Belivers: Why are you so angry with Atheists?

Question

I am wondering if you have had a bad experience with an Atheist, an argument, whatever. If nothing has happened, then why are you so hostile? I am an Atheist and have been verbally attacked, mostly by Christians, immediately after telling them. I have had people tell me I am going to Hell and pray for me, but very few. Most believers are quick to say that they dislike Atheists and do not understand how they cannot believe in God. I have had people say "You don't believe in God and call yourself an American? This is a Christian country, get with the program." I have had my home and vehicle vandalized, as well. I have never tried to 'convert' anyone to Atheism or tell them God doesn't exist, I simply explain that I do not believe, but have much respect for others' beliefs and would NEVER bash someone for their belief. Why do you have such hostility towards Atheists?

I do not mean to generalize all believers, and I apologize if it came off that way. I wanted some feedback from believers who feel negatively about Atheists, because when I ask in the real world, i do not get good responses.

I did not say that my car was vandalized by Christians, as I do not know who did it. But a cross was spray-painted on my front door, so my suspicion for that act goes with a Christian. I was using Christians as an example, and I would hope people would undrstand that as Christians make up 85% of the American population.

Jan: let's get another thing straight, please. I did not refer to being patronized in this forum, because this is the first question I have posted in this section.

To the various people who have said they would pray for me, I appreciate your concern and am glad to know that there are Christians who look beyond religous borders. Thank you.

To all the believers that have been verbally attacked by Atheists...I apologize on their behalf to you as they most likely took pleasure in hurting your feelings and angering you. Some of the Atheists on this forum disgust me and give us bad publicity. I am not the only Atheist that feels that way about the ones who spew God-hating words to you. A true Atheist does not hate God and cannot talk badly about Him because we believe He does not exist. How can you dislike that which does not exist? The angry Atheists on Y!A are pitiful people who only have the courage to say those things from the privacy and comfort of their desk chair. The respectful Atheists stay out of the questions that are not directed toward Atheists, such as a question from a Muslim to a Muslim, or from a Baptist to a Baptist. It is the scum of the Atheists who answer those questions with "God doesn't exist" and disgrace us. Please do not judge me because of them, as I do not judge you because of your brother.

Answer 1

First off ... I am a believer, and it angers me when I see other Christians judging a person for their beliefs. (first because it injurs another on their spiritual journey, and second because it makes all Christians look bad!) My perception is that there are multiple reasons believers do this:
First, I think there are many churches and denominations within Christianity that inadvertantly give Christians the message "You are not doing your part if you do not save others for Christ." Because this is impossible as we are all finite beings, this creates a discouragement in believers when they cannot "talk someone into" their belief. Sometimes as a result of frustration at you, or past inability to "save" they turn snotty. (thinking maybe if they beat the person in front of them up, THEN they will HAVE to believe as the Christian does.)
Second: I think some Christians fall into the trap of judging the person rather than the actions. The Christian will sometimes end up attempting to change the person rather than building relationship with them and understanding the "why" behind their belief system, and simply loving them. If they had examined their faith and thought through why they are doing what they are doing here ... I would hope they would come to the realization that only the one they are worshipping can judge anothers heart.
Third: I believe it strikes a nerve in some believers when they have not fully worked out what they believe and WHY they believe it ... they have not yet experienced a personal intimate relationship with the one they are worshipping, and therefore, when confronted with someone who does not believe as they do ... they feel personally threatened. Because their "belief" is not yet "experiential" they end up with their belief being the entirety of their spirituality ... therefore, if you do not agree with their belief, you are not agreeing with THEM ... with who they are. At a subconscious level they feel you are rejecting THEM by not believing as they believe. You are challenging who they are by standing up for what you believe.
Anyway, I just want you to know, not all Christians are like this, and as I am a Christian, I would like to apologize to you for the injury and condemnation and judgement and anger you have had spewed on you. I am sorry!

