Why bash those who believe in God?

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: ironwing

Originally posted by: Hyperblaze
I've never understand why folks bash those who believe in a superior being.

It's fun. Next.

I work with a Jehovah's Witness. Im a field tech for a Kansas WISP and I spend *all* day with this guy. As soon as I found out he was a JW, I made it quite clear that i *do not* care what he believes, why he believes it, or what he thinks is wrong with every other religion.

I don't try to talk him out of it, explain what I believe (or, being an atheist, do not) or begin to engage him in conversations of a religious nature, and in some cases, even of a scientific nature.

But he goes on. And on. And on. And on.

I soon decided that I had 2 options:

Threaten our employer with a lawsuit

or

Fuck with him.

Lawsuits are expensive, and time-consuming. I also happen to rather like my job.

Besides, this guy drives by churches several times a day and still can say

Everyone KNOWS Jesus died on a stake, not a cross!

Seriously. Im not sure he even comprehended that the *only* people who thought that were people who read the bible he reads: the New World Translation used *tada* only by Jehovah's Witness'

To so blatantly deny reality does, in combination with how he tries to preach to me despite my repeated insistence that I am not religious, practically beg to be ridiculed.

Aside from him, I keep to myself on religion. Im an atheist. I dont care about whether anyone else is, or could be if I just badgered them enough. I dont care if anyone agrees with me or not. If questioned, I am honest, if the topic comes up among a group, I keep away from the group.

But I cant afford to sue, and lately it seems that he understands if he begins his religious talk, I will speak until he shuts up. It is, now, like a deterrent. I still think it rather unfortunate that it had to happen this way, but it *is* fun sometimes.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

Originally posted by: Homerboy
I know more peopel that go out of their way to try to convince beleivers that there is no God than vice versa. Its like they smell blood in the water or something and have to immediately defend THEIR belief of no God while the religous person just smiles and nods and says "Ok thats fine..."

The reason for that is non-religious are mostly intelligent, rational people. Their intentions are to get you to understand so that you don't have to remain an ignorant douche for the remainder of your life, they're trying to do you a favor. The reason the religious 'smile and nod' is because they have nothing intelligent to say in return, because of course there is nothing intelligent to be said in favor of their flaccid belief. Walking away is their 'god given' response to blank our rational thought. 'lalala I can't hear you, god is great, praise god lalala, I didn't hear a thing, lalala'.

personally, call it what you will, but I think anybody that looks at the world around them and doesn't acknowledge some kind of creator is a f'n arrogant loon. Now, on a different subject entirely, how active is that creator in our lives now? I think that is the question.. Obviously, there was a creator.. just as obviously, there is a sky and obviously.....

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK
personally, call it what you will, but I think anybody that looks at the world around them and doesn't acknowledge some kind of creator is a f'n arrogant loon. Now, on a different subject entirely, how active is that creator in our lives now? I think that is the question.. Obviously, there was a creator.. just as obviously, there is a sky and obviously.....

I think its pretty arrogant to say that a single god created all this.

 

[AbAbber2k]

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

Originally posted by: Homerboy
I know more peopel that go out of their way to try to convince beleivers that there is no God than vice versa. Its like they smell blood in the water or something and have to immediately defend THEIR belief of no God while the religous person just smiles and nods and says "Ok thats fine..."

The reason for that is non-religious are mostly intelligent, rational people. Their intentions are to get you to understand so that you don't have to remain an ignorant douche for the remainder of your life, they're trying to do you a favor. The reason the religious 'smile and nod' is because they have nothing intelligent to say in return, because of course there is nothing intelligent to be said in favor of their flaccid belief. Walking away is their 'god given' response to blank our rational thought. 'lalala I can't hear you, god is great, praise god lalala, I didn't hear a thing, lalala'.

personally, call it what you will, but I think anybody that looks at the world around them and doesn't acknowledge some kind of creator is a f'n arrogant loon. Now, on a different subject entirely, how active is that creator in our lives now? I think that is the question.. Obviously, there was a creator.. just as obviously, there is a sky and obviously.....

