Why do atheists already hate the new pope?

1. 76

   Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years ago

   Why do atheists already hate the new pope?
   
   Yesterday I saw more hatred on Facebook than ever before...all from atheists, all aimed at a man they knew nothing about.
   
   I've never in my life seen a Catholic post about how they hate any particular atheist or atheism.  Seems clear to me who the losers of the world are.
   
   

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   JThomp42posted 12 years ago

   They hate anything to do with a higher power. I think mostly the hatred is out of fear of the unknown, this is how they phrase it anyway. I am a Christian, but not a Catholic. With all due respect, I myself do not understand why it is necessary to worship another human being. In God's eyes, we are all equal.

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      Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not a Catholic either.  I know a lot of Catholics - and I don't think any of them "worship" the pope...although I do agree they might think a bit too much of whoever is in that position.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Agreed. Maybe worship was a bit much.

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      Larry Wallposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      JThomp42, as you stated, worship was a bit much. Catholics accept the pope as the leader of the global Catholic Church and accordingly respect his position and responsibilities. We look at the Pope as a spiritual guide. Catholics respect the Pope.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Excuse my ignorance Larry. As I have no knowledge of Catholicism. Thank you for enlightening me on the subject. God bless.

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      M. T. Dremerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's a bit of a generalization of atheists. Many do not hate powers higher than themselves, and they come to their beliefs because of a desire to understand the unknown, not because they fear it.

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3. 74

   KellyG05030posted 12 years ago

   Religion, much like politics, seems to really revolve around hate for some people.  No one is able to see the views of another.  Personally, I feel like religion is about love - love for each other and love for us from a higher power.  Ok, now saying that, do I love everyone I meet? No, of course not.  But I also don't go around declaring my hatred on public forums and putting people down because they don't feel the same way I do.  I was born and raised a Catholic, but have been enjoying our time in the Methodist Church since I married 18 years ago.  I enjoy being a Christian, and I like teaching my kids about being Christian.  While I admire the Pope, I don't feel like I worship him.  I see him more as a figure-head than anything else, someone who can preach to everyone over more than one medium.

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   1. 76

      Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks!
      It bothers me very much the false superiority and the denial of irrational hate I see from my atheist friends.
      The Roman Catholic Church, of course, is the largest charitable organization on the planet Earth.

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      alancaster149posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Blind believers are probably no different to the educated choosing to sit on their hands when the question pops up 'Have you any beliefs/What do you believe in?' (It's not just Christians in the 'firing line' here). Do they understand the question?

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4. 67

   Amy Bechererposted 12 years ago

   As atheism is a belief stemming from the denial in the existence of God, the idea of the pomp and circumstance that revolves around Catholicism and the election of any human man to represent a higher power they deny, inspires hate in a community of non-believers.
   
   Though I believe in God, even many believers have fallen away from the Catholic church due to revelations about the betrayal of children at the hand of priests and a cover up to protect their interests, despite the devastating effects on the lives of innocents.  With that in mind, atheists have become more vehement in their outrage, anger and hatred of continuing to deify a religious organization that perpetrated crimes against children and the families that sacrificed to send their children to Catholic schools and into the hands of those that betrayed their trust. Atheists cannot separate a religion that is run by flawed humans from a God they do not believe in.  I imagine that atheists see and resent the wealth of an organized religion that they believe has no validity, yet has done harm and, therefore, despise what they feel is the ultimate hypocrisy.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Great answer!!

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      Amy Bechererposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, JThomp!

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5. 95

   peeplesposted 12 years ago

   Wesman, have you ever visited Yahoo answers? Based on the statement " I've never in my life seen a Catholic post about how they hate any particular atheist or atheism." I will assume not. Go to any chat room or forum and you will see plenty of EVERY religion taking bad about EVERY other religion or lack thereof. Nothing irks me more than reading people bashing an entire group of people but lets all be honest. Almost every one here is guilty of bashing someone at some point even if it's just generalizing people by saying things like "They hate anything to do with a higher power." 
   With that said the Catholic church has done a lot of damage in years past. They have covered up crimes and are currently keeping one of their "fathers" from my area overseas to keep him from coming back here to face charges for sex crimes. Victims are sitting without justice. So anyone who isn't a little ticked off with the previous pope and the constant cover ups is either misinformed or ignoring an important issue.
   By the way please don't make the assumption that all the worlds atheist are sitting somewhere bashing all things religion.

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      Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well I don't have time for Yahoo Answers.  I've well over 1200 Facebook "friends," and am probably in as many Facebook groups as is allowed...which extends what I see there by several thousands more persons.

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      peeplesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Not saying you should spend time there just that that's a prime example of a place where you see hatred from all sides.

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   MickSposted 12 years ago

   It seems quite absurd to me, hate is such a negative emotion. Hating someone because they have different ways than you is pointles, and in some ways you have lost your reason to be an Atheist, an Anglican, etc.  It is the - if you're not with me you're against me, syndrome.

