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I really don't know the answer to this one, I have my own beliefs and respect others but I do not go around these types of discussions arguing with people about it. My friends who I know have faith I will say God bless too but hardly ever in discussions unless prayers are sked for within them. I have many good friends from other faiths and agnostics and athesists, they don't judge me and I don't judge them so why do people seem to do it on here your guess is as good as mine! Ellie :D

The one subject everyone can not answer on cause they don't really know The Creator(God) personally. You will have those that think they know but are still learning about The Creator and how he or she works. Dont' get upset though just know that everyone has something to say good or bad about everything at hand.

all I can say is they are as passionate about God as you are about being a vegan. Neither is right if you say somebody is wrong if they don't agree with you. Respect is just that. I believe now this is just my point of view, that when you try to tell another how they should think and if it is not the way you think then that is trying to shove your views down their throat and that is wrong. Yes there are some things we can all agree on as being wrong, such as killing a human being (under most circumstances) or rape and incest, but after that it gets pretty much a free for all.

It is possible that Atheism is simply alien to people. Some react badly to that which is strange or different from what they know. * Some people are born having God drilled into their brains sense smallest childhood. They're trained and are expected to behave & believe a certain way. After a while, they do this automatically, with out knowing they have had this training running like a CD in the back of their minds. Then they come across this being who is utterly and completely different from what they know and what they were taught all their lives. * This being is alien, sounding a discordant note to the CD that plays in the background of their minds. Some are flexible, and learn to tune into this new sound. Some can't stand the discordance, attempting to silence the new note disrupting the pattern of their lives and minds. * What is sad is that many millions do not realize they've a hidden CD playing in the back of their minds telling them how to think.

Well sweety I can understand your point of view and the frustration it causes when people do this! I am a Christian and I have a lot of faith - I do not hide it and I am not ashamed but neither do I go around shoving my beliefs down peoples throats or thinking my beliefs are the only ones that mean anything! I get irritated when I see people doing that to others as well as I think it is wrong to treat anyone in that way! I believe that as a Christian I am supposed to follow the example of Jesus to the best of my ability and that means that we should be respectful , tolerant and caring not trying to browbeat people or disrespecting their beliefs! xxx

I'm Spiritual rather than Religious,so I am able believe my own beliefs, rather than those of any particular Religious Order. I believe that Everyone (without exception) is on the Path to God! And furthermore Everyone is Exactly where they should be on this Path. This belief precludes any Missionary work on my part. But I do occasionally respond to those to those "freaking comments," that you mention! I never tell anyone they are wrong, or try to play Missionary with them. Their religion or belief makes no difference to me, but what does bother me is, some of theses people are not thinking for themselves. They have been brainwashed from a young age to accept the word of the Organization to which they are affiliated. All I'm trying to tell them is," For God's sake Use your Head, think for yourself,and never take any body's Word for Anything!"

You raise some good questions, and I only wish I better knew the specifics. There's a time and place for respect, and there's a time and place for debate. Some may disagree (debate me), but I think respect belongs, first, then when one finds themselves being insulted, or wronged, then it's time for debate. Now, then some people are just too touchy, and there's no pleasing them, regardless of what ideology they may be a part of--there's these touchy types everywhere--Christian, Muslim, Jewish, atheistic, Wiccan, etc... Neither self-righteousness nor insecurity know boundaries. That being said, I believe it's okay to ask someone why they believe the way they do and how they've come to their beliefs--this opens the way for understanding, and sometime opens up a way for friendly debate in which mutual growth (learning) may be possible. Sometimes, we make mistakes, and for instance, before knowing of your atheism (which, in another time and place, perhaps, I'll share some psychological theory, and debate with on... but until then...) I would end some of my conversations with something like "Godspeed" (God be with you) and now I refrain, simply out of respect for what you want to hear. (although, in my own mind, being a non-denominational, non-dogma of any sorts, spiritual kind of believer in my own right, I may still silently wish to myself that God/Great Spirit/Creator/Love/Truth/The Universe be with you.) People are all zealots--I've been preached to by Christians, and Muslims (and I think 'zealots' or 'nuts' or 'poor misled fools') and by atheists (and I think my own thing about that--only willing to share that if you wish to discuss it on the grounds you won't be offended, etc.)and by people of every ideology and belief system. Any one of us can have our buttons pushed--that bring our passionate beliefs flooding out to the surface in a second. But, I find, that most of us are fine not running around telling others what to believe--I find that the ones who do that the most are the fearful and insecure--so insecure in their own views, that they have to forcefully project them onto the world--thus, not only "telling you the truth" but also reassuring themselves of their shaky, inconsistent, dogma.