Unless you're an f'n ignorant tard who explains everything he doesn't understand with fairy tales. You know why ancient myths exist, right?

In the future, High School curriculum regarding mythology will cover Christianity and a figure known as Jesus. Except his name will be pronounced Hay-zeus, due to the passage of time and an inevitable hispanic population explosion.

 

[compuwiz1]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: compuwiz1
I don't bash people who don't believe in God....I pity them.

In the end, if it turns out opposite of their beliefs, they are in deep shit.

LOL, the 'ol scare tactic.

Hey man, I don't bash people that don't believe in Big Foot... I pity them.

In the end, if it turns out opposite of their beliefs, they are in deep shit. They'll have to live in the deep, dark...ummm...cold...yeah cold forest, FOREVER! Ooooooo!

lol
Actually, I despise organized religion pretty much, and I'm not one to tell people what to believe in, or judge anyone who doesn't believe in God. My post was mostly in jest.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK
personally, call it what you will, but I think anybody that looks at the world around them and doesn't acknowledge some kind of creator is a f'n arrogant loon. Now, on a different subject entirely, how active is that creator in our lives now? I think that is the question.. Obviously, there was a creator.. just as obviously, there is a sky and obviously.....

*taps sarcasm meter*

 

[DangerAardvark]

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

Originally posted by: Homerboy
I know more peopel that go out of their way to try to convince beleivers that there is no God than vice versa. Its like they smell blood in the water or something and have to immediately defend THEIR belief of no God while the religous person just smiles and nods and says "Ok thats fine..."

The reason for that is non-religious are mostly intelligent, rational people. Their intentions are to get you to understand so that you don't have to remain an ignorant douche for the remainder of your life, they're trying to do you a favor. The reason the religious 'smile and nod' is because they have nothing intelligent to say in return, because of course there is nothing intelligent to be said in favor of their flaccid belief. Walking away is their 'god given' response to blank our rational thought. 'lalala I can't hear you, god is great, praise god lalala, I didn't hear a thing, lalala'.

personally, call it what you will, but I think anybody that looks at the world around them and doesn't acknowledge some kind of creator is a f'n arrogant loon. Now, on a different subject entirely, how active is that creator in our lives now? I think that is the question.. Obviously, there was a creator.. just as obviously, there is a sky and obviously.....

And that's the crux of religious people's argument: it's so OBVIOUS! Life is so beautifully complex there and the Earth is so perfectly designed to support not just life, but human life that there HAS to be an intelligent design behind it.

Well... no. If you want to know why the sky is blue, why men have nipples and how something as complex as the human eye formed, here's an idea: instead of just saying "god did it" and dusting off your hands in satisfaction, go read a book.

Edit: if it WAS sarcasm, +1 for getting me to bite, -1 for imitating the argument a little too perfectly

 

[AFSCrazy]

The problem with religion is that there is not a single fabric of evidence to prove the existence of a supreme being, yet so many people feel the need to preach of such an existence. Just because something as significant as the creation of earth is almost incomprehensible, doesn't mean that someone of a greater being created it. The arguments supporting religion are ludicrous, to say something exists just because you believe it does(faith) just means your insane. Also, just because something can't be directly dis proven, is not a supporting argument for its existence. It would be like me being a scientist and saying, I created invisible matter, and just because you can't prove I didn't create it, doesn't mean I didn't. It's not my job do disprove the existence of something, If you believe in it and/or want me to believe in it, it's your job to prove it exists other then, "I felt it" or "have faith".
The explanation for religion is pretty simple. Long before the means of science, in the most primitive times, people looked around and wondered why everything exists. Not having the mental capacity or rationale to come up with an actual explanation, people agreed that a supreme creator must be responsible. It's just like ancient fables, except was taken on a more literal level. Why do you think different religions exist? Furthermore, how can Catholics claim that the Muslim is false and vise versa.
Another problem with religion is that the creation of certain things still go unanswered, i.e. dinosaurs and other planets. Religion never addresses such issues and is therefore easily dis proven. I am aware of many religious zealots who even completely deny the existence of dinosaurs altogether, but still have no explanation for other planets.
I never understood people of religion either because it seems as though they never want to give credit towards anyone other than "God". It's as though nothing can be completed successfully without Gods' assistance. However when someone screws up it's never Gods; fault, it's always their own. It's the same for people who say "It's all part of Gods' plan". There are plenty of people who die unhappily, having led unsuccessful lives, but when that happens people never mention this "plan".
To clear things up, I have no disrespect towards believers of a god so long as they do not try to impress their beliefs onto me. If you are wondering why people "bash those who believe in God.", it's because most believers refuse to keep their beliefs to themselves. If you insist on bringing your beliefs to the table, don't act as though you are superior for believing, and that no other possibility exists or is to be discussed. Which brings me to my final point, stop blaming what most call rationale, on what you call the devil. The prevailing argument for things that go unexplained seem to always be "the devil". In fact, I have been called a "devil worshiper" simply because I don't believe in a god. Science is not the work of the "devil", and you should always be open for debate without a closing argument of "you're going to hell".

