Question for Atheists...?

Question

Why do some atheists get so angry in their responses about God and prayer? Emphasis on "some". If you are an atheist and this doesn't apply to you, please don't get defensive. I have noticed that A LOT of Atheists harbor a lot of anger. How can you be so mad at someone or something that according to your beliefs does not even exist?? This just baffles me...

Answer 1

That's usually because that particular person is irritated by the fact that someone doesn't believe what they believe. It really has nothing to do with their system of beliefs. Some people (both religious & non religious) can't wrap their mind around the fact that some people just don't buy the fact that a God exists or doesn't exist. It really does run both ways. I've seen people be condemned on here for what they believe or don't believe.

It's really no one's business if someone believe in God or not. Badgering them isn't going to make them see the light or whatever. 99.9% of the time, the idiot who is angry can't get their point across because they're too obessed with being right when in reality, no one knows if they're right. It's just a belief or lack there of. For some, it's alot easier to just go straight to anger instead of just kicking back and allowing others to believe whatever they want. It's probably an ego thing and religion is a very touchy topic anyhow.

In other words, anyone that can't just let others be and avoid the whole "you're a moron because you don't think like me" probably has deeper issues than believing in God or not believing in God. The issue of religion really isn't the problem, it's the person's ego that can't allow them to just let it be.

Answer 2

Atheists (especially newly deverted ones) do tend to be arrogant and condescending.

It's unfortunate but somewhat understandable.

Most often they were brought up in a religious manner and through education they developed critical thinking skills which they used on their own belief systems. They discovered their parents, priests, and teachers (three of the most trusted groups in anyone's life) had all lied to them.

It's not easy becoming an atheist. A theist world view is so all encompassing that realizing there is no God can leave quite a few holes. They have to come to grips with things like the world was not made for them, there is no afterlife, there is no little man in the sky looking out for them, etc. It shouldn't be too hard to assume that for some people it may take some time to really come to grips with what it means to be atheist.

Consider the arrogance and condescending nature to be a phase all atheists go through.

Another factor is the treatment of theists towards atheists. Not only can they be insulting, judgemental and mean, but often the theist really doesn't know what they're talking about. Either they have absolutely no understanding of what evolution is or how it works, or they have no understanding of how to build a logical arguement (ie, prove to me god doesn't exist, yet it is logically impossible to prove that anything doesn't exist).... I'm sure you can forgive an atheist if he thinks he's smarter because of his greater knowledge. Oh, I also love people quoting the bible to prove to me that god exists. What's written in the bible is only proof that someone wrote something in the bible!

Even a seemingly reasonable theist can be insulting and condescending without being aware of what they're doing. If I get another person telling me they're going to pray for me I'm going to be sick...

Usually, as an atheist grows older and wiser and more comfortable with atheism, the bad attitude goes away.

Another problem to consider is that this is a theist dominated world. Take a look at American politics. "Faith based initiatives?" Umm, no thanks. All these politicians trying to ban same-sex marriages? Umm? Why, because it's a sin?!?! No thanks. There was an American Senator who said he didn't care about the environment because good Christians will be raptured before it ever becomes a problem. Umm, this guy is spending our tax dollars?

Atheists like Richard Dawkins (as much as I disliked the God Delusion) and many others are starting to realize it is important for us to be advocates of atheism. We're seeing the growing problems of a religiously motivated world and we're starting to speak out.

Forgive us as we have not been "ministering" as long as Christians have so some of us (Dawkins) don't know the best way to do it. We're learning though.

Answer 3

There is no reason to get angry about it, but most don't know how to express their atheist beliefs when faced with someone who takes everything on "faith" alone. Prayer, and chants (or singing) works, because it is a form of brainwashing. The church, schools, and government have known this for thousands of years. Meditation works equally as well...it all simply helps you focus on solving problems in your life. The church would have you believe that theirs is "the only way", while Jesus tells you to question your faith, and that "church" is everywhere that you are, since god is within us all.
The anger comes from the ignorance and abuses of the church, and the blind "faith" that it demands. Nothing, and no one, should be accepted on simple faith. If your faith doesn't stand up to questioning, then it is false. READ your own bible...Jesus tell you the same thing. The problem is that our religions of today no longer stand up to questioning, therefor, they are false. However, the teachings of Jesus...love, respect, help each other, still apply, and always will. He didn't say follow whatever the church tells you, and go to a certain cult (like Catholicism, or protestant) and give them a part of your hard earned income as tribute to their closeness to god.

Never forget that the bible was written, and edited by men, and that anything that seemed to show women as equal was edited out. The testaments were written centuries after the death of Jesus, and are in no way the "word" of god. They are the words of men. No women allowed.

Answer 4

We arn't angry just because the belief is false. What gets most atheists upset is the fact that a) Religion is also harmful and b) imagine if you held a minority position and lived in a country where people were actively persecuting you for your belief and trying to change your system of government and rewrite your history to be a "Christian" nation. When was the last time you saw an openly atheist politician run for office in America? Studies show that atheists are the least trusted group in America, and they are not exactly given too good of an image in the media sometimes.

Answer 5

1. You may be projecting your preconceptions of atheists onto us. I've seen remarks by Christians that atheists' responses show grumpiness, rudeness, intolerance, etc., but when i look back at the responses in question, i see only frankly-stated opinions and light-hearted joking. What you perceive as anger may not be anger at all.

2. You are absolutely right that we cannot be mad at something that we don't believe exists. It baffles *us* that Christians can even ask that. On those occasions that we are mad, it is *not* at an imaginary god, but at believers, when they insult us, second-guess us, or try to impose their religion on us or our government. And again, what you perceive as anger may not be anger at all.

@Tao - Please, you of all people need not stereotype all of us. If i went through an arrogant and condescending phase, no one around me noticed. If anything, i felt humbled by deconversion, because i knew what it was like to believe that fairy tale. Deconversion taught me how much i had to learn.

Answer 6

We get angry because we are surprised that "believers" are so closed minded that they don't even consider the fact that they MIGHT be wrong. The 'believers' argument is always the same....

"Well, that's what is SAYS in the Bible" which by the way is a two thousand year old book written by man.

Here's a point for you, the 1st commandment says "You shall have no other Gods before me"...yet Christians pray to God, Jesus, the holy sprit, St Jude, St Christopher, they crap their pants when the pope speaks...and so on.

Isn't there something just a WEEEE bit hypocritical about that

Answer 7

It's not about God or prayer, but that some Christians here talk about being in heaven and laughing when they look down into the fiery pits of hell to see the atheists roasting for all eternity (and I have seen a "Christian" on this very site use that wording).

Talk about overweening arrogance!

Answer 8

Hmmm. Some people like to show they're "smarter" than everyone else by being offensive. Most of them are probably pretty young. Some people get ticked off by being evangelized and want to strike back.

You may have noticed that many, if not most, of the answers in any part of this site are crude and thoughtless.

That's my explanation, FWIW.

Answer 9

I think the anger is not fueled so much by the concept of god, as by the sway this concept holds over so much of the population.

Imagine you're trapped in an airplane with a dead pilot, and nine other people who don't want you to touch the controls even though you know how to fly a plane. Worse, they want you to sit and pray with them for god to land the plane safely.

This is how atheists feel in this world. We just want to scream... "AHHHHH let us land the darn plane! Or at least let us show YOU how to fly!"

Answer 10

This applies also to a lot of christians.

You see, I don't see god existing but i see harmful beliefs spreading without any kind of constraint. Lots of people are mistrated or even killed for the sake of religion. Now that upsets me.