QUESTIONS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP

Two people were friends, and pledged to remain so with a vow. One of those friends, for whatever reason, forsook the friendship and left. The other friend, committed to the vow, continued to pursue peace with that other person and reestablish the friendship.

a) What should happen to the first friend who broke their promise?
b) What should the second person do, seeing as they actually valued the friendship, now that the first person is gone? Should they continue to pursue it or will it be an exercise in futility?
c) Why would the first person have left despite their vow?
d) What should be the second person's course of action now that they have been betrayed?

Please be thorough in your answers. Thank you for your assistance in this non-hypothetical matter.

I recommend sharing a spam sandwich.

I, for one, do not put up with forsooking. I'd pop a cap in his ass. But that's just me.

Then I'd eat the sandwich.

Shawnee you just made me choke on my coffee.

Then my work here is done. Go in peace to heat and serve the spam. :p

A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.

Maybe the second guy preached so much that it seemed to the first guy to be more important to the second than the friendship, so he split. Therefore, it was actually the first guy who was betrayed, not you.

Well, this Gannet has certainly stirred up a ruckus. I wonder if 495 is the number of friends he or she lost to heavy-handed proselytizing.

Nothing like a common enemy to unite us, eh?

Aha! Maybe glatt hit it with united -- is this a trick by Rexmons and/or Usup? :haha:






(j/k)

Gannet495;369526 wrote:

Two people were friends, and pledged to remain so with a vow. One of those friends, for whatever reason, forsook the friendship and left. The other friend, committed to the vow, continued to pursue peace with that other person and reestablish the friendship.

a) What should happen to the first friend who broke their promise?

Burn in hell

b) What should the second person do, seeing as they actually valued the friendship, now that the first person is gone? Should they continue to pursue it or will it be an exercise in futility?

They should seek out, and destroy, all who interfere in the relationship

c) Why would the first person have left despite their vow?

Probably lured away from a decent relationship by some Nazarene.

d) What should be the second person's course of action now that they have been betrayed?

Drive a truck bomb into a kindergarten.

I think the first person has realised that people grow and change, and the second needs to realise this.
I think the second person is in love with the first person, but that is not requited.
I think both of these people are in high school.

I tell you what, when you Cellarites put your minds to it, you come up with the most thoughtful, introspective, intelligent, and quintessential answers I have seen in my (cough)-odd years in this world.

God love ya!:p

Shit Bruce - I spit my soda all over my monitor!!!

Oooh, take a RFN pic of that, yesman!

Gannet495;369526 wrote:

Two people were friends, and pledged to remain so with a vow. One of those friends, for whatever reason, forsook the friendship and left. The other friend, committed to the vow, continued to pursue peace with that other person and reestablish the friendship.

a) What should happen to the first friend who broke their promise?
b) What should the second person do, seeing as they actually valued the friendship, now that the first person is gone? Should they continue to pursue it or will it be an exercise in futility?
c) Why would the first person have left despite their vow?
d) What should be the second person's course of action now that they have been betrayed?

Please be thorough in your answers. Thank you for your assistance in this non-hypothetical matter.

The "first person" is an ex-Christian. The "second person" is Jesus Christ. The answers are that b) Jesus still loves you, no matter what; c) the backslider has been tempted by Satan to leave the flock of believers, so - a) he/she will burn in a lake of fiery torment, forever; unless d) the loyal minions of the Christ can harass them into returning to their former habits of making a nominal appearance every Sunday morning.

I just knew there had to be a proselytization tool in there somewhere!

It was a "booby trap" ...

Out freakin standing - I may do an extra day this week for not knowing that! tx Flint

Gannet495;369526 wrote:

Two people were friends, and pledged to remain so with a vow. One of those friends, for whatever reason, forsook the friendship and left. The other friend, committed to the vow, continued to pursue peace with that other person and reestablish the friendship.

a) What should happen to the first friend who broke their promise?
b) What should the second person do, seeing as they actually valued the friendship, now that the first person is gone? Should they continue to pursue it or will it be an exercise in futility?
c) Why would the first person have left despite their vow?
d) What should be the second person's course of action now that they have been betrayed?

