Is "respecting" a religion worship?

[evildave]

Many people assume I'm a bad Christian, rather than a good atheist*.

I don't really observe holidays (other than take them off work because they're "free" vacations). I seldom see the inside of a church, except for social occasions, such as weddings and funerals.

I certainly am not openly disrespectful to religion. I am openly irreverent. A fine line, but all the difference in the world.

OK, so you want to pray? Go to it. Forgive me if I consider this to be talking to your imaginary friend with your imaginary walky-talky. I won't necessarily belabor the point.

You want to get up early on sunday and go sit in a big room and behave for an hour with other people who are similarly behaving for an hour, doing a few group-participation activities? Hey, that's fine with me.

You want me to ADMIRE you for having imaginary friends, conversations with yourself and all that rot? I can fake that to a very limited extent. I mean, you could be axe murdering people instead, after all.

You want me to do it with you? To a reasonable extent, I'll do small things to be sociable. I won't sound an air horn during your "minute-o-silence", or anything, or start eating before you finish talking to your food.

You want me to revere your habits and adopt them? HA! Bugger off.


*Actually, that's "apathetic agnostic", not that it makes a difference.

[UnrepentantSinner]

I find the most productive reaction is to not get obsessed with the theology of religions I don't ascribe to.

[GrapeJ713]

I used to wait eat till my mother-in-law talked to her food in my house out of respect. But the old bag moves so damn slow I was starving and the food was getting cold, so I wait a respectable amount of time and if the old bag doesn't get it in gear I go ahead and eat. If I'm at her house I wait to eat until she talks to her food. I guess because I respect property more than I respect strange cult practices.

[Darwin]

I know what you mean,dave.

[arcticpenguin]

"Respect" is one of those words with multiple meanings. I will "abide" other people's religious practice, and I think that is a more appropriate word than respect.

The dude abides.

[Ladewig]

I used to wait eat till my mother-in-law talked to her food in my house out of respect. But the old bag moves so damn slow I was starving and the food was getting cold, so I wait a respectable amount of time and if the old bag doesn't get it in gear I go ahead and eat. If I'm at her house I wait to eat until she talks to her food. I guess because I respect property more than I respect strange cult practices.

Why not ask if it is possible to start praying before the food arrives at the table? After all, there is no scriptural requirement saying when such prayers have to be utterted.

As for respect, would the family members respect your religious practices concerning the blessing of food? Would they sit patiently while you offered a little dance to a river god?

[I'll_buy_that]

I talk to myself, does that count? :D



Why not just a moment of quiet contemplation/appreciation about what it took to get the food on the table.

"Grace" seems to have originated at a time when people may or may not have eaten well depending on the whims of nature.

Those of the time stopped for a little of the contemplation/appreciation because they knew the fine line they walked getting the food on the table or going hungry for a while.

Thanks to science we are now able to produce enough food, store it for long periods of time, and transport it from other countries. So that the event of getting the food doesn't seem so miraculous or as fragile.

[Dancing David]

Originally posted by evildave

I certainly am not openly disrespectful to religion. I am openly irreverent. A fine line, but all the difference in the world.



Great post, no respect in not worship.

Peace dancing Davdi

[Dancing David]

No respect is not worship.

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by I'll_buy_that


"Grace" seems to have originated at a time when people may or may not have eaten well depending on the whims of nature.



This must have been about the same time they lost the ability to realize it was someone's hard work who put food on their table..


If we thank God for the bountifull harvest, can't we also give God credit for starving children?

[Denise]

Originally posted by Diogenes


This must have been about the same time they lost the ability to realize it was someone's hard work who put food on their table..


If we thank God for the bountifull harvest, can't we also give God credit for starving children?

God allows those children to starve because they are heathens. Those children are better off dead while they are still innocent and able to enter heaven then die as adults being heathens who will automatically go to hell because they have rejected Jeebus.

[chance]

Is respecting worship? I don’t think so, If you mean can I tolerate a religion, certainly, provided the feeling is mutual.

