Hypocrisy and some religious people in a forum environment

I love your last sentence. You are so right. Thanks for the response!

That's an interesting/terrific viewpoint. I've never looked at it like that before but I believe you are right in most cases. People who bash us do so not only because they envy our freedom but I think they are uncomfortable with how we arrived at that freedom. I'm sure it scares them to some extent, mostly because they fear going to hell themselves for thinking outside the box or they can't fathom the concept of no afterlife. Ironically some Christians accuse Atheists of choosing those beliefs because we are afraid of going to hell, and therefor we refuse to acknowledge it all together. Of course if we are Atheists, we don't believe in hell so that whole point is moot. While I do feel free and at peace I'm not about trying to prove my points to people even though I do enjoy sharing my thoughts. I don't think I'm better than theists and I don't feel it is right to call them poor souls (though I do feel this way towards closed-minded Christian extremists), however I do feel privileged and enlightened thanks to my studies but I usually keep that aspect to myself since many theists don't want to hear what we have to say anyway. When we comment on religion or Atheism most have to have a comeback in an attempt to "save" us. When we listen to them we just acknowledge them as people with opinions different than our own and move on - as long as we aren't slammed! Also I think conformity is a HUGE aspect of religion, especially back in the day. I mean I compare it to the Salem witch trials. People were afraid of not going with the flow and were terrified of how others perceived them. I believe the fear of God and, "Ooooh, so and so missed church last week!" "Gasp! I know!" is a similar concept and this is why Christianity and some other religions have lasted as long as they have. Thanks for the response.

Always a pleasure to pass intelligent comments with another enlightened soul.

Of course you got a +. With all of the strangeness going on with neg ratings I just didn't want anyone to think I would do that if they were against what I said. Hope all that just made sense. I'm totally tired lol. :) Thanks for the response.

Yes, you made perfect sense. I know what you mean, I'm still working and exhausted! :-) Thanks for the positive rating! I'll give you + ratings, too! :-)

Thank you. I really do appreciate it! :)

Free will is definitely something taken for granted by the haters. It's part of the beauty of living in a diverse world! Oh and as I mentioned in one of my other pages here, I'll be the first to admit that I could be wrong because like you said, no one really knows for sure and knowing or not isn't what's important. What's important is being true to your beliefs and yourself. The hypocrisy regarding hatred stemming from pride and judgment just baffles me! When I call someone out on it and point out that it's a sin (I only do this if I find someone particularly annoying) they skirt around the issue and go back to how wrong, wrong, wrong I am, how worthless I am, etc. This is a psychology major's dream!

I'm pretty much the same in that I don't care what people believe in. That's the amazing thing about us as humans - our free will and ability to choose our own beliefs and paths. And there is no way to prove who is right and who is wrong. I could be wrong. I don't know if I'm right, and I certainly not so arrogant as to tell anyone else my beliefs are right and theirs are wrong. That's what I don't get about the Christians who do that. They're being prideful. Which is, my their own beliefs, a sin. They're too proud and arrogant in their faith and believe it to be the only possible answer. I don't get along with a lot of other Christians because of my views and my rather lax attitude towards spreading the word of God. If God wants his/her word spread, he/she will spread it him/herself.

maybe some people arnt as strong in their belief as you and when they are confronted with a counter argument they do feel threatened.

Noted and "+"ed. Thank you for your response.

Thank you for posting that! I enjoyed reading it. :)

Am too is a christian, maybe I did in my heart wanting to convince one upon his request, but I realized that he post the topic just for discussion and not the true intent of his request, so from then I stopped. I did and post some thing that made an uproar to the reader but later I felt guilty of posting it, people tend to quarrel between ideas, truly we dont know what is right or wrong and for me if ever that I do discuss something, its only my personal opinion and interpretation of it. I dont say i am correct, its only a matter of discussion. Sorry for any inconvinience to you, all we wanted is be a friend. Good day.

I do believe Jesus was a real person, thanks to the History channel - you're right. I just don't believe he is what everyone made him to be. No offense meant with that statement BTW. ;) I was raised Roman Catholic and went to church regularly until I was about 10 and I asked to stop going because I didn't feel comfortable in the environment and the teachings. I'm grateful that my Mom respected my wishes and I was surprised because my family was full of hard-core Catholics. Even after I stopped I would occasionally pick up a Bible and read from it because for a while I really wanted to bond with the religion and believe in it but I just couldn't believe in it. Also, as you mentioned my life experiences and studies had a lot to do with my leap from agnosticism to atheism. Again, are my beliefs right? I have no idea but I'm living my life with no regrets. You know, I had one person on another forum tell me that my life was meaningless because I don't believe in a God. It's that kind of closed-mindedness that really gets to me. I know it has nothing to do with what you mentioned but I thought I would bring it up because I think my life is full of meaning! I would also like to mention (again, off your topic) that I don't push my beliefs on my kids but I do teach them about all religions and how some people don't believe in religion all together. My oldest daughter has bonded with Christianity so far and I'm fine with that. :) Thanks for the wonderful response.

I agree - when I was agnostic I would often pop my head into a local non-denominational church. If I was going to try to believe in Christianity I certainly didn't want to be labeled. I wanted to go with my heart. About the 10 commandments I essentially agree with you. As I wrote in the original forum that sparked my question, "I judge right and wrong based on my own common sense, good morals, treating others nicely, living by the law, loving my family and friends, giving money to charities and wishing for peace on Earth." I think intelligent people with good common sense want to live this way whether they follow the bible or not. :) Thanks for the great discussion!

