’t get the money? X’D thank you for… being an awesome human?
@@SoraQuill Aw, shucks... 😊 In this day and age where the idiots and snake-oil salesmen are getting all the support and attention, it's time to stick up for our like-minded science-embracing truthers.
There's no hate like Christian love
There's no arrogance like Christian humility
There's no condescension like Christian compassion
Christmas and also Easter.
1984 but Christiandom.
@@Lordidude
What? Those don't originate in Christianity, so I don't see the point here.
@guytheincognito4186 original commentator wrote "Christmas" instead of "Christians" in one sentence. I made a pun.
@@Lordidude
Okay. I can't see it and people confusing those seasons as Christian is common.
F’kn ambulance chasers. Every agony is a sales opportunity.
The fact that they not only say they are "showing complete humility and love" and are so psychotic as to actually believe that while being the most disrespectful, arrogant, see you next Tuesday that they possibly can be.
Although non-religious wishes for your child’s health don’t do anything either, I’ll wish for it anyway. Take care.
You can never go wrong with a morale boost.
I never thought about it like that. 😯
I really do wish the best for Skeptic Jr. ✨
My daughter spent 3 days in quarantine with rsv as a infant and over the 72 hours of staying awake next to her I had allot of ppl doing the same crap. Worse was when my wife died in an accident at 30yrs old all these theists kept telling me she was in a better place or she's happy now, it's so insulting cuz she was happy very happy we had a great relationship since we were 16yrs old . These people were so upsetting I've never been so angry as I was at that time hearing the same B.S from stupid christians. It's truly madning and doesn't help anything.
Where you live Christianity isn't about following Christ but about politics and tribalism. Proven by trying to put you out of livelihood.
I do hope the circlet is doing okay. Wishing all of you resilience and for the circlet to be restored to full floating power.
Yikes, that was nuts! You say "I find this offensive, please stop," and they reply "sorry you were offended," then proceed to do it again! And then again... And again and again!
It was funny there towards the end where they are like "well I guess I'll just go away." Yes! Do! That's what we've been saying this whole time!
There's "facepalm," then there's "rubbing my temples in sheer disbelief." That was painful.
I would like to say to these people how would you feel if Muslims did these things to Christian’s but of course self reflection is lacking
My toddler was in the hospital last year with RSV. It’s horrible and nobody should have to go through it. I’m going to pray to the god of doctors and thank him for curing your kid.
Praise Asclepius!
If it’s any consolation, small children usually have an amazing ability to not only overcome such adversity, but also almost completely repress it. I had cancer when I was 3-4 years old, and the only things I can remember of the entire period (apart from things I’ve been retold) are a few glimpses, of which only one distinctly negative. If anything, you keeping it together yourself while being with your child through the ordeal is more important than anything, because children are a lot more perceptive than we realize. They may gauge your reaction more than their own experience.
@@ArKritz84Yes, I think you have said the most important part of what an adult needs to do for their child when they are in the hospital. Children take their cues about how to react in any given situation from their parents. If you are strong and determined to do the best you can, your child will follow your lead. I hope that your family is doing well now. Peace 💚
Praise Apollo !
Praise Odin!
(Hey, he's the god of wisdom, literacy, and healing. Close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.)
Thanks!
I wouldn't throw an egg on the floor for you, but if I lived nearby, I might send over a souffle.
I’m from the Midwest, so I kind of want to send a casserole.
I live in Italy. Will spaghetti carbonara be ok?
The same theists get really mad if you don’t celebrate their holidays, or if you follow a different faith. They don’t respect boundaries in my experiences. I’m sorry you’re dealing with them, and with the medical situation. You and the wifey are brilliant, lovely, talented and kind people. I’m very fortunate that I know y’all.
Also, yeah. As part of the lgbtq, I lost 10k followers, lost my income, lost my friends, all to that rhetoric, and yeah… that’s why my father had walk away from the church. He sees too much hate and too much predatory and forceful behavior.
When you don't celebrate their holidays they way they want you to as well. Basically they want to control your every move and when they can't, they delight in the "knowledge" you're going to Hell.
