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Niece sending me religious stuff

I'm not sure if my niece knows about my lack of belief, and i don't want to be rude to her. She tragically lost her husband, BUT I wish she would stop sending me this stuff. She knows i'm looking for a house, and the banks are tight, etc. The problem i have is that if anything happens that she prays for will be proof of God (in her eyes). She was trying to be nice, and i appreciate the sentiment, but if i happen to get a house, it won't be because of a prayer, god, etc. Anyway, here's what she sent me >>>>>>>>

""""""

Read this sentence very carefully

"To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did" When
God takes something from your grasp. He's not punishing you, but merely opening
your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence. "The will
of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."

Something good will happen to you today, something that you have been
waiting to hear. Please do not break. Just 27 Words, 'God our Father , walk through my
house and take away all my worries and illnesses and please watch over and heal
my family in your name, Amen.'

This prayer is so powerful. Pass this to 12
people including me. A blessing is coming to you in form of a new job, a house,
marriage or financially. Do not break or ask questions.. This is a test. Does
God come first in your life? If so, stop what your doing & send it to 12 people
now. Watch what He does """""""""""

So far, i'm just not responding to her, because i don't want to lie about believing in what she sent, but i also do not want to set her off because she is fragile.

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Permalink Reply by Rob van Senten on December 27, 2011 at 5:48pm

You are probably right to assume that she has the best intentions, and although you might believe her to be misguided it is not easy to explain this in a way that is not offensive.

You could tell her that although you do not believe in a god, that you do realize that it is love and kindness that she is sharing with you and that you appreciate her for it.

You could also point her to Matthew 6 (link), where it is clearly said that prayer should be a private manner, but this might be considered a bit rude.

It's a difficult thing to balance telling people the truth, and attempting to be nice and inoffensive, good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Michael Black on January 10, 2012 at 11:23am

I reported my mom as spam and blocked her emails entirely because of the volume of cr@p I was getting in my box. Now I talk to her on the phone on occasion. Dialogue is so much better than monologue. You'll do what ever you think is right. Every situation is different. I just wrote this so you wouldn't feel so bad about taking the less communicative route, if that is what you choose later. ;)

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Permalink Reply by Pat on January 10, 2012 at 12:02pm

Rob nailed it. It is difficult for the person who is sending these things to you to learn it's not appreciated without being offended. They're doing something they consider nice, and that they firmly believe in. Depending on your relationship with her (and her parents and the rest of the family), you might want to start slow with something like, "I don't do 'chain' emails, but thanks for the thought." (It did say pass it along to 12 people). Followed up, later on, with something like, "I appreciate the thoughts, but I have my own beliefs, and not everyone's are necessarily the same as yours, or anyone else's." And slowly work your way into letting her know the truth. Easing her down is probably better than dropping the hammer.

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Permalink Reply by dr kellie on January 10, 2012 at 1:05pm

I have just been confronted with a similar situation. I was recently outed to my family. Most probably suspected it, but a few die-hards are now sending me religious crap. I considered my alternatives, and decided to take the high road and just drop such stuff right into the trash. I just consider it more support for the post office:)

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Permalink Reply by Jedi Wanderer on January 10, 2012 at 1:32pm

I agree with Rob that you should be honest with her that you don't believe in a deity, but that you realize she intends to be kind and good to you and that you appreciate her for that. This would be a great way to let her know your beliefs without hurting her in any way.

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Permalink Reply by matthew greenberg on January 10, 2012 at 1:42pm

"The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."

200,000 Haitian Christians who died in the 2010 earthquake may disagree (for example).

i would also agree that ignoring these emails is the best approach. i get stuff like this from my mother, and while we have been having some good discussions about religion and my Atheistic beliefs, the majority of these emails i quietly delete.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica on January 10, 2012 at 8:16pm

I don't even open the emails that have the religious/spam vibe from my aunt. The delete button is my friend. I have a feeling since she has heard I am an Atheist she now goes out of her way to send me these emails. I have found it easier to ignore the junk since christians can be so overly sensitive about their religion and there need to spread the "word." Especially if you are aware she is fragile, there is no need to rock the boat.

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Permalink Reply by treefireguy on January 11, 2012 at 2:08pm

I sent quite a few messages to relatives and friends back when I used to be on Facebook. Those messages were usually like this: "PLEASE STOP SENDING ME THIS CRAP.. I DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD!"

Needless to say I no longer use Facebook.

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Permalink Reply by damian on January 11, 2012 at 2:15pm

So far, i'm ignoring her, but saying this has crossed my mind > "PLEASE STOP SENDING ME
THIS CRAP.. I DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD!" I think she may be bipolar, because she's either really jazzed, or really down. It makes me think about how many people are suffering because they are trying to make sense of religion.