Why are religous people trying to convert atheists like me to religion?

Question

1. Why do you care whether or not I go to hell?
2. I'm happy thinking that religion is wrong, and I don't push atheism on anyone or hurt anybody.
3. The Bible says not to push one's religion on another, but a lot of the christians push it on us, so they are commiting a sin. Also, I think religion is a way used to help give people hope. It just tells us to be good people. People used it in the middle ages to give people hope that heaven will be better than the shithole they lived in. People go way overboard with it. If I die and low-and-behold there is a god, I think I SHOULD be allowed in heaven because I am a good person. ACTUALLY if you do beleive that if you beleive in god, its an automatic ticket to the big H, than does that mean that child mollestors, rapists, murderers, animal abusers, and terrorists are in heaven? Cause if so, I dont wanna go!!!!!
I am a good person with strong morals and no religion. I think its a bunch of phooey but I dont make people feel bad about god.

Answer 1

1. They Love you...and their leaders tell them to.
2. They don't care. God is an Absolute authority, so they must be on the 'right' side. Many religions think that Atheists are Evil, immoral/amoral creatures. After all, how can you have morality without religion?
3. The Bible encourages the spreading of the word of God.

And if there is a hell you'll have GREAT company! A lot of French rationalists, American rationalists (like Jefferson and Thomas Payne!), modern thinkers like Richard Dawkins, fun people like Penn & Teller...

Heaven will be dull and monotonous. I'm ready to burn for eternity!

Keep up the real good fight, my friend. You aren't alone. Reason must prevail.

Check out the Point of Inquiry (www.pointofinquiry.org) podcast sometime.

Answer 2

I am not religous, but I think I can help you with this question.

Religous believers of any persuasion have a vested interest in your agreement with their beliefs for any of a number of reasons. The two most common are:

1. Since a belief in God is a belief and not a set of facts, the idea that some people do not believe can plant a seed of doubt in the mind of followers. For the religous leader this is bad because his goal is to have as many people (ideally all) believe what he preaches. For the "religious man on the street" this is bad because doubt may make him rethink some difficult issues, such as the nature of the Universe, the purpose of his life, etc. This could strip him of his comfort zone where he thought he knew the answers already. Thus the worldview is to be defended and even spread if possible.

2. If a religious person is a "true" believer, that is, totally dedicated to the idea that what he believes is *true*, then he may really feel he is doing you a favor by trying to show you the right way to think and live, imagining that you are living dangerously out of ignorance.

One of the problems with the world is that people feel that there can be no objective standard of ethics; ethics are either divinely inspired or they are absent. This is in fact a false alternative.

My advice: stick to your guns, respectfully but firmly tell your would-be saviours that you are not interested, and check out the philosophy of Objectivsm for more on why you are right to be an atheist and why morals and ethics are objective in nature.

Answer 3

I understand what you're saying and I agree that goodness and morality are about so much more than religion. Some religious people feel compelled to preach and save "sinners" so that they will get credit for doing "good works." A lot of fundamentalist Christians are very self righteous and feel that they have the only true faith and everyone else is basically going to hell. No one can change their minds any more than someone could change yours. So, in other words, they have the right to preach and you have the right not to listen.

Answer 4

Fundamental christians are sometimes taught from an early age to go into the world and save souls. Therein lies the problem. They are told to convert people. What does that mean? SELL you on the story of Jesus as your saviour. Now was Jesus the son of God? I do not know and neither do they really but they think they know because they have been indoctrinated with brainwashing of the church all of their life. So just forget it and tell them you would rather not get converted and get some other friends. It will feel much better. Feel sorry for them for they know not what they do.

Answer 5

I said to someone on here last week that I don't claim to be better than people I don't like. This was in response to the idea that perhaps those who describe themselves as tolerant risk being viewed as hypocrites when they practice intolerance toward those who are a priori intolerant. And of course, I am judgmental, because all humans are. Thing is this: in observation that is entirely my own and with evidence that is purely anecdotal, I'm still more tolerant than your average Christer. I will (in real life: this here is a shooting gallery) tolerate pretty much anyone wayyy past the point where they deserve it. This is for reasons as "good" as 'because everybody deserves their say' and as "bad" as 'I will look more mature if I do so'. I don't interrupt, though; and I don't assume things about you that aren't fair. I don't tell you what you "believe" because I realize that I don't know. And I do not evangelize...Because that's what terrible people do.