 

[YoungGun21]

Originally posted by: shocksyde
I've had too many religious zealots look down on me because I'm Agnostic to even give a shit anymore.
Don't start any more threads like this please. You know it will not end well.

Same here and they try to shove their religion down my throat. Don't knock on my door and tell me to find god, next thing you know you'll be trying to find that arm you are missing.

 

[thecrecarc]

Seriously! I totally agree with the OP! Me and Zeus are pals. We talk to each other everyday in my dreams. And for all of you that think Zeus doesn't exist, I will be the one laughing at you when im in the clouds and your down with Hades. You and your fake gods like allah, jesus, buddah and the like. Zeus is the supreme God and anyone who belives otherwise is going to Hades.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: thecrecarc
Seriously! I totally agree with the OP! Me and Zeus are pals. We talk to each other everyday in my dreams. And for all of you that think Zeus doesn't exist, I will be the one laughing at you when im in the clouds and your down with Hades. You and your fake gods like allah, jesus, buddah and the like. Zeus is the supreme God and anyone who belives otherwise is going to Hades.

And on the subject of ignorance, Zeus/Deus is just Greek for "god." Many other languages still use that derivation, Spanish = dios, French = dieu, etc. etc.

There are many reasons to criticize theistic faith and organized religions, but this and the any version of tooth fairy/Santa Claus/unicorn/FSM arguments aren't one of them. Atheists just drag themselves down to the theists' level when they use those.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: Hyperblaze
I've never understand why folks bash those who believe in a superior being.

There is no possibly way to prove or disprove God's (or whoever you believe in) exists, however, just by things that have gone through in my life, I have a strong belief that God does exist.

You might not realize it, but God might of affected you or touched your life in some way. I've encountered several instances where I know God's presense was felt.

What do I think of Churches and their rules?

Attending church doesn't make you religious, you could still go through all the motions and not be religious. Having faith does.

The church has been around for centuries, and has a LOT of skeletons in the closet. I'm not even sure that the church we have today is what Jesus had envisioned. They teach a lot of visual material about how Heaven and Earth are. I wish they didn't. It's somewhat misleading in my opinion.

In some circles at church, I would probably be considered a heretic and not a true catholic because I disagree with several of the church teachings and definitely don't follow the bible literally (I find it's more like a guide with stories to show how to live your life. However, there is at least one fundamental truth in it. Jesus died and raised from the dead 3 days later to open the gates of heaven. This is the foundation of the Catholic faith), but I would say that my faith is just as strong as theirs

I find that lots of catholics are hyprocrits. Their version of being a catholic is attend church every Sunday and that's it. Being Catholic is not being catholic for 1 hour a day every week. It's believing and having faith in God 24/7.

Some folks might find mass boring. Hell, if it's a traditional mass, I don't even want to be there. There is too much of a likely chance I'll fall asleep. I want to be there to have fun and praise God. Wait a second? Have fun in church? Is that even possible or allowed? It is at the mass I go to! Singing with actual music (drums, bass, lead guitar).

