Why does there seem to be such a strong opposition to faith here?

Question

I'm not talking about religion per se. One could view religion as man's attempt to understand the infinite, omnipotent, and omnipresent nature of God. Because we are limited in these arenas, religion as an institution serves almost as much of a social purpose as it does spiritual. Depending on the social envionment, that institution can be severely abused or uplifted.

But to the core of my question. What is it about believing there is more to our world then what we can see that is so repulsive? What is so repulsive about being a champion of love and forgiveness?

Answer 1

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So many at this site and in life choose to attack things which they don't understand.

Conservative Christians attack atheists, saying they will go to hell,but do not seek to understand why there are many kind, intelligent people out there who do not believe.

Likewise, many atheists attack people of faith (like me), but do not attempt to understand that religion truly is "man's attempt to understand the infinite...."

This is unfortunate, because when we give in to our need to see things in clear, black and white terms, we create disunity and hate. However, when we seek to understand the true reasons why some believe/some don't, we can approach situations with others with compassion and wisdom. Most people, when treated with respect, will act accordingly, even if the person they are talking to disagrees with them.

One last point; it is our responsibility to present our religion/faith as a "champion of love and forgiveness" and not one of judgment, exclusivity, and ignorance. If our faith is about compassion, it will be hard for people to return our compassion with more hate.

peace

Answer 2

"What is it about believing there is more to our world then what we can see that is so repulsive?"

There is absolutely nothing wrong with believing that there is more to the world than what we can see. I doubt any of the thoughtful atheists here would argue with that. However, most people who place faith in the Bible believe only what they think the Bible tells them, and deny conflicting evidence. Such people believe that "if you're not for Jesus, you are for Satan" and therefore consider atheists to be evil. They have given up trying to understand the world and instead are entrenched in a rigid belief system that puts them at odds with anyone that doesn't share their beliefs.

"What is so repulsive about being a champion of love and forgiveness?"

Again, absolutely nothing is wrong with that! But anyone who thinks that you can only champion love and forgiveness through Christianity is implicitly or explicitly stating that non-Christians must be against love and forgiveness.

I realize that there are many decent Christians who are open minded and compassionate enough to not fall into the traps I describe above. But unfortunately, they have lost control of setting the policy and agenda of the Christian community in the U.S. The United States is in danger of becoming a Christian Theocracy. As long as this is true, I am going to actively speak out against the dark side of Christianity.

Answer 3

There is nothing wrong with being a compassionate human. There is also nothing wrong with having faith or not having faith. My personal ire is raised when having faith takes precedence over logic and thought. The typical mouthpiece of the faithful in the media (televangelists, unintelligent rednecks, public school officials actually taking a vote on whether or not to allow Intelligent Design in a classroom) really don't help out the faithfuls cause either...

One thing that must be done though is to just accept people for who and what they are. Not everyone is capable of championing love to all (what value does that actually place on love?) or forgiveness on much more than a low level. People are what they are...

Answer 4

There is a lot more to it than believing there is more than what we can see or being a champion of love and forgiveness. It's also about being restrictive, oppressive, and narrow. It's about a lot of people wanting to force their backwards, illogical, damaging beliefs on a lot of other people.

The reason you see so much resistance on Y!A is because, unlike the real world, non-believers are not vastly outnumber by believers.

Answer 5

being a champion of love and forgiveness is achievable without having to believe in supernatural forces.

Answer 6

what is repulsive is that you cannot shut up about it and intrude on questions that specifically say "no christians please"--not to mention the thousands of questions that you should be able to figure out aren't directed at you in the first place--if you could just mind your own frucking business, we'd never find ourselves at cross purposes

Answer 7

You can still be loving and forgiving without faith.

Why must one believe in something with no evidence in order to show kindness and compassion to your fellow man?

In order to be a good person, are you *required* to pay homage to a being you can't see?

Answer 8

Basically, 'faith' is stupid and irrelevant. Faith (wishful, magical thinking) is a substitute for evidence... and serves as the basis for 'belief'... the internalized certainty that one's own ideations map to reality.

'Belief' is a substitute for knowledge... i.e., false knowledge, sustained by wishful, magical thinking.

faith + belief = willful ignorance and self-delusion

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"When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called Religion." ~ Robert M. Pirsig
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"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance... it is the illusion of knowledge." ~ Daniel Boorstin

Answer 9

GOD IS SOOOOOOOO HOLY THAT U CAN't EVEN LOOK HIM>>>>>

WAit until JESUS comes and u will find out.....
BY the way to give a hint HE WILL come like a THIEF in the NIGHT......

Answer 10

Call it a lifetime of experience.