Answer 2

Dear Stephanie,
"Everything has a reason what you've lived in your life . You may think something is good but which is bad for you , or you may think something is bad but which is actually the best for you ; you are not able to know , only Allah knows" let's say something to understand the sentences :

Being an Atheist is a wise work, because there is no God! You just reasonably can not accept the idea of it. So you oughtta know there is only Allah!!! Think about scientific improvements ; "strings"!!!
I was born Muslim but i even did not know the truth! Do you think i never became sceptical?? Thinking , thinking... Wiser people look for answers... Being an atheist is just a step. Don't ask others , you'll find the answer inside of you. Sufism helped me to find my answers.Now i am very proud being a Muslim person and full of thankfull to Allah...And you never think that being Muslim means being Arabic! Hz.Mohammad (s.a.v.) was born as Arabic but he teached religion of Allah. There is only religion which is Islam. "Don't be afraid , don't hesitate it ... Please just read what Mohammad said and make comments with today's scientific explanations. (How could he explain the universe's truth 1500 years ago???).. Don't judge anything without reading about Islamic mysticism = sufism books. Be broadminded to everyone even they don't understand you at all...Trust your wisdom and Allah helps you inshallah
Best wishes

Answer 3

Let me start off by saying I am 100% Christian, but I still understand where you are coming from. I never judge anyone for being who they are. As a true Christian it is necessary to know that the bible says judge not lest ye be judged. That is not how a lot of us live. It is easy to say you are wrong but who am I to tell you what to believe in. Do I agree with your point of view NO but it's YOUR point of view. So I am not mad with Atheist the only bad experience I ever had is with people disrespecting my beliefs and I have met Atheist that have flat out told me I was a fool for believing in (as they put it) a god. Even then I didn't yell I started praying for them, I said a prayer for myself so I didn't misrepresent who I am out of anger. The point is regardless to race, spiritual beliefs, pay class, etc people are going to be people. If you look you will always find an ignorant one somewhere. I don't know you but I do care about you view. Please don't let some "Sunday" Christians make you think that we all are like that.

P.S. A Sunday Christian is one that is only Spiritual on Sunday every other day of the week you wouldn't even know they believed in God!

Answer 4

I think you've got that backwards.

I'm not angry with Atheists, they have a right to believe as they wish. It's Atheists (some) who are angry with Christians. If we ask some of the Atheists a simple non-sarcastic question they answer with venom. I asked a question here on this board to Atheists and they didn't answer the question they just came out swinging.

I have had civil conversations with and like some Atheists who I found were secure in their beliefs and not threatened by mine.

So with all that said, it depends on who you talk to -- Atheists, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists etc., were all human and do not speak for others who believe the same in the respective religions or non religions.

We're human, we're fallible and I believe forgiven when we ask.

Answer 5

Not all Christians say those things. I'm sure not all atheists say Christians are morons, even though I heard that one today. I don't know why everyone seems to be so thin skinned on here. Don't take it personally. No Christian can damn you to Hell. You know if you are an American. I'm sorry about what has happened to you but a true Christian would never do that. We know there are unbelievers, we expect it. I do have to admit to praying for you though. It's just part of who I am.

May God Bless you.

Answer 6

Lets get a few things straight. First of all, I have never heard anyone on this forum say "I hate you athiest" or "I don't like you, because you are athiest". There have been heated debates between us, and occasionally it gets a bit over the edge, only because it is a very delicate subject.
If you've had your home and vehicle vandalized and you say its because you're athiest, then the real question is, what exactly did you do??
Sounds like its you that may be the one displaying some hostility. People don't break into homes and trash cars for nothing.
And this Country? Yep, it is majority Christian, and will stay that way until Christ returns, but of course thats my opinion. I'm Christian, student of the Word (manuscripts) and one thing I know to be true is this: God does not want your choice taken from you, so neither do I. You can profess athiesm until your skin falls off for all I care - you have to sail your own ship.
Thats what this age is for, choice. You have every right to yours, so have at it. No problem.

Answer 7

I can only speak for myself, I am not angry with Atheists, I do not think God "needs" them to believe in him/her, and they are certainly no more going to Hell than anyone else.