Hope baby SkepTic is doing fine
Besides i've had the same myself, I fell 30 feet from a roof in 2013 and i'm like: if there was a god, it would not have send me up that GODFORSAKEN roof.
My younger sister died a few years ago, after a blameless life of service to the community and a long slow debilitating illness. At her funeral people did insist on telling me that “god has a plan” and “Jesus wants her for a sunbeam”. I was too upset to get angry.
Can’t blame you!
I bloody hate the plan cause they can never tell me what ia the plan? How do you know what thw plan is.
"Jesus wants people for sunbeams? Then pack your bags because if you say one more word to me I'll be sending you to him"
Man when my sister died, one of the pastors said "It's for God to get the glory." Like, do these people HEAR what they are saying???
(HUG) I lost my brother a year ago. It sucks.
This legit made me angry. I'm so sorry you had to deal with this bs while going through such a hard time.
You were absolutely in the right here and I’m sorry you had to deal with all this during an already stressful moment. I hope your little baby circle is feeling better. ❤️
He’s MUCH better now. Thank you.
Oh sh!t, they went through all that effort to pray for you! They could have gone the easy way and Just pay your hospital bills.
They think they are helping through prayer I doubt these people would help with a disabled person in a wheelchair get something from a high shelf at a store and instead pray over them
"what's disgusting is to say praise Odin, the God of war and death"
Nobody tell this person that Yahweh is the tribal war god of the Canaanites
That's one reason I don't have a book of faces.
May the Cosmic Goat baaah favorably in your direction and I hope you and your family are well.
Being in Kentucky I'm surprised it took you this long to have a heated exchange with the self proclaimed "Soldiers of Christ and the Keepers of the Faith"! My opinion, you definitely did the right thing, personal boundaries must be set and enforced. All the best to your child and if "wrongful termination" or "First Amendment Violations" are in your future retain an attorney. It's the American way🫡
I once had a massive pain in my shoulder that was preventing me from going to work that day, so my evangelical step mother decided to faith heal me. I didn't ask for it, nor wanted it but she did it anyway and i was in too much pain to tell her to piss off with that shit. That has been the running theme with certain types of Christians. They take advantage of people in their lowest moments probably hoping that the one in pain, either emotional or physical, will suddenly see the light and turn to Jesus. This predatory behaviour really pisses me off.
Yep, I’m fine with my friends saying they’ll pray for me because I take that as a caring gesture. But, it isn’t caring to ignore your friends’ request to not have prayers at all. I tend to be honest and say something along the lines of that I’m thinking of my friend and hoping all the best for them.
its not the prayers that bugs me, its the shoving it in the persons face
This is how I feel as well. I take someone saying they'll pray for me as a caring gesture because even though I don't share their belief they genuinely think it's a helpful thing and a way to express their care and worry. However, I also agree that the person immediately deciding to proselytise was really disrespectful and tone-deaf. I cannot believe those sorts of people- imagine someone being so pushy and ignoring your request in a difficult time...
@@DAYBROK3what bothers me is clearly people are not happy with other people not being Christian’s so they got to force someone into becoming a Christian through a tragic event even though that person has no plans on being a Christian ever
5:23 That kind of blatant insistence at quoting bible verses at you when you are in a weak position (in hospital with your child) and have specifically asked _not_ to be "prayed" for - This is basically verbal bullying. If someone had done this to me I would tell them privately that I had no desire to maintain a friendship and I will consider any further communication to be harassment.
Kinda fun fact: there was a study done on intercessory prayer, and the results showed that those who knew they were being prayed for did worse than control, while those who did not know they were being for did no better than control
Even better: the study was done by a Christian foundation.
Yea, and there's another with results that says it helps, but those are outliers because other studies say there is no effect. And I think each study was for a different illness or injury.
But it does make me giggle a bit.
There's a huge difference between someone praying for you, and someone posting "prayers" on your social media page to grandstand. The first is pointless and banal. The second is harassment.
"Private social" is an oxymoron. Also - Prayer, how to do nothing and still think you're helping.
