Why are you angry that I don't believe in God?

This is not for the majority of Christians on DU who couldn't give a rat's ass what I believe in.

This is for the Dogged 2% who, although they will never admit it, think I have committed a great wrong against them in not believing in their god.


For me it's simple: no proof. No proof, no god. Anecdotal stories about people becoming better people after attending religious services does nothing to convince me. And telling me "You gotta serve somebody" does not make it so. I serve nobody - and in fact I do not 'serve,' I work. I do whatever the hell I want. And sometimes, I do what other people want.

I happen to believe that thoughts are not sins: you can sit and think about killing puppies all day and it doesn't make you a bad person. Going out and killing a puppy? Different story. We should be judged on our ACTIONS, not our thoughts.

And I also think respect is EARNED, not GIVEN. You do not automatically get respect by virtue of being you. You get it the old fashioned way: you earn it.

For some of you, I have just committed the heresy of heresies. I have basically rejected your worldview. I have said "I'm glad you're happy, but I won't choose that path. Sorry."

And some of you wish me good day on my path and enjoy the diversity. And some of you seethe with all kinds of anger that I would not take your path.

:)

And if not, givng a rat's ass would be that much more disgusting. At least with the tail you have a handle

handle a rat's ass by the tail than by the - um - well, the ass! Ick!

:rofl:

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Hubby accuses me of being pissed off all day after I go on DU in the morning...

the most devout christians I have met are the angriest. Their whole world view is met by hatred of books, hatred of asking questions, unbending authoritarianism, and being a general vortex of negative suck on the outside world.

Ever known somebody who just sucks the life out of ya being around ya?
They're called "energy vampires" or "energy drainers".

This guy was a real piece of work. He's angry and bipolar but won't go to the doctor.

Everything he said was negative. He doesn't want his kids to read books. I said "Why do you want to hobble them just as if their legs were broken? Why do you want them to be ditch diggers?". I told him, "It's evil to break a child's spirit by telling him he's bad and evil from the day he's born. He's innocent and wants to do good, but you break his will and he will think he is worthless. You cannot protect him from the world. He's gonna have to grow up and deal with the world and make his own choices. You can't control him forever."

he went into a grimace of pain every time I spoke to him -but then I'm an educated female with a doctorate, and that is BAD.

His kids don't respect him, they rebel b/c they know his Big Scary Daddy Jeebus act is bull. I pulled a Dr. Phil on him and said "How's that workin' out for ya??" :evilgrin:

His kids hate him, one boy moved out already because he was afraid he'd kill his old man. Had the old man up against the wall calling him a "loser" and a "sorry son of a bitch" for hitting his mom.
Dad thought he had it all worked out, married a girl 20 years younger than him, tied her down with three kids, that he could control.

Well, she was hanging out with bad people, she is easily manipulated I guess and immature, and now she's gonna spend the rest of life in jail. So now he doesn't have to support her, the taxpayers do.

:wtf:

Glenn Beck and his friends.

There's a whole 'nother swarm of Christianity out there that doesn't hate books, etc.

"Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side..."

Why, I myself have read Heidegger, Sartre, Korzybski, books on Zen, and so forth. Love 'em all! Food for thought!

And there's lots more of me where I come from. (apologies to Firesign Theatre)

Happy trails.

No, not all - but enough of them to make this an issue

they are in the minority, numbers wise, but they are louder and more well covered by the media than those of us who are the more traditional Christians. We don't crave the spotlight or all that attention.

"Some people focus their energy as anger, others as love and charity."

:evilgrin: :D

Welcome to the trail.

I can't answer your question. It's the same feeling I get when I think of people supporting Bush. Except in the case of religion, several things happened. One was that your belief doesn't threaten me like I thought it did. And the other is that the best people I know are Atheists. That one really threw me for a loop. I had to deal with myself at that point.

Oh yeah, and the fact that I don't really know anything regarding the actual truth of the matter.

