An Honest Question · 4:49pm Sep 26th, 2014
I have a question for the dozen or so people that may stumble across this post:
How would you as a <INSERT RELIGIOUS/NON-RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEM HERE> comfort a friend who has lost someone close to them?
Nothing like a light, fluffy blog post to skim over, eh?
Talk about cracking open a veritable drum of worms here...
Since this can be controversial, hot-button issue where passions and tempers run high, here are a few ground rules:
1. Be civil
I certainly do not expect total agreement. Ask 13 different people about their beliefs and you will receive 14 different answers. Most (if not all) are diametrically opposed to one another.
There will be disagreements, differences of opinion, and differences of belief. People will say things that others will not agree with. Please keep it civil.
I am interested in hearing how you, a believer in X, deals with a very real, very practical issue everyone is going to face sooner or later. I am not interested in hearing how believers in Y are <IGNORANT/BIGGOTS/HYPOCRITES/DELUDED/etc>
Please leave any nastiness on your own blog.
(Or better yet leave it out entirely...)
1B. Remember you are on the internet
There are no visual conversational cues, no aural cues, only static words. It is oh so very easy to be misconstrued and misunderstood.
Think before you post. Think twice before you reply.
2. Stay on topic
Please limit discussion to issues directly pertaining to the question.
I genuinely want to hear what you have to say. I do not want to have to sift through a bunch of useless noise.
3. If you wish (for whatever reason) to answer anonymously, PM me and I will quote it under a pseudonym.
(Or you could create another account, but I think Knighty et al. frowns on that)
Broaching a serious/touchy subject like this to complete strangers on an internet forum may be staggeringly naïve and I may end up having to delete this if things spiral out of control, but I am genuinely curious as to all your answers.
Has noone responded, or is all of it in PM?
I guess I'm kind of late, but I just feel bad seeing no responses to this so... better late than never?
Naturally, this is a difficult question. In part it may also depend on what the belief system of the friend is, as I do not want to accidently kick their belief system while they are down, even well meaning comments can hurt if they are the 'wrong' comment. Unless they specifically ask me my opinion, I would not offer it.
But then, what would I actually do? One of the best things to do would be to simply make time for that friend, to be around and ensure they know I'm available for them. Be there whenever they need me to listen. Be ready to help them with whatever they need, even if it's something as simple as ensuring they get a good meal when their too down to cook something.
It's not very eloquent, but it's the best I can think of.
It was still interesting nonetheless.
It is a sober, serious issue, a sort of litmus test that affects everyone at one point or another. People can say they believe in "X" and/or disbelieve "Y" all they want, but what do they actually do or turn to when tragedy (which will inevitably come) strikes?
Thanks for your answer.