Please be thorough in your answers. Thank you for your assistance in this non-hypothetical matter.

a) What do you mean what should happen to them? I'm wondering what drove the person to break a promise?
abuse? highhandedness? superiority complex? cheapness? There could be so many negatives. Maybe they are afraid your a psycho axe murderer
hiding behind an enlightened spiritual philopsophy. *shrug*
I think the mear question proves an inability to point the finger at oneself.

b) Send them a large chunk of money to prove your love. * cough * oh and then walk away.

c) see A

d) see B

Gannet495;369526 wrote:

a) What should happen to the first friend who broke their promise?

Nothing. Remaining in a friendship solely in obligation to a vow is idiocy.

b) What should the second person do, seeing as they actually valued the friendship, now that the first person is gone? Should they continue to pursue it or will it be an exercise in futility?

He should tell him unambiguously and in person that he will always be available, and then leave him alone.

c) Why would the first person have left despite their vow?

Maybe the second person became a bit of an ass.

d) What should be the second person's course of action now that they have been betrayed?

Find a new friend.

Well here's a story.

I had a friend once and I thought we'd be friends forever. That turned out not to be the case. She just decided the friendship was a bit too much effort. Her life had changed and she had different priorities and decided that I wasn't one of them anymore. We were both in our 30's at the time, so this only happened a couple of years ago.

I felt really angry and hurt that she would just blatantly say that she didn't have time for our friendship anymore. Apparently it wasn't anything to do with me personally but I still thought it was bullshit anyway.

I sent her an email and told her exactly how I felt about her speech and explained to her why I felt the way I did and that I felt it was rather childish to simply walk away from a friendship with such a bullshit excuse, or in fact to end a friendship so dramatically at all. (Don't things like that just sort of dwindle away when you're a grown up?) It was mostly me needing to vent though. I didn't want an answer to my email. I deleted all her numbers etc and moved on after that.

I still feel weird about things though. Mostly because I was just so surprised that I'd made such an error in judgement. I thought she was a mature and loving person.

Friends are pretty special people to have around, so it does hurt when you lose one and can't understand why. Ultimately though, it's like a love relationship. You can't make someone feel or do something they don't want to feel or do.

Sometimes people are in your life and you get things from them that you need at the time and then things change. I guess that's what happened with my friend and I. Maybe it's what happened with your friend and you. You just don't know what it was you were giving. It's also very possible that your friend doesn't realize why things have changed either.

Best thing is to try and let those bad feelings go though. They don't help, and they'll only make you miss out on finding other new friends.

If I can't forgive someone for something I have done, I am a fuck-head and don't deserve their friendship to begin with.
If they keep doing it, fuck-em.
Vows?... not without clairvoyance. (yes, my wife and I wrote our own vows and they did not say forever nor did they say only each other, those were personal promises that have "understandings" that go with them)

Aliantha those breakups hurt the worst mostly because of the outrage at the stupid reason.

Good advise btw.

I don't think about it that much lately, but when I read the first post on this thread it just sounded so similar to my situation so I thought I'd share.

I don't know if the advice is good or not. From where I see it, there's really not much choice but to move on and let it go.

I hate to do this, but was she really that good of a friend if that was her position?

After I quit "partying" in my 20's, I lost what I thought were all my friends. Reality was that they just weren't much fun to be around when I was straight and they weren't.

Of course you're right yesman. That's what I meant when I was said that I was surprised at my lack of good judgement. Our friendship started during a pretty tough period in my life, so I was probably just looking for someone to lean on. The friendship ended a couple of years later after I'd met my (now) husband and had gotten my shit together.