Sorry to hear what you're going through. Mrs S really nailed them to the lower case T with her well worded, and thoughtful response. It would be a less imperfect world if you could say "no, I'm good" when they come at you with their religion, and instead of being offended, they said " no worries mate, here if you want to talk, or would you prefer some financial support, as health care is not a right in the 'greatest' country on earth?"
I don’t understand why anyone would go against the wishes of an exhausted and anxious parent, no matter what the circumstances. Doing as someone has asked will help them and going against their wishes will cause them negative feelings at a minimum. How easy just to do as they ask and show your concern in that way…I am so sorry it was such an awful time for you.
I grew up in (and recently moved to) what I would describe as "Hyper-Christian" regions of the USA. I have been fired for refusing to join prayer at work. I will lose my job if my current boss finds out I'm an atheist. I bit my tongue so often it literally bleeds.
All of that is to say ... Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Thank you for saying in a better way than most can what needs to be said. You (and those like you) give strength to those of us who can't speak up.
I hope your child recovers and is well. I hope you and yours find health and happiness going forward. I hope your employment situation improves and that you no longer need fear for your financial well-being because of the bigotry of others. I hope for these things because that is all I can do. I hope for them for yourself, myself, and all others in similar situations. I hope that one day we no longer need to hope for these simple things. I hope one day respect and acceptance truly are the norm for everyone. I hope ...
I'm glad you shared this. It happened to me recently at a food bank. The guy just wouldn't stop preaching damnation over me and telling me how much he loves me and how bad I am and how I should be grateful for the torture and murder of jesus. It was just pathetic. There's nothing one can do.When someone will not yield to reason, they are lost.
Thanks. I hope things turn out well with your son.
When we had Covid back in 2021, our believing friends all "prayed" for us. (Did they really? Or did they just say they did?) Our non-believing friends went to the grocery store for us, one of them got us a blood oxygen meter, and took our dog to the vet when he got sick. I appreciate the sentiment of those who say they'll pray, but it was the non-believers who really did stuff for us.
2:43 When I say "I'm sorry to hear that" I mean it and I care. I also usually accompany it with, "If there is anything I can do to help, let me know," which is more than their floaty sky man is capable of.
The brother of a coworker of mine was diagnosed with end-stage cancer after neglecting his health for decades. "Well, fuck" was the only reply necessary to convey all emotions. You don't need to make it about yourself by pretending you want to help. There's nothing you can do, after all. You can offer an open ear, but that's about it. But being so arrogant you think your prayers could change anything is utterly disgusting.
One more reason to not like christians.
@@Finckelstein "You don't need to make it about yourself by pretending you want to help."
I trust you aren't directing this at me specifically.
Things people can do to help - Take his dog for a walk. Feed the cat. Drive him to the grocery store if he's finding it hard to get around, etc.
@@fepeerreview3150 "I trust you aren't directing this at me specifically"
Of course not. I was talking mostly in general but also specifically about the self-aggrandizing POS in the video.
And sure, there are things you can do to help in many situations. But in my example I don't think anyone could've done anything other than offer emotional support.
I hope your baby Circle is improving with the science based care he is receiving. I'm looking forward to hearing that he is fine.
As for those people in your life who went against your wishes, they were wrong. If they felt so strongly about the power of prayer they could have prayed in private, without telling you. Then they'd be happy that they "did the right thing" and you'd be happy because you wouldn't know about the useless prayers. But, no....they had to tell you that they'd done exactly the opposite to what you asked. I feel you had every right to call them out.
"I'll pray for you" is just grandstanding to say, in the words of Weird Al: "I'm the pious guy the little omelettes wanna be like, on my knees day and night scoring points for the afterlife."
Continue standing on your principles my dude and if all else fails, you're welcome in Minnesota. Hope your kiddo is doing better.
Thanks for sharing your personal experiences. I've been in a kinda similar situation, being diagnozed with cancer 8 yrs ago. As an atheist, burning candles in church has no meaning to me other than observing a chemical reaction at hand. Depending on prayers for my recovery didn't put me in comfort, since I was told to life 5ys, max 10yrs, and didn't feel ready to die at 55. Instead, I put my believe in the competence of the doctors. And here I am typing this message, not because of burning candles or prayers (as scientifically shown that doesn't cure) but because of the knowledge and competences of 'my' medical doctors. I'm glad my friends and family didn't responded so harshly as yours, The SkepTick. Last but not least, how's mrs SkepTick and off course little SkepTick doing? Cheers!
