Ever work with people who talk about church all the time?

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Does it get on your nerves? If so, how do you deal with it?? I'm no devil worshipper, and I see my self as being pretty tolerant of others, but I work with some people who seem kind of smug about their church attendance and often find a way to work that into many a conversation. Completely unrelated conversations.

Specializes in CEN, CFRN, PHRN, RCIS, EMT-P.
Sigh....I guess keeping this in a respectful tone was too much to ask.

I agree, I'm guilty of getting carried away at times, we must respect people and their various views. I do find it interesting how some cry foul when the bad things often ignored by Christians on their own bible are pointed out by non believers. Why would a Christian cherry pick their own "good book"?

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Specializes in hospice.

Christians are as imperfect as anyone else, and what you call cherry picking might be something very different.

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YES! YES! YES!

They speak of their faith at great length, even attributing it to their own success and the misfortunes of those who do not believe as they do; they are so sure their faith is the only "true" gospel on Earth--the very height of hubris.

I remember my first month on the job. I mentioned to a coworker that "I'm glad I washed my scrubs before I watched [some scary movie] last night, or I might have been too scared to go into the basement."

To which she replied "you don't need to worry about that, God will protect you."

"No he won't, he doesn't exist."

At this, she audibly gasped, and looked at me like I'd shot her dog. After gathering herself a moment, she said to me "you..don't say that!"

Ever since, the bible thumping zealots at my job have been trying to "save" me. Thing is, I know more about their scriptures, their ceremonies and their sheep savior than they do--this is precisely why I am an atheist; there is an inverse relationship between knowledge and faith, why else would Adam and Eve be commanded not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge?

I was raised in one of their watered-down collection of bible versus, indoctrination and rituals they call a religion and can carry on a reasonably intelligent discussion about it with them whenever I am confronted. I actually welcome these debates when we have downtime; there is nothing wrong with proselytizing.

I think it's rude to tell a faithful person that God doesn't exist. Best to keep those opinions to yourself, unless solicited.

Yes, she technically initiated the conversation by saying "God will protect you", but your response was not proportionate. You were clearly trying to provoke her.

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Specializes in CEN, CFRN, PHRN, RCIS, EMT-P.
Christians are as imperfect as anyone else, and what you call cherry picking might be something very different.

Agree, the concept of perfection is a myth in ALL cases, atheists, Christians, gods and demigods included

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Specializes in hospice.

Well, false gods, anyway. ;)

Yes, I'm poking a stick in your cage. Laugh.

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As with politics, religion should not be discussed in a professional setting.

I worked with a group of nurses that made a pilgrimage to Israel. That excursion dominated the conversation at the lunch table. One nurse broke out into a singing hymn.. swaying and worshiping..

I picked up my tray... ate somewhere else.

No other way to deal with it.

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Specializes in Adult ICU/PICU/NICU.
YES! YES! YES!

They speak of their faith at great length, even attributing it to their own success and the misfortunes of those who do not believe as they do; they are so sure their faith is the only "true" gospel on Earth--the very height of hubris.

I remember my first month on the job. I mentioned to a coworker that "I'm glad I washed my scrubs before I watched [some scary movie] last night, or I might have been too scared to go into the basement."

To which she replied "you don't need to worry about that, God will protect you."

"No he won't, he doesn't exist."

At this, she audibly gasped, and looked at me like I'd shot her dog. After gathering herself a moment, she said to me "you..don't say that!"

Ever since, the bible thumping zealots at my job have been trying to "save" me. Thing is, I know more about their scriptures, their ceremonies and their sheep savior than they do--this is precisely why I am an atheist; there is an inverse relationship between knowledge and faith, why else would Adam and Eve be commanded not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge?

I was raised in one of their watered-down collection of bible versus, indoctrination and rituals they call a religion and can carry on a reasonably intelligent discussion about it with them whenever I am confronted. I actually welcome these debates when we have downtime; there is nothing wrong with proselytizing.