However, I am very saddened by what I see from many on this site. Very hateful slurs and harrasment toward Christians, even worse than a lot of racist things I've seen here. Answering serious Religious questions by saying "There is No God". They rightfully get so upset when someone tries to cram Religion down their throat, then do EXACTLY the same in return.

Answer 8

I'm the opposite, yet equal. I'm a Mormon. Fortunately, I live in a very small town so physical attacks are nearly nonexistant, but you can just see the emotional reaction of people when you use just that one word to describe your innermost beliefs and reasonings. It all comes down to how people were raised, what their preferences are, and how extroverted or introverted they are about their spirituality. I also never bash someone for their beliefs. I just live my life by God's rules, which naturally sets me apart as being strange or different. If someone asks why I'm so optomistic in the face of major problems, I share with them. If they don't ask, I just say a prayer for them and go on with my life.

I know where you stand, and I think its just mutual misunderstanding, confusion, and frustration about each other's beliefs.

Blessings

Answer 9

If Christians here on Yahoo Answers get angry, it's because Atheists are trying to make them angry. If you type in bible+toilet+paper for instance, you get questions like these:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqcXhP6mKGJwhCJA_No5tVAjzKIX?qid=20060822083124AA7zV2n
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag.4mKM1dLL2YUujsx9ysfMjzKIX?qid=20060827163614AAQmqcg

Then there are atheists who pretend to be slack jawed Christians, who I'm sure truly do it out of tolerance
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlssES10_JGsehSR5967AbQjzKIX?qid=20070124201747AApZLGA

Or ask questions asked simply to provoke anger (and there's quite a few of those):
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=At4x5Nc.aM0ULFJuAlJ1GDkjzKIX?qid=20060924084622AATGIba

Then there are the atheists who create sock puppett accounts just to ask questions nobody wanted aked so they can answer. And the atheists who lie about being Doctors when they're clearly not, etc., and then call us liars.

There is a lot of hostility from atheists on Yahoo Answers. People ask us "When are you Christians going to become something useful", echoing of making us into lamp shades and dog food. Atheists are always saying how we "hate science" (we don't). We're not all Creationists. They even say things like we're insects and we need to be exterminated, etc. Gee, I can't see how that would make anyone angry.

So, when atheists diliberatley go out of their way to provoke Christians, don't be shocked when it works. I find it hard to believe your car was vandalized (with a cross no less!) because you're an atheist, but I will take your word for it. If someone indeed kept pushing their religious beliefs on you after you declined, then you had a right to be angry. It seems like thats what every atheists says on Yahoo Answers..."I keeep being chased down the street by Christians who keep praying for me even after I pretend to be one too". And yes, I actually read that from an atheist last night. Where are these places??? When a JW or Mormon comes to my door, I simply tell them I'm not interested, and they go away. It sounds like some atheists have vivid imaginations!

I am going to make a suggestion to Yahoo Answers to create a seperate section for atheists. I advise everyone to do the same. http://suggestions.yahoo.com/?prop=answers

I don't go to Atheist NG's, blogs, or bulletin boards to tell people about Jesus. And I don't want atheists telling me "Christians, when will you realize the Bible is a lie???" every two minutes, either...and then having the nerve to say "Why do you dislike atheists so much?" two seconds later.

Here's another example, just 5 minutes old!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070207150224AA6B2Vv&r=w&pa=FZptHWf.BGRX3OFMhjRdWEJ7P5eW.oRT31H86uusTBCMOINZBg--&paid=answered#NbUvWzS4VDcK7OP9yvC3

And I think this question wins the debate for me.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070207221822AAWSkkL&r=w#NbUvWzS4VDcK7OP9yvC3

Answer 10

I certainly don't condone any mistreatment of you for your convictions or lack thereof.

But then look here and see all the teenagers who spit on our serious questions and our God for no other reason than to offend and denigrate. It is a very common thing for a-theists to clutter up a potentially constructive forum with obscene and vile statements.

So it goes with the format of free speech in an uncontrolled setting.

As for those who have committed crimes against you they are badly misled and do not have Christ in their hearts.