Then that could put me in a position where I might have to rethink my belief in God and well, that's bad. :sarcasm:

You resist what they use to attempt to control everyone.

This has nothing to do with the existence or nonexistence of God or gods, or with human ability to ascertain knowledge of same. It has everything to do with domination, a wish to control.

By not believing you cause them to have doubts, even if deep inside. If one person can doubt their fantasy then how can they be so sure of themselves? They can no longer think of their fantasy as "self-evident" which they seem to do when among others who share their fantasy. So in order to banish all doubt, and feel secure in their fantasy they have to banish all opposition to their fantasy so that their belief becomes unanimous and they no longer have anything to cause them doubt or worry.

It's the same reason that dictators fear the truth. It causes doubt in their imagined infallibility.

for they have experiences or a sensory feeling within them that justifies all they need.

It's sad when people make these attacking "fantasy" "sky fairy" posts, when there's no reason for such behavior on DU of all places. You believe as you want, mainline faith, alternative religion, or new age though (or nothing at all) and I will do as I believe is best for me. I would hope all people to get in touch with the existence of a creator of all things, but that doesn't make me dislike/distrust anyone who is of any other belief. I realize we all have our own walk, but I don't go around harassing other people's religion, agnostic, or atheist belief. Your post is one of derision and a taunting quality which really needs called out for its flatulence.

It is not something that should be taken personally. If someone rejects that belief, it is their right and anyone taking that personally (or internalizing it) is showing pride, IMO. Dissapointment as well, but internalizing it and making it personal is pride.

I don't care what you believe. I believe that, in this country, you have the right to believe as you see fit. The clincher is that *I* have the same right.

I am sometimes frustrated by DU'ers who seem to attack Christianity as if Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck were the poster children for the religion. There are not MY poster children for what I believe Christianity to be. I never elected them as mascots. I see posts sometimes (there's one going on right now) where Christianity is made fun of, and ridiculed. Belief in any higher power is ridiculed. In my opinion, that puts those DU posters in just about the same category, themselves, as Limbaugh and Beck. They seem to have a fear of those people who dare to be different. Dare to believe in something. Should not anyone and everyone's right to believe as they see fit be respected?

To me, Christianity is about being compassionate, being charitable, caring about one another and trying to help each other. The hijacking of it by the right wing extremists is unfortunate, but I'm not one of them. I don't like it when I get lumped in with the idiots who use Christianity to justify wars, poverty and greed.

I certainly realize and stipulate that others, who are not Christian, may care about being the same - compassionate, charitable, etc. Being a Christian doesn't make me any better, or any worse, than any other human being on the planet. It's just my choice to have a belief.

I'm pro choice (most definitely!) and I don't care if someone is homosexual or heterosexual. I'm not interested in hurting anyone. Not interested in making you be like me. Just interested in coming to DU and sharing ideas about politics, etc.

... it would be "Another Hamster's Ass" category?

:hide:



In all seriousness though, I strongly agree with the rest of your
post even though I'm neither Christian nor athiest.
:hi:

Very witty comeback!!! Enjoyable!

It happens

And you'll also see Theists making blanket nonsensical statements about their theism being generally good, despite the fact that there is a lot bad about it too...

goaded, attacked, and persecuted. The anger seems mainly to be coming from you.

I have never goaded, attacked or persecuted a theist

I cannot say the same about you, however

Very infrequently do I post a thread against atheists. But, I do answer to them often. One look at the list of threads in this forum easily shows who is ranting about whom. Let's take a look and see how many of those threads were authored by you.

Reread your last post. Maybe you didn't MEAN to accuse me of it, but it was implied.

Implied nothing. That is an all to common response (and that doesn't imply I'm singling you out) around here.

Then tell me you weren't accusing me of it

So yeah...keep up the great work there... :eyes:

the answers...what can I say.

