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Permalink Reply by dusk on April 24, 2009 at 6:12pm

at this point in my life i'd decline the interview. if this were happening when i was in my teens and / or i couldn't refuse for whatever reason my responses would have been based on what mood i was caught in. if i knew that saying the truth about what i thought would mean more church or prayer or bible for me i'd just say what i was supposed to at that moment. it's cowardly true, but doing what i want my time means more to me than romantically being punished for my thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph on April 25, 2009 at 7:44pm

To be honest, I'm always tempted to say what I think, no matter who's asking me. You might not want to do that, depending on what type of interview this is (I've never been part of a church or anything, so I have no clue). Mormons and Jehova's Witnesses have come to my door in the past and asked me about my religious beliefs, and I never hesitate to tell them what I think of it rather than just play along. I might decline the interview, though, because I don't really know what good it would do.

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Permalink Reply by Jezzy on April 25, 2009 at 9:33pm

I don't lie, and I don't plan to. Trouble is, I can't really say no to things... and I guess this is a good opportunity to use my knowledge, I'm just not sure how to go about it.

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Permalink Reply by Peter White on April 25, 2009 at 10:02pm

I had the priviledge of being interviewed by a religious leader.

I went to meet my girlfriend's family before I proposed marriage. Her father is a minister of the Protestant church in the Philippines. I was raised a Christian and slowly drifted away until I finally realized I was really an atheist at age 15.

My interview lasted about 2 hours and he didn't mess around when asking questions. I knew he would ask about my religious beliefs but I wasn't sure how I would answer. When the question came up I told him I was a Christian as a child but now I don't see any church that met my standard of morality. I explained that I could not, in good conscience, be part of any organization that condoned violence of any kind against other humans. I wanted nothing to do with any group that preached hatred or intolerance and I didn't think any religious organization could be trusted to do what was right.

I was a bit shocked when he agreed with me on many points. I think my stand against violence and hatred allayed any fears he had about me marrying his daughter. We became good friends during many subsequent discussions on various subjects. I was relieved when he started telling me about some geological formations on a nearby island that were millions of years old. I knew then that he wasn't an insane creationist.

I have a lot of respect for him as a person even though our beliefs can be very different. He doesn't use religion as a hammer to beat people down. I think he got involved for the chance to help people.

I'm sure many other religious leaders would not take kindly to my ideas. If I faced one of them I think I might answer the same way and let the chips fall where they may.

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