i was once attacked by an athiest for not been properly religious?

Question

i am a catholic and proud to be one because i find the catholic church to be very humane and modern. i once met an athiest who grilled me about my faith , and when i refused to parrot the same things that a fundamentalist would say , this man became very agressive and attacked me for not been properly religious.
This has given me something to think about , because now i find no diference between a religious fanatic and an athiest. both these groups to me sound fanatics, am i right?

Answer 1

Well, of course I can't claim to know everything, but if supporting overpopulation in the third world by banning contraception and turning a blind eye to HIV, which is harming many women in the poorest countries is 'humane' or 'modern' then go for it.

I wonder how you and the atheist started chatting about religion in the first place (atheists tend not to proselytise but I can't claim to know much about whether Catholics do), but if you put your opinions out there, you certainly can't expect everyone to agree with you. Maybe you consider anyone who disagrees to be 'attacking' you, but since this is only one side of the story, who knows.

Incidentally, why is it so important to be 'right' rather than being a good person. A person's religion does not determine how humane they are.

Answer 2

Well first of all, this particular athiest sounds like he or she has studied the bible, or at least listened to a few sermons through the years.

What this person is doing is speaking to you about a subject that they have only seclular knowledge about, that is to say that GOD has not opened this persons eyes to the truth, and therefore they are only able to argue religion on a secular level.

GODs word is the living word, meaning each time you read it, it will speak to you differently, and you will never know the entire meaning of the bible until the day you take your last breath.

Unfortunatally, it seems without a bit more information, that you may be doing exactly the same thing as this person is. Your knowledge and views of the bible from the tiny bit you have written have head knowledge without heart knowledge written all over them.

I do not define myself by the name of the church I attend, I am a Christian, not a baptist, or a methodist, or a Catholic, etc.
The type of church that I attend for worship is personal choice, but I am above all a disiple of Jesus Christ.

Most but not all people who define themselves by the type of church they attend, especially catholics (yes I have many in my family) have no idea what true Christians are. THat is to say that they do not read their bibles, and are spoon fed milk, and never know the flavor of meat.

Read your bible, come to the understanding that only comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He states very clearly that he is the way, the only way. The curtain has been torn down, no longer a need to go through someone else to cry out for forgiveness. GO directly to GOD in Jesus name.

Answer 3

You nailed it: a fanatic is a fanatic. He/she will pick a "cause" to justify the fanaticism, but there is usually little true belief in them. They mostly need a shield from behind which they can lash out at the rest of the world. Forgive them their assault on you and wish them well. They need a lot of good wishes; their lives are pretty hollow.

Answer 4

Every group has it's BAD SEEDS! When you lump everybody that believes in Christianity together, you get alot of nuts too. Fred Phelps would be in that group, and so would you. But know there's a world of difference between a peace loving Catholic and a psycopath Baptist!
Don't judge the book....
Blessed Be...

Answer 5

Well, that man was just silly.... and it is good that you don't take your faith to fanatical levels.

A person's faith is a personal matter, and even if someone disagrees with you (which they are certainly allowed to do), they should never begrudge you the ability to decide for yourself what you believe. That's the great thing about personal experience: No one can tell you that what you've experienced is wrong.

Answer 6

Not at all, the fanatics you speak of as Christians, just don't believe and worship like you do as a catholic, and the atheist is godless and totally different than either a catholic or born again radical christian.

Answer 7

I'd be interested to know what your definitions of "properly religious," "fundamentalist," and "fanatic" are before answering your question thoughtfully. These could be either good or bad depending on your personal definition of them.

Answer 8

Fanatics will be fanatical about anything. Believe me, I am an atheist, and I would never insult someone based on their religious beliefs.

Answer 9

yes. an atheist can have very fixed beliefs and must have a lot of strong opinion to hold them in the face of so much evidence to the contrary. they can get obnoxius but seldom tie you up and torture you or burn you at the stake as the popes minions have done so many millions of times over the millennia. try a little Christian forgiveness on them.

Answer 10

So, what makes you Catholic? I'm just asking because a "proper" Catholic would only claim to be so if he/she followed the religion, i.e. no birth control etc.