Everyone and Anyone: what bothers you the most about the way Christianity is presented to you?

Question

I'm just curious, you know? I know many Christians are condescending, or rude, or just plain stupid, sometimes (okay, a lot of the time...). So what bothers you? What can I do to make you want to talk about it seriously, rather than swearing at us, or calling us all gay/lesbian retarded, haters, etc.?

And please don't respond unless you really have an answer. I can't stop you from answering with an immature comment, but it would be nice if y'all respected a gal.

Thanks! I can't wait to see what everyone has to say.
Peace, Luv, an Cap'n Crunch! ^_^

Answer 1

The fact that very few people (less than 1 in 10,000) are willing to proselytize in the loving manner of their proclaimed master, Jesus.

Rare indeed, is the one humbling himself as the Jesus of the Bible.
Giving freely of his(or her) time in a dedicated, modest effort. To offer assistance to those who want it, as regards learning the truth that leads to everlasting life.

Answer 2

Yes, being condescending and rude is a poor way to present a faith or any argument. But that goes both ways, because many atheists respond in kind (myself included), and this is not a good way to open or continue a useful conversation.

For me it's the utter lack of logic that turns me off. Take Pascal's Wager, for instance. The premise is : Believe in god just in case he is real so you don't go to hell. As if an omniscient being wouldn't know you're faking it. If God could be outsmarted that easily...he's not worthy of worship.

When people purposefully misrepresent the opposing argument to further their own argument makes me annoyed to. How often on this forum do you see Xians condemning evolution even though they know utterly nothing about it? "Why are there still monkeys?", "So, evolutionists are saying that eventually we'll all be robots?", "I haven't seen anyone turn into a monkey lately." It shows an intellectual dishonesty and laziness that closes the conversation completely. What point is there in talking with someone who has so little respect for your viewpoints that they actually make up lies rather than learn about it?

Another is the assumption that the bible is fact. Remember, to anyone who isn't a Xian, the bible is not a credible source. The only thing that states the bible is truth is the bible. That's circular logic. If you are not a Xian, quotes from the bible don't mean very much. In fact, they come off as pompous and arrogant. (I can't tell you how many times psalm 14:1 gets brought up. As though that is going to do anything but make an atheist lose respect for the person spouting it off, or cut and pasting it.)

I think what it comes down to is honesty and respect. That's what's missing when most Xians try to talk to people of other beliefs. They often say that they are loving and accepting, but the intolerance and contempt are often thinly veiled. Sometimes they're not veiled at all.

Answer 3

I use to be an Atheist (now a Christian) and what bothered me then is the same thing that makes me angry now. It is the pushy salesmanship, the holier than thou attitude, and the ideas that are just plain incorrect and immature. If you are a "born again" Christian who is trying to "save" others, everything you do and how you do it is WRONG. It turns people off. It even turns teenagers off. You can not expect to talk to an intelligent adult in the manner than you can an 8 year old child. And the ideas that you present are aimed at that age group. I can tell you that it was NOT a born again Christian that made me become a Christian. They only pushed me away with their behaviors.

Answer 4

Christianity is so often presented as "the one and only way" showing no respect for any other belief. It is one thing to be respectful and not agree but Xtians are so often uneducated, even about their own religion, and cannot even tolerate realistic and honest questions. They expect people to blindly listen to what they have to say and really just follow them. I may question someone who can't even spell Leviticus and has never read the Bible and knows nothing of their own faith and history but that doesn't mean I am blind, stupid, or evil. I just think that any God who could create something like freewill would be truly saddened if we never learned, questioned, explored and, maybe, ultimately came walking to God as a choice, not because I've never heard of another way. Its cool to talk with someone about what they believe and ask them how they resolve the contradictions I can't. It is really fun to talk, and I am not a fundie-basher (sport online where you bait and tear apart a Fundamentalist's argument about something, usually Christianity). I just wish Christians would state what they believe and listen to someone else or at least back off.

Answer 5

What a good question! I agree with the second poster. Alot of Christians focus on a ton of things that the bible says shouldn't matter (brand name clothes, etc) but will get preachy and self righteous in a nano second if you disagree with them or point out that they're judgemental & materialistic. I also don't like the fact they are quick to dimiss some sins (adultery!) but focus on homosexuality as if it's the worst thing on planet earth.

Naturally I don't think all Christians are like this but, from what I've encountered, that's the majority. I'm willing to listen to all points of view, especially if the person is well spoken and not just trying to earn brownie points with God or whomever. I generally ignore the hypocrites as a rule.

Answer 6

The deliberate distortions of science and outright lies about anyone different. The self-righteous presumtion of somehow knowing what God's thoughtsfeelings/opinions are on a given matter. The proclaiming as loving a god that, according to its own "holy" book, is a raging egomaniac with more blood on its hands than any human dictator. The embrace of superstition over fact, declaring fear or hate to be love, and the notion that any questions or challenges to the faith are "evil".

Answer 7

1. The way they try to say that they founded and built this country, when in fact they murdered my brother & sisters, stole the land, and still continue to rape our Earth Mother.
2. The insistance of controlling our government and laws, and insisting that we all must live by their belief system (even when it enfringes on one's personal freedoms).
3. The constant riticule of selected parts of our sciences as they so greedally indulge in others.
4. The most profitable business out there (give 10% of your income) being tax exempt and living like Kings!
5. The refusal to accept the damage done to the history & spiritual beliefs of millions of people worldwide, with no sign of remorse or actknowlegdement for the oppression of those with induginous rights.
6. Their insistance on argueing points that they have no creditable education in.

Other than that, I don't have a problem with them.
...and it harms none, do as you will.
Yes....I'm a witch!

Answer 8

Don't assume that we haven't been there. You fail to realize that most of us grew up in a faith, investigated it, and rejected it. Personally I was a Jesus freak in high school, majored in religion in college, and spent a year in seminary.

Personally, I would be willing to talk about religion so long as it is presented as a tentative, non-arrogant manner that acknowledges there is (and never can be) any proof of its validity beyond your own personal experience. Also, that Christianity has no greater claim on truth than any other religion. And that if someone has looked at the faith and found it wanting and totally inapplicable to his or her life, that that decision be respected with no further proselytizing.

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

Answer 9

My biggest frustration is when they try to promote bad science. There is a definite distinction between real, question-driven, honest science that is published through legitimate, peer-reviewed journals and contrived, answer-driven pseudoscience that comes from religious publishers. Many christians don't see the difference. Weird, ridiculous, and terrible ideas get spread through the country (like "carbon dating of fossils is inaccurate" (fossils are carbon-14 dead) or "scientists don't agree on anything"). I want an end to religiously motivated misinformation like this, and I would love it if Christians used good journals to produce their arguments.

Answer 10

As a Christian, I am disappointed with the way many Christians act. Most come on too strong and are extremely judgmental of others. I try my best to not annoy all of the non-Christians in the world without forgetting my values.

Answer 11

talking as an X-adult males, which i admire the metaphor, a race of human beings outcast and hated by ability of the bias human beings, misunderstood by ability of our large powers and yet we purely mean to do solid to others. an limitless-very own-writer, that created human beings to proportion in His Divine nature, is clever because of the fact the uncaused causer, or source of Intelligence that made the Universe, and the Bible is crammed with recorded, out of the undemanding activities of a multidimensional being interacting with mankind by historical past. i detect it somewhat attractive that the thought in God has constantly been the focal component of each and every large subculture and the motivation for brand spanking new technologies. Sorry you experience so undesirable approximately all of it.