Don't Assume Atheists Hate Christianity or God
A common thing that I hear many Christians say about atheists is that they must hate God or Christianity or religion in general. They ask why and they try to get you to admit to all kinds of nasty things that happened during your childhood or that you were just raised without any beliefs, or whatnot.
I don't understand this. It lacks the fundamental understanding that atheists are not generally angry at God or angry at religion or Christianity. How can you hate something that doesn't exist? To an atheist, it isn't there! It never was. It was never there to hate in the first place.
But, why in the world do so many Christians feel the need to ask atheists why they hate God? If you hate God, then you believe in Him because if he weren't there you couldn't hate him. In which case, you probably are not an atheist. :p A disgruntled Christian, perhaps, but that isn't the same thing.
I can see why some people might think a good many atheists hate God if they are very outspoken and heated about their dislike of a religion, but that's dislike of a religion and not of the deity which does not exist to an atheist.
Why do atheists hate religion? Well, this probably varies from individual to individual, but generally the things many atheists will tell you is because generally speaking religions often oppress people, suppress free thought and free speech, and generally try to corrupt the surroundings with its beliefs despite the fact that others do not believe in said religion and (at least in the case of the US) try to inject religion into the government and laws when it is unconstitutional.
See? Even then it isn't a hatred of the religion itself but rather what it does to people and communities. That doesn't mean you have to agree with atheists. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and should be. But, silly questions like asking atheists why they hate something that they don't believe exists in the very first place seems a little inane, don't you think?
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I really don't get some atheists... just saying. They claim to not hate, but, on here anyway, they don't promote atheism, they denounce faith... Articles like, "Atheists: Top 10 signs you are a deluded Christian" and "Atheists explain why all religions are 'scams'" kill any credibility this article has. Most of the faith-based articles don't slam atheism... They promote whatever religion they believe in. I deal with a lot of atheists at college and it gets annoying because they like to try to shove it down my throat. I'm Catholic, but I don't go around telling everyone to go to Mass and use other means to shove Christianity in everyone's faces. I respect what people believe and leave it at that. Just like you have a right to not believe in anything, I have a right to believe in whatever I want.
I myself am an atheist , but of course I hate god . In the same way I hate Snape in Harry Potter or Darth Sidious in Star Wars...While WHAT you hate might not be real, the hate IS real...I mean if you read the OT of course you would say you hate him.
I like Snape >.>
"A common thing that I hear many Christians say about atheists is that they must hate God or Christianity or religion in general"
I was raised in a christian home. Kids at school knew this and the game of 'beat up the christian because he cant hit back' began.
Through grade school, junior high, and even high school. If I were a kid today and another kid (or group of kids ) decided to beat up on me to the degree I got beat up on when I was a kid, those kids would be talking to a police officer today and perhaps a judge tomorrow.
It is very, very, VERY easy to think that because a person does not believe that that person hates God, gods, and religion in general, given my upbringing. Not that I didnt have protection; I let my parents know what was going on and they had no problem letting the school know. True, some of the abuse was only verbal, but that actually hurt more than the physical stuff.
Once you are called 'dumb' because of your belief, even when you are a kid, you tend to remember that. I wanted to prove to those that tormented me that I was not dumb, and to a degree, I did. Yet I find almost the same kind of language on such boards, disparaging people because of what they believe and relegating them to the idiot farm. I need not prove myself anymore; if others dont wish to believe, so be it. It does not logically follow that I am idiotic or dumb.
That would be my come back to that stupid question. It's basically the same question.
I don't hate things that don't exist (except the evil troll that lives under my chicken coop)
I love your sense of humor , it made me grin. :) Exactly. If something doesn't exist it is not there to be angry with in the first place. :p Why is an evil troll living under your chicken coop, that isn't where the billy goats are going to cross!
Didn't you get the Memo? Sometime in 2012 , something bad is going to happen, so the Troll is waiting for his next Noah. Noah has more fat on him for sustenance then a few billy goats. ;)
that definitely makes more sense! I think Noah is really Tony Danza. I mean, he did that movie, right? :p It was code. Seriously, man. xP
Well, Tony Danza or Steve Carrell... whichever. Cuz Steve Carrell was spoken to by God as well. Morgan Freeman is God... (Why does he have to be a white old man anyways? Lol)
Good point there!!