Take all of this as you will.

I've never bashed non-believers. I've never told anyone that they had to believe in God. I can't stand bible-thumpers either. I'll run away from them faster then you will.

We are all humans with the right to believe what we want. Why can't we all respect each other's right to believe what we please? Is the world such an intolerant place?

The human world would be a much nicer place if every one kept their religion to themselves.

 

[mattpegher]

The modern trend to "bash" stems from a long history of organized religions being responsible for a great deal of injustice and evil in history. Religion or spiritualism is ,although debatable, benign enough to avoid ridicule if left to the theoretic and devoid of human manipulation. If you wish to believe in a higher power, you do not draw my ire unless you use it as reason to behave badly. In its least destructive way that is to express your beliefs with a superiority unbefitting. But we all know that organized religion is reponsible for many persecutions, from the inquisition to jihads.

The more problematic to this forum is that those who come here with strong religious beliefs rarely bring with them any skill or knowledge of the theology of their beliefs. Good philosphic debates have been discussed in history, and any debate between beleivers and atheist needs to stay in the philosophic to be any thing more than a shouting contest.

 

[invidia]

Originally posted by: Siddhartha

The human world would be a much nicer place if every one kept their religion to themselves.

Exactly. Let people believe what they want to believe. No need to shove it into other people's face and piss them off.

 

[Bumrush99]

Originally posted by: AFSCrazy
The problem with religion is that there is not a single fabric of evidence to prove the existence of a supreme being, yet so many people feel the need to preach of such an existence. Just because something as significant as the creation of earth is almost incomprehensible, doesn't mean that someone of a greater being created it. The arguments supporting religion are ludicrous, to say something exists just because you believe it does(faith) just means your insane. Also, just because something can't be directly dis proven, is not a supporting argument for its existence. It would be like me being a scientist and saying, I created invisible matter, and just because you can't prove I didn't create it, doesn't mean I didn't. It's not my job do disprove the existence of something, If you believe in it and/or want me to believe in it, it's your job to prove it exists other then, "I felt it" or "have faith".
The explanation for religion is pretty simple. Long before the means of science, in the most primitive times, people looked around and wondered why everything exists. Not having the mental capacity or rationale to come up with an actual explanation, people agreed that a supreme creator must be responsible. It's just like ancient fables, except was taken on a more literal level. Why do you think different religions exist? Furthermore, how can Catholics claim that the Muslim is false and vise versa.
Another problem with religion is that the creation of certain things still go unanswered, i.e. dinosaurs and other planets. Religion never addresses such issues and is therefore easily dis proven. I am aware of many religious zealots who even completely deny the existence of dinosaurs altogether, but still have no explanation for other planets.
I never understood people of religion either because it seems as though they never want to give credit towards anyone other than "God". It's as though nothing can be completed successfully without Gods' assistance. However when someone screws up it's never Gods; fault, it's always their own. It's the same for people who say "It's all part of Gods' plan". There are plenty of people who die unhappily, having led unsuccessful lives, but when that happens people never mention this "plan".
To clear things up, I have no disrespect towards believers of a god so long as they do not try to impress their beliefs onto me. If you are wondering why people "bash those who believe in God.", it's because most believers refuse to keep their beliefs to themselves. If you insist on bringing your beliefs to the table, don't act as though you are superior for believing, and that no other possibility exists or is to be discussed. Which brings me to my final point, stop blaming what most call rationale, on what you call the devil. The prevailing argument for things that go unexplained seem to always be "the devil". In fact, I have been called a "devil worshiper" simply because I don't believe in a god. Science is not the work of the "devil", and you should always be open for debate without a closing argument of "you're going to hell".

Great post.

 

[ForumMaster]

because most religious people bash non-religious people like me. i don't go out of my way to bash religious people. but they often act in unacceptable ways. i don't care what a man might believe in, stabbing an Arab taxi driver because your rabbi told you too is not acceptable behavior (this happened recently. the driver survived and the man went to prison).