I find that its more important to seek Christ on a personal level then it is to try and claim a religous title or to try to please others because of organized religous beliefs. . I would rather say I am a non denominational christian. I think that there are many unsaved people even in church and titles and denominations are not what saves you anyway. If you seek God WITH SINCERITY WITHOUT THAT RELIGOUS..ISSUE.., It alot better.., I feel its more important to also live by the ten commandments , no matter what you believe.

I agree. This point is hugely important. It all comes down to us having to co-exist in this one world. If everyone could look past color, religion and borders, the world would be a much happier and peaceful place. I really hope something changes before my children get much older. I know that is a tall order but I don't want them to grow up in a hateful world that seems to get more critical and judgemental every year. :)

Great response! I'm all about the golden rule and respect as well. Good words to live by! :D

"My only quarrel with most religions are their desire to suppress scientific knowledge and reason only to replace it with fable." That perfectly sums up why I chose to be atheist. I just couldn't put my faith in handed-down stories that seemed mystical/mythical as I'm very much science and fact-oriented. Like I said, I know Jesus existed but I don't believe in the fable aspect of it for many reasons. Theists will argue that God gave way to science but that point is moot to me. So if I had to tell someone why I chose to be Atheist, your quote would be up there as my #1 answer. Like you I would never condemn others or push my beliefs on anyone because it is such a personal decision and who's to say who is right or wrong anyway. Thanks for coming over here and answering this!

ya kwno whats really funny....whenever a door knocker comes to my house trying to reel me in, i explain to them that I'm Pagan....some know what that is and others dont (so I brief them) and not once NEVER EVER have I been hassled. Always theyve been respectful of the fact that I'm not interested..they've always been polite and so on...yet online I've heard it all! Blows my mind... as for the "Thou Shalt Not Judge" I've called fundies out on that a few times over the yrs and they always come up with some distorted justification which of course entertains me to no end...some ppl will just never cease to amaze me really

Exactly! Just like if they are searching for something missing in their lives or want to find a religious belief that fits for them. They'll never find out if they don't ask! :-)

I totally understand your first paragraph. I can see where others would wonder why we are there if we don't believe. You're right - it's all about gaining more knowledge, not matter what your beliefs are. :) Perhaps similarly, I also like to read good discussions about gays and lesbians but I am straight. I like learning about other people in general.

Yes - a=anti and thiesm=religion. Did I miss something?

I thought this response rather proved your point, not4me! :-)

lol. ;) I thought I was trippin' for a moment when I read this. Off to bed for me. Goodnight! :D

Woah - just because I choose to be Atheist doesn't mean I'm ignorant about the Bible or anything else for that matter. I spent many years going to Sunday school and several churches of different denominations (all on my own) before I came to my decision. I even studied Shintoism and Buddhism while I lived in Japan. In the end I choose to focus my learning towards quantum theories, general science and proven historical findings and facts. Yes, in my opinion, while certain people in the Bible can be traced back as being real, I think most of the Bible is a handed-down fable full of tales that would scare a then needy civilization that was afraid of the the unknown and the unexplainable into behaving themselves, but on others' terms and hang-ups, not God's word. That's just my opinion and I'm not pushing it on anyone. Yes, I do believe in evolution and I'm rather proud of how evolved I am and how evolved most of us are as a whole. Now, what if the Bible is wrong and the God you speak of actually caused evolution? Is that not a possibility? I don't believe in this theory but I have heard it discussed before. Would you still be ashamed if evolution was God's plan? Of course this is purely hypothetical but I have a feeling you would say, "Of course not!" As for your comment, "sorry if i had hurt your feelings!" you, my friend, talk from both sides of your mouth. Fortunately, I'm wise enough not to let my feelings get hurt. This is a virtual world, and part of the fun in being here is in leaving behind our fragile feelings. Giving an anonymous person the power to actually hurt your feelings in cyberspace is a poor decision.

High five! :P Thanks for the support on this one. :)

You know what's ironic about this comment? Most of us that are Atheists have actually read the Bible in its entirety, and find the glaring inconsistencies to be a great bunch of malarkey. One thing led me to become an Atheist--LOGIC. And no, I'm not ashamed to say I came from a monkey any more than the monkey is ashamed to say it came from an amoeba. It's human arrogance to think we have some sort of privileged place in the circle of life.

I didn't. My question title said "Some religious people" (read: not all - had nothing to do with Christians specifically) and my body included, "unless they are blatant bible thumpers". I make extra sure not to generalize all Christians.

Also, the reason I would bring it up is when the question is asked, "Do you believe in God?" and this comes up frequently. Just because I'm atheist doesn't mean I don't like joining in on conversations and learning about others. I'm firm in my beliefs but I'm not judgmental about theists, no matter what the religion. I don't believe I'm right or wrong - I have no way of knowing for sure. It's just what makes sense to me so I join in on said conversations.

Just to illustrate Not4me's point, I was discussing an issue with another user last night. We are both not christians. Anyway, when she learned what I believe, she called me, and I quote, "Fanatic. Fundamentalist." What purpose did that serve? I think that's the point Not4Me is getting at here. :-)