Why are those you believe in a god so aggressive?

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   cjhunsingerposted 10 years ago

   Why are those you believe in a god so aggressive?
   
   It seems to be fairly common for one who believes in the existence of a supernatural deity to verbally attack, threaten with damnation and even demean anyone who does not subscribe to such a belief. Are such beliefs built on such intimidation and is this its true foundation?

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   Laura Knippposted 10 years ago

   I do not feel this is an entirely true statement or question.  It is equivalent to stating that all cops are racist because one cop shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO.  Fact is, there are many religions that believe that there is some supernatural deity, but not all are as aggressive as you state. 
   
   Now some Christians that feel that they need to share their message. Not all feel this way though. I have lived in the Southeastern US for many years, and there they are pretty much taught that you must follow their God. However, then it gets very confusing, as the different Christian entities believe that only their entity is the true follower (i.e. Church of Christ will argue with Baptists, who argue with Methodists, who argue with Pentecostals).  Catholics also have a belief that they are the true Christians and other denominations are not. 
   
   Muslims are probably the most aggressive, as they believe that if you do not believe in their God, then you should be killed.  I would state this is a bit overly aggressive.
   
   Then their are the atheists. They believe there is no god and at the present are the most aggressive that are non-Muslim at the present time. And atheism is a religion, as there is no proof that there is no God, they just believe using science to back it up.  And when they get into it with those that believe in a God, it does get aggressive. 
   
   My personal feelings and beliefs are that I care not what your religion states, as long as it does not interfere with mine.  But when you start claiming that your beliefs are superior to mine, there will be issues.  Believe it or not, we still have some freedoms in this country. And we have both the freedom of religion as much as we have the freedom from religion. 
   
   We have a freedom of religion in that we have the right to choose what we want to believe in.  Forcing people to accept some particular idea or adhere to behavioral standards from someone else’s religion means that their religious freedom is being infringed upon. This is not to say that they can follow to a T what their religion states--we are not allowed to cut heads off of non-Muslim in this country no matter what they want to claim. 
   
   We have freedom from religion in that we have the freedom from the rules and dogmas of other people’s religious beliefs so that we can be free to follow the demands of our own conscience, whether they take a religious form or not.  But it does not mean that we are being free from seeing religion in society.

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Laura--My question was a question and not a statement of truth. As to your asserted innuendo that the police officer was racist--I know who have evidence to back that up--right?
      For over 1000+ yrs Christianity was very savage.

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      Laura Knippposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I was merely trying to state that people tend to lump everyone together in a situation that is not entirely accurate on the whole of the discussion. Not everyone is a racist, even though racial tensions are high right now.

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      arksysposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Laura : while you stated that people tend to lump up everyone together; i totally agree. but then you lumped up all the muslims into the "kill non-muslim" category? I would encourage you to read more, as this information is inaccurate.

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      Laura Knippposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Arksys, I actually tried to differentiate between them, but am limited by this thing called space. Why in the world does this thing limit characters?

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      arksysposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Limited because if you want to write more then you can make a hub about it. So I'm guessing you know that the majority do not kill and it is unlawful in Islam.

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Laura
      Lump everything together,  as you did?

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      arksysposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      you are right... i should have added "on hubpages"...  I know all atheists are not aggressive... but on this site they seem to be.

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Arksys--When a belief is heralded as a truth every reasoned being is obligated to respond. The overriding element here is that if a lie is big enough and told often enough,  it becomes a truth. And that is a damning thing for society.

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      arksysposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      i agree ...

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   JThomp42posted 10 years ago

   I think it seems that you and your atheists friends must take inventory of yourselves. You judge us from a book that you do not believe in (the Bible) You call us names as far as hypocrite. A hypocrite to an entity in which you do not believe in (GOD) You quote scripture from a book you do not believe in (Bible) And also try to use these verses against us. You are a confused lot of people my friend!

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      Laura Knippposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Who exactly are you calling an atheist? The question certainly did not speak of Christianity but religions in general.  I spoke of Christianity, but also of Muslims. I also spoke of our First Amendment rights.

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If you do not believe in God.... then YOU!

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      Laura Knippposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I never said one way or another what my beliefs are other than " I care not what your religion states, as long as it does not interfere with mine. But when you start claiming that your beliefs are superior to mine, there will be issues."

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If you do not believe in God. Then you already have issues greater than my comment!

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      Laura Knippposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Perhaps you need to read the comment I originally stated before passing judgement on me. All you are doing here is making the OP's point that you are overly aggressive.  At no time were we being abusive to your feelings or your God. Chill.

