AIBU to ask why Christians seem to make everyone so angry?

[Bardette]

Any post involving Christians or the church seem to attract an extra level of venom from some and I wonder why?

I can only roll my eyes at Christians who feel that they're the persecuted ones in society.

Also, I think large section (the majority?) of society are atheist

sorry but that's load of crap, sorry! there is a reason why this is still classed as a Christian country

census data from 2011 -

Despite falling numbers Christianity remains the largest religion in England and Wales in 2011. Muslims are the next biggest religious group and have grown in the last decade. Meanwhile the proportion of the population who reported they have no religion has now reached a quarter of the population.

•
In the 2011 Census, Christianity was the largest religion, with 33.2 million people (59.3 per cent of the population). The second largest religious group were Muslims with 2.7 million people (4.8 per cent of the population).

•
14.1 million people, around a quarter of the population in England and Wales, reported they have no religion in 2011.

Murderers get sent to prison, regardless of religion. All murders provoke disgust.

And fwiw, many people do have a huge problem with homophobia in Islam. They don't all extend it to include Asians, as to do so would be racist.

because christians who follow the bible literally are full of crap. and i fail to understand ANY organised religion.

The reasons that people get annoyed by Christianity rather than other religions is:

1. Most people have attended UK schools where, by law unless the school gets an exemption, collective worship must be broadly Christian in nature. This means that most people have experienced Christianity via the state and have not experienced other religions. Many people feel, having participated in it, they have a right to criticise it in a way that they do not have a right to criticise other religions.

1. The UK is culturally, not religiously, a Christian country. People feel they have a right to their traditions, and dislike that some Christians try and impose a religious meaning for everyone on to festivals like Christmas and Easter, despite them no longer having any religious meaning to most UK participants.

1. Most religiously associated sectarian violence, segregation and ill feeling in the UK is Christian (between Catholics and Protestants). This has caused family problems, marriage problems and community problems for many people, which gives them a negative view of Christianity.

1. Most pressure to bring teaching into school that is anti-Science or anti-human rights is brought by Christian groups.

1. The church and church attenders have more rights than others when it comes to marriage and education.

6.Christians hold more power (both directly through the House of Lords) and indirectly (through many Prime Ministers and other people in power being Christian) than other groups.

1. One of the largest English speaking countries is the United States. Many Christian Americans are opposed to various groups having rights, and we tend to hear these more than the views of other religious groups because we also usually speak English.

Christians are a privileged group in the UK, eg schools, house of lords seats, etc.

Most Christians aren't sitting in the House of Lords or attending church schools though. So they aren't part of that privileged group. Again it's the difference between a few decision-makers at the top, and everyone else Christian or not.

I don't have an issue with Christians - my mum is one - and a lovely one at that. I also don't have a problem with religion

I take issue with bigotry, hatred and extremism - in ANY religion - or just in general really

Christians do seem to push more buttons than other religions, which is odd I agree

Wow, I was expecting to be completely battered but you've expressed some really fair and thought provoking opinions, especially about how we have the right to question Christianity as it's the religion most people have been raised with and therefore know about.
And I love that Richard Dawkins is not the atheists' Jesus .
Vampyre could I ask you to expand on your opinion?

I have no problems with Christians.
I have huge problems with Christian organisations and groups who purport to speak for all Christians, who claim the privilege to discriminate against their fellow human beings and who engage in bigotry.

I have no problems with Muslims.
I have a problem with Muslim organisations and groups.... etc. etc.

I think actually Christians in general make very few people angry, and those people would be called bigots in their own right.

Op can I ask why you feel angry towards Christians. Have you been treated in a bad way by the Church or people within the Church for you to start a thread like this?
I am sorry if the Church or Christians have made you angry. In the end like Doctors nurses and politicians we are all people - we will still make mistakes and still have our views and I think those outside the Church think that we have to be angelic and live lives with halo's above our heads.

How many threads have there been on this in the last month?

Choosing to live as a Christian individual, fine.

Evangelising that others should do the same, not fine.

Picketing people, harrassing people, limiting their freedom, setting fire to them or chopping them up with machetes because they are not your brand of Christian?
Bad.

I know some amazing, generous, tolerant and loving Christians that I'm sure their God would be proud of.
And many not so lovely. The latter make me angry, the former make me happy.

Interesting comments about organisations and groups, and "organised religion". I enjoy meeting with others of a similar faith for shared discussion, worship, friendship etc. and to pool ideas from a large number of people within the wider church, rather than in a small bubble of a few people. What would be the possibilities for this if nothing was "organised"?

Here's another 248 posts to give you food for thought.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2018494-Is-there-anyone-who-finds-the-mere-fact-of-someone-else-being-a-Christian-offensive

I have no issue with individual people who have a particular religion, it's not the 'people' who make me angry sometimes. It's the teaching of the religions and some of the crazy beliefs that religion forces on people. That includes all religions, not just Christianity.

It's the way that some religions like to tell you that you are not a decent person if you are gay, a woman, or not part of that particular faith. It's the way that religious beliefs make judgements about people who don't share that belief.

I remember a 'good' Christian woman at work telling me (when I was a lot younger) that as my Mum didn't make me go to church, she was a bad person and that I shouldn't be using contraceptives as it was against Gods word. I also got told by someone I thought was a friend (he was Muslim), that I should not be drinking alcohol or mixing with men, as it's not something good women did.

I didn't hold it against those individuals, as they have been brain washed into thinking that way.

I just stay clear of anyone with strong religious views. I don't feel that I need a religion, as there is nothing missing in my life that would make me want to 'pray' to a 'man-made-made-up being or person.

Each to their own, but don't judge me on beliefs that are generally made up by a load of old blokes from century's ago, under the pretence that they came from some all-mighty being.

A Christian is "one who follows Christ". One who learns from Him, follows His Example, and strives to be like Him.

Unfortunately the Devil loves to masquerade as God and tempt people away from Christ whilst persuading them to do the Devil's will in God's ostensible name. This includes misrepresenting and misinterpreting Scripture, deny ping others' free will, judging others (judgement is reserved to God), electing baddies to high ecclesiastical office, and causing schisms (setting fragments of the Church against each other - divide and rule).

Some Non-Christians see all this going on, see that it (looks as if) it is being done in God's Name, and conclude that Christianity is a Bad Thing, that faith is superstition, and that God is a "sky fairy". Job done.

Oh yes, the look on a colleague's face when I told her that drinking alcohol was part of my religion.

Exactly so boris, and that's why we'd like you to keep it to yourselves.

Goblin child - it's a faith, not a contagion. I'm not ramming it down anyone's throat but if you think I'm going to deny Christ just to get an easy ride from bigots like yourself you'll be disappointed. I'm pretty tolerant of people of all faiths and none, and people who are happy with their faiths or non-faith have no need of mine, which is after all a personal thing. But you've been spouting pretty freely about your spiritual position on here and frankly I've got the right to do the same.

Boris, you just judged Goblin there. I thought that was God's job?

'But you've been spouting pretty freely about your spiritual position on here'

No I haven't. You haven't got a clue what my personal beliefs about God are. Because they are personal to me and I believe I should be known by my actions and not by my trumpeting. I think that's in the NT isn't it?

You're right kim147, I can't really see some of the issues because I've not been in your situation, which is why I'm asking.

And Boris there has demonstrated beautifully why I find many religious folk laughable and intolerable all at the same time.

Well done