Why Atheists?

1. 58

   TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years ago

   Why Atheists?
   
   Even Atheists who don't talk about religion or God are frowned upon by Christians. For example, I once said "Oh my God" and was then told I was going to Hell. Why are so many Christians resentful towards Atheists? (again, I'm talking about Atheists who don't always try to disprove religion).

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2. 85

   M. T. Dremerposted 11 years ago

   I frequently use 'god' in similar phrases. Saying 'oh my god' when something bad happens, or 'thank god' when something good happens, are more so general expressions than they are religious associations. At least, that's how I look at it. It would be the same as saying 'shoot' or 'oh good'. We've just heard them used so much that they come out without taking the time to think about what they might mean to someone else.
   
   But, it's always been my assumption that some Christians (not all of them) are resentful towards atheists because they interpret their belief as a direct attack. They think that atheists find them stupid or misinformed, so their mere presence is a disease trying to intrude on their faith bubble. The most damaging aspect between atheists and Christians, however, is the extremists from both parties. Those crazy people in the lawn chairs shouting at people on the street are, unfortunately, the most vocal in their groups, so we tend to unfairly associate them with those select few crazies. It's true of both Christians and atheists. If you got two sensible people from each side to sit down and talk about life, they probably wouldn't resent each other afterwards.

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3. 59

   Dubuquedogtrainerposted 11 years ago

   I think you are generalizing and I'm not sure that your premise is correct. Please bear in mind that "Christians" come in all shapes, sizes and forms...not all who profess to be Christians really are....but at the same time it is important to realize that Christians are not perfect - no one is. They are merely "saved" from eternal damnation. Because of the broad interpretation of the term, "Christian," many of us prefer to say we are "followers of Christ" rather than Christians. Christ said to follow Him, not other Christians, so please do not base your opinion of Christianity and Christ on your observations of some who call themselves Christians.

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   1. 59

      Dubuquedogtrainerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Why voted this answer down and why?

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   2. 58

      TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't, but I can see why someone might...why does it matter? Its just someone with a differing opinion.

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      Dubuquedogtrainerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      As a professional educator and someone with a religion of positive reinforcement training, I see things differently. I encourage and appreciate participation, rather than discourage it by punishment (and I use that word as used in behavior science).

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      TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ok..well I guess the reason I disagree (but didn't vote down) is that every christian I've met, no matter how good/bad a person they actually were, said THEY were the true christian. So I disagree with religion as a whole, not religious people.

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   5. 59

      Dubuquedogtrainerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I disagree with religion too - so did Jesus. Nobody is "good" except God. We all fall short. And not everyone who calls him or herself a Christian is - only God knows a person's heart.

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   6. 92

      ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree religion is useless.  It is man's attempt to get to God.  Jesus wants a relationship with us.

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   nightwork4posted 11 years ago

   i think it is because we have more free will then believers do . we believe what we want, when we want and we take responsibility for the good and bad in our lives. when an atheist does something good or bad we don't say god helped us or satan caused it, hence free will and real freedom. also using a believers beliefs as a way of expressing something is bad because it's like we are using something they feel they own.

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5. 92

   ercramer36posted 11 years ago

   Using "oh my God" or "Jesus Christ" or "God "D**nit" is offensive to Christians because it takes God's holy name in vein, which violates God's law.  According to the Bible we are ALL guilty of breaking God's law, not just this group or that. That is why Jesus died for our sins because we cannot save ourselves.
   
   I apologize for the Christians that have acted resentful towards you.  I believe that Christians should try and convince atheists and everyone else to come to Christ, but that actions speak much louder than words.  We as Christians need to be loving and live out our faith and use words when necessary.

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   1. 92

      ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Christianity teaches that we are judges by God's standard.  Christianity is not sad, but amazing! God loved us enough to die in our place, that it good news. If I am right, u are in trouble, if u are right, then we both live our lifes the way we want

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6. 58

   TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years ago

   ercramer36- I have to say, that sounds pretty sad. Not pathetic sad, just sad. It sounds like religion (or at least christianity) teaches you that you are a sinner/bad person, and you can't change for the better, only accepting Jesus can. See, that's offensive to non-christians, much more offensive than using "oh my God" (we don't say in in vain, we just say it as an exclamation). Christians have told me that I'm going to hell for not believing in Jesus or God or whatever, despite the fact that I don't do drugs, don't go around having sex all the time, don't drink, am a good student, volunteered at an animal shelter for over 4 years, and am generally a nice person. I obviously don't believe in hell, so its not a great insult, but it sucks to be told that you're basically a terrible person for not being a part of your club.
   
   As for your point about trying to convince atheists to "come to christ", I also disagree. Can't you be content that you are a christian and that others aren't? Being an atheist, for most people, is incredibly fulfilling. We believe that we are who we are, and we can always be better people without thinking of someone we've never met as our savior. Its a happy life, not horrible like many christians believe. I'd be interested in hearing about the "actions speak louder than words" thing- how do you try to push people towards christianity with actions?

