Why Can't Others Just Accept Our Beliefs?

Question

I am Christian. I am not one because: a) I want to live forever or go to heaven, b) I feel "compelled" by family or friends (not at all-not one of my friends is Christian) or c) Because I am "brainwashed" to do so. I have chosen this path.

I am a Science minded person, and I am intelligent according to standardized tests. In fact, I am a Biology major. Go figure. And yet, I believe in God.

Why? Because I feel he has helped me get through rough times. And I believe I have done so with his support. I feel it. And that is my choice to believe.

So why can't others accept our beliefs without being rude and assuming? I want rational answers from non-believers, who supposedly pride themselves on being such.

Any rude or abusive comments will be reported. This is a serious question, unlike most in this category.

Note: I do not have a problem with atheists , Muslims, etc. and no, I do not try to change their beliefs. I DO have a problem with people assuming their atheism is superior to what I believe, and feeling the need to rudely put down my faith.

I threatened to report people because I want honest and at least semi- intelligent answers. Some of the people on here give all atheists a bad name.

There are some very good responses here...

Acid: Yes, I was raised Christian, but stopped following around age 16 or so. Now a few years later, I have been feeling increasing inclined to return. And I have.

I also want to point out AGAIN to everyone: I am NOT trying to convert you, or put down atheism. There is no need to get defensive. This is exactly what I am referring to. Why are some so hostile towards us? I am not trying to convert you, I am asking why Christians are so disrepected on this forum!!!!

Upsman: Thank you for the nice post, but I really already understand that. Your answer also does not correlate with my actual question. I used the term "feeling" because it will take more than 3 seconds and to find a word I can use to describe why I believe in God. And that is not critical to my question. But thank you anyway.

I guess I'll say it AGAIN....Yes, I respect others beliefs, and no, I am not trying to change them. Even Hitti the Hindu idol worshiper. ;) There is no need for attacking here. In case anyone has not realized, that was the focal point of interest in my initial question. Why it seems as though as soon as the word "Christian" is mentioned, it triggers some into a defensive state. Not all though! Thanks to those who have also been respectful and realized I am not attacking them. Peace.

Oops...sorry KUTTI...my bad.

Mybrain...You do know I have a sense of humour right? ;) Besides I honestly thought most atheists don't believe in souls! Seriously. Sorry! :)

Pin...Yes, I know I can get defensive. I'm human. I may be Christian, but I'm not a robot. ;) I don't want people to assume things about me any more than you do. I was not attacking you or trying to convert nor disrespect your beliefs.

Generally, when I say something that is negative, it is usually because someone else kicked over the pot first by saying something provocative and/or disrespectful about those who believe in God. And even then I am joking 99.9% of the time.

Don't Panic: Agreed. What I was trying to get across was that there seem to be particular people on this forum who appear to attack Christians for fun. It is generally very clear that they are atheists. I was in no way implying that the majority of you are this way.

P.S. I actually really liked your response.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, you are in the less-vocal group of Christians represented in this forum. We need more people like you to be asking and answering questions so that we can have a real conversation here and learn from each other.

Every time you see a question addressed to 'atheists' or 'evolutionists', read it and consider it from a non-Christian point of view. Even -your- question, which starts out fine, devolves into sniping and insult.

There are only a few atheists on this forum who are rude. There are several with a sense of humour, always ask yourself if there's a touch of tongue-in-cheek to an answer. Most of the atheists here truly want a reasonable conversation with reasonable believers.

I accept that you believe what you believe and that you have every right to do so. Your point of view, as an intelligent, tolerant, open-minded Christian, is very much needed on this forum.

But please remember that most of the questions asked by Christians here aren't so kind.

Answer 2

Feelings tell you nothing. You can't depend upon feelings. If I feel that the creator of the universe is the spaghetti monster who lives on mars and eats strawberry short cake all day, could we seriously argue that it is true just because I FEEL that way.
I agree with you that there is a God but there are better reasons to believe in Him than just because you FEEL that way.
The whole universe is filled with design. The physical laws of the universe are perfectly designed. Life is perfectly designed. Life does not come from dead chemicals even after billions of years no more than a small snail can come from the same sized nail just by laying it on the floor and seeing if it will come alive after billions of years. Wherever you find design you must have a designer. That's just logical and common sense. Who could design a universe. You can call that entity anything you want. Call it a ghost if you want. I call it God. Only a God could design a universe like ours.
The big bang theory says that the big bang is the start of the universe(the beginning of the 4 dimensions, 3 dimensions of space and one dimension of time). About 95-100% of scientists believe in the big bang. But the law of cause and effect(which Einstein called the most reliable of all the physical laws of the universe) says that anything that has a beginning needs a cause. Therefore, the universe, according to 95% of the scientists must have a cause. Let's take a look at this cause. The effect is never greater than the cause. If the effect has a certain attribute, the cause must also have that same attribute. You simply can't give what you ain't got. Let's see what attributes this effect(the universe) has. The universe has intelligence, because humans have intelligence. Therefore the cause must have intelligence. The universe has personality because we have personality. Therefore, the cause has personality. The universe has emotions because we have emotions. Therefore, the cause has emotions. The universe has will because we have will, therefore the cause must have will. Now let's see, the cause has will, intelligence, emotion and personality. That sounds a lot like the christian God to me. You can call it a ghost if you want. I call it God. You might object that the universe didn't have these attributes at its beginning. Where did they come from? Don't tell me they just evolved. Ask any information scientist if information can come from dead chemicals. We have enough info in our genes to fill a stack of books from here to the moon and back 500 times. It didn't just come from dead chemicals. The animals don't have emotion, personality and for the most part, intelligence. They also lack a recognition of morals. The lion doesn't kill and eat the gazelle and then start feeling guilt about what he did. Where did morals come from? The only answer that makes sense to me is that there's a God up there that created all this and put these attributes in this universe. I believe that God is the Christian God and that is my humble opinion but it an opinion based upon good common sense, logic and reason, not FEELINGS.