My theory is that she was one of those people who need to be needed and when I just needed friendship and not so much emotional support etc, the whole friendship thing wasn't as much fun for her. She denied that of course. As I said, it was just my theory. We also had a huge blow up over a mutual friend. The mutual friend got herself pregnant on purpose without telling her b/f. I felt that this was wrong and said so. I don't associate with either of them now.

Wow that is scary familiar. I gotta tell you though, I don't miss any of them and I can't remember most of their names either. I think I saw one about 5 yrs ago and sorta recognized him, but I didn't say anything. I was with my son and the guy looked 15 yrs older and more stoned than ever. Didn't really see a point in talking to him.

So do you think gannet will come back and explain the questions he posed to us?

I don't know if gannet will come back. I think probably yes. Why else would someone start a thread?

I think most people would have similar stories from times during their lives.

I know the crowd I used to hang around with and party with when I was younger are mostly completely gone from my life except for my best friend who's been there with me through thick and thin.

I reckon we're lucky if we can count more than three really true good friends in our lives. I know I only have a couple that I would share anything with. I have lots of other people who are in my life that I enjoy spending time with and so on, but they're not high on my list of people to call if I'm in a coma. If that makes any sense.

Oh, It makes a lot of sense - After I stopped partying I went back to hanging out with my high school friends. There are six of us and to this day we still get together to play poker at least twice a year. Its really odd to have kids that are older than we were when we first met. Even now after 30+ years, some married, some divorced, all with kids and so on, we still have a bond that will definitely last a lifetime. Its great to know there are people that you can talk to or count on no matter what life throws at you.

When I got sick most of my "friends" bailed.

First of all, Gannet, I would like to apologize for my insensitivity yesterday; I wondered if this were some sort of hoax or simply, as I wrote earlier, proselytizing. At this point, it would appear that I was wrong. If you will allow me, I would like to welcome you to the Cellar. There are many good people here, with loads of heart. There can be a great deal of love to be felt, but I would like to caution against coming on too strongly with scripture quotation. As can be readily seen, most here don't take to it when we feel it is being foisted upon us.

What makes you think you were wrong, Uisge Beatha?

Please be thorough in your answers. Thank you for your assistance in this non-hypothetical matter.

Well, Bruce, that very quote could simply be taken as a genuine request for opinions. Both you and wolf made statements in the [thread=14940]Even the Devil can quote Scripture...[/thread] thread that lead me to believe this is not a hoax. While it still tends to come across as proselytizing, Gannet might wish to lighten up a bit and join the gang. I have been a little upset with a few comments at times (as, quite likely, others have been), but I don't want to let a few ruffled feathers on my part keep me from enjoying all the good that is to be had here.

Considering the questions asked, before demanding thorough answers in this non-hypothetical matter, are absolutely unanswerable without background information, how can it be anything but a set up for a sermon?

Perhaps, only time will tell. I admit freely that I am a big sucker; I fall for jokes and tricks far more than most others do. When I stop to think abut things, I'd rather look foolish while being too nice than just be brusque or nasty. I'm not saying that you are being rude; I just thought better of what I said yesterday. At this point, the worst that can happen is that everyone gets a good laugh at me; I've gotten past making a fool of myself too many times to worry.

yesman065;369927 wrote:

Oh, It makes a lot of sense - After I stopped partying I went back to hanging out with my high school friends. There are six of us and to this day we still get together to play poker at least twice a year. Its really odd to have kids that are older than we were when we first met. Even now after 30+ years, some married, some divorced, all with kids and so on, we still have a bond that will definitely last a lifetime. Its great to know there are people that you can talk to or count on no matter what life throws at you.

Damn.....thats impressive.

I pretty much lost contact with all my high school friends and I'm just a little over a year out of high school.

I don't know. I'm certainly not going to feel bad about my posts. My relationship with God is my personal business, and it rankles me when someone talks down to a group of people because said group hasn't given away their DVD players and cans of pork-n-beans to the poor. This gannett knows not what my trials and tribulations have been.

