Its perfectly acceptable to be rude to religous people...

[startrek90]

Definately going to get flamed here but oh well.

I get the feeling that this is perfectly acceptable to be rude about religous people. From reading the threads on this forum, and my experiences in RL, the amount of rudeness and sometimes plain nastiness is awful.

I am religous. I don't care if people are not, if they go to church or how they live their own lives or raise their children. As far as I am concerned as long as you obey the law, do what you want.

So far I have seen people imply that all religous people are closing their childrens mind, are ignorant, bigots.... its horrible!

I don't deny that there are people who are that way and use religion as an excuse.... but quite frankly you can be ignorant and rude without religion.

I am being unreasonable to be offended, but it really bothers me that its culturally acceptable to be rude to and about people of faith. You wouldn't do it to someone from a different culture or race would you? I have never bothered anyone with my faith so please stop taking it as an insult!

(Just venting, been lambasted in RL for daring to buy my son a Noahs ark toy. I thought it was cute with all the animals etc... but apparently I am raising him to be ignorant, bigoted and stupid. He will hate gay people and women and generally be a horrible person.....apparently grrr )

That though was written by a man who self-destructed young so despite the power of his language perhaps could not really understand how his father might view the matter.

Exactly, it was written for the poet himself, he wanted the tears, 'curse me, bless me', for himself. He wanted his father to fight and not accept his lot. That's why I quoted it, it has resonance to how I feel at this current juncture.

As I said, I hope Mehitabel6 is right about the welcoming of death to old bones.

Right now, death still scares the crap out of me, not going to lie.

Death does not scare me at all.

I am atheist. THings will return to how they were before I was born- that's all.

I think it is less scary to think there is just nothing! If it is as antumbra says I can't see the worry.

Dylan Thomas's father wasn't even 70 yrs when he died. If he had lived another 20 yrs I dare say he would have wanted him to go 'gently into the night'- anything else would have been cruel and selfish.

Even at 85 yrs I would have wanted my mother to fight to live- not now because it isn't what she wants- she has it written in her medical notes not to resuscitate.

Early Christianity would not have taken off on a lie, particularly a lie involving women. The only explanation is that the gospel writers reported the truth,

why not (to the first sentence)? Lots and lots of lies are accepted today, forget lies told to the illiterate masses 2 millenia ago. Truth is hardly the only explanation.

Resurrection is an explanation for the events reported and for the spread of this faith movement in an unprecedented way in history.

I would say Constantine had a much bigger hand than this than the truth did.

The resurrection is a good example of something that has essentially no credible support. Suppose your best friend died last year, and your other best friend came to you excitedly, convinced that she had seen the dead best friend walking about earlier in the day, 1 year after her death. Do you believe her? Suppose your brother claims to have also seen your resurrected friend walking about. Do you believe them? My guess is no. The best explanation, without further evidence, is that they are mistaken. Now think about how much better evidence you have for this resurrection than you do for Jesus'. On the one hand, you have living witnesses that you trust and can question and on the other hand you have hearsay, accounts after the fact of possible witnesses 2000 years ago, written by people who have an incentive to bend the truth. The very same book (the main evidence) in fact has accounts of many other resurrections, so its veracity is very much in question.

"Early Christianity would not have taken off on a lie, particularly a lie involving women. The only explanation is that the gospel writers reported the truth,"

Why not? If you are a Christian and believe that Christianity is the one true faith, then you must also believe that all the other world religions "took off on a lie".......

All religions have core things in common.

respect is a 2 way street, I'll never be rude to someone's religion if they pay me the same respect regarding my own views. Many times i've been incredibly offended and hurt by religious people, always surrounding religion (raised religiously) in those situations I won't be too worried about being polite.

mmmn- not sure about that mehitabel, I could list some vast chasms between Christianity and Bhuddism for instance

The more I think about it the more comforting it is to have nothing after death. Life has no deep meaning or purpose, you just are born, live and die to nothing. Easy.
If it has got a purpose that is where the problems start and you have things to answer for!

There are always chasms but also similarities.i am going out- haven't time to list similarities.

I don't think that an life as an atheist is without responsibilities.
Quite the contrary.
Being able to accept god, have your sins cleansed and still end up in heaven it is an easy ticket.

It takes an arrogant christian to suggest their life has more meaning than mine.

It was you that suggested that all religions have core things in common.

I disagree- about all religions- yes if we look at the abrahamic faiths- they all have a rotten core I would agree.

Religion is all nonsense, and it never fails to surprise me that educated people take any of it seriously. On the whole, among nice people (I've got friends who subscribe to various of the Abrahamic myth systems, others who are into astrology or some cocktail of woo-bollocks, and it doesn't bother me any more than those friends who are into other things not relevant to me like sport or gardening) it's not a big deal, just something that someone else likes and engages in. It is a problem when grown people start demanding the equivalent of a plate at the table for their imaginary friend eg when decisions on healthcare or use of state funds get derailed by 'religious leaders' who should be reminded that their imaginary friend is not invite to the party.
But it's worth remembering that religions were invented primarily as a means of social control: for one group of people to claim power over others ('do as I say or my big special invisible friend will eat you) - and, particularly in the case of the Abrahamic myths, to shift control over reproduction from women to men.
And the 'resurrection' stories are an allegory for an agricultural cycle - the plant is planted, it grows, it's cut down and eaten and then up it pops again.

"The more I think about it the more comforting it is to have nothing after death. Life has no deep meaning or purpose, you just are born, live and die to nothing. Easy.
If it has got a purpose that is where the problems start and you have things to answer for!"

Just checking. Am I alone in thinking that post is pretty rude and disrespectful to atheists?

No you are not alone hak- it's very rude.

I see the thread has descended into the usual Christianity-and-Christian-bashing, featuring the usual Christianity-and-Christian-Bashers.

Really? Atheists being told our life has "no purpose?

You see that as christian bashing?

I respect everyone's right to believe in what they want to believe in as long as they aren't forcing it up on other people. I have sometimes been a bit rude to Jehovahs Witness' when they knock at my door but only when I have politely told them that I'm not interested and they still won't leave.

"I see the thread has descended into the usual Christianity-and-Christian-bashing, featuring the usual Christianity-and-Christian-Bashers."

Really, I thought it was descending into the usual "anything except whole hearted acceptance of Christianity and Christians is unacceptable bashing, featuring the usual........."

Agree mathanxiety

Clearly when someone says they have a problem with 'religion' they actually mean that they have a problem with Christianity. All the others religions are fine.

All the others religions are fine.

Really? I didn't hear anyone say that.