They’re both doing great. Sorry to hear about your experience!
It's Always funny when people with an imaginary friend tell you to grow up.
I live in Alabama, so if I vocalize being atheist in the wrong place I might actually get shot. I was actually followed one from the grocery store to a gas station miles away just because I was dressed a bit different. I just stopped letting anyone know when I was having any kind problems.
Hope the small one is feeling better and that you've gotten some rest.
And I hope you someday get out of Alabama.
I am in the UK, such a massive difference where few people even care what others believe.
Praying sure is easier and cheaper than actually doing something.
When theists say they will pray for me I tell them to save it for the roughly 15,000 children that die each day due to malnutrition and the effects of poor drinking water and their "god" does NOTHING 😑
Side note...guaranteed those parents, many of them, prayed sincerely and still NOTHING 😑
The most stupid thing a theist can do after being told "I don't believe in your god/bible" is to pull out some moronic bible verses!
Skep taking the gloves off here.
And I'm here for it! 😂
I watch a lot of this kind of content. Much of it is thoughtful and considered. This was emotional and passionate. I loved it. I didn't understand what the illness was, I hope all is well. Sometimes a rant is exactly what is needed and if this video got a million negative comments but made the Skep tick feel better, it would still be worth it. That is all.
As someone who's been living in the Bible belt for most of my life, I'm sorry that you have had to deal with people who are so indoctrinated. They can't accept that other people don't believe like they do. It's their refusal to accept the fact others don't believe that makes them arrogant and potentially dangerous.
Thank you for sharing this very personal difficult situation. I hope you and your family are doing better now. Peace 💚
Your anger is entirely justified, 'Tick. I fear all those clowns did was wake a sleeping giant (floating circle) and fill him with a terrible resolve.
Sorry you had to go through this. I hope your kid and your job are safe now.
Thanks!
God i hate it when people say they are praying for me. Praying is the most useless thing
They're just showing their self righteousness, arrogance and delusions.
It's very pathetic.
It's sad that you could lose your job, I do hope all things go well for both you and your child
Thanks JonJoe!
Prayers are like masturbation.
It's something that should be done in private and it's primarily to make them feel good about themselves, not the receiver.
Truer words have not been written. 😎
I asked a theist friend if she really prayed for the people she tells on FB that she will. I doubt most do but she insists that she does
@@stevenburkhardt1963 "And please bless all the people I tagged on social media..."
@@stevenburkhardt1963Does your friend have OnlyFans for prayers? 😂
I wish I had possessed the wherewithal to stick up for similar feelings 4 years ago. My wife was in ICU, imminently dying, and when i turned down hospital staffs' offer to send a priest to perform last rights because she was atheist, her parents said 'well just in case'. I folded and said whatever helps you guys. It has never sat right with me that her dignity couldn't be respected in passing.
Firstly, sorry about your wife, man. I can't even imagine how hard that must have been. You have my admiration.
For some reason the 'read more' click isn't under your comment, so I only got the first part, but I reckon your wife wouldn't have wanted you to be feeling all uncomfortable about it. The benefit of their not being a god-infested afterlife is that it really doesn't matter to her, eh. Unless I missed a point further on, about any last or unexpected conversion or specific wish, I reckon you're fine. You did the right thing under a level of stress I can't even imagine.
I wen't through a similar thing with a good friend many years ago. However, I was expecting it and I'd had time to consider the whole thing and to discuss it with them.
Normally, I would probably have just bitten my lip for the sake of the parents. However, there's a dark background of shunning, and probs with "the gays" (ie. their son), and the fact these so called parents legally disowned their only son when they told them about their HIV diagnosis (it was the mid 80s, so it was a brutally short death sentence, basically. (RIP Billy, I miss you)). You know the sort of people I mean.
I'm still proud of myself (a sin, clearly) for handling it calmly. I'm an old peace-punk, so I rarely get explosive, but in this situation I was on the top end of angry.
