Atheists, what moves you from passive doubt or simple skepticism to angry antagonism?

Question

I'm serious here...I'm not trying to piss anyone off (which would be ironic)...after careful inward examination, do you (the antagonistic atheist) think there are things or events in your life that have driven you to be so angry towards people that disagree with you?

Answer 1

Having a brain gets me to passive doubt, using it gets me to simple skepticism, God on my money, in my public schools, and die hard believers controlling my government get me to angry antagonism.

Answer 2

I think that most angry antagonistic atheists bring their personal life into the situation.

They resent Christianity for one reason or another.
Maybe there parents raised them a Christian, and they feel it was a waste of life.
Maybe they've been "martyred" by Christians.
Maybe they enjoy conflict.

But hey, every group of people are like that.
Some Christians are awesome, some show up at funerals with "God Hates Fags" signs. That doesn't mean we should in any way disrespect Christians as a population.

Just keep in mind that "angry atheists" only make up a small percentage of the atheist population.

Answer 3

You know, I was reading a question and the answers it got earlier, and it was on the subject of a movie. One of the answers from a God fearing Christian woman said she would like to "act like a Muslim" for that movie.

Now, I may have misread it, but that sure sounded like she wanted to send someone to be lashed, stoned (and not in a fun way) or beheaded, or perhaps wait until the movie theater was crowded and then go there to blow herself up.

There is some serious irony in the "turn the other cheek" crowd wanting to imitate a group they have no doubt reviled as ungodly and savage, don't you think?

These are also the people who would most likely condemn me because I don't take "because I said so" as a good enough reason to agree with them.

Perhaps your question really isn't for me. I'm not angry. I'm one of the happiest, most contented, most blessed persons you are ever likely to meet. But I don't suffer fools well. Further, I don't have to.

Answer 4

Not really. But the more I hear people doubt things like evolution so blindly, and filling any blank, even those already explained with God, rather than look up a book and try to explain things I start to get angry.

It bothers me when in a class of thirty school children only an atheist has the common sense to integrate three science classes, physics bio and chemistry. And it isn't capacity, it's lazyness.

Answer 5

Um, the entire state of Kansas trying to sabotage their children's educations, being told I was going to burn for eternity whilst trying to mind my own business (who is the antagonist there?). And I know it seems petty, but what can I say? I never liked the taste of those magic communion wafers.

I also like the way you posed your question so that it had inherent assumptions that simply aren't true (e.g. that we make that exact progression, that we all end up angry and antagonistic, etc). Very clever, Grasshopper, but you'll have to do better than that with this crowd.

Answer 6

I feel that I've been told fairy tales. I feel that because of this indoctrination I spent the majority of my life being afraid, feeling guilty, and not being an independent individual who thinks for myself.

Now I'm having to work on undoing all of this, with a hole in my life where something used to be, and I have to deal with people sending me messages telling me that I'm immoral and evil.

Religious people are very self-righteous. They are not willing to ask or answer questions. This is frustrating. And I know where they're coming from, because I was there once. So I don't have the patience for it.

Answer 7

Knocking on my door while I'm asleep, thinking you have the perfect right to disturb a citizen at home.

Trying to inject faith into schools and government.

And then there was that time I was fired when someone found out I am atheist. But I won at the employment hearing.

At my job of the last 12 years, I am one of the best liked people there, in a sea of Southern Baptists. Go figure.

Answer 8

False dichotomy.

We can keep passive doubt about the existence of god(s) and maintain angry antagonism towards school boards who want to introduce creationism into science classes at the same time.

It's easy.

Answer 9

Dude, who said I was angry? I just like debating. It's not passive doubt, but it is calm disbelief. Just because the debates on here get heated doesn't mean we're by nature angry, only that we get very involved when it comes to these debates.

Answer 10

Agnostic here, but people treat us like Atheists. Anyway... when somebody personally attacks my beliefs yet can't back their own up with anything more then "God says I'm right". I have just as much faith as you do, don't try to act superior. Nobody really has any evidence for anything, so what makes you so sure you're right and I'm wrong? I don't care what people believe, but don't tell me I'm wrong.