ATHEISTS? a question from a CHRISTIAN?

Question

hey guys
well im christian. but i've noticed that a lot of atheists seem to think that christians always try to force their religon on others. some of them do, of course.
but what about you? i have been reading some of your answers and you seem bitter, spiteful and egotistical for the majority. you treat us like we're idiots to believe and continuously tell us that you don't believe in fairy tales, neither should we, and that there is overwhelming evidence for this or that.
is that not a little hypocritical, guys?
i feel no hate or dislike toward anybody, atheist, christian, budhhist--whatever. i respect your religion even though i do not follow it.
but why do most of you seem so adamant and insistent and, pardon me--rude??

no one has answered my question!
im asking you if you dont think you're a little hypocritical for loudly voicing your beliefs and making christians feel badly.
i agree, it is rude and improper for a christian to say to you:"atheists, you're going to burn in hell."
but some of what you say may be just as upsetting.

Answer 1

I haven't done it so it's not hypocritical of me. The best thing about being a non-theist is that no one speaks for me but me. And as far as pushing religion on others I've never seen anyone complain that it's happening here.

When I and those that I know talk about it it's in reference to real life situations.

The fact that atheists share only a single commonality (a lack of belief in deities) and there is no one who speaks for all or even more than themselves you're going to have to confront those who are doing what you claim on an individual basis.

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"no one has answered my question!"

Your question has been answered. If all you want is your own opinion echoed back to you then ask yourself. You're being childish.

Answer 2

Several things to remember. There are many people here that enjoy heckling others over the anonymity of the internet and those are on all sides. Then there is the lack of tone and body language in written messages, you often can not tell how they were meant to sound while you add your own interpretation of how it sounds i.e. you know the person is an atheist so you assume that it is rude.

Now whereas you have a message about the afterlife, I have messages for this life. Especially after hearing about the cases in Saudi, it is imperative that people quit trying to enforce their morality or religious beliefs through civil laws. I also have a vested interest in our school system and do not want creationist pseudo-science taught as real science. From the number of people that seem to think that science is a belief system, we really need a better educational system.

Edit:
Why would I be hypocritical? In order to be hypocritical, I would have to be stating my moral system and then answering in a manner that is opposite to it. I do believe that it is a good thing to be nice, but it is not a moral requirement for me.

While I volunteered to fight for your freedom to believe what you want, I certainly do not have to agree with it, or respect the incredible lack of knowledge some Christians display. There is no hypocrsy in this.

Answer 3

Both groups can be hypocritical often. The name-calling and what not is a school yard mentality that we are all guilty of. One group will attack another and the other will retaliate. I try to keep all my arguments civil and respectful, but I sometimes let my defensive instincts get the best of me. I will spend the first half the time on Y!A answers questions in a mature fashion until all the slander gets the best of me and I go on the offensive. That in turn may cause a Christian to go on the offensive as a result of my slander and the process continues. Eventually everyone will just have to grow up (including me) and debate civilly if this were to stop. I don't see that happening in the near future, so my advice is to take it like a grain of salt and just be secure in your beliefs.

Answer 4

I kind of posed the same question towards Christians a few posts back. I got a lot of good answers, but a few people took major offense (calling me a troll, even). I feel like asking an honest question deserves an honest answer, and if no one is ready for that, then they probably shouldn't ask.

I think everyone conveys a hypocritical perspective from time to time.. it must be natural, and a way to protect their own beliefs. To each his own, I always say. I respect people's right to believe in what ever they want to.

Answer 5

Atheists are "rude", as you said, because they simply get tired of being attacked for saying they do not believe. Christians are pretty rude sometimes too, trying to scare you with stuff like "you will burn in hell" for not believing what they believe it is the one and only truth, instead of accepting and respecting your thoughts.
I have many christian relatives and know many christian people, and some of them simply don't care but some others even get mad at me every time I simply express my thoughts when they try to impose their beliefs and sometimes I just have to shut up. I accept them as they are. It's always the same problem... Seems they can't accept there are people that may not have the same beliefs as them, and that is a "sin".
So, I have patience, but if a christian is rude to me and starts getting annoying, I will be rude as well. Don't expect roses.

