Fellow atheists, how to deal with obnoxious religious people?

Question

So we just finished reading Dante's Inferno (about the levels of Hell) in my 11th grade LIT class..and the teacher asked everyone to say something that the book has taught you. I, being atheist, said that since I am not Christian, this book taught me about how Christians viewed hell and how I didn't know there were different levels of hell before..

my class is 95% Christian..and the minute I said this, everyone started yelling and saying "THIS BOOK IS FICTION..WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? THERE AREN'T DIFFERENT LEVELS!!" and talking down to me like i'm dumb. I SAID im not christian. This just made me so mad and embarassed because I am very soft spoken and never say a thing in class so this dropped my self esteem even more. How do I deal with it? Now I feel weird to see all those people again.. Was it my fault?

Answer 1

I am a Christian.
They did not deal with you as Christ would deal with you.
Jesus did not come to belittle people, but to show them their worth - that they are precious in God's sight.
Please accept my apology on behalf of those who spoke amiss, perhaps out of ignorance or a misplaced zeal.
Sad to say, religious people are often sadly lacking in wisdom and virtue. I have however found Jesus Christ to be altogether delightful.
Only through the gift of His Holy Spirit can we know Him as He is.

Answer 2

Do not let it bother you dear. These people have been indoctrinated since birth into this religion and know not of what they speak. If you feel in the mood to argue with them point out that their book falls under the Fiction section as well. The bible is by no means Non-Fiction. Once again do not let these people get to you. It is the common Christian attitude to talk down to people as if they have a higher knowledge. What they "know" is only Dogma that has been ingrained into their Psyche. You can also counter with the fact that there are so many different ideas within the greater Christian Church that the idea of different levels of Hell actually is believed by some.

Answer 3

Christians who are not very secure in their faith will be easily angered; anger is ALWAYS 'threatened value!'

And good on you, by the way for reading Dante! Please compliment the teacher who assigned it. Tell her that as a college prof, I am very pleased to see High School teachers who CARE enough to give heavy duty reading assignments!

What these folks don't seem to realize is that in Dante's time there was a lot of debate about whether there were 'levels' of hell, and that the belief there were WAS DERIVED FROM THE BIBLE! Jesus said: "He knew not to do well, will be beaten with few stripes, but he knew to do well, and did not, will be beaten with many stripes." From this idea of differing punishments, the arguments raged in the late medieval Church. So you might educate them a little about the history of their own faith, and how to interpret the Scriptures!

Answer 4

It's funny, because, although the levels of hell concept wasn't mentioned Biblically, the idea has been sort of accepted by the churches of the past as an accurate representation of what Hell may look like (Dante basically came up with an uber-detailed version of Hell, which was always abstract and vague until that point..His ideas were a major influence on future representations of Hell, in paintings and in popular view). In a way, both the little Christian pirahnna children and you were correct.

Answer 5

No, it wasn't your fault at all.

There are and have been so many different Christian beliefs, it would be impossible for you to have known before ever studying that, that it was not a part of the Christian dogma of your classmates. Dante's view in fact, WAS what some Christians once believed. It is your classmates who were completely out of order for them to have behaved in that manner and for your instructor to have allowed it to go unchallenged.

I would ask for a conference with your instructor and ask them to address this and correct the ignorance of your classmates.

Use a search engine..the history and different concepts of "hell" belief in Christianity is easily available at your fingertips..and of those of your classmates as well.

I probably shouldn't be answering here as I am theist not atheist, but I came here because I often need to know how to deal with obnoxious religious people, too! LOL!
I'm Jewish and we don't have the belief of an eternal firey hell of Christianity..just a little fyi http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/ tells the difference in the Christian notion of the Devil and the Jewish concept of HaSatan