Answer 6

"1. Why do you care whether or not I go to hell?"

Exaclty. Why.
Because our - my - realization of God has given me a genuine concern for the rest of humanity. The Bible says we cannot possibly love God while caring nothing for our fellow man. I love God, so I naturally care.

Incidentally, SHOULD (get into heaven) has nothing to do with it. If you wanna play by rights, everyone should go to Hell, because even the slightest bit of sin cannot exist in Heaven.


BTW: where does an agnostic think morals come from?

Answer 7

In the long run that's how religions survive, by keeping their religion stocked with people. However, I think most Christians are benevolent and really do accept the Bible as truth and so have a legitimate concern that if you don't believe in God you're going to Hell, and that's why they try to convert you.

Answer 8

There are 'religious' people and then there are 'spiritual' people.

Religious people are usually zealots and want to convert others to their point of view because either god 'told' them to convert people, or they don't like looking at other people doing stuff their not allowed to. I personally don't care for religious people because they tend to be incredibly narrow minded and 'one track'. They think they are the only ones who know what God expects of humankind and have a stuck-up attitude towards people who don't want to follow the 'rules'.

On the flip side, spiritual people tend to behave more Christ-like - which is interesting considering they're not Christian.

Ghandi said "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians; they
are very unlike your Christ."

Spiritual people are more respectful of others belief systems.
Spirituality means that all roads lead to God, there is no ONE and ONLY way to worship; and the goal is not to convert but only
to gently encourage a person to find their OWN beliefs so to bring
peace and respect to the world.

I don't dislike the Christian religion; I love Jesus' teachings - he was an incredibly loving, compassionate, deeply spiritual teacher.
He had many followers because he taught that a personal connection to God was possible without belonging to an organized religion. Which is why organized religion hated him so much then.

I think what non-religious people don't like about religion in NOT the religion iteslf - but the attitude of the followers.

I think God is too big to fit into one belief system. A diamond, like the creator must be; has so many facets that no matter what facet you choose - if done with sincerity and respect for the other
slightly different viewpointed 'facets', everyone should be able to
bathe in the brilliance that is God. It does not take a religion to experience this.

For all you Christians out there, I respect you and your religion
and think it's beautiful if it's beautiful in your eyes. But the second
you cross the line and tell me that my viewpoint is wrong and not beautiful, as a child of god myself I'm allowed to feel righteous
anger and therefore terminate the discussion out of lack of respect from me.

To all you atheists out there, if you find beauty in nature and you feel connected deeply to it and get a feeling of being nurtured and loved which is what spirituality should be all about, than you've alfound a beautiful facet of the universe's love, and we should all get along and treat others with the same love we feel from our sacred connection to 'whatever'.

Isn't everything 'relative' anyway? If two people witness a traffic accident and both give their account, details may differ slightly but aren't they BOTH right?

Geez, everybody needs to chill out on the topic of right/wrong/religion/blahblahblah and there wouldn't be much reason to have massive wars in the world. It's so simple but SO
hard to actually do. Maybe that's why we're 'here'! To learn to get along. And we're nowhere close yet. THIS is hell. Maybe. It's all relative.

Answer 9

First of all, you are an agnostic, not an atheist. So, you still need to contemplate basic issues such as religion and try to think about both sides of issues. There is much to learn if you open your mind to ideas contrary to your own moral set. The world is not black and white, as you seem to want to portray it. Go to school, get an education, read some history and philosophy and then contemplate the role of religion in today's society.

Answer 10

Probably because THEY think that YOUR life is incomplete or something. You don`t have to be religious to have Morals. If you do not believe in God however, which heaven do you think you will go to?