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      ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      God's word says one sin is enough to send you to hell.  An example of a sin would be telling a lie, stealing, having lust for someone other than your spouse, dishonoring your parents, blaspheming God's name, having other gods before him etc.

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   2. 58

      TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      So in that case, every single person in the world is going to hell? Everyone's told a lie at some point.

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      ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Too little space:)  Every person that does not accept Jesus as their savior snd who has heard about him will be sent to hell at the last judgment.  If people have never heard about Jesus, that I leave to the sovereignty of God. Little kids are dffrnt

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   4. 58

      TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      So: 1) I am aware of Jesus. 2) I've told a lie. 3) I don't accept Jesus as my savior. 4) I am in every other sense a good person. Do I belong in Hell?

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   5. 92

      ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      If you were standing before a judge and admitted to lying, are they going to say oh that is okay or punish you gor lying in court?  A good judge will punish you.  God is a good judge andhis holiness requires him to act justly toward sin.

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   6. 58

      TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I'm sorry, I don't think you answered my question: do you think I belong in hell for lying once? Lying about murder is one thing, lying about something trivial is another.

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      ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I am sure you are a good person in general and in the eyes of the world. The problem is we have all violated God's law and deserve to be sent to hell.  One sin is enough to condemn you to hell.  That is why Jesus came.

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      TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      So your answer is yes? You do realize what hell is? Eternal torture. Youre saying everyone deserves that?

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      ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I am not saying it, God is. "For thw wages of sin is death (hell), but the gift of God is eternal life.   God is totally just and cannot toletate sin.  He sent Jesus as a perfect sacrifice.  All we have to do for is place our trust in him.

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   10. 58

       TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I don't understand how you can worship a god that would throw you into the depths of hell for doing 1 sort of bad thing. How can you look up to that kind of hatred? How can you live in fear that you will deserve eternal torture for being human?

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   11. 92

       ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Because He loves me and everyone else enough to leave heaven, come to earth and die for our sins.  If He was a God of hatred, Jesus would never have come.  He would rather die than to be without us and he did so we can goto heaven.

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   12. 58

       TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       So that's nice. But if we say our favorite color is blue when really its purple, which is a lie, he says "screw dying for your sins, you deserve to rot in hell with Hitler".

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   13. 92

       ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       No, God cannot lie. He died once for all of our sins.  He offers salvation all we have to do is accept him and he will wipe our slate clean past, present, and future.

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       TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       So if a mass murderer becomes Christian and says he's sorry for killing people, and an atheist tells one lie, who gets the sympathy from God?

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       ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Fo one, throughout our lives we violate God's laws much more frequently than once, but to answer your question is the person who has Jesus as their savior finds grace.  Basically it comes down to do you accept or reject Jesus.  That is the question.

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   16. 58

       TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       So how is that fair? Is a Christian that has sinned many more times than an Atheist better? Why does believing in God give you a get out of jail free card?

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   17. 92

       ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       God uses his law to show us our need for a savior.  The best person alive is is not close to reaching God's standard of perfection. We all fall short.  Salvation is an act of mercy and grace by God because of his love.

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   18. 58

       TheLifeExperimentposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Um, that sucks. I don't feel like an underling. I'm sorry if you do. You might enjoy this, its based off our lil' conversation: http://thelifeexperiment.hubpages.com/h … gious-Blog

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       ercramer36posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Well thought out arguments.  Good hub, even if I do not agree with you.

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   Kennedi Brownposted 11 years ago

   I've always thought it was because Christians tend to think of their beliefs as who they are, or rather the essence of their very person, instead of simply what they believe. Atheists, on the other hand, think of their beliefs (or lack therof) as simply that---a matter of belief or non-belief.
   
   In other words, when someone says to me, "I am a Christian." I'm always like, "Oh, cool. Could you pass the salt?". To me it's a matter of what they believe, nothing more. The type of person they are is never even brought into play.
   
   But when you say to a Christian (the more vocal and dedicated ones, at least), "I am an atheist." they don't take that to mean, "I just don't believe in God." but rather, "I am against you and everything you stand for." It isn't really anything but a difference in priorities--one person considers beliefs the same as the very essence of being, and the other person considers beliefs as merely a set of ideologies. I usually just say that I'm not a very religious person so that no one falsely believes that I'm trying to attack them.
   
   The misconception often comes up that atheists hate God, when in reality hating God for an atheist has about as much point to it as waging war against the tooth fairy. Sure, there are plenty of atheists who do seem to have a war waged on faith, but those are usually the recently converted ones who still have not yet separated "I believe" from "I am." The entire universe is a much more beautiful place one you're able to do that.

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8. 0

   Darkmetalyposted 11 years ago

   I really think some Christians and Atheists need to mind their own business and focus on there own belief or non belief rather then focusing on what the other guy believes in or not. In my country most people keep there religion or non belief to them self's. I don´t care if my neighbor believes in a god or not and he does not care about me being an atheist. Nobody i have met in my country has showed anger or any negative feelings towards me for being an atheist cause they don´t care and I don´t care its that simple and I hope it stays that way forever.

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