Religion Question

[Country Kids]

It's (usually) done in the spirit of fellowship. To be welcoming and in some religions it's done in the hopes that they can save another soul from eternal damnation by bringing them into the fold eventually.

I saw it quite a bit when I was in middle, junior and early years of high school. Was frequently asked to prompt my friends to come to CCD "friends" nights that promised pizza, treats with the hopes that kids would like it and then beg their parents to start coming to church. I never asked because it didn't sit right with me and I can't say I ever really saw anyone outside of our regular classmates come.

I brought a cousin once but only because she was already the same religion as I was. They just happened to be in town and I didn't want to miss spending time with her because my parents insisted I go regardless....

Please remember though, not just religious groups do this-all groups/organizations do this.

Sometimes you find something out there that you thought you would never be interested in, someone invites you and you find you really enjoy it. A person can only find out if they go and see what it is about.

I went to VBS with my kids all the time. Learned what the churches taught, if it went with our believes, we would talk about it and we are on our 15th year of VBS. I don't go anymore as everyone knows us now and one of my dd's volunters at most of them throughout the summer! She loves it and it also helps her with volunter hours that she needs for different projects she is involved in. She would have done it anyway, even if she didn't use the volunter hours.

[Willow]

Please remember though, not just religious groups do this-all groups/organizations do this.

Sometimes you find something out there that you thought you would never be interested in, someone invites you and you find you really enjoy it. A person can only find out if they go and see what it is about.

I went to VBS with my kids all the time. Learned what the churches taught, if it went with our believes, we would talk about it and we are on our 15th year of VBS. I don't go anymore as everyone knows us now and one of my dd's volunters at most of them throughout the summer! She loves it and it also helps her with volunter hours that she needs for different projects she is involved in. She would have done it anyway, even if she didn't use the volunter hours.

Oh I'm not arguing other organizations don't do the same thing.

I do think it's a level of weird offering a friend come to a dance class or baseball practice doesn't reach though......one is an hour focused on physical fitness and teamwork while the other delves into personal salvation and sin, which are pretty heavy topics for elementary school kids.

[Country Kids]

Oh I'm not arguing other organizations don't do the same thing.

I do think it's a level of weird offering a friend come to a dance class or baseball practice doesn't reach though......one is an hour focused on physical fitness and teamwork while the other delves into personal salvation and sin, which are pretty heavy topics for elementary school kids.

Oh, my dd was invited to the LGT (lesbian, gay, transexual) group at the highschool which was definetly at a weird level for her. There was no interest ever expressed by dd but she was a freshman and they seemed to heavily try and recruit the freshman who have never been exposed to this at the middle schools.

All freshman here wonder what happens to some of the kids between 8th and 9th grade. Girls come back looking more like guys and the guys looking like girls. Usually by 10th grade though most look like themselves again!

[SilverSabre25]

Oh, my dd was invited to the LGT (lesbian, gay, transexual) group at the highschool which was definetly at a weird level for her. There was no interest ever expressed by dd but she was a freshman and they seemed to heavily try and recruit the freshman who have never been exposed to this at the middle schools.

All freshman here wonder what happens to some of the kids between 8th and 9th grade. Girls come back looking more like guys and the guys looking like girls. Usually by 10th grade though most look like themselves again!

Now *that* would bother me immensely...not that I have ANY problem with LGBTQ...but to just be randomly invited would have had ME questioning "do they know/can they tell something about me I dont' even know?! Am I saying/dressing/liking the wrong things that they would think that?!"

[SilverSabre25]

It's (usually) done in the spirit of fellowship. To be welcoming and in some religions it's done in the hopes that they can save another soul from eternal damnation by bringing them into the fold eventually.

*snicker* go on, tell us how you really feel...

(I'm hoping I am reading the irony/sarcasm correctly, if not, please accept my deepest and sincerest apologies)

[MarinaVanessa]

It's (usually) done in the spirit of fellowship. To be welcoming and in some religions it's done in the hopes that they can save another soul from eternal damnation by bringing them into the fold eventually.

I personally didn;t see anything wrong with this comment and didn't find it a least bit sarcastic at all ... maybe because of personal experiences ???

