Why don't religious people or, for those who want to split hairs, people of "faith" get it?

Question

They accuse Atheists of being "mean spirited".They question why Atheists come to a religious forum, even though it is "religion AND spirituality" which many Atheists are spiritual and many more Atheists are directly or indirectly affected by religion as well.They see Atheists as an affront to their beliefs and whenever an Atheist points out their views, the Atheist is accused of insulting believers.

Now, I know what some of you might say.Atheists post this and that which says horrible things.True.But so do believers.I have seen an equal amount of nasty posts from believers and Atheists alike.But the point of all of this, is an exchange of ideas through questions and answers.Not, "you believe in God! Me too! Oh yeah". Why don't many of them get that?

Answer 1

Because this is done by Atheists also, You believe there is no God, yeah, oh cool me too!

If what your saying is true, then Christians should only answer the Christian questions and the Atheists should only answer the Atheist questions, but we both know this will not happen, because just as a Christian wants to point out that there is a God, and Atheists jumps up and will say there is no God

This is a never ending cycle and will continue until the end of days

and if you pay attention on here, Christians only pick Christian answers, and Atheists {no matter what the question was} will pick an Atheists answer {even if it does not answer the question, which I think is quiet funny} it happens, like picking teams in school

Answer 2

I don't know. I am a Christian and I don't have a problem with it.

I guess the real problem is the fact that people (religious, atheists, and everything in between) are always making generalizations about the other that are almost always in a negative light. The real problem is the people who have zero tolerance for anything but their own belief.

I certainly believe that my beliefs are right and that atheists are wrong, but I cannot hate them or insult them for it. First, because it is a belief, in that it requires some faith, and therefore I cannot scientifically 100% prove God. Second of all, to hate or insult would be going against the very belief system I have and in turn make me look very hypocritical. Last, I ultimately have to trust the Holy Spirit to bring people to faith. While the Holy Spirit may use me for this purpose, I cannot force God, or any other belief for that matter, on a person. In fact, many times "forcing" something on someone is the best way to get them to believe the opposite.

Furthermore, and I am as guilty as anyone of this, the biggest thing that develops on both sides of this debate is an "us vs. them" mentality. This mentality lends itself to cause this problem.

The truth of the matter is that it ultimately comes down to people having their hearts in the right place but expressing themselves in the wrong way. It is amesome how passionate some people are about their beliefs, and when it comes to spirituality and belief systems, it is all the more important. However, the way a person expresses these ideas can cause dissension and anger. It is easy to get caught up in an argument like this and make generalizations based on 1 or 2 experiences but forget about the whole amount of people of a certain of a certain belief.

Hopefully, people can try to read with an open mind and not become jaded to academic discussion about religion, spirituality, and belief systems. As for me, I will certainly continue to try to share my faith and why I believe what I do, and hopefully will have ears receptive to hearing it, just as I hope I would be.

Answer 3

Many Atheists on this forum do insult and belittle believers..You can't rip some one up and not get a reputation as mean spirited. There are some very kind Atheist posters here, but the sting of a mean one will stay with you much longer than the kindness of another.

Answer 4

great question!. it should be a forum for .....asking questions... getting answers...and then... forming an opinion... or some new ideas. or getting an understanding of how people think. it should be a place where maybe minds will open a bit.
some on both sides do this.
some on both sides slam each other.
i prefer to try and learn.
and the reason they dont get it is because that is not what religion teaches. i know what the bible says ... i have read it. i have heard sermons... i have listened to priests and pastors. i have watched the religious groups with great interest
i do this because i want to really watch what they say....what they do...and how they act.
and then... place their actions, thoughts, and words up against what the religion teaches... but in the end... the religion teaches ...exactly what they do and say.
and i wish they would get it.... because the religions are going to tear this planet apart...sooner than later..and i really dont want to see the planet blow...and then as it does... hear them say..."GLORY TO GOD!".....when there is no glory... in us.. not god.. destroying each other

Answer 5

First off let me just say that I've never questioned an Atheist why they're in the R&S section; everyone regardless of beliefs have the equal right to discuss religion as the Religious believers do.

SOME Religious people get upset about this in the same way that SOME members of other beliefs get upset about the same thing. Probably cuz they're expressing concern for the welfare of the person doing the denying and want the unsaved to have the opportunity to have everlasting life, as they believe they do.



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Sweetie

Answer 6

Why do you generalize about people with faith? Everyone who believes in God hates athiests? There are people like me who have faith in God but don't force our views on others or demand that others subscribe to our points of view.

There are a few extremists of every group that become mean spirited towards other groups. Christians have the Divinci Code Protestors and abortion clinic oppressers, Muslims have the bomb makers and boxcutter warriors. As far as athiests are concerned, you get those who decide that an entire culture is evil or wrong based on the actions of a few.

Either way, to answer your question, there are many people of faith who do get it, they're just not the ones dumb enough to do something that draws media attention.

Answer 7

This forum has become something else besides getting answers for Religion and Spirituality. I have many valid questions about religion...I will not ask them here, I will post those somewhere else. Watch, when someone posts a "serious" question about religion....at least half of the answers will be from atheists saying, in one way or another, that it doesn't matter because God doesn't exist. I don't have a problem with atheists being here. I don't even have a problem with them flooding the section with ridiculous questions...you know just the complete non-sense questions. I DO have a problem with them flooding valid questions with ridiculous answers. I DO have a problem when someone asks for prayers for a sick or dying love one and atheists respond saying something like "No God exist so no one will help you, and after they die they are gone forever". THAT is what I have a problem with...not them being here, not arguing with them, not even them being silly on non-serious questions.

Answer 8

A lot of them truly don't understand why atheists come here. If you notice most of the questions about atheists and atheism come from christians. If atheists weren't here to answer those questions, a lot of christians would be recycling the same misconceptions and made up crap day in and day out. And the people looking to really understand atheism would be even more confused than before.

Answer 9

I have seen a few of the "hardcore" believers in here tell people they are going to "burn in hell...", but they often say the same thing to other Christians and other faiths.

However many of the proclaimed Atheists are brutally and purposefully insulting to everyone of faith. I see questions daily that are designed to insult and ridicule, not promote different viewpoints.

Answer 10

I agree with you. There is a lot of hostility between Atheists and Believers. But there is also hostility between believers. Some of them are close-minded.

I haven't seen any posts where Muslims have attacked Atheists. Muslims feel more secure in their beliefs than some Christians.