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My friend was forced to go to a C of E primary school where it was forced down her throat. In the end, she snapped and is now wiccan.

Some people, when they first meet me, label me as wiccan or new age because I am more of a celtic christian, so I don't see the point of pushing it down their throats; if your friends with someone then your friends with them because they can be themselves, not because their of the same faith as you.

I was that friend. Whenever I was around this one friend of mine she would get to the point where she wanted to bash me in the head with her bible because I just wouldn't listen and I would get angry and close myself off. But I didn't want to lose her as a friend. Not much of what she said made any sense whatsoever. So, when the Power Team came here a couple of years ago she took me to see them one night because, I like fire and they were smashing stuff and setting stuff on fire...anyway...I just decided to give in and act like I had converted although I didn't really. So I found a youth group and started going to church. Then I finally converted almost a year ago.

Anyway, I would not suggest trying to convert people. It really does piss them off and if they don't really care about the friendship they have with you they will stop being your friend. It doesn't matter what religion your friends are as long as they're your friends.

I don't try to convert people.
I let them know when they offended me or insulted
Christianity, but I don't try to force-feed them
my religion. I have a non-Christian friend. I don't
know what religion she is...

She's not atheist, but she's not Christian.

Ah. Anyway, I usually don't just stop being
friends with a person because they're not
Christian. Unless they're constantly insulsting
me or my religion.

Um, if it's anything like the celtic aspects of Christianity I've come in contact with, it just means they connect more of everyday life to God with prayer. Then again, I could be wrong. wink Fr. Steve has a book with celtic prayers in it and I loved it. There's one for making your bed, lighting the fire, etc. Pretty nifty.

Tell that to the author of the original Christian form prayer. You might now him, his name was Jesus of Nazareth and we tend to kind of worship the guy. It's called "The Lord's Prayer" and millions of Christians use it because he said "Pray this way"...so we do.



I'm all for praying off the cuff at times, but we learned form prayers from the Jews, as the first christians WERE Jews, and there's no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Our prayers tend to be repitious and follow along the same lines even when they ARE off the cuff, (Lord, we just thank you....) so why not get a little help from our friends? (I.e. the saints who have gone before.)

Pax Christi,
Leslie.....

Who once wrote grace for coffee: Holy Father, we thank you for the gift of wakefulness, which you have bestowed upon us in your servant coffee. Amen.

*giggle

yes...

of course we do.
the celtic christians were the first christians in the british isles.

I think there are a few reasons why people hate getting preached to.

1. - They don't want to be told they're going to hell. Would you? I've been told that before, at school, which I followed up with a 'I'm a Christian, thank you very much'.
2. - Everyone has issues admitting they're wrong.
3. - It's hard to change. Being a sinner is easy because the tempation is everywhere and following the crowd is simple and requires no sacrifice, with the exception of your originality, your braincells and your eternal soul. Following God is hard because a lot of the world is against him right now. Some people don't know how to be strong enough to take on the pressure. It's why Peter denied Jesus three times, is it not? Persecution. Rejection. All that other wonderful smut. But the road to righteousness isn't paved, it's hard and has several ruts in it because it's the road less traveled.

Don't not preach to your friends, just try other methods. It is hard, but stuff worth having is the stuff you have to work for. Look at it this way; don't you want your friends to be in heaven with you? The earth is temporary, and any persecution, pain or suffering faced here will be rewarded for eternity in the Kingdom of God.