I also believe God has a sense of humor, or at least recognizes the importance of one in humans. With all my irreverent and dark comments, what is in my heart is good and means well.

So, still, gannett can kiss my forsookin' ass. Fire and brimstone doesn't cut it in my world, which is simply a world of a soul trying to be happy and stay sane and to make someone smile from time to time.

Shawnee123 wrote:

So, still, gannett can kiss my forsookin' ass. Fire and brimstone doesn't cut it in my world, which is simply a world of a soul trying to be happy and stay sane and to make someone smile from time to time.

You're doing just fine Shawnee; you do have a good heart and you make lots of folks smile quite often. Oh, and if your tushy is ever out east, I'd be happy to pucker up, myself - hell, just look at my new user title. :D

Thank you, Uisge. You're very kind. :)

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about. People reaching out with acts of kindness. Sometimes we even reach out with sadness, sometimes with anger, sometimes with laughter. If God doesn't understand the intricate fabric of our lives, who will?

Shawnee123;370020 wrote:

Thank you, Uisge. You're very kind. :)

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about. People reaching out with acts of kindness. Sometimes we even reach out with sadness, sometimes with anger, sometimes with laughter. If God doesn't understand the intricate fabric of our lives, who will?

You got it right - I'm sure He understands them all too well - He is "The Creator" after all.

Gannet495;369526 wrote:

Two people were friends, and pledged to remain so with a vow. One of those friends, for whatever reason, forsook the friendship and left. The other friend, committed to the vow, continued to pursue peace with that other person and reestablish the friendship.

a) What should happen to the first friend who broke their promise?
b) What should the second person do, seeing as they actually valued the friendship, now that the first person is gone? Should they continue to pursue it or will it be an exercise in futility?
c) Why would the first person have left despite their vow?
d) What should be the second person's course of action now that they have been betrayed?

Please be thorough in your answers. Thank you for your assistance in this non-hypothetical matter.

I think I figured it out. This is like one of the riddles, I mean parables, where you're walking around on the beach (at Ram Island, perhaps) and sometimes there are a bunch of footprints and sometimes the monkey jumps on your back and there are less footprints and sometimes there is just one set of prints and a big giant line where someone dragged you through the sand. Or something. I always forget how that story goes.

lol!!!!

I think you should stalk her until she begs you for divine mercy and to be lead back into the flock.
Can't you see when she needs your help? If she's a friend you need to make her repent. It's your duty.
God I hope I don't know you....do I know you?

gannet never came back to analyse our answers :cry:

I didn't know gannet had a reputation around this place for being a bit of a nut.

Still, I don't think it hurts to answer questions reasonably and I would have posted the same thing had I known anyway.

How the fuck are you going to answer the questions reasonably? You have nothing to work with.
All you can do is create your own scenario in your head and answer the questions as they apply to that scenario.
How can that apply to "this non-hypothetical matter"?

Well you can see how I responded to the thread. *shrugs* The questions seemed to be almost the exact same ones I'd asked myself about a friendship that ended.

I just took them at face value without reading anything much into them.

xoxoxoBruce;371035 wrote:

All you can do is create your own scenario in your head and answer the questions as they apply to that scenario.
How can that apply to "this non-hypothetical matter"?

Exactly, Nothing applys because we have no background information so our assumptions are faulty.


His first question is quite revealing so I hope it is a step up for a christian analogy but then the words 'non hypothetical' make me think not.

I'm askeered for person #1 because of it too. Unless person #1 is him or herself. Then they should definatly but the 4th way books down and see a real good psychiatrist.

Wait for it.

> I recommend sharing a spam sandwich.

spam spam spam spam spam spam spam spam =)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wZ7YedEopp4


> Maybe the second guy preached so much that it seemed to the first guy to be more important to the second than the friendship, so he split.
> Well, this Gannet has certainly stirred up a ruckus. I wonder if 495 is the number of friends he or she lost to heavy-handed proselytizing.


