Invited to other religious/spiritual celebrations

SalixIncendium said:

While I always wanted to meditate in the lotus position, I have always found it uncomfortable to sit on the floor. The discomfort has always been very distracting. My derriere needs to be at least a foot off of the floor in order for me to be comfortable unless I have back support. I guess I'm just that meditating anomaly that needs furniture.

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Every body is a little different. The point is to adopt whatever style is necessary given your physical requirements.

It Aint Necessarily So said:

People generally prefer to put the carpet over the stone, but you might be on to something here.

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In the ancient stone temples of South India and Sri Lanka, there is no carpet. North India, yes. Another reason I prefer tile or stone is dirt. Who knows what's been on that carpet before you? So which 'people' are you referring to?

Amanaki said:

Have you been invited to other religious/spiritual celebrations then the religion or spiritual path you are following you self? How do you react if someone invite you?

Or maybe you do not have a religion or spiritual path you follow. would you accept to vist Churches or Temple or Mosk to both learn or e interested to see how they celebrate?

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Of course. It's good for me. It's good for everybody, if they can be civil.

I'll admit that I was invited to an evangelical service many years back, for the express purpose of putting me in the front of the congregation as an example of an 'awful Mormon out to steal your children..." but that back fired on 'em. Really awkward, actually...and even that one taught me something.

Taught me to bring reinforcements when one feels 'the vibe,' so that one can exit gracefully.

That's the only problem I've ever had, though. Everybody ELSE has been kind, happy to see me and willing to answer questions.

I like visiting other faiths and churches. Every one of them has something worth experiencing, and learning from.

Not really a church service per se, but I used to go to a kids club hosted by the Christian based private school around the corner from us. Wasn't preachy and always ended with a kids video of some Bible story. I remember even watching Dreamworks Prince of Egypt. Was pretty cool and my parents liked the prayers the teachers would end on.
Of course the teachers weren't overtly appreciative of my constant quoting of Monty Python's Life of Brian lol.

dianaiad said:

I'll admit that I was invited to an evangelical service many years back, for the express purpose of putting me in the front of the congregation as an example of an 'awful Mormon out to steal your children..." but that back fired on 'em. Really awkward, actually...and even that one taught me something.

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Honestly, that sounds like a great story, if you'd like to share it in more detail.

Katzpur said:

Honestly, that sounds like a great story, if you'd like to share it in more detail.

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Ah, you know, 'mission stories.

My companion and I (girls) had just transferred into a 'district,' taking the place of a pair of 'Elders' (that's the boy type missionaries) the night before. We were told of the invitation to this meeting, and decided to accept it and explain that we were taking the place of the young male missionaries rather than simply ignoring the invitation.

So we showed up to some interesting looks, but were treated well. We were ushered to the front of the congregation, to chairs that would give us a good view of the pulpit and the preacher. (Of course, that put us square in view of everybody else in the congregation, as well....)

The preacher came in, we did all the opening songs and prayers. All was well. Then the preacher (who never looked once our way...) started talking about the differences between Christianity and the cults, especially Satanist cults like Mormonism. Now, my companion and I had heard this stuff before, but we WERE quietly looking around to see where the exit was.

The preacher wound himself up, probably wondering why his congregation wasn't getting as excited as he was. They, after all, DID see a couple of young women, modestly dressed, sitting quietly, while the preacher was talking about how the Mormons sent young handsome servants of the devil out to seduce, convert and spirit away all the virtuous young women in the congregation. He was pretty good, actually, at the oration. It all fell apart for him, though, when at last he swung around with his finger pointing and his sleeve waving..."AND SEE THESE MEN, SENT TO SEDUCE YOUR DAUGHTERS AWAY FROM GOD!"

Er.....

Chaos didn't QUITE ensue, but it was (once we got out of there without damage) funny.

Needless to say, we weren't invited back there. Needless to say, had we been, that's one invitation I probably would have politely refused.

dianaiad said:

Ah, you know, 'mission stories.

