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Old 07-13-2009, 06:48 PM
 
10,719 posts, read 20,217,898 times
Reputation: 10019

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Quote:
Originally Posted by theloneranger View Post
I really don't give a rat's ass what you think is embarrassing.

For starters, the question is "what church do you attend," because most people around here generally go to church.

I cannot fathom how it's embarrasing to ask "what church do you go to?" It's usually just a common courtesy question you ask, like "how are the kids doing?" Religion is important here, but "we don't go to church" is an acceptable answer and isn't gonna get you ostracized.

I can't see what the big deal is. If they were to go on and make disparaging comments about the church, it would be different, but that doesn't happen here.
It's considered nosy. Most people outside of the South understand the concept of "separation of church and state" We generally don't walk up to people and ask "What church do you belong to" because we understand religion is a very personal thing and we can relate to each other outside of religion. When I lived in Dallas, I had people I had never met before ask me if I was Christian or what Church I went to. And when I answered that I don't attend Church, I got a lot of strange looks. It's a Southern thing! And if it doesn't matter if a person goes to church then why bother asking. Obviously, it does matter to you on some level. People outside of the South attend Church as well, the difference they don't identify themselves by their church like they do in Dallas and the South. For the record, I've never had anyone ask me what church I attend or if I attend church in Phoenix and LA but in Dallas, it was a regular occurrence.

Last edited by azriverfan.; 07-13-2009 at 07:03 PM..
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Old 07-13-2009, 06:56 PM
 
10,719 posts, read 20,217,898 times
Reputation: 10019
Quote:
Originally Posted by theloneranger View Post
It is one hundred and five degrees today here. What the HELL is your definition of a warm-weather city if that doesn't qualify.
I already answered that but since you like to ask rhetorical questions that make little sense, I will repeat my answer. A warm weather city is one like Phoenix, Houston, Miami, LA and San Diego meaning it's warm all year round. Dallas is not a warm weather city in this sense. You still have winter. Winter in Phoenix is still 70's. I've driven in Dalls when it snowed and the roads were shut down due to ice. That bad winter storm that occurred two years ago affected Dallas as well. You will never experience that in Phoenix. We never get snow. You guys on the other hand get your fair share of winter weather.
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Old 07-13-2009, 07:02 PM
 
16,087 posts, read 41,016,643 times
Reputation: 6374
You really must be kidding - it's like a one-day event when we have snow or ice, with rare exceptions such as New Year's Eve 1979. You have just devalued any future opinions on Dallas you might post.
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Old 07-13-2009, 09:58 PM
 
Location: Somewhere in Texas
5,406 posts, read 13,227,516 times
Reputation: 2800
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lakewooder View Post
You really must be kidding - it's like a one-day event when we have snow or ice, with rare exceptions such as New Year's Eve 1979. You have just devalued any future opinions on Dallas you might post.
No biggie, but it was New Year's Eve of 1978. I had just moved to Texas from California in September. I loved it...very exciting to a southern California girl.
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Old 07-14-2009, 08:09 AM
 
2,231 posts, read 6,046,917 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan. View Post
I already answered that but since you like to ask rhetorical questions that make little sense, I will repeat my answer. A warm weather city is one like Phoenix, Houston, Miami, LA and San Diego meaning it's warm all year round. Dallas is not a warm weather city in this sense. You still have winter. Winter in Phoenix is still 70's. I've driven in Dalls when it snowed and the roads were shut down due to ice. That bad winter storm that occurred two years ago affected Dallas as well. You will never experience that in Phoenix. We never get snow. You guys on the other hand get your fair share of winter weather.
I disagree with you and agree with Lakewooder. The snowfalls in North Texas are rare... few and far between... and 2 days after the snowfall, the weather is in the 60s and 70s.

We need a certain amount of weather randomity to stay sane and coordinate our biological clocks with the seasons. The very few days of cold weather we do have serve that purpose, and the vast majority of days in January... our only month of any semblance of winter... are refreshing. If it snows in Dallas, it's a novelty, people love it, think it's wonderful. In a REAL cold weather climate, the endless days of dirty snow, overcast skies and depressing chills are a curse.

The existence of real winter conditions in the Northern tier of states are the primary reason that people in the southern tier seem friendly. It's not that they're actually more convivial in public, it's just that northern winters create a chronically glum and taciturn population just from the pain and stress of cold. It may be the psychosomatic stress of enduring harsh winters that actually increases the percentages of stroke and heart disease among cold weather populations. Hot summers do not seem to have an adverse effect on health, according to the scientific literature on the subject.

One more reason to live in Dallas... it's better for your health... physical as well as mental.

Last edited by aceplace; 07-14-2009 at 08:17 AM..
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Old 07-14-2009, 08:16 AM
 
Location: Texas
44,256 posts, read 64,082,245 times
Reputation: 73913
Wow...how have I managed to live in Texas for 20 years without one single person asking me what church I belong to? And I live in a pretty darn churchy town...
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Old 07-14-2009, 08:31 AM
 
2,231 posts, read 6,046,917 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4 View Post
Wow...how have I managed to live in Texas for 20 years without one single person asking me what church I belong to? And I live in a pretty darn churchy town...
The rise and growth of organized religion is correlated with the rise and growth of a society, and the dissolution of organized religion, as we see in the Blue states and in western Europe, is a symptom of social decline, at least among the people of European origin.