No matter what religion you are when it comes down to it we all believe in a Higher being of some sort. And no matter what name we call this higher being we still have the right to believe in them. So when someone tries to say one religion is wrong then they themselves are wrong in doing so. I was raised to believe the way my parents taught me just like everyone else. So to me there is no one who is wrong in their beliefs. Just different ways of worshiping.

I'm not sure what is happening in th discussions. I guess they just want to make their point and they believe you're wrong. I don't agree with what they say, but since I didn't see the comment you wrote I'm not sure if you were being rude, either. So I guess it just depends on how you worded it in your response. There will aways be people who like to argue or say bad things, so expect to see that on myLot as well. And there are people who will tell you that you are evil for not believing in God. It just depends on the person I suppose. I'm not sure why peoeple would respond to the religious section if they don't believe, though..however that's just my opinion. Pablo

I don't do that, but I would like to answer. Muslims and Christians have a lot of things in common, but one is that we believe those who don't believe the way we believe will suffer eternal damnation. We are supposed to tell people about our beliefs in order to "save" them. This is supposed to come from our concern for them. That is the ideal reason for preaching to everybody. I don't know why some people preach, it doesn't sound like it is out of love or concern! So why don't I do try to convert everybody? I feel that God's love is a gift offered to all and people have the right to choose to accept or reject. I think most people who write about not believing in God have already heard the message and have chosen not to accept it, so I respect their choice. If someone is not familiar with Chrisian beliefs and would like to hear more about it, it is their choice to ask and I will be glad to answer! I would add one more thing. Many people who say they don't believe in God just don't like the God they believe in!

I think that people honestly believe they are right. And in believing they are right they must tell others about it. Christian teaching is this in a nut shell if you do not believe in Jesus you are going to burn in hll. If you believed that wouldnt you try and tell others? I personally belive in God and the bible but for me I dont think you can win people over by attacking them.

There is an underlning reason y most people like to use god in their oration,its because its the easiest way to control the general populous,look at how bin laden has tapped into the muslims for unlimited supply of suiside deadheads,rememer waco texas?or jim jones?and you can too, just say the next time you want someone to listen,say god said this and watch them fall!

We as believers are supposed to help guide un-believers. It is our belief. Are you telling me that my belief is wrong? Spreading the Good News about Jesus Christ is a part of who I am. Am I wrong? Your belief does not require you to spread the Word, ours does. I pray that God does bless you with an open heart to accept Christ for yourself. Rev Wendy

I will not go to someone and say "your religion is wrong" despite the fact this is my opinion about all religions. If someone says "god bless you" I say an automatic "thanks" but if someone tries to "convert" me I won't hesitate to take extreme measures.

