I always read on here that atheists disagree with our laws and beliefs in america because they're influenced..

Question

by christianity and belief in God? What is, in your opinion, the most unbearable thing about america that has to do with christianity that you want changed?

or what morals that we get from the bible that influence our laws do you think are wrong? christians aren't jewish, we don't follow the Old Covenant btw before anybody puts that in....thanks :)

how is not being able to have a gay marriage 'unbearable'? you have the option of civil union, which has the same benefits. and homosexuality is NT as well as OT

Answer 1

"how is not being able to have a gay marriage 'unbearable'? you have the option of civil union, which has the same benefits. and homosexuality is NT as well as OT"
----WOW, I'm surprised that people have only responded to this statement by saying that civil unions do not reap the same benefits as marriages. Civil Unions are almost non-existent if you are referring to legally binding contracts that equate to marriage in any way. Civil union is a fairly new term, a new category of law that was created to extend limited rights to same-gender couples. These rights are recognized ONLY in the state where the couple resides, but often times NOT. Here are a few facts:
--Marriage offers federal benefits and protections. Civil Unions do not.
--Civil unions and domestic partnerships are not federally recognized, therefore state or local benefits are subject to federal taxation.
--The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was passed by Congress in 1996, and it was signed into law by President Clinton. However, while it allows each state to choose whether or not to recognize a same-sex union that is recognized in another state, it also created a federal definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman.
--Almost every state has taken advantage of the opportunity DOMA offers by either enacting legislation or amending it's state constitution to declare same-gender marriages as invalid.
--As of July 2006, 45 states had passed laws or amendments limiting marriage as being defined as a legal union between one man and one woman, and mandating that out-of-state same-gender marriages are to not be recognized.
--Here are some benefits not afforded same-gender couples....
Joint parenting;
Joint adoption;
Joint foster care, custody, and visitation (including non-biological parents);
Status as next-of-kin for hospital visits and medical decisions where one partner is too ill to be competent;
Inheritance of jointly-owned real and personal property through the right of survivorship (which avoids the time and expense and taxes in probate);
Benefits such as annuities, pension plans, Social Security, and Medicare;
Decision-making power with respect to whether a deceased partner will be cremated or not and where to bury him or her;
Crime victims' recovery benefits;
Judicial protections and evidentiary immunity......
(The list would be much longer if I listed EVERYTHING.)

Civil unions are recognized in VERY FEW STATES. So I'm eager to know what the asker's point is, since, even if civil unions did have the same benefits as marriages, they are not recognized in most states.
Many homosexuals and bi-sexuals (including ME) feel that the point is NOT that civil unions are unbearable.... It's that the government has the audacity to say that we cannot marry whom ever we want to marry.

"I always read on here that atheists disagree with our laws and beliefs in america because they're influenced..
by christianity and belief in God?"
----What planet are you living on? ATHEISTS are NOT the only people who disagree with Christian-based laws. ANYONE who supports the freedom to choose one's own religion, or to choose NO religion at all, disagrees with Christian-based laws or any other religion-based laws.

"What is, in your opinion, the most unbearable thing about america that has to do with christianity that you want changed?"
----There is NO "most unbearable thing". ANY judge, politician, government official, justice, etc..., who bases decisions upon religion is a person who does not belong in their position. And any decision that he/she makes is a decision that is against our constitution since religious based decisions are decisions which force beliefs on people.

"christians aren't jewish, we don't follow the Old Covenant btw before anybody puts that in....thanks :)"
----So you're speaking for all Christians? Sweetie, there are several Christian denominations, and I highly doubt that you are familiar with all of their beliefs. So I would suggest that you stop before you "bite off more than you can chew".

BOTTOM LINE: We all have the freedom to live however we please. Religion is a hooey argument.

Answer 2

I am not an Atheist, but I understand where that are coming from when it comes to Christians.

Christians have this belief that Atheist do not live by a moral code and it OK to do what you want since you will not answer for the things you do. Untrue!

Christianity has the shadiest past of any modern religion. Everything Christians do that is deemed bad is justified in the name of God, when its good its justified in the name of Jesus. Complete doubt standard in the sense that they are suppose to be one and the same. Manifest Destiny is one example and the ever popular subject that everyone is tired of, slavery is another. Jim Crowe Laws and Segregation were all justified in the name of God. Look what Christians did to Mormons. Since Popes are elected by a group of his peers, how is he more Catholic or closer to God then you? That is like saying a president is closer to God just because he/she is in the white house.

I am not saying we should not have laws and I don't believe they are all religiously driven, but factor in religion and Christianity takes a front seat everytime.

