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What I cant stand is politics. I get so tired of my senior citizen neighbors who stop me every chance they get and want to talk about how much they either love or hate Trump. I hate politics and I avoid it as much as humanly possible. I have my opinions on all the hot button issues of course but I really dont see the point of arguing or trying to "Convert" someone else.
After I just spent 10 hours or more working and all I am trying to do is get the mail and go home to my family or take my kids to the park or run to the convenience store for ice cream, etc. (fill in any number of reasons to leave the house) and my neighbors on either side of me (both of whom are retired white males) stop me in my yard or driveway and want to go on and on and on about Trump or the Democrats...This is what I cant stand. Much like the other contributor who doesn't like sports. We all dislike certain things. For some people I guess its religious topics.
However I smile at my neighbors, I remember that they are both Veterans who served this great country to keep the freedoms that I and mine now posses and enjoy and I bite me lip and I listen for a few minutes to them. Thats all they really want anyway, someone to talk to for a few minutes.
I am a devout Christian and I work in construction with guys who range the complete gamut of viewpoints from Wicken to Satanists to a few religious zealots who I thought were out of line in pushing their religious views on people who clearly didn't want to hear it or worse were just trolling them for a reaction. The guys I work with know who I am and what I believe just from being around me for a while. I almost never open my mouth about religion unless they bring it up and I try to make a point of not arguing or pushing. I express my view and if i can sense they dont agree or whatever , I just drop it right there. I have worked with guys who I really liked and who had extremely different viewpoints than I do and by the grace of God I think I can say we are all still friendly.
I have never had an issue with the LDS folks. I usually just listen for a moment and find my opportunity to cut off the conversation politely and go my way. It only takes a minute of my time and I generally like people so i dont mind talking unless I am really busy. The only time I ever had a problem was with a guy and his wife who came into my home (I let them in because I knew him from a project a couple years before) they were JW and they very much offended my wife. I had to ask them to leave my home. That was uncomfortable and I have never wanted to discuss religion with a JW since. Oddly my Bro. in law was raised JW and he isn't anything like that. So I dont really know, I guess in every congregation there are all kinds.
I will just say this since my post is already too long. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I am not ashamed of my faith in Him and I am commissioned to share the gospel whenever and wherever I can. However, I use discernment to determine when to open my mouth and when to keep it shut. It is certainly not my intent nor does it do any good to try and force something that someone clearly doesn't want to receive.
Hope you all have a great day in this great city of Phoenix!
What I cant stand is politics. I get so tired of my senior citizen neighbors who stop me every chance they get and want to talk about how much they either love or hate Trump. I hate politics and I avoid it as much as humanly possible. I have my opinions on all the hot button issues of course but I really dont see the point of arguing or trying to "Convert" someone else.
After I just spent 10 hours or more working and all I am trying to do is get the mail and go home to my family or take my kids to the park or run to the convenience store for ice cream, etc. (fill in any number of reasons to leave the house) and my neighbors on either side of me (both of whom are retired white males) stop me in my yard or driveway and want to go on and on and on about Trump or the Democrats...This is what I cant stand. Much like the other contributor who doesn't like sports. We all dislike certain things. For some people I guess its religious topics.
However I smile at my neighbors, I remember that they are both Veterans who served this great country to keep the freedoms that I and mine now posses and enjoy and I bite me lip and I listen for a few minutes to them. Thats all they really want anyway, someone to talk to for a few minutes.
I am a devout Christian and I work in construction with guys who range the complete gamut of viewpoints from Wicken to Satanists to a few religious zealots who I thought were out of line in pushing their religious views on people who clearly didn't want to hear it or worse were just trolling them for a reaction. The guys I work with know who I am and what I believe just from being around me for a while. I almost never open my mouth about religion unless they bring it up and I try to make a point of not arguing or pushing. I express my view and if i can sense they dont agree or whatever , I just drop it right there. I have worked with guys who I really liked and who had extremely different viewpoints than I do and by the grace of God I think I can say we are all still friendly.
I have never had an issue with the LDS folks. I usually just listen for a moment and find my opportunity to cut off the conversation politely and go my way. It only takes a minute of my time and I generally like people so i dont mind talking unless I am really busy. The only time I ever had a problem was with a guy and his wife who came into my home (I let them in because I knew him from a project a couple years before) they were JW and they very much offended my wife. I had to ask them to leave my home. That was uncomfortable and I have never wanted to discuss religion with a JW since. Oddly my Bro. in law was raised JW and he isn't anything like that. So I dont really know, I guess in every congregation there are all kinds.
I will just say this since my post is already too long. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I am not ashamed of my faith in Him and I am commissioned to share the gospel whenever and wherever I can. However, I use discernment to determine when to open my mouth and when to keep it shut. It is certainly not my intent nor does it do any good to try and force something that someone clearly doesn't want to receive.
Hope you all have a great day in this great city of Phoenix!
First off all I would like to point out that knocking door to door and telling people about God is something that all Christians believe in. How else would The Gospel be spread? The apostles of old went all over Israel, Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece teaching The Gospel. It is what Christ directed his followers to do.
Now, some churches put more emphasis on missionary work that others. Each Christian church has a different interpretation of the Bible and the Gospel and what it means. And each has it's own doctrine. But, the idea is the same: to spread the word of God and Christ.
Now, I totally get it. It is sort of annoying having people try to preach the religious beliefs to you. I understand. I avoid those people myself a lot of times.