 

[Cogman]

It is like this with everything, if someone believes something and finds out anyone else believes contrary to what they believe, they feel it almost their duty to correct the person so that they can benefit from the joint wisdom. With religion though, you cant spout of facts and data and hope that they will be swayed by your intellect. You can only give feelings and beliefs.

Just look up AMD vs. Intel in the CPU forum and you should see a fair amount of heated debates. Even with facts and figures there are still arguments over which is better (I had a physics teacher that tried to convert my to AMD, though I already own several, because I had an Intel machine.) I know it is not on the same level, but it proves that wherever there are disagreements there are outspoken people that want to prove themselves right.

For the Jehovah's Witness coworker, I suggest telling him that you have decided there must be a god, then getting a Koran, Book of Mormon, or some other religions literature and then try and give it too him to "save" him. That ought to be interesting

 

[mattpegher]

Unfortunately, there is a great deal of pressure to try to convert those who believe differently, some of this is the natural tendency to feel a need to prove your beliefs are right, but on a societal scale this is primarily a need for power. Organized religion's power stems from the number of believers and the money and power that they bring with them. In simple terms the churches convert nonbelievers so that they will pay homage to the church.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Why? Because there is no god. believing in him is like believing in the easter bunny.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Cogman


For the Jehovah's Witness coworker, I suggest telling him that you have decided there must be a god, then getting a Koran, Book of Mormon, or some other religions literature and then try and give it too him to "save" him. That ought to be interesting

A friend of mine jokingly suggested I just tell him Im catholic. She figured that would shut him up.

But then *ID* be the hypocritical liar, and it wouldn't be as much fun

 

[shadow9d9]

Reason: they are the people who knock on our doors asking us to convert, who declare "war on christmas", have persecuted non believers and other believers for the last 2000 years, try to get our schools to teach theology, and constantly push their beliefs on us(stem cell research anyone?)...

Non believers just keep to themselves and don't want to keep having others beliefs forced down their throats... Good job though making it seem like non believers are the aggressive ones(check the last 10k years of history).

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Hyperblaze
Is the world such an intolerant place?

Here is one reason.

Benedict also approved a document which said all other Christian denominations apart from Catholicism were wounded and not full churches of Jesus Christ, drawing the ire of a number of Protestant groups who said it would hurt dialogue.

 

[Unmoosical]

Originally posted by: aircooled
I respect anyone's belief as long as they respect mine.

:thumbsup:

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: shadow9d9
Reason: they are the people who knock on our doors asking us to convert, who declare "war on christmas", have persecuted non believers and other believers for the last 2000 years, try to get our schools to teach theology, and constantly push their beliefs on us(stem cell research anyone?)...

Non believers just keep to themselves and don't want to keep having others beliefs forced down their throats... Good job though making it seem like non believers are the aggressive ones(check the last 10k years of history).

This thread being a perfect example of "non believers" keeping to themselves and not being the aggressive ones, eh?

The problem with believers is that they think their beliefs matter and make a difference. Then they group themselves according to their different beliefs and pit themselves against each other as warring gangs, tribes, and nations. This is the cause of most human woe. And in this realm, there is NOTHING so dangerous as having a group of believers who believe that they don't believe in anything.

 

[0roo0roo]

because it goes FAR FAR beyond just believing in god. no religion does that.

they pretend they know all sorts of things, what god wants you to eat and how, how to live your life and who is damned to hell and such, who's "offended" god and what to do with them, how to "praise" god and make him happy since he seems to be a spoiled toddler with incredible powers who needs to be sucked up to etc. i mean seriously, look at how the muslims justify covering their women based on this nonsense. based on the religions teachings God is apparently a piggish moron.

and of course theres the idea that just because you believe in "god" that you are by default morally superior. you hear it all the time with politicians, that the voters wouldn't trust anyone who didn't have faith. why wouldn't people be upset by that? religion makes people make incredibly stupid claims, such as without their religion they would be totally immoral, claiming that we need for instance the 10 commandments. just look at them, if god wrote those he's an idiot. for an ultimate moral code they are lacking big time.