Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Just checking in to clear up a couple things.
1. My mom had an idea the family was religious, but definitely did not know the extent. But to be quite honest I don't think she would have cared. She often put me in uncomfortable situations so yeah I don't think this would have been an issue for her anyway. It was an issue for me and I was upset that I was given any other choice (like to sit out the service or bible study since I was uncomfortable). I think its a little weird not to even ask if a 14-15 year old is ok attending service with you.
2. I was respectful the whole time to this family.
And I am certainly not bashing Christians. My point was for people to share the own experiences with whatever religion that happened to be.

OP it's weird that you think a family who had been left responsible
For your care would just leave you alone at their home while they went about their routine , which happened to involve church. You really want to make the host family wrong here, but they weren't.

Not OP, but I think it's weird that you think there's no alternative between "abandoning kid at home" and "forcing kid to sit through a religious service." Churches presumably have lobbies and waiting rooms, where a non-Christian kid being hosted by a Christian family can quietly sit with a book.

The defensiveness of Christians in this thread is really interesting.

I'm not a Christian, I just think the OP is being extremely unreasonable.

Did you read the original post? I don't think it's unreasonable to bring OP to church but I do think it is extremely unreasonable for op to then have to go to bible study and then be asked questions about it. Then have to do it again after saying they were uncomfortable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Just checking in to clear up a couple things.
1. My mom had an idea the family was religious, but definitely did not know the extent. But to be quite honest I don't think she would have cared. She often put me in uncomfortable situations so yeah I don't think this would have been an issue for her anyway. It was an issue for me and I was upset that I was given any other choice (like to sit out the service or bible study since I was uncomfortable). I think its a little weird not to even ask if a 14-15 year old is ok attending service with you.
2. I was respectful the whole time to this family.
And I am certainly not bashing Christians. My point was for people to share the own experiences with whatever religion that happened to be.

OP it's weird that you think a family who had been left responsible
For your care would just leave you alone at their home while they went about their routine , which happened to involve church. You really want to make the host family wrong here, but they weren't.

Not OP, but I think it's weird that you think there's no alternative between "abandoning kid at home" and "forcing kid to sit through a religious service." Churches presumably have lobbies and waiting rooms, where a non-Christian kid being hosted by a Christian family can quietly sit with a book.

The defensiveness of Christians in this thread is really interesting.

I'm not a Christian, I just think the OP is being extremely unreasonable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Just checking in to clear up a couple things.
1. My mom had an idea the family was religious, but definitely did not know the extent. But to be quite honest I don't think she would have cared. She often put me in uncomfortable situations so yeah I don't think this would have been an issue for her anyway. It was an issue for me and I was upset that I was given any other choice (like to sit out the service or bible study since I was uncomfortable). I think its a little weird not to even ask if a 14-15 year old is ok attending service with you.
2. I was respectful the whole time to this family.
And I am certainly not bashing Christians. My point was for people to share the own experiences with whatever religion that happened to be.

OP it's weird that you think a family who had been left responsible
For your care would just leave you alone at their home while they went about their routine , which happened to involve church. You really want to make the host family wrong here, but they weren't.

Not OP, but I think it's weird that you think there's no alternative between "abandoning kid at home" and "forcing kid to sit through a religious service." Churches presumably have lobbies and waiting rooms, where a non-Christian kid being hosted by a Christian family can quietly sit with a book.

The defensiveness of Christians in this thread is really interesting.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Just checking in to clear up a couple things.
1. My mom had an idea the family was religious, but definitely did not know the extent. But to be quite honest I don't think she would have cared. She often put me in uncomfortable situations so yeah I don't think this would have been an issue for her anyway. It was an issue for me and I was upset that I was given any other choice (like to sit out the service or bible study since I was uncomfortable). I think its a little weird not to even ask if a 14-15 year old is ok attending service with you.
2. I was respectful the whole time to this family.
And I am certainly not bashing Christians. My point was for people to share the own experiences with whatever religion that happened to be.

OP it's weird that you think a family who had been left responsible
For your care would just leave you alone at their home while they went about their routine , which happened to involve church. You really want to make the host family wrong here, but they weren't.

My mom made me take communion at my grandfather's funeral even though I hadn't been confirmed because she didn't want to admit to her aunts that she had left the church. I knew only enough about Catholicism to know I was going to get struck by lightening.

Anonymous wrote:Epic fail, OP! Merry Christmas.

I hate that evangelicals have turned "Merry Christmas" into a political statement. It's not fun anymore.

I think this thread is interesting, OP. Thanks for starting it. I skipped over all the debates to read the anecdotes. Now I'll add my own.

My parents made an attempt to take us to church, but we weren't really very religious. When I was exposed to the bible, generally by my grandmother, it was the new King James Version (written in modern English). In high school I dated a 7th day Adventist, and if we wanted to hang out on Friday night, it had to be at vespers, which was kind of like a young life style youth worship. I went a couple times and there was music, it was fine. Then I hit a bible study night where everyone was going around in a big circle, reading from old King James Version bibles, written in archaic English. Got to me, everyone stared as I stumbled over the words, looking like an illiterate heathen. It was so embarrassing.

Also my grandmother was a devout southern baptist. All my siblings got talked into being saved, but I was rebellious and refused. She evidently brought me up regularly with her congregation, and I would get Christmas cards from the church telling me they were still praying for my soul. As a teen I was embarrassed, now I think it's kind of funny.

Anonymous wrote:Epic fail, OP! Merry Christmas.

Epic fail according to who? You? Haha. And what exactly is a fail about sharing opinions on experiences? There is no right or wrong here. Personal experiences are just that...personal experiences.

Epic fail, OP! Merry Christmas.

Anonymous wrote:^^^ and by the way, OP, it's no one's "job" to persuade others. It's a choice we make in the way we deal with other fellow human beings. And teenagers -- certainly ones in the 14-15 range -- are not off the hook. Choose to understand. Choose to try to respectfully persuade. Choose to sit quietly through a church service, thank the family for including you in something that was important to them, and move on. It's your choice, OP. Or keep dwelling on it and feeling wronged. Choose wisely.

Thankfully the world is full of people that have all sorts of opinions and beliefs and not all of them force others into being a part of it. Also were you friends with every single person you knew when you were a teenager? This particular girl and I were "friendly" but not friends. That's not a crime and we didn't dislike each other we just weren't friends. Didn't hang out etc...

And no I don't think I should have thanked them for forcing me into a needless uncomfortable situation not once but twice while I was there. It was over the top and like I said in a previous comment, very insensitive after I made my feelings known. I was respectful in the way I told them, they should have been respectful to me as well.

And I am reflecting on it as an adult which is why I stated that I would never do something like that to my own kid's friends ( or aquaintances or simply other people in general).

^^^ and by the way, OP, it's no one's "job" to persuade others. It's a choice we make in the way we deal with other fellow human beings. And teenagers -- certainly ones in the 14-15 range -- are not off the hook. Choose to understand. Choose to try to respectfully persuade. Choose to sit quietly through a church service, thank the family for including you in something that was important to them, and move on. It's your choice, OP. Or keep dwelling on it and feeling wronged. Choose wisely.