# Give your opinion on something (mom wants to pass out "church cards" at Halloween) \[update\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908 "2016-10-18T01:19:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/61 "2016-10-19T11:56:42Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > OK, that is lame. 😕 I honestly don’t get what point you’re making? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/62 "2016-10-19T12:38:14Z")
That really obscure and badly produced faith films are lame, make for a lame event. ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/63 "2016-10-19T12:41:36Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > That really obscure and badly produced faith films are lame, make for a lame event. Ah, OK. I thought perhaps you were taking me to task for describing unseen faith films as obscure and badly produced. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/64 "2016-10-19T13:39:42Z")
> [@WilyQuixote](#): > > Ah, OK. I thought perhaps you were taking me to task for describing unseen faith films as obscure and badly produced. No, I’m aware of the genre. But I might have supposed that a church doing general outreach to neighbor kids and families would pick something better. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/65 "2016-10-19T13:46:23Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > **TL;DR version: Mom wants to pass out cards that advertise free movie night at her church at Halloween (along with candy). I don’t feel right with it and think it’s not the greatest idea in the world. > What do you think?** Short answer – I would have no problem with her doing it. If it was the Chick Tracts halloween edition I would have issues, but for a movie night at the church or somewhere I wouldn’t object. ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/66 "2016-10-19T14:03:13Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > No, I’m aware of the genre. But I might have supposed that a church doing general outreach to neighbor kids and families would pick something better. Now, now, you don’t want something they could easily find on Google. That would give the game away! ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/67 "2016-10-19T14:05:51Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Judging from the names of the movies, it’s the latter. > > The movies names\*\* seem\*\* to be: _Forgiveness_ on one night, another night is showing _Intentions_. Another is showing the great movie _Emotion_, and the last movie night is showing _Temperament_. My bolding. Are the movies names in doubt? Or is the apparent title perhaps merely the theme of whatever dreck they plan to show that evening. As mentioned earlier, Google brings up no relevant movies with those titles. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/68 "2016-10-19T15:19:20Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Short answer – I would have no problem with her doing it. If it was the Chick Tracts halloween edition I would have issues, but for a movie night at the church or somewhere I wouldn’t object. Those movies are basically video “Chick Tracts”. When neighborhood kids are invited to a Halloween “Movie Night”, they’ll be expecting the movie to have something to do with Halloween(or at the very least be a movie they have heard of), and not be the movie equivalent of a church service. This is pretty much like the bait-and-switch school assemblies I was forced to attend in public school in Northern Idaho, where the kids were told they would be going to an acrobatics extravaganza, stunt bike show or rock concert, then a few bright-eyed and bushy-tailed white kids(and maybe one clean-cut African American) would do a lame and short 15 to 20 minute show followed by a bunch of preaching. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/69 "2016-10-19T15:39:32Z")
I understand it’s “_Trick_ or Treat” (a variant of it over here was “Mischief Night”). Is she ready for the possibility that virtue will, as ever, find its own reward? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/70 "2016-10-19T16:24:23Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > Kids these days could do with a bit of church! (If you ask me or at least spending some time in a _ **clean family oriented environment with good people around** _.) You misspelled “reality-denying, repressive, destructive environment with irrational, bigoted, predatory monsters around.” Of course, YMMV. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/71 "2016-10-19T16:30:37Z")
There’s nothing wrong with it. They will need their parents to actually go, and they can decide whether it is appropriate. No kid is gonna wind up with a sermon their parents don’t know about. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/72 "2016-10-19T16:49:27Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > You misspelled “reality-denying, repressive, destructive environment with irrational, bigoted, predatory monsters around.” > > Of course, YMMV. 😉 Yes I share your opinion on that with many of the “extreme” churches. Like that church which pickets kid’s funerals and stirs up trouble. (Note someone bought the house across from them and painted it gay rainbow colors!) 😃 But there are “nice” neighborhood churches where little old ladies go. Similar to a retirement home. Good people and a good family environment can be found there. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/73 "2016-10-19T17:11:05Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > There’s nothing wrong with it. They will need their parents to actually go, and they can decide whether it is appropriate. > > No kid is gonna wind up with a sermon their parents don’t know about. And the churches will depend on social niceties preventing most parents from taking their kids out in the middle of the movie/service. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/74 "2016-10-19T18:45:29Z")
