Thoughts and Prayers: The Religion Thread

It's not better. I just think it is. I mean, that's kind of the point in committing to a religion.

 

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Hmmmm ...

 

So your answer to everything related to religion is basically, "The Bible told me so."

You are clearly demonstrating the type of limited thinking you attributed to atheists earlier on the thread.

 

"The nice thing about citing god as an authority is that you can prove anything you set out to prove." ~ Robert A. Heinlein

 

No...but if I pick a religion - or it picks me, as it were - I doubt I’d be an expert on 12 other religions. I’m going to live my life according to my religion.

An atheist, on the other hand, makes a definitive rejection of all gods. Or, generally in the West, says so in an attempt to, I dunno, get a rile out of Christians. (At least that’s been my experience.) So, when I’ve had those experiences, I usually ask about Hinduism or some Eastern religion to gauge commitment level to the atheist ideal. Because you put an “enlightened postmodern Westerner” in the position of extending their POV to include an uncomfortable critique.

 

I must not be communicating it well enough.

Here's the point: In my experience, most atheists I've run into don't have a robust absence of belief (I know it sounds like an oxymoron but I'm using your phrase) but, rather, a robust dislike of Christianity. Most atheists I've known don't know a hell of a lot about the other gods they claim to reject. They just...reject all gods, out of hand.

My argument is...how can you sincerely do that unless you know what those gods are?

 

Because it doesn't seem to be a standard you or anyone would hold to any other area of thought or philosophy.

 

Why are you holding atheists to a standard that you reject for yourself?

I'll answer that for you. You do it because you don't like them. You don't like somebody rejecting your faith. Of course an atheist in this country is going to have more to say about Christianity. It is the dominant religion in this country. It is inescapable in popular culture and many other aspects of our society. Maybe it is tougher for you to see that because you are a Christian, but trust the experience of a non-Christian. There is far more ignorance in this country of Judiasm and other religions than there is of Christianity.

That said, you are showing a fundamental disrespect for others while sticking your own head in the sand and saying "I'm right because the Bible told me so" over and over again. Your approach to this is hypocritical and lacking in empathy and understanding. It is the result of the same lack of depth of thinking that you insist is common among atheists.

 

I don't mind and have never minded criticism of Christianity. We've brought on - and earned - a lot of the criticism levied at us.

To the extent an atheist cared about Christianity, I'd guess it'd be that our god isn't real, it's made up, and there you have it. I don't care if someone rejects my faith for my own sake. If I care about them, I might care for their sake - it is, after all, their soul they wouldn't be caring for - but I'm pretty comfortable juggling the concerns of anyone who rejects Christianity or what I believe.