But, try to see it like this: They are people trying to do some good in the world. (Yes, I think teaching about Christ, no matter what church you are from, is a good thing) I understand that it is annoying. But, "selling" their religion is not wrong or bad. Many people I have talked to that plan on going on missions say that their church has made a huge difference in their lives, and doing missionary work is how they show their gratitude for what they have been given. They feel like it might just make a difference in other peoples lives too.
I get that it can be annoying. But, why so bothered with people trying to do good in the world? Isn't freely preaching religion one of the things America was founded on?
Like I said, I totally get it. It can be annoying. But, try to see good in people and be open minded.
One time me and my brothers where raising money to go with our choir to Salt Lake City and sing at the Tabernacle on Temple Square. A woman come up to us and asked if we were Mormon (I guess since we all kinda look clean cut and we were trying to go to SLC she figured we were) Anyway, there was another man next to her and overheard what she had asked. After she left he said he was sorry that she had asked that question. Why? He told us that he had been all over the world, met Christians, Muslims and Jews and that it didn't matter what religion you where apart of. It just mattered what kind of person you where. (He was an Air Force Vet)
My point? Don't fixate on what church they are apart of, or what beliefs they are trying to "sell" you. See these folks as people that are trying to do good in the world. No matter what the belief.
I don't mean to lecture anyone on this. It just ticks me off when I hear people so upset at people trying to spread what they believe to be true. You don't have to believe or remotely agree with what they say! Just try not to be so angered by it.
My first job in Phoenix was in finance. My born-again coworker quickly got to work on my soul, informing me that Catholics are not Christian, and after telling here I was from San Francisco asked me if I was gay.
After a month or so, she realized I was not going to become a Baptist any time soon.
While Phoenix is stereotyped as conservative, I never heard anything like what you described applied to Phoenix, which makes me wonder what kind of Berkeley basement bull session maquerading as "national media" you are exposing yourself to. I mean, there are some posters on internat forums like this one who spout that kind of crap, but internet forums do not count as national media.
Shoot, I lived right on the border of the bible belt, a county with a lot of Christians who would drop enough references to let you know they were Christian, and I never heard anything like what you are describing. At least not all in one conversation. :-)
I've heard the kind of conversations that poster was referring to (it didn't carry over in the quote, sorry). But it was in the deep south. I've never heard anyone out west talk that way, although I suspect I've met a few who thought that way but kept their thoughts to themselves.
I have never had an issue with the LDS folks. I usually just listen for a moment and find my opportunity to cut off the conversation politely and go my way. It only takes a minute of my time and I generally like people so i dont mind talking unless I am really busy. The only time I ever had a problem was with a guy and his wife who came into my home (I let them in because I knew him from a project a couple years before) they were JW and they very much offended my wife. I had to ask them to leave my home. That was uncomfortable and I have never wanted to discuss religion with a JW since. Oddly my Bro. in law was raised JW and he isn't anything like that. So I dont really know, I guess in every congregation there are all kinds.
I don't get the angst some people have when the JWs or Mormons' knock on the door. If I'm not busy, I'll answer, smile and tell them I'm not interested. If it's the dead of summer, I'll offer them some cold bottled water to take with them. They're entitled to their beliefs just like I am.
OP: Why move to Phoenix when you could move to Temecula/Murrietta, Lancaster/Palmdale, Indio/Palm Desert, Bakersfield or some other outlying area and actually bein Southern California?
Arizona is very right-wing and very pushy about it. No doubt about it. You'll find conservatism in the above areas too, but its a bit more moderated and not as ugly-radical as it is in Arizona.
The Arizona state legislature actually passed a bill that would have allowed service industry workers to discriminate against LGBT people on religious grounds. It was only vetoed by then-Gov. Jan Brewer because of the threat of economic boycott of the state....but still, they passed it as law! Think about that and let it sink in for a minute.
Last edited by kttam186290; 03-29-2018 at 12:39 AM..
OP: Why move to Phoenix when you could move to Temecula/Murrietta, Lancaster/Palmdale, Indio/Palm Desert, Bakersfield or some other outlying area and actually bein Southern California?
Arizona is very right-wing and very pushy about it. No doubt about it. You'll find conservatism in the above areas too, but its a bit more moderated and not as ugly-radical as it is in Arizona.
The Arizona state legislature actually passed a bill that would have allowed service industry workers to discriminate against LGBT people on religious grounds. It was only vetoed by then-Gov. Jan Brewer because of the threat of economic boycott of the state....but still, they passed it as law! Think about that and let it sink in for a minute.
Because the desert empire smells like manure and is far from anything worthwhile.
It’s funny to assume that people would move there just to be in Southern California...
This is NOT the Bible Belt and no one I know here is particularly religious. It’s a very easy place to live as an atheist/agnostic.
Strange, I would have expected Salt Lake City to be much higher up that list.
In any case, Phoenix does sit lower on it than Albuquerque. In all my visits to the Phoenix area, I can't say I've ever encountered over the top evangelicals. Now, does it have its share of outspoken, Republicans and Trump supporters, probably. The general trend these days, and it seems to be everywhere, is for this group to be a bit louder than usual.
I don't get the angst some people have when the JWs or Mormons' knock on the door. If I'm not busy, I'll answer, smile and tell them I'm not interested. If it's the dead of summer, I'll offer them some cold bottled water to take with them. They're entitled to their beliefs just like I am.
For me, it’s the arrogance. The fact that they think their way is the right way and that they’re actually doing you a favor by looping you in. It’s the implication that they’re right and you’re wrong. Believe what you want, but the holier than thou shtick can be a bit angering.
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