Here in Scotland, we have a phrase for this level of anger, frustration and disgust:
"I was fuckin' beelin!".
I didn't go into the fact that this whole idea suggests their god is a gullible ultimate being, who either doesn't know if you mean it or not, doesn't really care if you mean it or not, or who's happy to accept your praise etc, from a completely different person to you. This is confusing, I'm sure it wouldn't accept someone being allowed to take on a torturous death sentence in place of others, leaving the original sentencees free to swan about doing what they always did. Would it?
Oh, hold on...
This whole 'just in case' thing's just Pascal's Wager Lite, basically.
You'd better make damn sure you pick the right god and the correct way to approach them, though. Most of them don't like it when you worship a different one, and we all know just how feeble and fragile their wee ego's are.
Could we, then, maybe just get representatives of ALL theistic religions, and have all of them mumbling around the bed?
Nope. That doesn't work, apparantly.
Theoretically, if you genuinely believe in this 'convert, just in case' route to a religion, logically you would pick the one with the worst version of an afterlife for the apostate or non believer.
Sounds like an effort to turn folk onto Islam to me. You're certainly not going to pick Judaism. That's the one you CAN get wrong, without suffering horrendous consequences. If you don't get into the club, you just go back to the way you were for the 3.8billion years before you were born.
It's even the same god you need to placate and glorify and worship and lick and... (cont. ad nauseam), so you're all just trying to get into the same club, but of the three entry doors to YHWH, one let's you in, and the other two either send you to hell for eternity or annihilate your existence (the most preferable option, imo).
It's like the Monty Hall Problem, but with the eternal future of your 'soul' being the thing you're playing for, rather than a car or a goat.
Oh, my. That went on a bit, eh? Your comment really took me back to that whole awful situation. Thank you, and I mean that. A bit distressing as a specific memory, maybe, but you've reminded me of my friend and given me a smile.🙂
Again, I could only see the start of your comment, so I hope I haven't completely misjudged this whole exchange. No harm meant, eh.
You had every right. It’s your child. These people are impinging on you.
They can pray in the privacy of their homes and keep it to themselves. When told not to this, going ahead and doing it, is disrespecting your overt wishes.
Praying in the privacy of your own home is what Jesus is claimed to have said anyway.
Best I can do RN to help. Here's hoping your Tiny Floating Circle gets well soon. I apologize on behalf of my fellow Yanks. I promise not all of us in the Bible Belt are this ... Dense is the best word I can think of. There are a lot of us that can respect boundaries
"God's a kid with an ant farm, lady. He's not planning anything." - John Constantine
Sorry to hear about your child, I hope they get better - take care.
One of my family members sent me a message saying. "God loves you. That's all the proof you need that He Exists"
It's rather ironic that people like this, also feel the need to always have the last word. They can't just leave after you've said something, they have to have that final statement no matter what, and it's never just "goodbye". It's always some passive aggressive statement. Why do they almost certainly always pop up when people are in a crisis, and try to prey on them? Oh right, because it's way easier to convince people things when they're in need of emotional support. (I wrote this before finding out mid way through, that this person had the same done to them. Go figure that they now do it to others. Disgusting)
I've had to deal with people like this in my life, and I cut them out. They tried to tell me I should be stronger in my morals and beliefs, so I did it. Just didn't turn out the way they expected it to. My life was full of the worst kind of hypocrites who'd claim to be one thing, do exactly the opposite, then pray for forgiveness and continue the cycle all over again. I'm forever grateful not for God, but by getting away from it.
Hoping everything worked out well for your family. Illness is stressful, and children’s illness is terrifying.
Good health to you, Mrs Circle, and your little Circle.
Even AI chatbots can read rooms better than some believers.
Damn my dude, I am sorry to hear about your kiddo, I hope they recover fully and quickly. :) No prayer, no gods, just love.
If they really believed in prayer, they could have just prayed for you in private without you knowing. But no, they have to tell you so they can be seen as doing something. So they can feel useful. It's incredibly selfish.
I hope your kiddo recovers to 100%, SkepTick.