Answer 6

For the record, I'm agnostic.

A large part of the reason for hostility toward Christians is that a fundamental, basic, and key principle of the Christian religion is the active conversion of others to the religion. Christians believe that unless someone is "saved" by Jesus Christ (typically in a specific way), they will burn for eternity in a lake of fire. That's some pretty stiff motivation to try to convert others into becoming Christians. I mean, wouldn't YOU want to save others from hell, especially the people you care about? There may be Christian individuals that "respect" other religions and don't actually try to convert others, but any way you look at it this is a HUGE part of the Christian Religion. It is outlined very clearly in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, that trying to convert people is what you are supposed to do if you are a Christian.

A few examples of many, straight from the Bible - Matthew chapter 10: “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven." Also, John chapter 6: "For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me." And of course, the entire book of Revelation, which prophecizes that people will burn or enter paradise based on BELIEF, not good/bad works.

Unfortunately, this basic principle of the Christian religion makes Christians look very pushy. For example, those that go door to door, trying to save people, those that shout about Christianity at people on the streets, the saturation of the mail with Christian pamphlets, churches on every corner, the people that go on campuses and hand out fliers, Chick Tracts, basic conversations with Christians, and so on. It can also get very ugly if the potential "convertee" resists, because the Christian perceives them as rejecting paradise outright. Christians also often believe that it is better to "save" someone by being rude to them, than to have them burn in eternity. It's not always the case, of course, but many atheists are rude to all Christians because they've had one or more bad experiences with Christians trying to convert them. Alternately, many Christians are rude because they percieve the fact that the atheists don't convert as an outright rejection of their religion, and therefore a snub on it.

When it boils down to it, it's two parties that simply don't agree with each other and have a vested interest in proving the other wrong. If the Christians can prove are right, then surely the atheists MUST convert, because otherwise they'll go to hell. If the atheists can prove they are right, that means that they don't have to convert in order to avoid hell after death.

Answer 7

Yea, I agree with you, and I'm an atheist. Here's the thing I have learned: rude people are rude people, regardless of what spiritual system they subscribe to (or don't). It just goes to show that it is not possible to stick people in neat little boxes and ascribe characteristics to them based on the attitudes of a few individuals. I'm appalled at some statements by atheists here, as I'm sure you're appalled by the statements of some Christians. I'm not here to convert anyone to my way of thinking, but it seems to me that those who are would do well to remember the old adage "you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."

Answer 8

While not a strictly an atheists myself I can answer this question. You are right most Christians tend not to push their religion but the ones who do tend to be overzealous. So after you run in to those kinds of people many times, it starts to put a chip on your shoulder. It just wears on them being told time and time again that they are going to hell (something they don't believe in). And there are some done right rude atheists out there, but the majority of them tend to be nice.

Answer 9

Do you have a degree in irony?

You are claiming that Christians get labeled as forcing their religion, even though only a few actually do this. You could take your post word for word, and replace christian with atheist, and have your answer.

To answer your question, you are using a straw man. Only a minority of atheists are doing what you claim. Yet you are doing exactly what you claim is hypocritical for atheists to do.

Answer 10

I'm not an atheist, but I have never seen an atheist try to legislate their agenda onto the rest of us.

I do not see atheist behavior in the real world that parallels the things we read by them here. In contrast, there are plenty of Christians who behave less than respectfully of others out in the real world.

I myself do not agree with branding all Christians or anyone else as being stupid, but on an individual level, there are some pretty appalling displays of ignorance on this board (and even in real life) by people professing to be Christians who are essentially asking to be called stupid.

Your critique of atheists seems to ignore the sheer rudeness of Christians on this site towards atheists, and sometimes toward the rest of us as well.

I am glad that you don't hate/dislike anyone. That's excellent to hear. Yet by your use of a broad brush to post most atheists as rude, you seem to contradict yourself.