AIBU to be annoyed by religious replies to Facebook posts?

[Allotmentblackfly]

am i unreasonable to be annoyed at people replying to facebook posts about sick relatives along the lines of ‘ pray to JESUS’ etc etc. i am not adverse to religion per se but i dont think there is much evidence that prayer helps and the message to me seems to lack compassion for whatever the original poster is going through. It feels more like an advert for evangelical christianity than a truly loving redponse

Why would an unbeliever be bitter?

Now i must admit i find this annoying. Your choice to have faith but for me i cannot - not because i am a bad person but because i have looked at the evidence and christianity for me does not have enough evidence to back it up. I am not bitter. I love and am loved. I endeavour to live a good life. I cannot twist my mind to believe in impossible things

@Allotmentblackfly is it you who has a sick relative or are you just getting offended on behalf of other people?
Maybe some people take comfort in these messages, maybe they don't. Either way unless you are personally involved, its bugger all to do with you

Actually i think you are right. There is absolutely no point getting annoyed. Im just not going to read them any more😃😃😃😃

I hate this as well. Also when something good happens and they thank god. Drives me mad. god had nothing to do with it. Despise religion

I have a visceral reaction to do-gooders.
And I don't actually care what you think, either.

This.
Just fuck off.
And if you're one of those that goes around knocking on doors uninvited... keep fucking off./
People can have beliefs that do not revolve around fictional made up shite ... that does not equal bitter or miserable

It’s not about evidence though. That’s why it’s called faith. Our brains are actually wired to be spiritual whether you believe in the numinous or not.

And I’m sorry it annoys you, but it is a comfort and a way of life for many people around the world. All the trite crap people put on Facebook instead of having real human communication annoys me.

Are you talking about posts in Facebook groups/public pages? If so, obviously you can be annoyed by what other people are saying, but that doesn't mean they don't have every right to say them. I get why you're irritated by it but the religious types have as much right to talk about prayer as you would to talk about prayer not working. I don't believe in God myself, but in a public space or group, people are entitled to talk about their faith. Even when it's really fucking annoying.

If you mean that you're posting things on your own profile and your actual friends or relatives are replying to you to bang on about prayer, then you can certainly tell them to stop doing that. Or change your settings so your posts are hidden from them.

Who cares what you think about it, though?

Well, if someone is already upset and/or grieving for a loved one, you probably should care about how they feel. If you want to comfort someone, comfort them in a way that doesn't make them feel worse.

If you tell someone who is vehemently opposed to religion that you are praying for them/they should pray, you aren't offering them comfort and kindness at all. You're doing what makes YOU feel better, and then kicking off when they're not grateful. Which makes your prayers a steaming pile of hypocritical horseshit.

Nail on head.

Yes, it's not comfort if the person receiving it isn't comforted. The idea of comfort is not to make the comforter feel better.
You can't just impose an alien value system on someone in the name of comfort and insist that they like it.

That's not the point of the post is it, though.

Obviously, I wouldn't have stated what I did if it were.

You know this, too, given your post before this one that has been quoted here:

BauhausOfEliott · Today 15:06
Are you talking about posts in Facebook groups/public pages? If so, obviously you can be annoyed by what other people are saying, but that doesn't mean they don't have every right to say them. I get why you're irritated by it but the religious types have as much right to talk about prayer as you would to talk about prayer not working. I don't believe in God myself, but in a public space or group, people are entitled to talk about their faith. Even when it's really fucking annoying.

If you mean that you're posting things on your own profile and your actual friends or relatives are replying to you to bang on about prayer, then you can certainly tell them to stop doing that. Or change your settings so your posts are hidden from them.

o/p I agree.

i think for me it’s the feeling that it’s part of this growing fundamental Christianity in the US, which is used to cover the fact neither the government nor god are helping.

god and Jesus seem to be increasingly used to excuse shitty human behaviour and general helplessness.

Severely disabled child? God and Jesus. Prayers. Not let’s campaign for the government to implement social change and healthcare so these people and their carers can have a decent quality of life. No, it’s Jesus’ responsibility to bless them with money or recovery.

school shooting? Prayers. It’s up to Jesus to stop people getting guns and shooting people, nothing to do with the government and politics of gun control.

don’t approve of someone’s behaviour (cf. abortion), well Jesus wouldn’t approve. I’ll pray for him to change your mind.

i can imagine Jesus, up there in heaven, it thoroughly pissed off at being invoked for reasons humanity could sort out itself if they behaved like decent beings.

Why are people in the US so fucking insane, with their archaic ridiculous offensive beliefs? When will they grow up?

I get extremely annoyed by it and I am a church going Christian 🤣 but not everyone is, and it’s rude to assume. Plus, as you said, prayer < action

Awww. Thank you. Its good to hear this from a Christian.

I agree OP and I am in Ireland so religion and praying is rife. No matter what anyone asks people are praying to st anthony for something be it the safe return of a cat or a set of keys and praying for kids to do well in their exams but also putting out the child of prague statue so all the kids be grand like. Prayer is the answer to 90% of the bloody questions here and as a card carrying atheist I find it fairly annoying but you cant say that or you get called bitter for some reason. No idea what atheists have to be bitter about, we are not praying to a god to absolve us of the original sin we were allegedly born with but sure no matter.