Is there a strong hate for atheists, and I am assuming agnostics as well at this place?

Question

from other questions it would seem as so.

what is so wrong with being open minded?

people of religion can also be open-minded, i have met many. for what reason must several members of yahoo questions be so closed minded to questions? if they were truly religious they would accept the questions with open arms and provide a logical explanation based on their religion or thought.

Answer 1

It would depend who you are speaking to - from certain people there is also a lot of hate for any one of a theistic or faith point of view too.

Edit

In response to your own addition - i believe this is due more to personality and individual reasons than anything to do with anybodies faith/non-faith point of view.

Answer 2

I don't hate atheists or agnostics just some of the narrow minded remarks made by some . It seems some are just out to offend or have no knowledge at all about faith. To Jack i became a Christian when i was 28 an adult the same as many did i grow out of atheism?

Answer 3

It threatens their narrow-mindedness.
Hell my parents told me the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy were real too, why is it that the myth of God just never gets grown out of for most people? While there is certainly a "higher power" than humanity, it sure as hell isn't whats described in religious texts.

I am fine to let religious thinkers think their own thing, doesn't affect me. Although I am not always exactly benevolent to them, since they are always telling me I'm wrong or condescending to me and saying I am "misguided" and that they'll pray for me. Well actually it does affect me since they are always on TV or my doorstep asking for money, or on here trying to "convert" or at least insult people of differing beliefs.

"Provide a logical explanation based on their religion or thought," is an oxymoron.

Answer 4

Not all are having strong hate for atheists and agnostics. In personal view, only those who are die hard Christians and Muslims who had absolutely no idea what they are worshipping.

I know other Christians and Muslims who knows their religions being very nice and we often have fruitful discussions. But in this place, it is fun being a war monger against those who know nuts and still wanted others to believe them .... LOL....

Answer 5

Lol* I don't think so, I think most people just really want to be right. There are lots of hateful Athiests, and lots of hateful people of religion as well.

God love my Father, but he preached open mindedness until he was blue in the face to me while I was growing up - his passion is Vedanta - and then when I married a Catholic and wanted to baptise my daughter, he refused to step foot in a Catholic Church because he "hates those people". I thought, "so, he hates my Husband?" He's a really loving caring guy too! Lol* We worked things out, and I explained, if it's really important to my Husband and his family, and I don't really believe that it's necessary or care, what's it gonna hurt? She gets a lil' water on her head and some blessings from a Priest...it's not like if you go to Church you can catch Catholic or anything. Lol* Now he gets it, but it was just experiences in the past from Catholics that caused him to be so defensive. He never really hated anyone, but he felt threatened. I think most people who "hate" feel threatened in some way.

Answer 6

Aquinas’s Summa Theologica


• According to Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Theology is the study of God:
– Whether God exists,
– What God’s attributes are,
– How God is related to created things.
• There are two ways in which theology might be conducted:
– Through the authority of divine revelation,
– Through the use of natural reason.
• If one rejectsdivine revelation, then articlesoffaith cannotbe used as first principles of theology.
• So natural reason is useful in theology.
How To Prove That God Exists

The existence of God is not self-evident to human reason.

•

– If it were, then we would know that God exists from his essence,
– But we do not know God’s essence.
• TheexistenceofGodisnotknownthroughan understandingofGodasthatthan
which nothing greater can be thought.
– Understanding that than which nothing greater can be thought implies only
that it exists in the mind.
– For a proof that God exists, it must be conceded that that than which nothing greater can be thought exists in reality.
– But someone denying the existence of God will not concede this point.
• The only remaining way to prove God’s existence is by showing that God is the
cause of effects which are more evident to human reason than is the existence of
God.
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The Five Ways

• Aquinas presentedfiveargumentsfrom naturaleffectstotheexistenceofadivine
cause.
• These arguments are known as the “five ways” of proving God’s existence.
• The model for these arguments is found in the metaphysics of Aristotle.
• We will focus on two of the arguments and not cover the arguments from:
– Motion,
– Contingency,
– Gradation.
The Argument from Causality

• Thebasicideaoftheargumentfrom causalityisthattheremustbeafirstefficient
cause:
– Anefficient causeisan agent that beings abouta changein something else.
1. Nothing can be prior to itself.
2. An efficient cause in nature is prior to its effect.
3. So, no efficient cause in nature is the effect of itself. [1,2]
4. For anyeffect x in nature, x has an efficient cause.
5. So, for anyeffectxin nature, thereis anefficient causeythatis distinct from x.
[3,4]
6. If there is no efficient cause that is not an effect, then there is an infinite chain of
efficient causes. [5]
7. There is no infinite chain of efficient causes.
8. So, there is an efficient cause of an effect in nature that is not itself an effect.
[6,7]
9. An efficient cause that is not an effect is God.
10. So, God exists. [8,9]
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The Argument from Governance

1. Natural bodies act so as to obtain the best results. [Aristotle]
2. Acting so as to obtain the best results is acting on the basis of knowledge of the
end.[Contra Aristotle]
3. So, natural bodies act on the basis of knowledge. [1,2]
4. Manynatural bodies act on the basis of knowledge without having knowledge.
[3, observation]
5.Ifa naturalbodyactsonthebasisofknowledgewithouthavingknowledge,then
it is directed by a being that has such knowledge.
6.So,manynaturalbodiesare directedbyabeingthathasknowledgeoftheirends.
[4,5]
7. Abeing who directs natural bodies toward their ends is God.
8. So, manynatural bodies are directed toward their ends by God. [6,7]
9. So, God exists. [8]
Limitations of the Arguments

• The arguments from natural effect to divine cause have an inherent limitation.
• The effects are finite, while God is infinite.
• So the role of God as cause in each of the arguments does not yield perfect
knowledge of God’s essence.
• Together,thefivearguments(if successful)only establishtheexistenceof beings
with the following features:
– Amover that is not moved,
– Acause that is not an effect,
– Unable not to exist,
– Possessing a maximum of goodness and all perfections,
– Director of all natural things.
• Hume in the eighteenth century exposed a limitation of the arguments not acknowledgeby Aquinas.
– Aunitary Godwould explain all theeffects,but several different beings as
causes could explain them.
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The Argument from Evil

• One of the chief problems with the notion of a perfectly good and powerful God
is how evil can exist.
• Aquinas formulates the problem in this way:
1. If God exists, then goodness is infinite, and there is no evil in the world.
2. There is evil in the world.
3. So, God does not exist. [1,2]
• One response,givenby followersof Plato,istodenythe second premise.
– Evil has no being,but insteadisa “privation” or lackof being.
• Aquinas allows that the second premise is true, so he denies the truth of the first
premise.
• Aquinas claims that God allows evil in order to produce the good.
– This strategy in philosophyis called “compatibilism.”
– In this case, the existence of God and of evil are claimed to be compatible
with each other.
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Answer 7

I don't hate atheists or agnostics - I used to be one!! Sometimes I feel sorry for them, but generally I just laugh. Their opinions are funny...

Answer 8

That would be wrong. Jesus says to love your enemies.

And don't laugh at nonbelievers. Have pity on them for they will be denied the treasures of heaven.

Answer 9

I don't hate atheists , cause that between u & Allah.

I wish that u become a Muslim so that u live in the right way & go to Heaven.

Answer 10

Only to the ones who constantly attack beliefs and try to see just how insulting they can be. And then hide behind, "you are not supposed to judge me, that's not Christian of you."

I respect the right not to believe

BUT NOT THE RIGHT TO INSULT MY LORD OR MYSELF.

THAT IS ONLY BEING FAIR.