My companion and I (girls) had just transferred into a 'district,' taking the place of a pair of 'Elders' (that's the boy type missionaries) the night before. We were told of the invitation to this meeting, and decided to accept it and explain that we were taking the place of the young male missionaries rather than simply ignoring the invitation.
Chaos didn't QUITE ensue, but it was (once we got out of there without damage) funny.

Needless to say, we weren't invited back there. Needless to say, had we been, that's one invitation I probably would have politely refused.

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This reminds me of how I miss the missionaries that used to be next door. I don't know what happened but that house is no longer used as a missionary house. It sits vacant. Last summer was the last 'round'. But I have hosted a small group of 4 at our Hindu temple. As you know, missionaries walk quite a bit. So one particularly curious chap wondered what the strange building was, had the guts to go inside and ask, which led to the management asking me to host them the next day or so. They asked respectful questions, we shared common ground stuff. What I really like about missionaries is the youth and zeal for life in general. In many ways, they are just kids out on an adventure, but not quite the 'wild adventure' some other kids have.

Amanaki said:

Have you been invited to other religious/spiritual celebrations then the religion or spiritual path you are following you self?

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Sure, that is almost a given here in Brazil. People don't often even want to know whether one is aligned with the underlying creed of a cerimony.

How do you react if someone invite you?

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It depends on the nature of the ceremony. If it is a funeral or marriage, then I see no issue.

Catholic masses are fine enough if minimal care is taken not encourage misperceptions of allegiance to the creed, e.g. if attendance is implied as a show of support or sympathy for some loss or cause.

I refuse to take spiritist "passes", though; it is intrusive and arrogant enough a doctrine without my enabling of it. Ditto with neopentechostalism, but not always with Protestants of a more traditional bent.

Daime cults are also something that I refuse to participate on, almost as a matter of principle.

Most other creeds are careful enough to avoid unfortunate mistakes. Islaam is probably an exception.

Or maybe you do not have a religion or spiritual path you follow. would you accept to vist Churches or Temple or Mosk to both learn or e interested to see how they celebrate?

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Amanaki said:

Have you been invited to other religious/spiritual celebrations then the religion or spiritual path you are following you self? How do you react if someone invite you?

Or maybe you do not have a religion or spiritual path you follow. would you accept to vist Churches or Temple or Mosk to both learn or e interested to see how they celebrate?

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Yes, both cases you mention. I recommend attending other meetings to learn about them. But there is no need to attend a meeting regularly unless you accept the world view they teach and follow.

Vinayaka said:

This reminds me of how I miss the missionaries that used to be next door. I don't know what happened but that house is no longer used as a missionary house. It sits vacant. Last summer was the last 'round'. But I have hosted a small group of 4 at our Hindu temple. As you know, missionaries walk quite a bit. So one particularly curious chap wondered what the strange building was, had the guts to go inside and ask, which led to the management asking me to host them the next day or so. They asked respectful questions, we shared common ground stuff. What I really like about missionaries is the youth and zeal for life in general. In many ways, they are just kids out on an adventure, but not quite the 'wild adventure' some other kids have.

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Here's a not so secret secret: This is one of the big reasons we SEND our nineteen and twenty year olds (men and women both) out at that age. They get to see a portion of the world they might not ordinarily get to see, they get to know many different people of many different faiths (we think that's a good thing) and MOST of 'em get immersive instruction in a second language from native speakers. In the mean time, they have support, companions, and hard work to do. Oh, yeah....and they 'spread the gospel.' I can think of other ways to teach others about our faith that might be more effective in terms of getting converts, but none that are as good for our young people.

Then they come home with a better understanding of 'what's out there' in real life,

.......................and THEN they go hang gliding and surfing and racing cars and getting degrees and getting married and whatever, but they, as a general rule, don't go thinking how much better they are, theologically speaking, than anybody else. At least that's how it worked for me, and for most of the 'returned missionaries' I know.

Well, I didn't go hang-gliding. My son does that.