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?

Is your requirement for friendship ‘Does it have a pulse?’

Don't take life so seriously. You know, none of us are gonna make it out alive.
It's a beautiful day. I'm off to walk and savour the fresh air.

And if I meet someone who tells me that Barney the Dinosaur is in fact the living god in which we should worship, I won't get triggered!!! I'll give them a big smile and wish them well. Who cares if someone has a different belief. Doesn't affect me in the slightest.

Have a great day!

Apparently the edge itself is infinite

I really would encourage anyone interested to read the Flat Earth Society's FAQs - the sheer deran gement is just brilliant:

https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/home/index.php/about-the-society/faq

Can I address the elephant in the room OP, or maybe put a different slant across this? You mentioned that you are 'a bit more fringe' Christian and from what you say you think your friend maybe doesn't consider you to be a Christian now.

Is it possible she has similar feelings about you and your beliefs? You don't state what your beliefs are, but maybe she considers those to be inconsistent with Christian doctrine? Just asking you to take a step back here, really.

I would say that if she is a pleasant friendly person whose company you enjoy, then don't just throw that away over this, (after all, you are not perfect either). The only reason I'd back away from this friendship is if the flat earth thing started to take over all conversations, ie. becomes obsessive.

For me it'd still depend on the person and how they were with it. If they're evangelical they can jtfo but I feel that way about evangelism in general, it wouldn't have to be as niche as flat earth

@BoundaryGirl3939

I give a shit what people believe about the world. It tells you a lot about their values. I don’t want to spend my time with people whose values and opinions I don’t respect.

And I don’t want to have conversations with people who cannot process basic information they can glean from the world around them or apply basic rational thought. I am prepared to be tolerant and polite to people like this but there’s no obligation on me to be friends with them.

My time is very precious. Why would I spend it with people whose opinions I hold in contempt?

Is this honestly true? I can't imagine it. I honestly can't imagine how anyone could give the time of day to someone so ignorant.

Of course I have friends with different beliefs, values, opinions, ways of life and so on to me. But none of them believe in actual ridiculous rubbish - I couldn't have any respect for them or understanding for that.

If you read OPs posts she says she's effectively agnostic/lapsed.

The fringe belief referred to in the OP is flat earth, not OP's Christianity

She says she's 'drifting into agnostic' which isn't quite the same thing, but I may be splitting hairs.

I do know what the OP is referring to, but I am suggesting she looks at the friendship from a different angle, that's all.

Well quite.
How can you explain your journeys, especially if you have travelled extensively and far distances - how would you explain how you got,there without seeing 'the edge' of the world?

I don't know if you read the Flat Earth Society's FAQs which I posted at 19:03 @TheCryingTheBitchAndTheFloordrobe, but apparently that's because aircraft (and presumably boat) windows are made of funny stuff which just makes it look as if the earth is curved

But what about boats?
You can stand on deck and not look through a window. And you can sail right the way round from A back to A again. How would that work if the earth was flat. Your boat would fall of the edge at some point and you'd never return!

Does she use Google Maps? Ask her how Google Maps works if it’s based off a round earth model and not a flat one.

Thanks

If gravity is not real and you go in a large area and they remove gravity and you float what happens?

And their are answer to astronauts is they are bribed

They have no scientific proof of anything other than bribery?

Across the globe 🌍 lol…. Try asking them to explain that

Someone's gets in an amphibious vehicle in London with no steering except drive, drives around the world gets back to London explanation?

Quite. Or sails or drives or treks around the world. There are hundreds of such people in the world who could physically disprove it. It’s just so palpably stupid.

Also pointless. I can sort of get why people feel like this about religion (even though I am an atheist). Religion is irrational too but it’s based on a complex set of moral values and has a strong philosophical underpinning which millions of people find comforting. It’s not for me but I can absolutely see how it can enhance people’s self esteem, happiness, motivation etc.

Even some of the antivax nonsense: pernicious though it is it is at least based on fears and concerns which are understandable (though the output is ridiculous).

But what on earth is the goal of believing the world to be flat? What do people hope to achieve with it? They know they can’t prove it. They know most people think they are crazy and they will never be taken seriously. If the world did turn out to be flat would impact would it have on the way we run our lives? Would it make people more peaceful or productive or whatever? Would it lead to a big reorganisation of world governance? No and the worst thing is most of these people haven’t even thought that far ahead, there’s literally no point to it other than stubborn stupidity.

It says that going around the world - ie: a circumnavigation - actually involves just going round and round the north pole

I don't quite know how they explain the temperature differences you'd find between the pole and, say, going round the equator, but then it's not easy to get inside minds like that

Perhaps the folk who provide temperature maps have all been bribed too?

But what on earth is the goal of believing the world to be flat? What do people hope to achieve with it? They know they can’t prove it. They know most people think they are crazy and they will never be taken seriously

Maybe just to be "different" and pretend they know something the rest of humanity doesn't?
It's not exactly new and people have done it about all manner of things, though admittedly not many quite so stupid

your attitude seem to explain why so many MN pride themselves on not having friends, not going out, never ever having people staying over and would pass out in horror at the idea of staying overnight in friends house, hate wedding, birthdays, hen nights... So narrow minded.

It's very odd to me, and frankly I prefer the flat earther to people refusing to acknowledge anyone who dares having different ideas, however bonkers they might be. I don't get it, but it's pretty harmless and actually amusing.

@Puzzledandpissedoff

I think it is absolutely this, just to be “different”.

But again with what end? Religion (which is also irrational) at least has tangible positive outputs (and tangible negative ones too but that’s another story) and requires organisation, commitment, sacrifice and an ethical code. Not to mention beautiful literature and art. Religion has enhanced the world in a lot of ways even as it creates conflict.

But being a flat earther is just “look at me and my weirdness”. Nothing more to it than that.

I would never force people not to believe in this bobbins but I am damned if I am going to accord it the same respect that I would ta committed Christian or Muslim.

'Flat Earth' is nothing compared to what some people believe.

I have an acquaintance who believes that a cosmic Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.

She says loads of people believe this, and that they have special buildings where they meet regularly to talk to each other and perform strange gestures
about it all. They sing special songs about it and everything, she tells me.

Honestly, I'm not making this up! But, well, live and let live ... we probably all believe something others find just crazy.

I agree. Though I still don't believe in God. I could only continue the friendship if she agreed not to discuss it OP.

@bluewaxcrayon

your attitude seem to explain why so many MN pride themselves on not having friends, not going out, never ever having people staying over and would pass out in horror at the idea of staying overnight in friends house, hate wedding, birthdays, hen nights... So narrow minded.

What on earth has that got to do with flat earthers?

You are conflating two totally unrelated things.

Being misanthropic and grumpy and hating people (which is indeed a very big problem writ large on Mumsnet and it’s one of my pet hates) has absolutely nothing to do with not wanting to have close friends who are stupid or credulous or have bought into cult like beliefs.

Its perfectly possible to be open and friendly and open minded without having to lower the bar so much you are willing to spend time with people who are hugely intellectually challenged.

Go into classics, there's an excellent Dino denyer thread🤣