To feel sad and like the friendship is over due to flat earth belief

[UprootedSunflower]

Friend is a nice person. Comes across sensible, though has had a deepening religious conviction over the last 5-10 years. I’m Christian myself, but I’m talking a bit more fringe. We don’t talk about the fact she probably doesn’t consider me a Christian anymore. I ignore it.
But today I overheard her get really animated and happy in a flat earth discussion. She believes in flat earth. An intelligent woman who’s travelled the world and is from a country in the southern hemisphere. I’d certainly say she is educated and far from stupid.
Aibu in finding this a bit of a final straw moment for being friends? It just felt like something snapped inside that I could t ignore tbh when I heard her. I don’t feel like I want to expose the children, and I don’t feel I can keep the pretence up. It’s just a bit too far, and it feels like it’s gone over the edge.
Aibu, silly to give up on a warm and pleasant person? Or would you be drawing a line?

There is difference in the reason why so many believe in a 'god' and those that think the earth is flat and other similar conspiracy theories...Put simply the 'creation' notion began as 'biblical' propaganda eons ago and has been handed down and vigorously promoted ever since by many religious organisations for their own benefit😡and a'faith' could be described, among other things, as one massive 'comfort blanket' and membership of your own particular cult or tribe? However, convincing yourself of something that goes against all scientific and physical evidence to the contrary is just plain contrary and quite bizarre although it is of course quite 'cultish' and you get together with a ready made circle of like minded dimwits!! 🙄

SHe's right! Not only is it flat but carried on the backs of 4 elephants riding on a turtle! De chelonian mobile!

My answer to the one person I know who spouts all this is 'ok, so what are you going to do about it apart from rant at anyone who is in earshot!'
Research is not Internet, 'no, Hank, in his bedroom in his mom's basement aged 58 in USA creating youtube vids is not Research, I look forward to your referenced research paper.'
There also seems to be direct corelation between harmless FE and vile Racist/antisemitic beliefs, too. They go hand in hand.

and a'faith' could be described, among other things, as one massive 'comfort blanket'

You really don't understand faith if you think it's one massive comfort blanket! Although there is of course comfort in my beliefs, there are also challenges and it's quite painful and difficult at times. Belief in Christ doesn't bring you a nice warm hug and an easy ride through life, quite the reverse! I can't speak for other religions, but when I see this notion of faith being comforting and nothing else, it's just not true.

To be accurate, the fact that I did say that faith 'could be described, AMONG OTHER THINGS as one massive 'comfort blanket' is my defense, I think you will agree? I must now add that if, as you state, 'it's quite painful and difficult at times' what's the actual point but then I suppose that's just part of the irrationality of having blind illogical faith isn't it? 🙄

You spit fluoride out

I always think people who say they believe the earth is flat are either taking the piss or attention seeking

Oh dear!
I wonder how they would explain my seeing the curvature of the earth from the deck of a cruise ship?
Perhaps I'd had specially curved contact lenses inserted without my knowledge?
🤨🙄

Yes fair enough you did say that. I have seen it before though, people thinking it's just a feel-good thing.

So the actual point is that when you accept Jesus as Lord of your life, the process of 'dying to self' begins. This is because we are confronting our life from a new viewpoint, from God's eternal and unchanging values, not ours, not society's. This can be hard because you can be swimming against the tide of popular belief. Humans like to fit in, but becoming a Christian means you will be an outsider. You have to grow in a new way of being, learning to trust in God and surrender your old life. This isn't easy, but the Holy Spirit is within you to help teach and guide, so you're not alone. The ultimate reward is eternal life, which I consider is worth it!

She sounds like she has mental health issues

I'm sorry, because although I'm a great believer in the saying “I don't agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it." if you actually do conclusively and honestly believe in your 'god' you of course have every right to do so but please, if you want to be taken seriously you really do need to understand how this appears to those who do not have or find it impossible to rationalise your faith? Your final words 'but the Holy Spirit is within you to help teach and guide, so you're not alone. The ultimate reward is eternal life, which I consider is worth it!' SURELY just verifies and justifies my observation regarding 'comfort blankets'?! 🙄

Yes I was thinking about this (I have always had faith even though I went off and did my own thing away from it for awhile, I never stopped believing and I haven't come from a non-faith background) so quite possibly I'm not the best person to answer this, am still learning!