Evangelicals of any path are annoying to me. Good, I'm happy your path works for you. I'm not so happy you feel the need to put others down who are on a different path than you are. I wouldn't try to save you, I would simply tune you out and chalk it up to another "here we go again with a my beliefs are better than yours because......"

I used to spar with Protestants when I was Catholic growing up, then Catholics when I was Protestant, then people of faith during an Agnostic period. Now, in my old age, I am happy where I am on my life's journey and my faith, and I don't feel the need to convince anyone to believe like I do...and I truly find it a crashing bore when others try to convince me that their path is superior to that of myself or another.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.
I think it's rude to tell a faithful person that God doesn't exist. Best to keep those opinions to yourself, unless solicited.

Yes, she technically initiated the conversation by saying "God will protect you", but your response was not proportionate. You were clearly trying to provoke her.

Is it rude for a believer to tell a non-believer that he does exist?

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Is it rude for a believer to tell a non-believer that he does exist?

No, I don’t think it’s rude for a believer to tell me that God exists. It’s their belief after all.

I would however consider it rude if they kept repeating that conviction to me over and over and try to convince me that I’m wrong, if I’ve let them know that I’m not interested.

I believe that the how and why it’s being said defines if it’s rude or not. If somebody with great zeal tries to cram their religious beliefs down my throat I will tell them that I don’t share their beliefs, and that continuing the conversation serves no purpose and that I have no interest in it. That’s my right and I don’t consider it rude.

On the other hand if someone is being nice and say “you’re in my prayers” or “you’ll be safe from harm in your basement” (not that I personally worry about that particular scenario), I don’t see a need to make a huge point of my beliefs. What would be my motive? I don’t think that it’ll accomplish anything useful and there’s a risk of hurting the other person. So yes, in this situation I think it would be at the very least unnecessary and quite possibly even rude.

Just my 0.02

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Christians are as imperfect as anyone else, and what you call cherry picking might be something very different.

Yes, it is bothersome to me how people like to point out how judgemental some Christians can be. While it is true that there are judgemental Christians, this is a negative aspect of an individual's personality, not of his or her faith. It is also not a personality trait that is exclusive to those who practice religion.

As an atheist, it bothers me because it makes it sound like the nonreligious are held to lower moral standards. I don't expect a religious person to be any more perfect than I am. To be honest, it hurts my feelings when people think my opinion on how the universe was created indicates a deficit in my integrity.

It runs in the same vein as expecting nurses to be endlessly patient and compassionate, never letting our tempers get the best of us. Which we all know isn't the case...since we're all regular people.

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Is it rude for a believer to tell a non-believer that he does exist?

Not in the instance I was referring to, no.

One nurse said "God will help you" and the second nurse replied "No he won't, he doesn't exist". Clearly, the second nurse there was trying to rile up the first nurse, whereas the first nurse simply made a harmless comment.

As it happens, I am agnostic bordering on athiest. In threads like this, or in intelligent conversations, I will argue my point up to and including that I believe the judeo christian God is a man-made fictional character.

In casual conversation, such as the one I described above, going there is asking for trouble.

Intent is important.

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Specializes in CEN, CFRN, PHRN, RCIS, EMT-P.

Disclaimer (not my words)

Schizophrenia can be triggered by a variety of environmental factors, including significant stress, intensely emotional situations, and disturbing or uncomfortable experiences. It is possible that religion itself may be a trigger for schizophrenia; religious imagery is often very grandiose, and defies commonly held beliefs of what is realistic and natural in the world. Experiencing an intense religious experience may trigger a psychotic episode in those who are vulnerable to them, because religion often requires a believer to suspend their usual idea of what is possible and impossible. This could potentially lead to a psychotic episode due to the shift in realistic thinking; a sufferer may believe that they themselves are religious deities or Messiahs, or that God himself is speaking to the individual. It has been shown that those with schizophrenia who suffer from religious delusions are more religious than those who do not suffer from these delusions. It has also been shown that those who suffer from religious delusions are less likely to continue long-term treatment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_schizophrenia
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