I'm also one of those people that actively dislikes when people pray for me.
This just shows that "thoughts and prayers" is more about looking like a good person than actually BEING a good person.
This is so sad, I’m sorry you had to go through that. I also live in KY, have my whole life, and I come from a Pentecostal family so I can’t even be skeptical on FB bc my family might see and that’s a whole issue I don’t want to go down. I call myself loosely pagan and say that my beliefs are just my beliefs, to the point where I don’t even like talking about them with other people. It’s a private, extremely personal thing for me. But I recognize that it could all be made up and “in my head,” so I don’t base decisions on it- rather I decide based on empirical facts. The person who dogged you should have had the same outlook and just respected your views.
15:36 exactly THAT!😢
I just hope the little one has/is getting better. Nothing more heartbreaking than watching your child suffer.
So glad I don't have Facebook. I hope everything turned out well for you and your family.
That must have been painful. Thank you for voicing what many of us think but don’t say.
Being from England I can't comprehend an employer using non belief against an employee. Is that really what goes on over there? I thought America was a civilised country. Apparently I was wrong. Being surrounded by the religious is my personal hell.
The USA is a Christian supremacist oligarchy, it's a mess... Bible thumpers will use any excuse to hate on someone they don't like. Some of them have started saying Jesus would have been a woke snowflake and such... -_-
Though I say this as an Australian, so I'm not a first hand expert.
Yes, it absolutely happens.
Unfortunately, there are religious people prejudiced enough to try and fire someone for their lack of belief. Fortunately, there are laws against such behavior, and gracious people only too ready and willing to take up the fight on behalf of those so threatened.
Yup. At-will employment means they can fire you for no reason, and while religion is _technically_ not a legal reason you can fire someone (it's specifically protected by law, like race, marital status, nationality, sex, age), as long as the employer doesn't _explicitly_ articulate that that's the reason then there's really nothing you can do about it even if you know that's why. The boss would pretty much have to say almost verbatim "I'm firing you _because_ you're an atheist" for there to be any recourse.
In lots of Bible Belt communities, if the community finds out somebody's an atheist, they'll treat that person as a pariah. Violence isn't unheard of. Lots of small towns are still very much church-centered monoculture cults. Some of them have some pretty wacky views about what "good" and "evil" are.
Evangelical Christianity in the US has very much an us-versus-them framing, and it actively encourages many psychotic antisocial behaviors. It's main premise is basically SPREAD (OUR VERSION OF) JESUS AT ALL COSTS. It's a completely different beast than any Christianity y'all have on your side of the pond. It's more comparable to fundamentalist _Islam_ than any modern European Christianity, and it's the largest Christian faction in the US.
That's why there's a very real and dangerous active genuine attempt to take over the government and institute a fascist Evangelical Christian theocracy. At least _some_ of them _actually_ express the intent to start rounding up people and putting them in camps. They've recently begun getting more publicly vocal about such ideas. Keep an eye on the US for potential genocide in a few years if the theocrats take back political power.
That's not everywhere in the US, though. But psycho religion is more normalized here in general. The Evangelicals specifically happen to vote more often than other demographics, so they're overrepresented politically. Most towns are pretty civilized in the South, but lots of small towns are still enclaves of medieval thinking, and having lived in one before I can say that for me that place was indeed a personal hell. Regardless, you can find these people everywhere in the US, they're just far more concentrated in the South.
@@johndemeritt3460 How sad to know that there are supposedly "righteous" people that are prepared to ruin someones life because of what they believe. You shouldn't need laws for someone to have human decency. Shame on them.
Thankyou very much for sharing, it's good to know I'm not the only one that goes through stuff like this.
I had something similar with my cousin. He's family and the closest thing I have to a brother, but I cut him out of my life for a few weeks. I eventually talked things over with him and set boundaries. This happened twice, but if anything we're closer now.
We don't talk about religion anymore, pointless anyway, and he doesn't let me know he prays for me anymore.
He's stopped frequenting my online chat channels where we discuss things he doesn't always agree with.
That's his choice, he can join and not let it bother him or he can avoid it. He knows we don't intentionally rub it in his face.
