Hypocrits ( I think I spelled that right.)

[FlamedLilly]

Anyway I rented a car this week so I could take care of some stuff and invited some friends to go with me. Well I decided to stop by one of the New Age book stores in town. One of my friends decided to start making fun of me for stopping in there and trying to get more reading materials for my rresearch. He says that being a pagan is so "undefined" that I need to stop and take a look at what I'm becoming!!! Ticked me off a good one. I could understand if he was someone from my hometown. I would expect it to come from them out of concern for change, we don't like change where I'm from. ANyway this guy is supposedly a Catholic who also practices Buddism, Hinduism, and a little Toaism, Not to mention he likes the orential religions and puts some of their beliefs into practice. I hate people like that. Where does he get off telling me that I need to "be more specific about the parameters of my religion"!!!!!!

[FlamedLilly]

Sorry about all the misspellings. I was over come with feeling and not really editing what I was writing....

[Radocs]

Meh. Who cares what he thinks anyway?

[Occam]

Hmmm, seems to me all of those require pretty extensive reading...

[mol]

Well, since he has some Catholicism in him, remind him of the Golden Rule.

[Phoenix Blue]

"He who has the gold, makes the rules"?

[Flaire-FireStar]

Originally posted by Phoenix_Blue
"He who has the gold, makes the rules"?


I wish! :lol:

[Witchy Cowgirl]

What a terrible feeling.
I hate that happened to you.
And, how unfeeling of your friend? .

[cherrywind]

Why would a friend patronize you so much?
I'd say, tell them outright, you don't go cutting down their beliefs, and you expect the exact same respect of them. If they can't deal with that, then they don't seem like a very good friend in the first place.

[PeleRising]

Maybe your friend feels safe encompassed in his Catholiscism... and that allows him to experience other religions and ideas.. He is trying out other things.. but still steadfast a Christian... or maybe he sees it that way. As Pagans we are inundated with ideas... other religious beliefs... and we respect them... as we know there is NO one way to diety... be patient with your friend... if you truly want to keep him as a friend. At a calm time explain your belief to him and how he made you feel by his comments... That you are not trying to tell him he is wrong in his beliefs ..that you accept HIS path and will not belittle it... and you would expect him to respect YOUR path.... Thats my opinion anyways... Hope it helped a little!

[flar7]

Tell him you are working on "polite and kind human being" and ask him what he is trying to become?

[FlamedLilly]

Thank you all for your posts. I simply told him that what he said angered me and upset me becuase all my life others have been telling me what I believed, even when it was a religion that I was raised in and was going to church every sunday. So now that I'm branching off and trying to explore other areas I'm Still getting attacked when I don't even know what I totally beleive. I told him that I thought he of all people would understand. He told me that He just doesn't like organized religions. I had to laugh at that, so I told him that for all his reading he doesn't know that much. Then explained that's one thing that draws me to Paganism, the openness and unorganized religion that you find here. That everyone contributes something and that it's not left upto justone person to teach the others, that you can educate yourself and others. He still hasn't responded. I just hate it when people tell me what I believe and what I practice and what I feel! It's different when I'm asking for their opinion, but when I'm not , just trying to explain why I want to go to a certain bookstore, that ticks me off a great deal.

[Phoenix Blue]

Small-minded people can't dream great dreams, or think great thoughts, or do great things. They can only try to belittle the ones who are greater in spirit than them.

[PrincessHLHofMW]

Originally posted by Phoenix_Blue
Small-minded people can't dream great dreams, or think great thoughts, or do great things. They can only try to belittle the ones who are greater in spirit than them.

I have to rember that one! This kinda reminds me of my expeience today when one of my friends INSISTED to me that i worsip Satan.......oooooooooh the anger.....i guess it reminded me of it cause of the think great thoughts part *shurg* sorry had to get that out!

[FlamedLilly]

Out of all the things that are my pet peeves my greatest is when someone else tells you how you feel, think, worship, or believe.

[StormChaser]

A lot of great come backs have been offerered, and your final conclusion on how you talked to your friend seem to all be on the right track.

However, I wouldn't rush into point a finger and screaming "hypocrit" just yet. No people of any religion are without fault of some sort. Most humans, regardless of spirituality and religion have said or done things that are hypocritical to their true ways of being.

People seem happy to spout off curses and demean others beliefs to pat their own back, even within this community, without having a clue about who or what beliefs they are attacking.. without any true knowlege of what the belief system is all about. This behavior I find prominent throughout all people, in some way or another with or without deliberate intent, and not just subject ot the topic of religion.

Sometimes our friends say things in vocal tones or with words that come off sounding worse than their meaning. From what I'm willing to wager, your friend may have been trying to point out that for someone who seems to not "fit a mold" and to be trying to break free of old mind sets, you seem to be conforming to what many consider the image of the modern new age\pagan\occultist type. Of course, your friends comment on hating organized religion suggests that he doesn't have an understanding on religion or spirituality, and perhaps has a confirmed skeptisism and perhaps a fear of exploring freely his own spirituality.. his commentary thus reflecting his own hypocrisy as much as it was intent on pointing out your own.

Just some food for thought.. my own intuition.

Never be afraid to step back and listen to constructive critisism.. and truely evaluate the opinions and thoughts tossed your direction. Even if you come to find they are untrue, you should perhaps take an interest in why someone came to those conclusions.

BB
Storm Chaser

[FlamedLilly]

I wasn't calling him a hypocrit. just what he said and did. Especailly since we've been talking about our spiritual beliefs since I met him almost 2 years ago. And he's the one who told me that I need to start reading and researching other areas where I might be happy. I never said anything about being a pagan to him just that I wanted to stop by a bookstore and he started attacking me for that. That's why I even said anything about being a hypocrit.

I realize that many people including myself do things that are hypocritical. It just upset me so I came here to vent. I would like to know also how looking into another religion is hypocritical? Especially when you haven't dedicated your life to it without any knowledge and have not yet left your old religion, until your sure that's what you want to do. What's best for you.

[StormChaser]

only real problem with mankind” is not idolatry or even unbelief, but the bad stuff “that gets carried out in his name — wars, bigotry, televangelism. The big one, though, is the factioning of all the religions. Mankind got it all wrong by taking a good idea and building a belief structure out of it.” That’s right, God prefers “ideas” to “beliefs,” because ideas are easier to change.

[flar7]

might want to add a credit to that quote.;)