(bugs bunny voice) its a possibility! of course you gotta stick to your principles.



> Nothing like a common enemy to unite us, eh?

sigh... Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Isa 54:15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

Why would you want to be united against me again? You hate Jesus or something?



> I think the first person has realised that people grow and change, and the second needs to realise this. I think the second person is in love with the first person, but that is not requited.

but if a person is growing and changing into a person who does not keep their promises, is that not a regression in character rather than progress? if there's true growth, then a person's word should mean something.



> a) What do you mean what should happen to them? I'm wondering what drove the person to break a promise? abuse? highhandedness? superiority complex? cheapness? There could be so many negatives. Maybe they are afraid your a psycho axe murderer hiding behind an enlightened spiritual philosophy. *shrug*

so you think it might be something i did that made them go?




> I think the mere question proves an inability to point the finger at oneself.

its possible, thanks for the input. spiritual people are often known for their hypocrisy and lack of self-reflection.






b) Send them a large chunk of money to prove your love. * cough * oh and then walk away.

lol. tried that.



> Nothing. Remaining in a friendship solely in obligation to a vow is idiocy.

then what good is a vow?




> He should tell him unambiguously and in person that he will always be available, and then leave him alone.

so simply leave the door open and fugetaboutit? if they come back, cool, if not, then `whatever'?




> Maybe the second person became a bit of an ass.

its entirely possible ;)




> Find a new friend.

hello cellarites.




> Aliantha's story

thank you Aliantha for a helpful story and comment. that was definitely the most useful reply of the bunch. God bless you.




> Vows?... not without clairvoyance.

so you never give your word? or if you do, do you not consider it something which should never be broken? what about the reputation of your name then?




> (yes, my wife and I wrote our own vows and they did not say forever nor did they say only each other, those were personal promises that have "understandings" that go with them)

how... odd. but to each his own.



> I don't think about it that much lately, but when I read the first post on this thread it just sounded so similar to my situation so I thought I'd share. I don't know if the advice is good or not. From where I see it, there's really not much choice but to move on and let it go.

yea there's not much of a choice. just wondering how to deal with the feelings and make sure it doesn't happen again. i understand there will be conflicts between gospel-preachers and other doubtful people, but the two people in this story are Christians, and both are expected to abide by a certain high standard of behavior and character. I wouldn't expect a heathen to keep their promises, but I do expect Christians to, since they have been born again.




> So do you think gannet will come back and explain the questions he posed to us?

what would you like me to explain? i'm just wondering if anything like that has happened to you, and how you dealt with it, hoping i can glean any decent advice from your posts. i simply ignore the mockery, counting it as all joy to suffer for the name of my Lord Jesus.




> I don't know if gannet will come back. I think probably yes. Why else would someone start a thread?

i'm back, just had some things to do and wanted to give it some time to accumulate answers.



> I think most people would have similar stories from times during their lives.

that was my hope, and that you'd share.




> First of all, Gannet, I would like to apologize for my insensitivity yesterday; I wondered if this were some sort of hoax or simply, as I wrote earlier, proselytizing. At this point, it would appear that I was wrong.

I'm only telling people the good news about the resurrection of Jesus, you can believe it or not, its up to you. I don't proselytize, I inform. People can make their own decisions about the truth. I accept your apology and I too apologize if I've offended any of you. Thanks for having me here at the cellar, and I hope you will believe the good news of salvation.




> If you will allow me, I would like to welcome you to the Cellar.

thanks




> There are many good people here, with loads of heart.

and a decent sense of humor too!




> There can be a great deal of love to be felt, but I would like to caution against coming on too strongly with scripture quotation.

God's words are bread to man's soul. I just look at it as feeding you.

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.




> As can be readily seen, most here don't take to it when we feel it is being foisted upon us.

Well there's only 1 faith that leads to eternal life, and I would like to see all of you in heaven, forgiven all your sins by Christ's blood. Simple as that. I'm not foisting a new law upon you, but grace and mercy through the son of God.