So I'm interested, I presume you don't believe in any god so do you have anything you'd consider to be a 'comfort blanket'?

No, sadly not and that's obviously the one thing that those with 'faith' could be envied for!! 🙄I am 76 and when I was a child I was sent to Sunday school and religion played a much bigger role in schools than it does now...There was an assembly every morning at which hymns were sung, we learnt many Jesus themed ditties, All Creatures Great and Small etc etc and one of the songs my Mum sang to me at bedtime was Jesus Bids Us Shine Like a Pure Clear Light (Like a little candle burning in the night!)...As a teenager I attended a Methodist Church and with my best friend took full advantage of the social aspects this offered, Youth Club, rambles in the countryside, and of course attending church services on a Sunday although more time was spent ogling the boys than anything else!! I guess I never questioned my 'faith' at all until much later on when I gave it actual cognitive thought and realised that my logical, rational brain was having none of it and that's how I have remained throughout my adult life!😊It cannot be denied of course that if it were all to be true it could be wonderful (unless your're unlucky enough to be RC of course as that's a whole other story?) for instance, who wouldn't want to see their loved ones again?!😍 It will all however remain a mystery to all of us until that moment we die, God, creation, the Universe, the Big Bang, evolution etc etc, but I for one am not holding out much hope that this life is not all there is except maybe, IF there is a 'God' then the human race must surely be a 'prototype' that at some point in the very near future will be replaced by something far superior?!😱

I'm much the same generation as you (am 68) @Cariadm and I well remember the hymns at school (in fact one year our ambitious music teacher taught us all the Hallelujah chorus for a Speech day performance, it was awesome!). I can still remember most of the words to those hymns now even though modern hymns have taken over.

No I'm not RC, I'm C of E. We had a Vicar who used to stutter badly so he'd taken to a sing-song voice in order to overcome it. Of course us teens thought it was hilarious and nearly died trying to keep the giggles in during assemblies when he was there!

As for the prototype idea, we put ourselves in that spot by being disobedient from the start. Reading through the Old Testament is a real eye-opener and you think wow can you people really be this bad when you've seen what God can do, yet you still want to build golden calves that do nothing? I'm not sure that people now realise how much history is in the OT, I haven't read all of it yet, am reading through it during the course of this year, but am really enjoying it thus far.

I guess we have strayed quite a way from the Flat Earth!

Erm... How well travelled? Maybe if you were confident that you had personally walked around circumference of the earth, you could claim to have absolute knowledge of its roundness. Failing that's we're getting into philosophical questions about theory of knowledge.

I am not a flat earther, I just think it's amusing when people claim absolute knowledge and assert their intelligence based on common consensus

You can't blame Christians for this one:

He stretches out the north over the void
and hangs the earth on nothing. (Job 26:7)

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, (Isaiah 40:22)

I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, (Proverbs 8:27)

He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness. (Job 26:10)

But the conspiracy buffs will tell you that all that space stuff was done in Hollywood.

I am so slow! This is a very thinly disuised trans post isn't it? (I just shelved "The End of the World is Flat".) I like SImon Edge's writing. The one with the Nuns (who all drowned, so not funny really) was very clever and droll, the Bury St Edmonds one was well written and a quick read; but he is a bit of a one trick pony isn't he? Find a Wiki article, make circular links, chuck in some history and use the three parts to make an amusing read. Sometimes he veers from the amusing to the cruel though....

I bet your mate is voting Reform.

I don't think it has to mean the end of the friendship.

I think views on racism, politics of the death penalty or womens rights etc might be but when it comes to religious beliefs or adjacent ones, they're all nothing I believe in but all pretty 'out there' in terms of my belief system but I wouldn't not be friends with them unless they were trying to impose it on me.

No. I couldn’t be friends with someone that fucking stupid.

Greebo would just shag it. Whatever shape it was.

My BF of thirty years voted Leave. She even tried to justify her decision to me. Now we just never talk about it or mention it and we have stayed best friends - just friends who don't talk about politics in any way shape or form (we have plenty of other things to discuss, so we both just tiptoe away from anything too sensitive).

You’ve no issue with being friends with the irredeemably stupid?