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How would you take this?

I have a best friend named Sara, she's really sweet and nice and caring and I super love hanging out with her cause we have alot in common, except for the fact that she's super, super religious....

She's from Chile so her and everyone else in her family are catholic, and I mean strongly religious in that annoying ignorant sort of way.

I learned veeeery early into our friendship that religion was not a topic to be brought up under any circumstances. But this one time I was over at her place we somehow got into the topic of heaven and hell and it went really bad to say the least. It started when she was going on about how anyone who doesn't believe in god goes to hell. So I looked at her and asked her if I was going to hell too and she gave me this 'so sorry' squint and nodded.

I asked her why someone who's lived a perfectly decent life and is overall a good person should have to go to hell just because they don't believe in god, like how in anyone's right mind can that be fair? Her side of the arguement was just a series of shrugs and nods or just repeatedly stating that god 'just exists'.

But my problem with the fight, was that I just couldn't f*****g seem to explain to her that this was very offensive. How could she just sit there and casually tell her best friend she was going to the worst place in the world to burn for all eternity. She thought that it was ok, "it's not like you even believe in hell so what do you care?' she says. Ya know what I'm getting at? SHE believes in hell, and in her world its a very real and very awful place. Her reality is that i'm going to hell and I just found it terribly rude and offensive, and whether I think god is a stupid fantasy or not I don't like hearing that someone who's suppose to care for me thinks I'm going to hell.

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Permalink Reply by Carrot Hare on March 5, 2010 at 5:58pm

HELLO fellow Canadian! X)

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Permalink Reply by JayBarti on March 5, 2010 at 6:09pm

Right back at you fellow freethinker!

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Permalink Reply by Cecilia on March 5, 2010 at 7:06pm

One other thing on this, Caitlin, you say that your friend is "sweet and caring" and, perhaps she is, but wow -- telling you you are going to hell is the exact opposite of "sweet and caring" -- it is sad that she will probably never get how ugly and hurtful her beliefs about this are....

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Permalink Reply by Carrot Hare on March 5, 2010 at 10:00pm

Ironically that's also her saving grace. She's too...well...dumb really to completely understand how her position can offend other people. I know dumb is a pretty blunt word but its one of those sad realities you just can't deny.
She's oblivious to it all that I can actually ignore it and know that she still cares for me the same. When I really think about what would happen if she did understand, i dunno if our friendship would last.