Not sure how to deal w it. He was a fun guy to work with. He's a good person, but pretty crazy. This is the second time he decided he reeeeallly had to make a hard sell. I'm agnostic. I feel like it's gonna really offend him bc he sent me paragraphs about the religious text and I simply don't care. But I don't wanna hurt his feelings. This time... Science proves it.
Can I have it both ways? I'm not gonna be an Islamic but I still wanna be his friend. but he's being so weird about it and I'm bad about confrontation. I'm cool with his choices but damn
Tell them you recieved a vision from Allah that you have to goon to anime girls and then goon to anime girls
At some point, you’ll have to be adamant about it.
If they can’t take no for an answer, you’ll have to just quit talking to them.
Religious haranguing is the absolute worst.
I vote Alevi. Feels like nearly everyone would get offended by an Alevi revert lol.
Just be very clear about it. When I was atheist I had Protestants (and one Muslim, who was frankly the least annoying since at least the arguments were new sometimes) do the same thing and frankly their arguments were so so shit it set back their cause by a decade.
As others have mentioned, be clear you won't convert and aren't interested in apologetics, because you won't be convinced by the same things he is, because you're a different person
But you would like to learn. You probably won't get him to stop entirely but he might adopt a more organic approach where you can actually talk to them about what they believe.
I haven’t seen the messages, but it could be he’s taken your “not wanting to hurt his feelings” as being more interested/receptive than you are.
I was told:
The text of the oldest Quran manuscripts and the Quran used today are very similar. Islamic sources and scientific studies emphasize that the text of the Quran has been preserved and uncorrupted for centuries. This is one of the basic principles of the Islamic faith.
Scientific studies have also shown that the early manuscripts of the Quran and the current editions largely overlap. When the oldest copies, such as the Sana'a Manuscripts, Birmingham Manuscripts and Topkapı Mushaf, are examined, it has been observed that the textual differences are minimal. These differences are usually due to differences in spelling, minor grammatical details or punctuation marks; however, this does not affect the meaning or content of the Quran.
Scientists and historians state that there is more than 99% agreement between the oldest manuscripts and the current Quran. This shows that the text of the Quran has been meticulously preserved for centuries and has survived to the present day without being corrupted.
In summary, the basic text of the Quran has remained almost completely the same, both from the perspective of Islamic belief and scientific study.
I think it's too crazy and like the other user said, worthy of abandoning
Well, if you want to see if keeping him as a friend is possible, just respond with:
You: I'm not interested in religion, and won't engage in conversation about it.
Friend: blah blah meaningful blah religion blah.
You: I'm not interested in religion, and won't engage in conversation about it.
Friend: panicked or something religion blah blah convincingness blah, manuscripts, manuscripts.
You: I'm not interested in religion, and won't engage in conversation about it.
<cycle repeats until>
Friend: gives up and is just friend Or Former friend: freaks out or ends friendship
Ok that's good. That's what I'll be doing. Seems obvious, but really it's not when you're in the moment and you're a coward like me.
Little braveries keep the world turning. But every one is hard in the moment.
The book is old and unchanged!
Next he'll be convinced that an honourable merchant who did nothing wrong sold poor quality copper just because the tablet of his customers' complaint still exists thousands of years later.
Honestly I know very little outside of Christianity so your reference is way over my head
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complaint_tablet_to_Ea-n%C4%81%E1%B9%A3ir
The complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir (UET V 81) is a clay tablet that was sent to the ancient city-state Ur, written c. 1750 BCE. The tablet, documents a transaction in which Ea-nāṣir, a trader, sold sub-standard copper to a customer named Nanni.
Nanni, dissatisfied with the quality, wrote a cuneiform complaint addressing the poor service and mistreatment of his servant.
Written in Akkadian cuneiform, this tablet is recognized as the "Oldest Customer Complaint" by Guinness World Records. From 2015 onwards, the tablet's content and Ea-nāṣir in particular gained popularity as an internet meme, due to its modern-sounding nature of dissatisfaction with goods
Yeah that is solid but will absolutely be countered in a way I cannot fully articulate a response to. That's his thing now. I have a really hard time researching this and then coming up with a conclusion, so I hope you will help me with my response so I do not offend him lol.
edit: had no clue it's a meme, I am even more screwed
I was making a joke about the idea that because something is old and remains accurate to the original, it must necessarily be true.
This line of argument might be persuasive to a Christian who is concerned about the accuracy of the Bible after so many translations, but the Quran is not even very old compared to other written works.
We have extensive hieroglyphic descriptions of ancient Egyptian religion but that doesn't mean someone ought to began worshipping Ra and Osiris, for example.
try to convert him to not islam and when he resists then agree to disagree
Just say the Shahada to get him off your back. The next time he tries to talk to you, tell him that you met some mormons and converted.
If someone refuses to stop trying to convert you, there's not much that you can really do except refuse to interact with them if they continue. That's the only power you really have in this situation. If they value you as a friend too, they'll stop and you can continue interacting and being friends.
I think it's good to be open about religion. I'm atheist myself but I've learned so much about other faiths in the past year and it has helped me to connect with people in my life.
Whilst conversion is a different thing to sharing faith, I think it may be an opportunity for you to learn about Islam, and in turn show interest in your friend's life. At the same time, this can be a way to compromise with them and set sensible boundaries.
Islam for example isn't even just a belief in a deity and afterlife etc., but cultural traditions and wisdoms that unite people. There's no harm in consuming, digesting, and learning what they have to share. If you're confident in your beliefs, then you should be open to hearing your friend reach out to you without it changing you in a way you don't like.
Islam for example isn't even just a belief in a deity and afterlife etc., but cultural traditions and wisdoms that unite people.
This is very true and it's very annoying that many religious people don't understand this
hey, ex muslim here. i would say your best bet is to debate him on reddit and convert him to the enlightened path of atheism (that's what happened to me)
Apply a counter offer and convert him to the immortal science.
I can't tell if you're being tongue and cheek... Is there something like that or is it incompatible?