Respecting the feelings of the religious is more to do with curtesy and “when in Rome” One big exception must be however, don’t presume that I will participate.

[AmateurScientist]

Very well put, evildave. I agree 100% with your pragmatic approach. I behave the same way and I don't revere much of anything. The reverent provide great fodder for satire, however.

Don't knock 'em too hard. Comedy just wouldn't be as fun without 'em.

AS

[evildave]

Maybe I should work on a new Thanksgiving Prayer.

The last time I was asked to give one (and that was the LAST TIME ever).

"Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub! Yay God! ... No? OK, how about...
Thank God I'm not a turkey (or whatever the main course is). This holiday would really suck. Amen."


Thank God for starving children.

Without them, we could not appreciate this meal so well.

Their hollow eyes, lacking even the energy to wish for crumbs, their distended bellies attesting to the likelihood that they, like five million others just like them, will die this year from malnutrition. While many of them are already Christian, God appears to love them enough to waste them into nothing at an early age, that we may enjoy this feast the better for knowing we're not them.

Thank you, God that we have so much, while they have so little.

[tamiO]

Originally posted by evildave
Maybe I should work on a new Thanksgiving Prayer.

The last time I was asked to give one (and that was the LAST TIME ever).

"Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub! Yay God! ... No? OK, how about...
Thank God I'm not a turkey (or whatever the main course is). This holiday would really suck. Amen."


Thank God for starving children.

Without them, we could not appreciate this meal so well.

Their hollow eyes, lacking even the energy to wish for crumbs, their distended bellies attesting to the likelihood that they, like five million others just like them, will die this year from malnutrition. While many of them are already Christian, God appears to love them enough to waste them into nothing at an early age, that we may enjoy this feast the better for knowing we're not them.

Thank you, God that we have so much, while they have so little.

Fabulous post and a good idea. I don't think I would do it at a family dinner table, but it might be fun to weasel a way into saying that blessing before a city function/dinner.

[tamiO]

I have always liked the double meaning of

Good bread,
Good meat,
Good God!
Let's eat!

[jimmygun]

My most important day is Thanksgiving. I do not consider it a religious day for myself, I am an atheist. However, I can still express my thanks for the bounty that I have. I don't thank sky daddy, I just say I am thankful, that I appreciate what I have.

Each Thanksgiving meal I sit down to is preceded by a toast of sort. "In a world of hunger, we have so much food, in a world of fear, we have security, in a world of loneliness, we have each other. These are the things I am thankful for."

Afterwards we go around the table and if you are so inclined you give individual reasons for being thankful. One year my nice conversion van burned to the ground, the next I was thankful that my new van didn't.

[evildave]

Well, Turkey Day has always been food, family and concern over how seriously over-the-top my family gets about making holidays "perfect". Turkey day and Christmas are much the same.

It turns into a stressful time where feelings are hurt over the people who don't show up to appreciate all the hard work in preparing the meal and fixing the house up "just so". Then the family politics start up.


For me, pour some hot water into some ramen, grab some cheese, crackers, and a beer, and that's plenty good enough. I've done a couple of Thanksgivings that way. In the Air Force. On my own. They were more relaxing than the family holiday.

[corplinx]

I went to a university run by a catholic order. As participant in the theatre, we usually had a prayer before each show. I held hands with them, said the prayers, repeated "pray for us" after ther incantations of various Saints.

I didnt consider it worship. I took an interest in it, learned who the saints were, and why they invoked their names for the prayer. One was the patron saint of the theatre. One was the saint that the catholic order was founded in honor of. It felt neat taking part in this cultural happening. I found catholicism to be very cultural in nature versus protestantism.

One night, I even offered to lead the prayer. Afterwards, one of the catholic young women told me "that was an awesome prayer". It felt nice to know that I had succeeded in learning not only how to recite but to lead that cultural tradition. I still smirk though when thinking of invoking the patron saint of actors to pray to an all-knowing god on our behalf. The illogic of it just makes me shake my head.

[evildave]

Well, all religious observance is acting to me. I guess some people just get lost in the role.