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   1. 76

      Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Ignoring a thing is preferable to screaming about it in anger....as if such a huge organization as the RCC could ever be expected to be without a few criminals.

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7. 0

   Old Empresarioposted 12 years ago

   I'm an atheist and I do not hate him. I'm not bothered by him at all. I think protestants hate him more than atheists do.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You are wrong.

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   2. 76

      Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Having grown up in a Protestant church....I can honestly say I've never in my life heard any Protestant (and I live in Texas)...say anything negative about the Catholic church, or any pope.

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      peeplesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I grew up in southern South Carolina and it was common for Baptists to talk bad about Catholics. I had a neighbor (old lady) who talked bad about my sister who grew up in a Catholic home saying she was damned to hell. My inlaws feel the same.

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   4. 76

      Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Peeples - that is very sad.  I feel sorry for folks who wind up having to deal with those kinds of things.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I have been a Baptist all of my life and have never heard such things. This is very unfortunate.

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      LiamBeanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Same here. In fact, with so many other important things going on in the world, I question why the selection of pope was so newsworthy.

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      Old Empresarioposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Jthomp42, that's reassuring. I'm glad you all get along so well now.

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      JThomp42posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Old.

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8. 72

   Mazzy Boleroposted 12 years ago

   I am not an atheist and I don't hate him but I am concerned that, while he has a lot to say about the Falkland Islands, he did not appear to say much at all about the murders of thousands of Argentinians under the dictatorship in Argentina.  The current Argentinian Government has criticized the Catholic church for its refusal to condemn the actions of the dictatorship, even now, which they say makes the church complicit.  He seems on the surface to be a reasonable enough fellow, but It leaves a worrying question mark over him. Will he have the moral fiber and courage to fight the corruption in the Vatican, or will he take the most comfortable path? Time will tell.

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   alancaster149posted 12 years ago

   Could be some of these 'atheists' are Argentinian - he was a thorn in their government's side when he had a go at their human rights record (just like in the good old days of Galtieri's rule - lots of second generation Italian immigrants, including the family of the Bishop of Rome). At the moment, with all this sabre-rattling in the Argentine about the Falklands, individual opinions have fallen by the wayside. Could be he had something to do with the outcome of an opinion poll in Buenos Aires that effectively told them there wasn't the support for another invasion they were hoping for?
   He also happens to be a Jesuit, and they're not that popular within the 'fold', because they bring cherished beliefs into the hard light of scrutiny. Could be he's just what they need, someone to bring the Roman Catholic Church kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, clear away some of the bones in the cupboard and - perhaps - push the paedophile element into the limelight, where they can be investigated.
   Jimmy Savile here had a Papal Knight's Cross, even though there was a shadow of doubt about his conduct when he was given it. True, he was also knighted by her Maj but she didn't have a lot of choice in the honours stakes. She was also advised by those who should/would have known better. My money's on this Jorge, now Francis I to suck the cobwebs out of the Vatican. I'm not R.C. either, but some of my family are, and it must have been embarrassing to them to learn about Savile's travails. Personally, I wouldn't have been comfortable with the knowledge that Benedict was an army deserter. That smacks of abandoning the fort when it suits. And he did it again, didn't he.
   This one's a stayer, and he's got the 'campaign medals' to prove it! Coming from a heathen like me - I have a Thor's hammer amulet on a bootlace around my neck - that's got to be praise!

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10. 73

    lone77starposted 12 years ago

    A couple of YouTube videos I saw recently make it clear (at least to them) that the Abomination of Desolation of which Daniel and Jesus spoke has already happened. When Obama signed a message which was later attached to a steel beam and raised into the heart of the new WTC building. The words were the same defiance to God's punishment that the Jews used when they were attacked just before their enslavement by the Babylonians.
    
    I seem to remember somewhere that the Pope elected after the Abomination of Desolation (the arrogance in the face of God), would be the last pope.
    
    It makes me wonder what this pope will do. Will he be complicit with the regimes of arrogance and selfishness, or will he take up against them?
    
    If he can say nothing about the Disappeared of Argentina, I suspect he may be on the side of evil.

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11. 85

    M. T. Dremerposted 11 years ago

    As an atheist I do not hate this pope. In fact, I think he's a huge leap forward. I don't remember the exact quote, but he said something along the lines of all people being forgiven, including atheists. While it is not exactly an endorsement, it's a vast improvement over thinking of us as villains that will burn in hell for eternity. I frequently say that the gap between theists and atheists is knowledge and understanding. The more we know about each other, the less likely we will be to butt heads.
    
    As for the hate posts on facebook you mentioned, I believe I've seen a few of them. The most common ones I see pertain to the child molestation cases and how past and present popes have yet to denounce them. Or something like that. Honestly, I don't think this pope has been in there long enough to judge him on that, but both atheists and theists have members who jump the gun on this kind of thing. But the first thing we need to do, on both sides, is to acknowledge that there are going to be extremists in each group and we have to do our best to ignore them and focus instead on those who wish to have a civil and constructive discussion.

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