My Jewish son was lambasted recently in much the same manner when a substitute science teacher was telling his 6th grade class all about evolution ( thank God!) and most of the class was up in arms claiming evolution was "anti God".. My son, innocently spoke up and said " Biology doesn't say anything for or against God, I believe in God and understand evolution, what's the problem?" He said 18 of his classmates then started arguing with him telling him how he CAN'T believe in God if he says evolution "happened"..( as if it stopped)
He just kept insisting he did and they're free to believe what they want. I was very proud of my son when he related to me how they bullied him and how he reacted. Don't let it mess with your self-esteeem. Even if you blurt out with something wrong..no one in a class should make you feel a lesser being for not already being in posession of knowledge you're there to LEARN!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell < read this, it may help you

Answer 6

Absolutely not. Its not your fault. People are ignorant high school students are more ignorant than most. If you want to stand up for what you believe in your going to have to educate people. One of the most powerful pieces of evidence against Christianity is that it comes from ancient pagan astrotheology. The story of Jesus was plagiarized from numerous pagan Gods that preceded Christ.

As for hell. You can educate your fellow students by telling them that the Biblical words for hell in Hebrew are Sheol and Hades. Both mean grave. The Israelites never refer to hell as a literal place. The word for hell has become a misnomer in western society and modern day Christianity to mean a place with flames and fire. The early Hebrews spoke of no such thing. The references to hell in the bible all have to do with death. The passage that if your not saved by Jesus Christ then you will burn in a lake of fire for an eternity is a parable meaning that your soul will be dead for ever. So you can tell them that THEY don know what they're talking about.

Kudos on being an atheist at such a young age. Your ahead of the game. I wish I was that smart at that age. I stopped believing in God at the age of 24. Anyway.

Good Day

Answer 7

Hello your majesty
I didn't know you had gone back to school Lizzy old girl ;-)

I'm not an atheists, mind you I'm English and live in Italy so I don't see as many zealot BBs as you do living over there in witch hunting country!
I like to think of myself as an agnostic, You never know!
But I don't have any problems with god at least he has not as yet come round for a cup of coffee and a chat about it!
But these religious types scare the hell out of me.

The thing they forget is that it is supposed to be a belief in god that they are following not the dogma of the words of man written a long time back and explain by some weirdo who buys drug from rent boys.

I have alway thought of Jesus Christ as some 60's love and peace hippy type. but what you've got over there today are becoming like the Spanish inquisition.

My advice is, As soon as you can get out of that Mad house

Answer 8

When it's all said and done, they're the ones who believe in all these childish myths about a god and satan and hell. It's the same as if you'd said, "I didn't know Santa had a team of 20 reindeer." And they said, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? SANTA ONLY HAS NINE REINDEER!" So who's really the childish idiot?

When they're giving you crap, just remember that they're the deluded ones. Personally, I read the Bible so that I run into fewer snags like that, but I don't recommend it. If I were you, I'd put it behind me. If you don't argue with them about it, they'll drop it, eventually. In a couple years you won't have to see any of these people again.

Good luck.

Answer 9

I know what you mean, I'm in high school and man, this one girl said she was atheist and the whole class attacked her. I was trying to help hrer even all my friends, also being Chirstian, didn't want to help her. Everyone was being mean to her. Those people were acting very unChrist like. I think that people that claim to be Christians need to quit beeing snobs about it. I'm not saying all Christians are like this but many are, including my friends and family, I am a Christian but I do NOT judge people because I know that I am no better than anybody else. I'mm sorry that they were being so mean.

Answer 10

Most kids, and many adults, are waiting for an opportunity to put someone else down in order to elevate themselves in the eyes of others. It's sad, but commonplace.

The funny thing is that none of those kids actually know what hell is like, or if there even is a hell for real. They simply parrot what their parents or their church tells them.

I would stick to your belief that there is no hell, and believe what you think is right for you. Those other kids don't have any bearing on what you think or who you are. Best of luck to you in school.

Answer 11

OK, I am a christian but for those people to laugh at you or to tease you for not knowing was uncalled for...next time..just throw some holy water at them and yell the power of christ compels you...people should not push their religious beliefs off on other people. Laughing at someone for not knowing (not just this but any subject)just shows how idiotic people can be. Hold your head up and tell them that true Christians wouldn't have laughed. (Word of warning...please do this carefully as I don't want to get blamed if they drag you to the river and baptize you in the meantime) People like that really irk me....