Atheists: Why do I sense bitterness, hate, anger in your answers? Can you post some gentle answers, too?

Question

I'm not referring to all. It's just the general attitude that has seem to attach to everyone else.

Please, I'm expecting kind answers.

Answer 1

I am going to take a stab at answering this question for you. Society is based on religion. I used to work with a man at a local hospital who happened to metion that he was an athiests during a conversation. He was ridiculed, told that he was going to hell and treated poorly from about 25% of our department for one single comment. I will also say that he respects religion and what it means to people. He would never have told anyone that they are going to hell for believing in God. He also has very high ethics, a strong belief in marraige and so on. Yet, the christians who go to church on Sunday and worship treated him as an outcast. I have a grandfather that is a minister and a father that is an athiest...My father has a higher set of morals than my grandfather. My father has a deep respect for all people, doesn't matter in their beliefs (Budha, Christian, Muslim, Wicca and so on). He believes that we as individuals are responsible for what we do in life because he does not believe that someone will forgive him of his sins. My question is why do I sense bitterness, hate and anger from people who believe in their religion towards atheists? I personally have a hard time with the idea of religion because if there is one God, than there could be many Gods and we (people) are created in their image. I believe that all humans are equal and so is religion. It is not up for me to decide how the world should believe and I think that everyone should respect everyone else. It saddens me that more people die over religious reasons than any other reason in the world.

Answer 2

Sure sweety. When an atheist calls some xtian "ignorant" or "uneducated" its meant as constructive criticism. Like "Perhaps, if it doesn't trouble you too much, you might open a book that doesn't say 'The Holy Bible' on the front and get some information from another source." That would be just super duper! Maybe, just maybe, you lovely fellow human being that I love with all the love of the great magician Jesus, you have noticed that many of the athiests on here took the time to actually know about the bible. I'm not saying they study it like its their PhD dissertation, but we've all heard the stories/lessons that the "good book" contains. So, in their infinite politeness, is it possible that maybe a xtian could do us the courtesy of actually having a clue about the non-bible world?

Secondly, if you can find a more polite, less bitter sounding, synonym for "ignorant" or "uneducated" I'll happily use it from now on.

Thank you deary, and have a wonderful sunshiny day!!

Answer 3

First of all, you're making a gross generalization.

Secondly, don't be so sensitive. Yes, some people are rude. Just don't mistake logical, emotionally detached, arguements are not impolite. The real world isn't exactly the nicest, and most gentle place.

Third, the way you've asked your question is just passive aggressive bitterness. You're targeting a group on here, and trying to either talk to them as children, or worse present yourself in a better light because you use kinder words. (The shoe isn't so nice on the other foot is it?)

Speaking for myself, and myself alone, I answer questions based on information I've found. I believe in sharing knowledge. I become angry and impatient with people who spout words from a book, but have no evidence to back those words up, just more words from the book and feelings about those words.

And to the people who ask "why are they on a religious board anyway, except to antagonize?" Grow up. The front page is plastered with questions from every single catagory. If I see one interesting, I go to that section, maybe to find a place to explain an alternate point of view. Is intelligent debate antagonistic? Sorry, this isn't a place for you to get a warm and fuzzy feeling and have everyone agree. It's a place where anyone can answer, and sometimes that's not the best thing, because of ignorant kids hiding behind the anonymity of the web. If the answers presented hurt your feelings, because they're not polite enough, or have enough examples/facts to make you question your beliefs...scroll right past.

End of rant.

Answer 4

I am a non-believer and I sincerely try to answer questions without bitterness and anger. I do not care which belief system a person follows for I do not look at the system I look at the person. If asked I will say why I do not believe in a particular religious theology but I will only give my dislikes about the theology not about the person practicing it. It is not my place to be saying who should be believing what.

I come to the category because I took comparative religions in college. I always did like the topic in more of a sociological sense and that is why I come here. I'm not out to change beliefs nor cause grief for anyone.

Answer 5

OK I will happy answer that only if you answer this question.

Christians: Why do I sense bitterness, hate, anger in your answers towards Muslisms and other people? Can you post some gentle answers, too?

I'm not referring to all. It's just the general attitude that has seem to attach to everyone else.

Answer 6

Can you give links to some examples? Because even as a generalisation this is not an observation that I have made.

As an atheist myself I try to be considerate of other peoples faiths. Whilst I do not accept that what they believe is true, I do accept that in many cases people do find comfort in their beliefs.

If someone posts a question to this board that interests me I will try to answer it fairly, giving my opinion. Could it be that when you see an opinion that does not agree with your own that you misinterpret this as bitterness hate and anger.

This section of Answers does have a tendency to lead to a lot of disagreement because in many cases those who ask questions and those who answer them have very strong opinions on the subject, frequently at odds with each other and occasionally things can get heated. However I have not noticed that the preponderance of angry answers comes from atheists.

Answer 7

The reason for the vitriolic responses from many atheists stems from their inherent disdain for falsehoods and those that believe them. I'm not an atheist, but I'm certainly anti-religious, so I share that same bitterness.

"Why should it matter to you?" one might ask. "Why not just mind your own business and let people believe what they want to believe?"

Because the worst part of religion - religious fundamentalism, is the most evil thing on this planet. It's the drive behind current conflicts, as well as countless horrors of the past. Intelligent and enlightened people will always choose to fight evil at every turn.

I don't hate fundamentalists, although I might fly off the handle at them now and agian. Actually, I pity fundamentalists. They're missing out on the untold wonders and unsurpassed beauty revealed through science. I wish they'd open their eyes, but they refuse to.

Closed eyes, closed hearts, closed minds; these are the keys to Satan's playground.

Fundies are Satanists...they just don't know it.

Answer 8

A lot of my responses are bitter because that's my personality. I'm not going to sugar-coat anything, I tell the truth as I see it. There's no point in making someone feel better by sparing them the facts, because you're only hurting them. I give respectful answers when I sense that the person asking is asking in a respectful manner. But most questions directed to atheists are ignorant and hateful, and I have no desire to respond to such ignorance with respect.

Answer 9

Well, I don't know about anyone else on here, but I for one tend to respond rather hostilely to people telling me I'm going to hell, that they'll pray for me, or otherwise trying to convert me to Christianity. I suspect that the behavior of some of the more aggressive Christians, and to a lesser extent Muslims, on this site, who go around quoting scripture to unrelated questions in categories other than this one, is at least partially to blame for the bitterness, hate, anger, and general hostility you might be seeing.

Answer 10

I only respond with anger when it is justified. Unfortunately, there is so much ignorance and arrogance in the "questions" posted here, that my anger is frequently justified.

PS: I'm agnostic, rather than atheist, but typically, I find that christians lump us all together in their posts. That would be another fine example of ignorance and arrogance, but I'll let it slide since you only wanted nice answers.