I’m an atheist, and not pro-church in the least, but unless your mother’s church has some hidden agenda I don’t have a problem with this. People who come to my door expecting candy on Halloween might get an unsolicited opinion to go with it. Your mother’s doing something less coercive than that: telling kids where and when to go for one, if they and their parents think it’s okay. There’s lots of inappropriate religious coercion in the world, but this isn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/75 "2016-10-19T19:19:15Z")
Well, I hate to be a pill, but I do have a problem with it. As a recent victim of atheist persecution / Christian privilege, this is just another reminder that we atheists should just shut up and keep our opinions to ourselves lest we offend a Christian while they’re in the middle of talking as loudly as they like about whatever the fuck they want to. And no, I’m not going to go picket this lady’s house or anything and in the grand scheme of things I don’t really give a shit what you give kids who show up at your house. Hell, offer them a shot of Jack for all I care, but it’s difficult to ignore stuff like this for the millionth time. I’m sorry, but it grows irritating. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/76 "2016-10-19T19:57:05Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Well, I hate to be a pill, but I do have a problem with it. As a recent victim of atheist persecution / Christian privilege, this is just another reminder that we atheists should just shut up and keep our opinions to ourselves lest we offend a Christian while they’re in the middle of talking as loudly as they like about whatever the fuck they want to. > > And no, I’m not going to go picket this lady’s house or anything and in the grand scheme of things I don’t really give a shit what you give kids who show up at your house. Hell, offer them a shot of Jack for all I care, but it’s difficult to ignore stuff like this for the millionth time. > I’m sorry, but it grows irritating. I understand your position, but you can understand that this is a woman, inside her own home, neither silencing her guests nor hectoring them with any kind of dogma, but merely passing out invitations which can be declined or ignored even as the candy given out is eaten, right? Nobody is being persecuted here. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/77 "2016-10-19T20:00:42Z")
Yes, but imagine if you will the shitstorm that would ensue if I were to include a little note with the Snicker Bars and Junior Mints I give away inviting all the little tykes down to the local movie house for a showing of some family friendly films from an atheistic point of view. Eggs would be the least of my worries regarding my house. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/78 "2016-10-19T20:16:49Z")
Sorry. You have just moved from the idea that this woman is doing something wrong to the hypothesis that if you did something similar that was also not wrong that you would be unjustly chastised for it. You haven’t done it, you’re not planning on doing it, and your idea that something bad _might_ happen if you did is grounded only in your perception of certain people unlike you. Guess what? The OP is entirely about someone just like you, fearful of doing something perfectly inoffensive because someone might be offended anyway, and retaliate. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/79 "2016-10-19T20:19:49Z")
Ugh. I’m being dragged reluctantly into this Halloween thing in the first place - it’s not something we’ve ever celebrated in Australia until recent years, when retailers took it upon themselves to start pushing it, but my kids don’t get that they’re being exploited by greedy supermarkets and just know their friends get to dress up and eat lollies and have a good time, and they’d be devastated if I refused to let them participate. So if I’m already reluctantly dragging myself around on this oh-so-cynical marketing exercise and someone hands my children an invitation to a religious MOVIE NIGHT! with POPCORN!! and I have to put up with pleading and whining because they’re absolutely not going to that, period, then I’m going to be pissed off. At least hand it to the adult, not the child. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908/80 "2016-10-19T20:31:24Z")
> [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](#): > > Sorry. You have just moved from the idea that this woman is doing something wrong to the hypothesis that if you did something similar that was also not wrong that you would be unjustly chastised for it. You haven’t done it, you’re not planning on doing it, and your idea that something bad _might_ happen if you did is grounded only in your perception of certain people unlike you. Guess what? The OP is entirely about someone just like you, fearful of doing something perfectly inoffensive because someone might be offended anyway, and retaliate. Actually, no, that’s not true. The OP states that his mother, according to her church’s dictate, will be handing out the invitations with glee. The OP was the one agonizing over this, not his mother. You’re never going to convince me that my hypothetical is in anyway similar to the OP’s reality. Christian privilege is very real. And trust me, we atheists do more shutting up than dried clams. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/give-your-opinion-on-something-mom-wants-to-pass-out-church-cards-at-halloween-update/768908.md?page=5)