> Well, Bruce, that very quote could simply be taken as a genuine request for opinions.

as it was. i needed y'alls advice.




> While it still tends to come across as proselytizing, Gannet might wish to lighten up a bit and join the gang.

BINGO
=)




> Considering the questions asked, before demanding thorough answers in this non-hypothetical matter, are absolutely unanswerable without background information, how can it be anything but a set up for a sermon?

no set up, no sermon. just needed advice about an ex-friend who's a Christian. see, Christians are supposed to forgive each other, and I'm just trying to figure out why she has not, and whether she is really a Christian seeing as she cannot forgive.




> Perhaps, only time will tell. I admit freely that I am a big sucker; I fall for jokes and tricks far more than most others do. When I stop to think abut things, I'd rather look foolish while being too nice than just be brusque or nasty. I'm not saying that you are being rude; I just thought better of what I said yesterday.

nope, no tricks jokes or hoaxes. just a simple question with apparently not enough detail.





> I don't know. I'm certainly not going to feel bad about my posts. My relationship with God is my personal business, and it rankles me when someone talks down to a group of people because said group hasn't given away their DVD players and cans of pork-n-beans to the poor. This gannett knows not what my trials and tribulations have been.

why do you consider your relationship with God to be your personal business, seeing as God desires us to "love one another", clearly a call to social kindness.




> I also believe God has a sense of humor, or at least recognizes the importance of one in humans. With all my irreverent and dark comments, what is in my heart is good and means well.

Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.





> So, still, gannett can kiss my forsookin' ass. Fire and brimstone doesn't cut it in my world

your unbelief doesn't change the fact that a lake of fire does exist. i'm not here to have anyone kiss my ass or to kiss anyone's ass, merely to ask some questions and to state my opinion in a public forum in a free country.





> trying to be happy and stay sane and to make someone smile from time to time.

i hope it works for you.





> I think I figured it out. This is like one of the riddles, I mean parables, where you're walking around on the beach (at Ram Island, perhaps) and sometimes there are a bunch of footprints and sometimes the monkey jumps on your back and there are less footprints and sometimes there is just one set of prints and a big giant line where someone dragged you through the sand. Or something. I always forget how that story goes.

<chuckles> nice






> I think you should stalk her until she begs you for divine mercy and to be lead back into the flock. Can't you see when she needs your help? If she's a friend you need to make her repent. It's your duty.

it is my duty to urge her repent and to pull her out of the fire, anyone for that matter, if they err from the truth, so that they can be saved.




> God I hope I don't know you....do I know you?

you do now! lucky you huh





> gannet never came back to analyse our answers

that work for ya? :3eye:

> I didn't know gannet had a reputation around this place for being a bit of a nut.

I don't. People only hate me because they hate Jesus.

I wouldn't expect a heathen to keep their promises, but I do expect Christians to, since they have been born again.

Umm...I'm an atheist. I take my promises seriously.

> I think you should stalk her until she begs you for divine mercy and to be lead back into the flock. Can't you see when she needs your help? If she's a friend you need to make her repent. It's your duty.

it is my duty to urge her repent and to pull her out of the fire, anyone for that matter, if they err from the truth, so that they can be saved.

My guess is that's one sure fire way of making sure she never wants to come near you again.

The only advice I can offer you Gannet, is follow your instincts. It may be that your instincts lead you to act in a way that doesn't satisfactorily resolve the situation, or it may be that your instincts lead you to act in a way that does satisfactorily resolve the situation, but, at least you will have been true to yourself. That's all you can really do. You have no way of crawling inside this person's head and reading their thoughts. You only know your own.

[QUOTE=Gannet495;372321]
> I think you should stalk her until she begs you for divine mercy and to be lead back into the flock. Can't you see when she needs your help? If she's a friend you need to make her repent. It's your duty.

it is my duty to urge her repent and to pull her out of the fire, anyone for that matter, if they err from the truth, so that they can be saved.
QUOTE]

Bingo!! I call bingo.......