But you guys feel free to attack us any time you feel like it

If you think they hate you, you cannot imagine how much they hate me/us because "if you put religion back in the public schools, children won't be "brainwashed" by the liberal heathens". I am PROOF that religion in schools growing up, DOESN'T WORK to their advantage. Actually, it can have the OPPOSITE effect.

stop flinging turds on their path as you walk down yours.

Without the power trip...

How dare you mention your lack of belief in public!

is a request for acknowledgment. For my view even spirited debate is welcomed by most but I seldom see it here in the hidden kingdom. It sometimes starts that way but after a few posts it just becomes 'fuck you , fuck me' bullshit and that is just a wasste of everyones time.

And I take offense to such accusations

is insulting believers by inference and all people born before the twentieth century explicitly with your shall we just say hyperbole.

I think you need some instruction in the English language, as to what an insult is

Here's a hint, buddy...


You Tralfamadorians are such DOGS!

This is an insult

Arguing with Tralfamadorians is like arguing with a dog!

This is not

Seriously - you end up getting in a lot of fights that way

Try learning from your errors admit them and move on don't compound them. You would be surprised what you can learn from others if your first response is not to insult or belittle.

On one occasion you called me a bigot and had your post removed.

Do you assume everyone on the board has amnesia?

I did not CALL anyone a pigeon

Me thinks you protesteth too much....

but, more specifically in address to your question. I think it's more of a problem with the person's ability to handle conflict, and not a problem with you believing whatever you believe (that's not to say there aren't those who get upset though for your thoughts on it though). :)

But it is here

They're angry that you speak up about it and sometimes criticize religion. That's taboo, and since they can't silence you like in the olden days, you are labeled "fundie" or "militant" atheist or other such nonsense.

One is that some people feel threatened and angry by anyone who acts or believes differently from themselves, and especially when it concerns something that has involved a lot of time and effort from themselves and/or is a key part of their cultural identity.

The other is that there are some people who consider that religion is vital to the maintenance of moral virtues and/or social traditions. E.g. the former British Tory Education Secretary John Patten who blamed school indiscipline and juvenile delinquency on the fact that people no longer believe in and fear Hell! The concept that a secular society is immoral and selfish is a staple of certain right-wing journalists in Britain and no doubt even more in America.

That being said, I don't think I've ever encountered anger or hatred toward me for my lack of religion among people whom I know in real life. It's the right-wing journalists, politicians, bloggers, and others who engage in this sort of hatred. But then I'm British, and though we don't have explicit separation of church and state, there is much less 'fundamentalist' religion and much less social enforcement of religion-based morality here than in parts of the USA. Though 'much less' doesn't mean 'none', and since a few things have happened in the last couple of years that I would have once said 'couldn't happen here', I have become less complacent in the matter.

It helps that it makes their parishioners feel persecuted. It forms a tribal identity. Keeps them tithing

Otherwise, the parishioners would wander off and do something that makes "better use of their time".
good comments, LeftishBrit :thumbsup:

(how the hell did I end up in R/T?)

Why are you angry because other people believe?

Believe what you want. Don't believe what you want. Whatever.

And my duty to give you the same respect I expect. Anything else would be both wrong and hypocritical.

...thinking IN and expanding UPON in no uncertain terms about: and/or, black/white, either/or....breaking through these barriers. The spectrum. The gray area.

For some folks....its just too much ~

....sadly ~

(MY hope is that perhaps their own children might help enlighten them....)

You know how the greatest gay bashers are often secretly gay themselves, and unable to admit it? Well, these loudmouth Christians are secretly atheist themselves, and unable to admit it.

secretly Christian and afraid to admit it to themselves?

because they're outside the norm and challenge your concept of reality.

n/t

How many different ways will you and your fellow believers find to dismiss, or outright silence, those who disagree with you?

:crazy:

Deep down, they probably "know" it's a fantasy, but it everybody buys into the myth, it's easier to say the emperor really does have clothes.