I engage in frequent discussions with a friend and in the last month I was told, "That was the first intelligent thing you've said," which gives insight into what his perception of me has been or has become, but I want to focus on what I said.
I said, "Your values are influenced by your parents. How they spend their time shows you what they value. If they don't go to church then they show that attending church or religion is not valuable." I think the weight of this statement lay in the simple truth of the statement and how the example literally hit home for my friend.
The lead up was a discussion on offending parents if a child chose a religion. If a son or daughter chooses to value something that the parents' don't value, would they necessarily be offended? I say, "no and even unlikely," especially in American society where there exists openness for exploration. What may change is the parents' perception of their child. I don't think offense plays much of a role here. Negative reactions would more likely be fear or confusion. I should ask another friend who had to deal with this very choice.
What my friend's comment informed me was that my conjectures and examples need to be relevant in order for our discussions to be meaningful.
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