Be that as it may, people who ask that question do so only to determine someone's interests and the social niche they belong to. It's no less germane than asking... what do you do for a living? There are many possible answers which give a clue to the social class the person belongs to.

Some answers could be:

. Holy Roller
. Evangelical
. High Church Epsicopalian
. Church of Satan
. Sunni Muslim
. Member of Cistercian monastery in Irving
. Wicca
. Japanese Sokagakkai
. Atheist
. Agnostic
. Unitarian Universalist
. Mormon
. Scientology
. Wahhabi Muslim
. Follower of Rajneesh
. Greek Orthodox
. Don't go to church, thank you

So we have another reason to live in Dallas... the diversity of strong and functional religious groups is a symptom of a society that is growing stronger and more cohesive. North of the 38th parallel, their religion is collapsing and imploding just as are the rest of their social institutions.

Last edited by aceplace; 07-14-2009 at 08:42 AM..
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Old 07-14-2009, 11:22 AM
 
398 posts, read 725,778 times
Reputation: 194
Quote:
Originally Posted by aceplace View Post
The rise and growth of organized religion is correlated with the rise and growth of a society, and the dissolution of organized religion, as we see in the Blue states and in western Europe, is a symptom of social decline, at least among the people of European origin.

Be that as it may, people who ask that question do so only to determine someone's interests and the social niche they belong to. It's no less germane than asking... what do you do for a living? There are many possible answers which give a clue to the social class the person belongs to.

Some answers could be:

. Holy Roller
. Evangelical
. High Church Epsicopalian
. Church of Satan
. Sunni Muslim
. Member of Cistercian monastery in Irving
. Wicca
. Japanese Sokagakkai
. Atheist
. Agnostic
. Unitarian Universalist
. Mormon
. Scientology
. Wahhabi Muslim
. Follower of Rajneesh
. Greek Orthodox
. Don't go to church, thank you

So we have another reason to live in Dallas... the diversity of strong and functional religious groups is a symptom of a society that is growing stronger and more cohesive. North of the 38th parallel, their religion is collapsing and imploding just as are the rest of their social institutions.
Aceplace, what are your reasons to live in Dallas, dont be limited to 5.
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Old 07-14-2009, 01:37 PM
 
Location: The Village
1,621 posts, read 4,573,877 times
Reputation: 692
Quote:
Originally Posted by aceplace View Post
The rise and growth of organized religion is correlated with the rise and growth of a society, and the dissolution of organized religion, as we see in the Blue states and in western Europe, is a symptom of social decline, at least among the people of European origin.

Be that as it may, people who ask that question do so only to determine someone's interests and the social niche they belong to. It's no less germane than asking... what do you do for a living? There are many possible answers which give a clue to the social class the person belongs to.

Some answers could be:

. Holy Roller
. Evangelical
. High Church Epsicopalian
. Church of Satan
. Sunni Muslim
. Member of Cistercian monastery in Irving
. Wicca
. Japanese Sokagakkai
. Atheist
. Agnostic
. Unitarian Universalist
. Mormon
. Scientology
. Wahhabi Muslim
. Follower of Rajneesh
. Greek Orthodox
. Don't go to church, thank you

So we have another reason to live in Dallas... the diversity of strong and functional religious groups is a symptom of a society that is growing stronger and more cohesive. North of the 38th parallel, their religion is collapsing and imploding just as are the rest of their social institutions.
You forgot the one TRUE Church--lol!
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Old 07-14-2009, 01:42 PM
 
Location: The Village
1,621 posts, read 4,573,877 times
Reputation: 692
Quote:
Originally Posted by azriverfan. View Post
It's considered nosy. Most people outside of the South understand the concept of "separation of church and state" We generally don't walk up to people and ask "What church do you belong to" because we understand religion is a very personal thing and we can relate to each other outside of religion. When I lived in Dallas, I had people I had never met before ask me if I was Christian or what Church I went to. And when I answered that I don't attend Church, I got a lot of strange looks. It's a Southern thing! And if it doesn't matter if a person goes to church then why bother asking. Obviously, it does matter to you on some level. People outside of the South attend Church as well, the difference they don't identify themselves by their church like they do in Dallas and the South. For the record, I've never had anyone ask me what church I attend or if I attend church in Phoenix and LA but in Dallas, it was a regular occurrence.
What you consider nosy I consider friendly.

Seperation of church and state is irrelevant. "State" refers to the establishment of a state religion, not asking someone outside of a government function what church they attend. If you are running for office and the clerk asks what religion you are aside from casual conversation, that is a violation of church and state. Otherwise, you'r just completely ignorant of what the term "seperation of church and state" actually means. Besides, the Constitution does not provide specifically for the seperation of church and state, it just prohibits the establishment of a national religion.

If you got a lot of strange looks, that is truly odd. It's not at all uncommon for people not to attend church here.

One key reason is to know what conversations to avoid. You don't start talking about sexual education to most Baptists, but most Unitarian Universalists wouldn't mind. You don't invite a Jew to a crawfish boil. Things like that. Not "oh no, he's isn't of my denomination, let's ostracize him."

The reason no one asks you whether you go to church in Phoenix or LA is because they don't ask you ANYTHING unless they already know you. You get evil looks/lectures for saying 'howdy' to someone, for pete's sake.
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