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sorry Laura...... The OP and I have had these discussions before. Sorry again!

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      JT--Your response speaks well to my question.

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      CJ...... Glad to be of service. But, just like if I ask questions about atheists I must be ready for their responses. And believe me.. you people swarm like hornets!

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   9. 59

      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      JT--Again your response goes to aggression. Perhaps, it is just you and a sense of insecurity with reference to the deity that you profess, as others do not have that vehemence.

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       JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       CJ... That is just laughable to label myself this way because I WILL stand up for my God. I am doing nothing that you, yourself do everyday. Stand up for what we believe! And by the way, every word I said was the truth!

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   ChristinSposted 10 years ago

   To be fair, not all who believe in God are aggressive and I don't think they are all that common honestly.  We see extremes like ISIS for example, but in no way does this band of radical terrorists mirror all Muslims, anymore than say the Westboro Baptist haters mirror all Christians.  Unfortunately, the loud and small minorities tend to detract from the rest of the people who just want to live their daily lives.
   
   The fact is, as humans - regardless of belief, you will have those who feel the need to threaten and intimidate.  It's about power, fear and greed.  "God" is a convenient way to justify behaviors.  A lot of people talk themselves into believing that God or Allah or whoever wants them to do these things.  That's where it gets dangerous, because suddenly it isn't about you, it's about pleasing a God, and that makes it easier to do all sorts of things one might not normally do, because they truly make themselves believe it is for a "higher purpose".

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That is a whole different ballgame. Now we are talking about extremists.

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      ChristinSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      exactly, I was highlighting extremism to point out the majority are not that way.

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Good job!

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      ChristinS--Enjoyed your response---evil is not evil, wrong is not wrong, brutality and savagery are not so, when in the service of a god.

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      cj... that comment is ridiculous and you know this!

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      Robert the Bruceposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      CJ, has a legitimate point there. Many despicable things done in history have been done in the name of a god. Many of these acts were following the principle, "The end justifies the means."

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      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yes there has been many atrocities committed in the name of religion for thousands of years and by many religions. Thank God Christianity is not involved in such acts anymore. Dark ages. I just wish that the extremists would come out of the dark ages

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      Robert the Bruceposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Whether those things happened in the "dark ages" or present day, if most of the teachings are still the same, then technically it's possible for it to happen again...but maybe on a lesser scale.

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5. 72

   lone77starposted 10 years ago

   You need to expand your field of experience. I've met thousands of religious believers who are very humble (not aggressive, arrogant or attacking).
   
   What you're experiencing, though, are those who are still caught up in ego, which is the opposite of following Christ or Buddha.
   
   Ego is the problem; not religion or spirituality.

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   arksysposted 10 years ago

   I feel the same way about those who don't believe in God.

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      arksys--And which god might that be?

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      arksysposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      the one you say does not exist.

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      arksy--I say the god of the Jews and those of the Christians.

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      arksysposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      and that is the same God of the Muslims... (that is what we believe... you don't have to.)

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   Asa2141posted 10 years ago

   Atheists can be and are just as aggressive as any religious person.
   
   During the French Revolution, millions of religious people were murdered because "they were throwing off the shackles of religion to embrace reason".
   
   Look at the anger and hate of Bill Maher and Penn Jillette. They are just as "aggressive" and downright vicious as any religious person I know.

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Asa--Hahert and Jiletee are just too rude to be Atheists.

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      Laura Knippposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      cjhunsinger, are you denying there ability to claim Atheism because they are too rude? Do you actually get a say in the matter? Is there some code of honor that an Atheist must go through to be Atheist? I am not one, so I don't know.

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Laura--Maher & Jillette--they can claim anything they want and for me they are more representative of a political, Muslim  o Christian zealot. It proves that no philosophy is free of such people.

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   WiccanSageposted 10 years ago

   I'm not aggressive.
   
   And there's no such thing as 'eternal damnation' in my religion. We also don't seek converts.
   
   Why do you paint 90% of the people on the planet with such a broad brush?

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      Laura Knippposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I see the problem is that in any group of people, regardless if we are discussing religion, race, politics, etc., all seem to be painted with the same brush.  And it is quite a shame, as there are many great people out there.

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      cjhunsingerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Laura
      Very true.

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   Sundeep Katariaposted 10 years ago

   Aggressive behavior and belief in God are not necessarily and not always linked. It could be a personality issue.
   
   I'd put it this way, the person who has truly realized God rises much above the emotions of hate, anger, aggression etc.

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