It's tricky to keep that divide, but it's sometimes possible. However you have to ask yourself how important someone is to you, vs the impact they were causing.
For my cousin it was more than just god stuff, for the most part I can ignore that, but I think I triggered him unknowingly or he was having a bad day, then he did the whole I'm not doing anything that could be seen as annoying, but he knew it was annoying so did it more thing.
I really hope your tough situation gets better.
Sorry you’ve had to deal with it
Just what you didn’t need while worried sick about your child. I’m so very sorry and hope everyone’s doing better. 😊
This triggered flashbacks to discussions with my family. Thank you for sharing this, and I'm sorry it occurred under such a heavy cloud. Theists need to see these discussions and hopefully they'll lose their persecution complexes.
Owen from Telltale Athiest was chased out of West Virginia by the hate that xian love demands. He has a few videos up about it. It can get scary.
Yep a witch hunt in the 21st century
Putting your job on the line over that just proves that person doesn't really love you.
I know him too. The level of complete and utter commitment in the face of evidence is terrifying.
I am livid on your behalf. What monsters. I’m so sorry. I hope your little floating circle is doing better.
I'm sorry you encountered that sort of person, but it seems he showed you who he really is. Anyway, I hope the baby circle is doing better. Leaf Be Upon You. ❤
I'm sorry to hear about all that. Get well soon, little one.
Im sorry you had to go through all that. As the wise man said, you can't fix stupid. I hope baby floating circle is back to normal soon.
Sorry to hear about the health problems of your littles son. Hope everything is better now and covered by your health plan.
Reminds me of when my mom passed and i had to sit through that for weeks, honestly was agonizing since from my perspective she was just gone no afterlife no waiting at the gates and people were trying to convince me otherwise it really sucked.
I'm sorry to hear that your kid is in hospital. As a mother of a nearly eight-month-old son I can imagine the stress of your child being hospitalized. I hope he gets well soon.
"Named my cats Thoughts and Prayers. Because they're useless." - some meme
Wow. Just wow. This is the most perfect video of how to respond to unwanted thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your time. Best wishes for your family
Odin got eaten by a giant wolf, their god™ got nailed to a couple sticks.
Odin is way more metal!
Huh, I thought he got eaten by a giant world compassing snake (or will be once Ragnarok hits)? Or was that Thor?
Thor got bitten and poisoned by Jormungandr the world serpent, Odin got eaten by Fenrir the giant wolf, Tyr and Garm (another giant wolf) killed each other.,
Check out the song Twilight of the Thunder God, it's about Thor's end (the Rage of Light cover is my fav)
Its amazing how quick shit can fly off the fan in these situations or discussions.
"We're praying for you" = "I am throwing tomatoes at a wall. It's completely ineffective and a waste of good food. But I'm letting you know because, having done so, I can now claim I have divine powers if your situation gets better. I'll become a celebrity, own a mega church, and get given a lot of money in return for my blessings. Basically, I'm praying for my benefit, not you."
skep i hope you and the mrs are getting enough rest, eating, and generally take care of yourselves.
A few years back one of my beloved dogs was critically ill. Lots of FB and real life friends and acquaintances said they'd pray for him. My response was, "Thank you."
One of them started a GoFundMe to help us cover expenses, and some of those "sending prayers" also sent dollars. One of our friends offered to take care of our other dogs while we spent two days traveling to see a specialist.
When he died, people shared our grief - some while saying they were praying. My response was "Thank you."
At no time did anyone go off on a thoughtless, rude, detrimental rant about our "meaningless" lives. Not a single person who said they were praying for us witnessed or preached about God's plan. None of my Christian friends or family said he was in a better place. They all - even my most Bible verse posting friends and family - simply said they were sorry and were sad, too.
Your "friend" isn't a friend. They're a selfish, self-absorbed douche nozzle who ultimately did more harm than good to their professed faith.
I hope your sprogling is getting better. And leaf be with you
Jeeeesusssss Chriiiist! This thread is fucking _WILD!_ Thanks for sharing, and best wishes over there, bud. I'm glad to hear in the comments that babySkep is doing better. Cheers.