We have a winner!

Gannet495;372321 wrote:

> Nothing. Remaining in a friendship solely in obligation to a vow is idiocy.

then what good is a vow?

Depends on what the vow is. It is impossible to remain friends because of a vow. If all that holds you together is obligation to a vow, then it is not a real friendship, and therefore your vow is broken anyway.

yea there's not much of a choice. just wondering how to deal with the feelings and make sure it doesn't happen again. i understand there will be conflicts between gospel-preachers and other doubtful people, but the two people in this story are Christians, and both are expected to abide by a certain high standard of behavior and character. I wouldn't expect a heathen to keep their promises, but I do expect Christians to, since they have been born again.

If you started talking like this after you were born again, then you may have to resign yourself to this happening again and again with any reasonable friends you still have.

Well my "friend", I consider myself a Christian, and if you spoke to me like that IRL, I'd tell you where to stick it too.

> I'd tell you where to stick it too.

Where would that be?

I'm guessing where the light of Saviour don't shine?

Gannet495;372322 wrote:

> I didn't know gannet had a reputation around this place for being a bit of a nut.

I don't. People only hate me because they hate Jesus.

That's the stupidest statement I've read in a very long time.

Gannet495;372586 wrote:

> I'd tell you where to stick it too.

Where would that be?

*Note - I'm gonna try to be nice here.* You, YOU have no place to tell others how to live, act, think nor behave. Your overt demands that everyone else do whatever it is YOUR interpretation of the Bible says is ridiculous. I'm amazed you got some poor sap to actually make an oath to you in the first place. The fact that it was broken was a mere forgone conclusion. If you spoke to me IRL the way you speak in here, I would not consider you a friend - more a little, no make that a lot, nuts. A zealot with nothing in his/her life other than preaching what YOU think everyone else should do.

Try eliminating all your Biblical quotes and communicate with others using your own thoughts, ideas and words. Perhaps then others, maybe but l doubt it, might actually think what you have to say has some relevance or value.

I have no problem with you and your relationship with God, but please do not attack me or anyone else here for their religious beliefs either.

Boy wouldn't YOU feel like a FOOL if upon your judgment day your "creator" said something to the effect of "You wasted your life preaching rather than being a productive member of your society and living the way I taught you instead of telling everyone else how they should live?"

The answer to your question is: In your ear.

Oh, and I do not "hate you because I hate Jesus" - I don't hate you at all. Rather, I love Jesus, I just think you are sadly misguided and in dire need of a reality check.

Yeah, quite frankly, if anyone started preaching to me like Gannet has IRL, I'd drop them faster than a hot potato.

I'm a secular humanist and don't have a lot of time with people spouting scripture. To each their own, and if that's not good enough for you, there's no space for you in my universe.

Have you noticed that ex-drug-addicts make the "best" Christians?

You mean people with "addictive" personalities? Yeah a lot of "reformers" be it drugs, alcohol, gambling..... whatever seem to have an affinity to be "Born again."

Yeah....they make the best fitness freaks too.

Gannet495;372321 wrote:

>
> I think the first person has realised that people grow and change, and the second needs to realise this. I think the second person is in love with the first person, but that is not requited.

but if a person is growing and changing into a person who does not keep their promises, is that not a regression in character rather than progress? if there's true growth, then a person's word should mean something.

I'm with whichever cellarite said you cannot stay in friendship merely on the strength of a vow. And what about my second point?

yesman065;375956 wrote:

You mean people with "addictive" personalities? Yeah a lot of "reformers" be it drugs, alcohol, gambling..... whatever seem to have an affinity to be "Born again."

Even I as a secular humanist would agree that being hooked on a religion is probably healthier for an individual than drugs, but that's as far as it goes. I would hate to have any of my relatives turn fundamentalist, I'd probably disown them on the grounds of being too annoying to be around.