Answer 3

First, our laws really aren't influenced by Christianity. They're based on (mostly secular) political philosophy that was flourishing in Europe at the time. Our citizens on the other hand...

Good question though:
1. Teaching people that things are wrong because the Bible says so stops people from thinking things through rationally. Yeah, you shouldn't murder people. But when you don't know why, you're more likely to do so if you ever became convinced God was OK with it. maybe not the best example, but the overall point is there.

2. This militant resistance to the idea of ending lives before they can even feel it. Is abortion ideal? No. But banning the legal procedure wouldn't save anyone, just create back-alley abortionists. The Right has elected way too many morons based on "pro-life" campaigns that have gotten them nothing but relief for big-business.

3. Not believing evolution. This is just ridiculous. Let's teach our kids scientific fact, and let the religion come in privately OK?

4. Treatment of gay people. Sexuality is not black and white, sorry. I know you want things to make sense, but let it go.

overall, these things aren't as bad as some athiests make them out to be. But they all create unnecessary battles that distract us from more important things.

Answer 4

Actually, civil unions do not have the same benefits as marriage. Any estate lawyer or accountant can tell you that. If you'd like proof, simply look at the federal estate tax law. Anything left to a spouse is one hundred percent deductible upon first death (assuming joint ownership of all properties left to the surviving spouse), and this is ONLY applicable if they were married. There is no limit to this amount, and it will not be taxed until the surviving spouse dies. Civil unions are not afforded the same treatment, meaning that at most (there are all sorts of exceptions to allow the government to tax property) 2 million in property can be transferred upon death tax-free. Since most income is already taxed twice (taxes are paid by the employee and then matched by the employer), this amounts to a third tax in the case of a married couple (upon the death of the surviving spouse) and a fourth tax for non-married couples (the estate of the first person who died and then again of the estate of the second person when he or she dies). That doesn't seem particularly fair does it?

That aside, the other laws that I find ridiculous are those that actually limit the type of consensual sex two adults can have.

Answer 5

I cannot speak for Atheists, but as a Christian I know that most laws are based on moral issues, not civil issues; and at times it is difficult to separate the two.

However, it is my belief that as long as I do no harm to another living being, this includes theft, perjury, property damage, what I do should not be governed by any other man or group.

Answer 6

I just want Christians to respect the fact I'm not one and stop trying to force biblical beliefs into laws. There are many christian beliefs I agree with- however in a country that is supposed to have freedom of religion- passing laws with a christian agenda is offensive to me. For example if you're a good Christian- you don't need a law preventing you from getting a abortion- your faith and prayer should prevail, right?

I don't see how it's fair to take rights from non-Christians to make it harder for Christians to commit sins. If the majority of Christians followed the principle of not judging others then they'd mind their own business and there would be no reason for debate.

Live and let live.

Answer 7

I don't know how you can "always" read that athiest disagree with your laws because they are influenced by Christianity, because athiests are well-informed enough to know that American law is NOT based on Christianity.

What they object to is attempts to inject Christianity into the laws in defiance of the Constitution.

Three current examples of this:

Attempts to pass a law prohibiting newly elected congressmen and senators from using any book other than the bible for their swearing in

A proposed law in Texas that would ban all books by homosexual authors from publicly funded libraries (not book about homosexuality, mind you, but ANY book written by a homosexual)

A similar law in Alabama that would not only ban books by homosexual authors from public libraries, but any book that contains homosexual characters!

Can any sane person--atheist or not--not see how stupid and unjust these proposed laws are?

Answer 8

I am a Christian. But I am a progressive Christian. And I find our country's obsession about all things sexual (which gets very little air-time in the bible) while simultaneously ignoring all of the scriptural directives to enact economic justice to be simply appalling.

I would like to see our laws reflect Jesus' call for justice for the oppressed and the poor, rather than an obsession with personal wealth and human sexuality.

Answer 9

Well, we could stop saying that the laws of our country are based on the Old Testament. The Consitution was in fact inspired by the Magna Carta. Also, basing someone's qualifications on "how Christian" they are could go too. Basically, if we could back to what our deist forefathers thought of "a seperation of church and state", that would be grrrreeeeeaaaatt...
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Answer 10

Organized religion like Christianity breeds intolerance, exclusion, segregation, hate and bigotry.

Even the NT is out-dated.

Puritanical hypocrisy is one of America's greatest ills.

ADD: Please educate yourself and stop lying. Civil Unions do not provide the same benefits as marriage. Try research instead of preaching from the pulpit.