Answer 3

OK - Here's a serious answer and question in return- can YOU respect and accept MY beliefs, without even knowing what they are? Can you step aside from yours enough to accept that others may have just as much validity as yours?

Can you refrain from assuming I'm potentially a devil worshipper or hell bound?

Personally, I don't care what you believe. If it works for you, go with it. You can even tell me about what you believe. But the second you belittle my beliefs -especially if you don't even know what they are - tell me that they are wrong or that yours are superior, then I'm done with you and you don't deserve respect.

Respect is earned.

I see that you are now seeing the other side of the coin; how many of us feel when confronted by Christians. Maybe you'll gain some understanding from this experience.

Point of fact - none of this was rude nor abusive, but if you decide to see it that way, you will - and not a thing any of us can do about it.

Also,.consider this - people respond to defensiveness in a defensive manner. YOU are also defensive - do you see that?

Answer 4

1. Why do you need or expect others to accept your beliefs, when you most likely will not return the same gesture. Most Buddhists I think accept that Jesus Christ ranks up there with their Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in terms of Compassion and Wisdom, are you prepared to do the same?

2. Will you acknowledge or accept the fact that Buddha's way is a possibility as well? Being science-minded, you have no way of proving that Buddha's way is plausible or implausible... isn't that what science is about? Evidence.

3. The fact, that you are able to assert Christs' benefits and veracity, it is due to personal experience, the experience that NO ONE else can take away from you, its like tasting Orange huice for the first time, you cannot explain EXACTLY to others what the experience was like, but like minded people who have tasted the same things will understand you just as you understand them.

The same with non-believers, they have no evidence of its benevolence as you have, for those of other faiths they have "tasted" and experienced their Faith's apple juice, just as YOU have "tasted" the yumminess of Chrisianity's orange juice.

Until you experience what they have and vice versa, and THEN decide it is NOT for you... all one can do is to render a fair bit of respect to other person, that they AND you are exercising what is in nature theirs and your divine right... the right of Free Will the gift of Free choice.

Answer 5

OK.

All your points about yourself including your faith are positive. And if the history of christianity was founded on people like you, then we would have visited the moon around 600 CE and been driving hydrogen powered cars by 1000 CE.

Unfortunately, christianity history was not full of science and good minded people like you. Instead, it was infested with satanists, who killed women and children in the name of Jesus for fun. Evil, year after year, century after century. Why? Why did such people who also professed to believe in Jesus like you perform such horrendous evils?

That is the deeper question and where a deeper understanding why people who have awakened now react to the Vatican and christianity the way they do.

If you can handle it, see:
http://one-faith-of-god.org/final_testament/end_of_darkness/evil/evil_0200.htm

Remember, it has no negative reflection on you. Clearly you are a good person, defending their beliefs. Good on you.

But understanding the heritage of your faith will help understand why you feel under attack.

Cheers

Answer 6

I thank you very civily and generously for the reporting threat!
Your religion is not tolerant and seems determined to make laws based on your religion forcing others to follow your religious rules. Your religion fosters and provides support for hate groups.
Why should I accept your beliefs, are you making any effort to accept mine? The answer to that is a definite NO.

Do you remember getting a best answer for this answer you gave a while ago?"Yes, I believe humans have souls. Well, except for Atheists obviously."
Yes and here you are whining and threatening to report anybody "Rude". You are such a typical Christian.

I have taken the liberty of reporting rude and abusive answers on here in your behalf, unfortunately they were all Christians that were being rude and abusive. I hope you appreciate this extra effort on my part to be helpful.

Answer 7

I believe in God, I am Muslim. We don't believe that Jesus Son Of Mary should be called God's son, for the concept of Jesus' divinity was established at the Council of Nicea where Constatine accepted the claims of the sects which had more followers.

If you study the Bible you can see that it even confirms this, that at the time of when Jesus Son of Mary walked the Earth, the people took his as a prophet, just as we Muslims do.

Matthew 21:45-46 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

We also believe that Jesus Son of Mary WILL descend again to fight the anti-christ.

I am a first year science student as well, my major is Biochemistry and Cell Biology

Peace Be With You

Answer 8

Why do you need acceptance? Are you hoping to convert others to your way of thinking? I believe in God but I am not living a Christan life. I feel that many politicians are trying to remove God from daily living. But I do not feel the need to have everyone believe as I do to legitimize my belief in God. I think you are right in expressing your beliefs but the non-believers will never give you what you are asking for and that is confirmation of God.

Answer 9

Well I think it is directly related to the fact that christians feel that it is not only their right but their god given duty to conform everyone around them. I used to be very accepting of the religous rights... well right to be. I am very live and let live. However the nonreligous community can no longer remain silent as our rights to NOT BELIEVE are slowly being eroded away. You bring it upon yourselves by your incessant need to declare war on anything and everything that is not biblical. If you stop trying to legislate your religion you will get peace from us if you dont... its on.

Answer 10

Just as most christians try to convert non-christians, there are some atheists who try to convert theists.

I am happy for christians to be christian, as long as they don't try and convert me, or tell me that I am going to hell for not sharing their belief. If they do, I will explain why I believe their religion is utterly illogical.

From my experience, christians are the worst group for not accepting the fact people don't share their belief.