When will people understand that I have my own opinion on religions and I will never change it simply because I do not want to change it? Today I was riding the bus home when I saw an old friend of mine. She is prostestant and out of the blue she started asking me questions on my religious life. I myself had been a Christian many years before; therefore, I sort of knew what being Christian is like. When I had answered her that I was no longer a Christian and that I was “really happy this way ” the tantrum was set! It was preaching time and I did not know it.
Sincerely, in 20 years I had NEVER felt that my right as a citizen to choose my own religious paths were so violented. The girl and her many companions started telling me off in front of the whole bus! Things like “ there is only one God and this God is the one I worship” were the least offensive things she said. All I could say was “Thanks for sharing your point of view with me” for I wanted to be extremely polite , but instead of soothing the girl's temper she got even more euphoric and started saying things like “ I am not talking about points of view, I am talking about following the only TRUE path”. When I thought the preaching was over the girls started to attack my own private life! Not only did the girl hint that I was unhappy but she also said that I was living a miserable life! Most people would have told the girl and her companions ( who were mocking me, by the way) to f**k off, I however expressed my thankfulness by only nodding and saying “ I am sorry but I don't quite agree with you”. Finally my bus stop had arrived and I could finally jump off the bus while I still had to listen a “ your life is not fine” instead of a simply “it was nice to see you again”.
What I am trying to say is: why won't people simply reckon that human beings are different from one another ? When will people understand that there are different religions and that they ALSO should be respected? I am sorry ladies and gentlemen who are out there trying to convert people, but you all should know a little something: how to respect people who have different creeds! I am a 20-year-old ESL teacher, who go to college and try every day to be as critical as possible, I am very sorry indeed, but I am not the kind of person who will believe every single word a pastor or priest say on a book that was written many centuries ago. I frankly think that people do have the right to believe in whatever they want ( and even not to believe in whatever they please), but trying to coerce people on the streets and trying to compel them to share the same set of beliefs that you do is just wrong ( let alone to theaten people by saying that they will go to hell). From the bottom of my heart I would like to ask people to think more before they start to follow a religion, mainly if that involves impelling other people to be converted.
