Cinema ban on the Lord's Prayer

[Leafitout]

Surely if anyone finds this advert offensive they can choose not to watch it. I can't see the problem with showing it.

I find it deeply ironic that supposedly liberal people would try to dictate who a Christian should of should not pray for.

And aren't Christians persistently told on MN that we have no right to be offended? And yet here you are, frothing and offended at the thought of a Christian praying for you because you really would rather they didn't.

Ego do you 'tar' all feminists 'with the same brush' as you appear to do Christians?

"Spiritual belief can change people on a profound level, how they think and what they do. "

One lovely Christian I know thinks that what is happening in Syria is 'God's will' . So it seems to have taken away her compassion and humanity...

Ego, what is your definition of 'deeply religious'? Because if it is 'adheres to God's word as much as possible and loves God with all his heart, mind & strength' then yes...that's me

I've never told Christians they aren't allowed to be offended. Much of this is just obfuscation. Anyone is able to pray for anything/anyone they like. I am able to request that they don't pray for me and be angry if they choose to disrespect that. I am able to point out that when religions put themselves in conflict with other beliefs they put themselves in conflict.

The boundary of acceptable behaviour is simple; practising your faith - fine, imposing your faith on others or co-opting them into it against their wishes - disrespectful.

Bertrand, your preference that someind should not pray for you is as irrelevant as your preference that someone should not speak behind your back of indeed speak to your face. You cannot honestly feel it is acceptable to try and control others in this way. It is so deeply illiberal of you.

I think the "christian" thing to do when someone has specifically asked you not to do something, is not to do it. Is that really hard to understand? I personally could care less if you pray for me - it's your time.

I think Christians in this country do get a hard time, as proven in this thread!

Yes, it must be really tough having reserved seats in Parliament, compulsory worship of your god in schools, the right to discriminate against children not of your faith in admission to a significant number of state schools, the majority of religious programming on the public broadcaster focusing on your faith, public funding for chaplains of your faith in hospitals...

The sense of persecution and marginalisation must be nigh on overwhelming at times.

If a faith can't exist without being entwined with the structures of the state, or if suggestions that religion and the state should be separate are seen as an attack on or attempt to undermine your faith, I'd suggest that the religion might have some more serious issues.

Religion seems to flourish just fine in countries with secular state apparatus.

Yes, I can and do think for myself. But I tend to find that God's word shapes how I think and how I try to behave. Because God is love and all-knowing and loves all of manking and died for all of our sins, I trust his Word to be nothing but good for directing my life and shaping my behaviours.

If small children can work out that Santa doesn't exist how can grown adults continue to believe in something that is even less plausible?

*mankind

Bertrand, your preference that someind should not pray for you is as irrelevant as your preference that someone should not speak behind your back of indeed speak to your face. You cannot honestly feel it is acceptable to try and control others in this way.

That meets my basic test for 'how to identify a rude person.' Which as I said earlier, always handy.

I don't much mind what goes on in people's heads. If it makes you feel warm and fuzzy then power to your elbow. Just don't bang on about it to me, though, if that's ok? I find there is a certain type of Christian who can't bear you not to know that they're praying for you.

Ego have I, personally, discriminated against you?

What I have said is that beliefs affect the way people act and think. So whether religious or not, if you interact with religious people, you will be affected by their religion on some level. So expecting faith to be completely private is an unfair and unrealistic expectation IMHO.

It's a classic narcissistic abuse tactic to frame someone's request for respect as an attempt at control...

Because God is love and all-knowing and loves all of manking and died for all of our sins

Sooo, has he been on holiday? If so when he gets back he is going to be really hacked off as the place is a shit hole.

I was accused before of being unhinged, but whoever pouted that they do not wish to be 'co-opted into someone else's belief system' is surely suffering from a persecution complex. I'm actually giggling my head off here

Capsium - you fundamentally disrespect people when you insist on praying for them even though you have been asked not to.

That's not the same as discrimination but it's still has a negative affect on others and potentially the world in general.

I said you are sounding unhinged I did not say you were unhinged.

What exactly is unreasonable about asking someone not to pray for you?

What exactly is controlling about making that request?

Offred what demonstrable effects does my silent, private, prayer have on you? How do you establish the causal link?

...or on, indeed, the world in general?