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OK At school, the subject of religion came up. and if we were brave enough, we were to tell our religion in the front of the class.. a few jews..a few Jehovah's witnesses... so I decided to tell mine. im mostly a Buddhist. I did not grow up this way(my parents are Christian..) so they stayed calm, UNTIL lunch .. and they started ripping on me saying my religion was wrong, and christianity was the only REAL religion .. they started saying stuff that wasnt true about Buddhists and crap. how you rub his stomach, and thats all you do when you prey to him. I didnt know what to say, so I shut up and took it.. what should I do if they start the religion crap tomorrow..?
I'd be willing to bet that in this case they're picking on you in order to get a rise out of you and to boost their own self esteem. It sounds like they're focusing on your beliefs, not because they have an argument against them, but because it's something different about you that they can unite against.
The best thing to do about bullies is to remain good-natured, laugh them off, and not pay them too much attention. Whatever you do, don't let them know that they're getting to you, and don't insult them back. Your reaction is what they're after.
Maybe you could think of a few non-confrontational, non-offensive jokes that might diffuse the situation in case it comes up again. Say something like "Alright, you've convinced me. I think I'll become a Christian now." As long as you're laughing with them, they'll eventually lose interest.
They don't have any proof that their religion is any more true than yours. They probably just haven't been exposed to anything other than Christianity, and so assume that it's true by default. As long as you know your stuff and remained good-natured, they might realize that yours is just another belief system like theirs.
I agree 100% with all the posts so far so I do not have anything to add. I will say that is a bit funny that they told you that you just rub Buddha's tummy and pray to him. What do the Christians do? Cross themselves and pray to Jesus Christ? There is obviously much more to Buddhism and Christianity than prayer and the traditions that go along with it (rubbing Buddha's tummy, crossing oneself, getting on one's knees to pray, holding the hands in a certain position, etc.) If these people had any more respect for your religion or their own religion they would not be saying the things they are saying. There is history, culture and tradition at the base of every religion. Then there is worship. Then there are customs and holidays. Then there are (or might be depending on the religion) rules/codes/doctorines in which to follow. There are holy books. There is so much to each religion that these kids harrassing you are just ignorant! I hope all goes well! Peace
Ask them WWJD? (What would Jesus do?) A faithful Christian should follow Jesus, and Jesus never belittled other people for thinking differently to Himself - in fact, He reserved most of His insults for the people who followed His own religion (Judaism).
And I also suggest that you look up or think through some calm and reasonable answers to the stupid statements they are making - what can you tell them that might make them understand why Buddhism is important to you and to so many other people in thw world?
I'm a Christian and I hope that these young Christians will be able to learn from you, instead of reinforcing their prejudices by refusing to listen to you. Maybe they even learned from your refusal to join in a shouting match today - well done.
wow what a bunch of jerks!
you should run this by them:
"Christianity is the belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie who is his own father, can make you live forever, if you symbolically eat his flesh and drink his blood, while telepathically telling him that you accept him as your master, so that he can remove an evil force from your sould which is present in all human beings because a woman made out of one rib bone and a mound of dirt was tricked into eating fruit from a magical tree by a talking snake... makes perfect sense. "
-unknown
plus its "un-christain" to judge someone based on religion anyway.
Report them. Most public schools have to follow non discrimination policies (which includes religion) They are going to get in SERIOUS trouble for harassing you for your religious beliefs. I think this is the best way to stick up for yourself and all the other kids who may be getting harassed because of their religion.
Let me know if you need anymore help!
I have to question the motives of the teacher. Was it an attempt to get everyone to embrace diversity? Very doubtful.
The more likely motive amounts to "honk if you love Jesus". in my opinion, this crosses the line of what is allowed by the Constitution, and the negative results are the predictable outcome of crossing that line.
my ex-best friend did this to my other friend. my ex-best friend is christian and my other friend is atheist make the long story short, it was wrong what she did and I even told her you shouldn't judge anyone. we don't know whats the truth only what others tell us to believe.
stand for your beliefs
Tell them that the only reason they are so concerned about your religion is because they are so insecure about theirs. Don't try and debate them, you can't reason with people when they're being stupid.
You could say to them, If you were truly following the Christ, he taught that we are to love our neighbor as ourself. Ask them, if they think they are doing that?