When I was younger (I was brought up Catholic) and in my early tweens my family stopped going to church, I don't know why really ... I think that my parents were just busy (they worked a lot) but not for bad reasons. Anyway I had a friend of mine who was mormom and her family invited me and my parents encouraged me to go (I was about 11 or 12) if I was interested. Ultimately I decided to go just to see what it was about and I liked it. Everyone was very nice and the activities after the services were fun and it didn't feel forced or anything, it felt good. I went a few times to learn about it and then after a while I just didn't go back.

Later when I was about 16 or so I went to visit family in another city for school break and my aunt invited me to her church (she was catholic). As we were exiting the priest paused to say hello to my aunt and asked nicely who I was and we were introduced. He asked a few qiestions about me like where I was from, how we were related etc. (very kind) and asked where I went to church. When I told him about how I didn't attend church he went on and on and scolded me about how it wasn't godly and how I NEEDED to go to church or I wouldn't be saved etc etc. Anyway I didn't like it and I spoke my mind and responded that I didn't HAVE to go to church, that I had a personal relationship with God and read the bible with my family and that was enough etc. Anyway the end of the conversation ended with him telling me that I (and my family) was going to hell .

Some time after that some people (Jehovah's witnesses) came to our door (I answered, my mom came up behind me) to talk to us about "Jesus Lord our savior" and my mom told them we weren't interested ... one of the men said that we "were fallen people and you will suffer in this life without salvation" . Anyway, while working at my parent's business when I was 17 we met a nice couple of ladies and they'd come in together every once in a while. After a while through conversation we found out that they were Jehovas Witnesses and we were leery about it, apparently they noticed because one of them asked us about it and my mom told them about our last encounter with a Jehova's witness. They were appalled. We spoke to them for a good hour about how it was wrong of the others to say those hateful things and they described what it should be like. She offered to speak to us again and we agreed and later ended up doing bible study with them for many years (I wanted to learn more about their religion, I learned ALOT of things that I had misconceptions over). They were never pushy, never asked us to join their faith but would invite us to their congregation for special events and we would attend. We are still friends with them both even to this day even though they know that we will never convert.

I think that may have been sort of where Willow was getting at. Some people take it to the extreme and others invite just out of brotherhood and to commune with you out of friendship and kindness. That's how I took it anyway.

[Cradle2crayons]

I have experienced both of those extremes. I was born and raised and still live here in Mississippi. Here, like all over, are extremes of it all. We have Jehovah's witnesses, some groups who are VERY pushy, some who aren't. Some of the baptists here are very pushy and sometimes it's the Methodists. Etc. Catholicism is something I haven't been exposed a lot to honestly. I'm a Christian and I gave my heart to The Lord many many years ago, when I was ten years old. It was MY choice, I wasn't pressured ( my parents claimed to be Christian although they never talked about God to me, sometimes dropped me off there and left, sometimes were too lazy to take me). Well, funny thing, they out me in a private school from kindy through graduation. They were the forceful types. Only THEIR exact beliefs were encouraged, any deviation from the norm was scolded and punished. My grandma was the epitome of a God-fearing Christian woman and she is who taught me religion. She was loving and kind and still to this day is who I strive to be like. She loved everyone, even when she didn't agree. Her love was never conditional, unlike my parents. She taught me tolerance, love, and acceptance. She never attended a day of church except when I was baptized. I teach my kids about her, her love for God and all people. I still call myself baptist, although I rarely attend church. I live a half mile from where I was baptized and my daughter attends that church with her best friend every Sunday and of course vbs. she loves church. I've always taught her that where two are gathered, it's church. That's what my grandma taught me and I believe you can be "saved" or however you want to put it without ever stepping a foot into church

With that said, I teach my kids tolerance and acceptance, even though we choose to be a certain way, or believe a certain thing, not everyone does and believes the same way. I grew up in a home without a lick of tolerance and if it hadn't been for my grandma, the cycle would have continued. Personally, we need a LOT more tolerance on this world...

There's my two cents..... Lol

[Willow]

*snicker* go on, tell us how you really feel...

(I'm hoping I am reading the irony/sarcasm correctly, if not, please accept my deepest and sincerest apologies)

Actually I wasn't being sarcastic at all! But at the same time no apologies are necessary.

Like Marina that's been my first hand experience. If you're not with us you're against us and someday God will punish you for that.


Not at all saying all organized religions are like that, but some absolutely are and will drive you into the ground with their words if you are not like minded.

[dave4him]

The best way to express something is through actions and love, words must follow deeds