A question for atheists and Christians?

Question

Atheists: What is the most irritating question Christians ask? What is the answer, so they can stop asking?

Christians: What is the most irritating question atheists ask? What is the answer, so they can stop asking?

Try not to thumbs down everything you disagree with here, just once.

Answer 1

DEFINITION OF FAITH.

Not so much a question as it is an assumption. Critics of Christianity often like to think they know what "faith" is better than those who actually have it. As a result "faith" is often characterized as "irrational belief without evidence" or "irrational belief, all evidence to the contrary".

But this is not what faith is in the Biblical sense.
Rather, faith can be understood as the extension of what follows after the thing in question is accepted as true, or at least more plausible than its negation. Some might use "confidence" as an interchangeable term, and for the purpose of the topic, that term might well suit. Many people, for example (Christian or otherwise), can understand the moral failure of not living consistently with one's own stated beliefs about life. Such a person is said to "lack faith," and this understanding is --I think-- more consistent with Jesus' use of the term in the gospels.

Answer 2

Well, I'm neither Christian nor atheist, but I can answer both questions.

The stupidest question atheists ask questions is when they ask how something in the bible can be true by showing that some phrase/event can't be possible. For example, they might point out that the ark is too small to house all the animals or whatever. The answer is that faith is not supposed to be based on fact and that religious stories are more meaningful beyond their literal meaning.

The stupidest question that Christians ask atheists is when they ask them why they don't accept Jesus based just to be safe. For example, they'll say something like, "If you accept Christ and you are right that there is no god, then you haven't lost anything. But if you don't accept Christ and you are wrong, you will go to hell. So why not accept Christ?" The answer to that is that if there really is a Christ, he will obviously know if we are faking it! lol

Also, the whole creationist thing is really irritating, as well as any attempts to push your own believes on another person's way of life, but those are different issues I guess.

Answer 3

Gosh, there are so many....

There's obviously the ever popular "Why do you hate God" and "Why have you turned away from your Creator". Now... I know Christians believe there is a God and nothing will stop that, but they MUST understand that from the atheists perspective, they are not hating or turning away from anything. They cannot hate or deny that which doesn't exist (according to them).

Oh, but then there's the "Look around you, can't you tell that everything was created by a higher power?" and "(insert object here) is much too intricate and complex to have come into being by mere random chance; this proves my God so you should now believe". To which I reply: "If complex organisms demand an explanation, so does a complex designer. And it's no solution to raise the theologian's plea that God (or the intelligent designer) is simply immune to the normal demands of scientific explanation. By intelligent design's own arguments, a designer capable of creating irreducible complexity must also be irreducibly complex: "Any mind in nature that designs and builds an irreducibly complex system is itself irreducibly complex. This is an argument that intelligent design proponents still need to respond to."

Of course I often run into this line of thinking: "You BELIEVE God doesn't exist, and since atheism is a BELIEF, it's a religion. HA. Now you can't bash religion because you're part of one. What do you think of that?" (this isn't exactly how every question is worded... I'm paraphrasing) To which I reply: "Mere belief does NOT constitute a religion. There are many many criteria that must be met before something is designated "religious". And by the way, atheism is NOT a belief. Atheism is the ABSENCE of belief. Saying atheism is a religion is like saying NOT collecting stamps is a hobby."

Answer 4

Only one? I think the most annoying thing about both is the attitude of not wanting to understand each other, and stand in each other's shoes. As an unbeliever, I see a blatant prejudice against us, that shows in various questions. I couldn't spot just one. I would simply ask for them to listen to us more carefully, not from their faith, but from our absence of faith. That doesn't mean they have to agree. Just accept we're different, and we have our right to be different.

On the other hand, I will accept that I must have my own prejudices against believers. I've been working on them, and I've changed a little. But there must be some other prejudices I am not even aware of yet. If so, just let me tell you that aggressive remarks, and reports over stupid reasons will not make me change much. That will, at most, make me more annoyed, and LESS open to changes.


EDIT: Something else I can't understand is why some Christians ask us questions about Evolution and the like, as if we were expert scientists. We just don't know. We accept those theories, because they sound reasonable. But we are not experts. We cannot explain them.

Answer 5

Probably the most irritating question I've ever been asked has been mostly from my family, and they don't even know I'm atheist yet, just that I don't go to church.

So it's variants on "Where do you go to church?" or "Why don't you go to church?", that sort of thing. Elsewhere, the most irritating thing I've heard has been "Why don't you believe?"

Roughly the three questions I wish people'd quit asking me, because question 1 leads to 2, which leads to 3, which ends up with both sides getting into a fight.

Just live 'n let live, y'know?

Answer 6

I'm not Christian, but I believe in God.

The one question Christians ask that's most irritating: do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Not sure what to tell them for them to stop asking..... Respect my choices...?

The one question Atheists ask that's most irritating: I don't think there is an irritating question, but rather them making fun of the believers, God and Jesus. Just because you don't believe in something, doesn't mean you have to disrespect those who do.

Hmm....look at that....it all comes down to MUTUAL RESPECT.

Answer 7

I am a Christian. The most irritating question I find is one where the person answers themselves. Usually it goes something like this "How can anybody believe in a dead Jewish guy? Oh, that's right, you don't have a brain?" The answer is: Jesus is not dead and I actually do have a brain. Don't get me wrong, I see these types of question in reverse too! I don't like the name calling and assumptions that because someone has a different point of view that they are stupid and sheep like.

Answer 8

I would possibly hate an atheists angle(s) approximately what I feel in a non secular atmosphere, however at the turn-facet, that atheist and I could also be ardent allies politically. As for hating a individual within the entirety of the which means of that time period, I don't have any want to hate any individual. That sort of hatred is for losers interval.

Answer 9

Christians: What is the most irritating question atheists ask? What is the answer, so they can stop asking?

I do not find anything athiests ask irritating...I welcome questions, even those trying to irritate. Because truth can never be revealed if questions are never asked. So I find no questions athiests, or non-believers ask to be irritating...therefore, there is nothing they ought to stop asking.

Answer 10

The most irritating questions have to be the inane ones relating to creationism, e.g. if we evolved from monkeys why are there still monkeys, did Darwin recant on his deathbed etc. I think even a lot of Christians cringe at those. Keep it sensible-no need to be silly.