Hi wooitsmolly, You want the truth? You want the truth? Just watch "A Few Good Men", or maybe a few episodes of Seinfeld. But seriously, why DO people try to persuade other people to their particular view of things? Actually, there's two answers - you be the judge if either is right. First - humans are a herding species. Our brains are programmed from birth to try to align our thoughts and posture with what we THINK are those of our companions and peers. One strategy for achieving this is to persuade everyone else to agree with what we think. Failing that, the default behavior is to adjust our own individual point of view to conform with what we THINK is the consensus view. And so you will see that, generally speaking, most people aren't entirely peaceful or happy until they have satisfied that they know what everyone else around them thinks, and they have either persuaded those other people to adopt their own perspective, or they have adjusted their point of view to conform to everyone else's. I say "generally speaking", because we have intelligence which can (but often doesn't) recognize these tendencies, and we can override them to decouple ourselves from the urge to find out and conform to other people's expectations. That takes willpower and effort, and not too many people manage to rise completely above it all. BUT that's why religious nuts will twist themselves into knots trying to persuade you to accept their belief system. If you don't, then the default is for them to accept your point of view instead, which causes them grief because they resist that. So as long as you choose not to conform to their view, they'll have a bee in their bonnet trying to get you to fall into line. Human nature. Yo can't get around it - so the best alternative is to get over it instead. Secondly - another motivation for people to try to convert other people is genuine concern for the other person's welfare, ie, if you don't believe in all of this, then you'll go to Hell (yes, in fact, you will) and burn to a nice brown crisp and smell just like a Big Mac. And there'll be big hairy demons (who can't afford a razor) poking you in the butt with rusty pitchforks. There's probably a certain amount of that sentiment involved when people try to make others "see the light". They're genuinely concerned to try to save others from a fate worse than a George Michael concert. The problem, of course, is that (another aspect of human nature) the only way to convince anyone of anything is to allow them o think that they thought of it themselves. Otherwise, attempts at persuasion will be automatically resisted. Suffice to say that it's really up to people to find their own understanding of things - God's quite smart enough to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to work things out in their own way. So my advice on all of this stuff is to just be patient and humor those people who want to shove their ideas down your throat. Some of them do mean well, and some of them are just trying to start an argument and then win it (as people do). We're all plugged into this nutcase of a world for only a short while, before we have to go make an account for how we've done. Best to spend that time constructively rather than arguing with closed-minded people.

I have liked your started discussion . I don't believe in any super natural power and don't follow any religions too . So I don't think , I should write anything for your answer ... Thanks !!!

hi i am a christian but i do not shove my faith down people throats god gives us all choices we all have brain cells in our heads too make our own choices i respect all religion even though i may not agree i respect them i say too each his or her own its your life you live it the way you see fit !!!! i tell people about jesus and i do say god bless you and jesus loves you but i am not forcing it down there throat just making friendly conversation!!!!!!!!

I think it's got to do with what they are taught as a child and think that it's just human nature to try and get people to see that there is a God and they should believe in Him. Now I, personally, believe in God, although I consider myself no religion, I just believe what I believe and don't push it on anyone. Eveyone is going to believe what they want to believe no matter who tries to change their minds, but I do agree with the respect. There is so little respect these days for your fellow human being whether it's about their religion, clothes, thoughts, music, etc.. it's a crying shame how cruel and disrespectful people can be.

I do not think people hunting for atheists is a problem. The discussions where there is a debate on theism and antaginism turn out to be really interesting. And isn't mylot about the sharing of views ? The discussions also have given me insights on different people's perspectives on different religions. In fact, I am looking forward to seeing more of these heated discussions. If nothing else, they are pretty entertaining!!!

I don't know so much that I want to tell them they are wrong, but if they state something that is contray I might correct. Like if somone said that the bible says God said something that is not there i will say no this is wrong. Or I will give a differing veiw to someone who wants to look at something one sided. I will never say you are wrong to believe in or dissbeliev anything. I do have a bad habit of trying to correct things said in error about the bible or God as I know him, but that is not to swey anyone but only to set facts as i see them strait. I remember that you once commented on a post that you beleived in evolution not creation. I tried to say that the two are not opposit each other, that the two can fit together, and I was accused of trying to tell you that your belifes were wrong, Wasn't what i was tryiong to do. Only to state that I believe there is no differnt if one reads the bible correctly along with scientific fact, and that people, (christians) who thank they have to choose one or the other are missing out on the truth (from a christian point of veiw) and were not experianceing the joy of being able to reconcile the creation with the big bang. I know you took exception with what i said, I guess i did not do a good job explaining what I was getting at. It was not ment to be read as you were wrong for not beliveing in the creation :)