To really hate it when atheists take the piss out of those who believe in God?

[sharkirasharkira]

I have several FB friends who are obvious atheists, and often share things about science and/or about the concept of God being stupid -basically saying that anyone who believes in God is an idiot, a child (with an 'imaginary friend') or someone who has no idea about science and the universe.

I get that not everyone has faith in a higher being/religion etc but why the childish name calling and the necessity to take the piss out of those who do? It just really irritates me! Belief in God and an appriciation of science are not mutually exclusive. I find it quite offensive that people who don't know my personal beliefs are essentially saying that if I believe in God I must be an idiot or a child who believes in magical sky fairies, because theres no possible way I can believe in evolution (for example) and be an agnostic.

Aibu to think that people should just let others believe what they want to believe without mocking them for it, even if they don't agree with it?

People have believed in some form of God for thousands of years. If there is nothing behind this "feeling" then why does it exist?

Because people naturally want there to be reasons and explanations for things they don't (yet) understand, and don't really like the responsibility of deciding what's right and wrong without a guidebook, and because they are frightened of dying. Religions are the stories people make up to deal with those things. Oh and some people want to have priest-like status and make everyone do what they want, through fear of eternal damnation. That too.

People have believed in some form of God for thousands of years. If there is nothing behind this "feeling" then why does it exist?

so if humankind believes long enough in something for which there is no evidence, it becomes 'real'?

Fwiw, it was a means to offer explanations thousands of years ago for lots of things in the absence of science.

People have believed in some form of God for thousands of years. If there is nothing behind this "feeling" then why does it exist?

A very good question. The prevailing theory runs thus: humans were given a survival advantage by being able to infer from patterns - if you see a shadow in the woods and assume it’s a predator then generally it won’t be, but if you always assume it is you’ll survive the one time it actually is. So we have an inbuilt ‘overactive pattern sensor’. Then as we began to become conscious we became aware that we are alive and will one day die. That’s a scary thought. So is the unpredictability of the natural world. So gods and creation myths and afterlives arose. As people began to live in cities those beliefs were then cemented and used to control by the ruling classes.

If there's somewhere you don't want to look for falsifiable hypotheses it's evolutionary psychology religion...

Athiests tend to only take the piss out of Christians. Other religions, not so much.

Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, they tend not to have the piss ripped out of them.

(I appreciate that Muslims are the victims of a different sort of victimisation sometimes in that they can all be wrongly tarred with the terrorism brush).

the trouble is that many people of faith are also part of an organised religion, and are happy to benefit from the advantages accorded to particularly Christian religions in this country - to the point of arguing vociferously for their right to have those advantages

That's very true, and may even be one reason why so many churches are practically empty. Not everyone expects special privileges and some of us actively argue against them, feeling that if the faith needs propping up to such an extent then it's probably not very robust

As so often though, the demanders and the sharp elbowed are to be found everywhere

Also, as creationism has been disproved by the scientific proving of evolution we know there was no such thing as Adam and Eve. As such, the very beginning of the story of creation has been disproved and thus so has the existence of a Christian God at least.

There is of course a difference between the proving of a particular God and of a higher power, after all there are plenty of people who believe in ghosts and so on which might imply the existence of spirits at least. But I do think it’s safe to say that there is scientific evidence that there is no God in the way the bible describes it. And once you prove that fact you can pick apart the rest.

Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, they tend not to have the piss ripped out of them. I suspect that’s largely because people don’t encounter those religions in the same way they do Christianity. Not that I think it’s ok either way but the church has played a part in the UK for centuries whereas Islam etc while being more widely promoted of late is still little understood.

I have a massive issue with organised religion.

I don't have an issue at all with people believing in God. I think quite a few people believe in God without following or believing a religion of any kind.

I'm an atheist. I have friends of many different religions, I would never call them idiots however I would say that the basis of religion is illogical. I have seen no evidence whatsoever of a higher being, so I can't believe in something I see no evidence of.
I can not abide how religion gets into every facet of this country, I do not want my children to not have access to the best school in the area because I don't believe in something, that is wrong and unfair. I don't want people shouting at me in the street that I need to repent otherwise I'm going to hell, I don't want someone knocking on my door and telling me I need to save my kids souls. I don't want my kids to ask me at the age of 3 what hell is because some evangelist shouted it at us. When people of any religion use it as justification for killing others, shunning parts of the population etc. I have no time for this. If you want to believe in God crack on, but until religion is stopped being rammed down people's throats, and stops having a huge influence on the running of our country I will speak out against it

Many Christians, I would suspect the majority in the UK certainly, have no beef with evolution.

I got told by a Christian that faith school places were justified because it was an active choice Christian parents were making, rather than just 'wanting the local school because it happens to be there' - with the implication that clearly only Christian parents give a damn about their kids' education (and that the kids in question should therefore be prioritized as a result, because, you know, only kids whose parents care about education deserve a good school...), and also conveniently forgetting that the school in question is oversubscribed because it is, well, a good school.

Currently in the media and online, the first group vociferously shouts down and tries to stop the second group's opinions from even being aired, usually using scorn, ridicule and contempt (think Dawkins' attitude)

Are you actually kidding?

Shall we do a media mentions analysis (on matters of public policy, for the sake of even handedness/level playing field that affects everyone) of comments by Richard Dawkins and the Archbishop of Canterbury?

That sort of hyperbolic misrepresentation isn't helping mutually respectful debate and discussion, if that's supposed to be the goal.

That's very interesting brackenette. Thank you. Though.... to shutyoface the variety of religions (and levels of none)says to me that there is a God, but none of us have got it 100%. Also - Adam and Eve in a way is a story around evolution is it not? Taking parts of one generation to the next?

Not being goady I find it fascinating

But if you believe in evolution on the basis of one day is a thousand years to god and so on and believe that a higher being could have “created” earth and animals and man and all that, then that still doesn’t hold when you start to talk about how Eve committed sin and how because of the actions of Eve we are now all born sinners and so on?

Because all of that is based around the theory of creation which never happened in the way the bible said it did.

People toe themselves in knots defending state faith schools. Like other selective schools, I think they are indefensible.

I'm with you, OP. I've never come across such patronising nastiness as here on MN, from atheists. No desire to understand, no desire to distinguish between what they think Christians believe and what individuals actually do believe. No intellectual curiosity at all in fact, just bigotry.

I know out in the real world there are many many people who can cope with the concept of people having faith. I work in a charity with atheists and people of faith, and all are respectful of each other.

That's not how I understand evolution, funnily enough.

Littleraincloud

Why does the variety of religions in the world make you think there must be something in it?

Surely everyone thinking something completely different is evidence against some kind of God?

The aim of science is to prove things to be false, not true

Surely the role of science is to find evidence rather than anything related to proof, since proof implies a final state beyond challenge?

We saw this with the ancients, whose "proof" that the world was flat has since been discredited, and we see it now with those who insist man made climate change is proven, when actually its a hypothesis based on current evidence which may or may not be superseded

Picklemepopcorn

Myself and other atheists continually ask questions of the religious on here. We rarely get answers.

Loads of science wouldn't count as science if everyone stuck to Popper and his falsifiable hypotheses.

I've read it before, but it was worded much more eloquently

Absolutely true OP.

It's hugely ironic. They think religions push their views onto others and cause disharmony between people yet they massively push their lack of belief onto others and use their disrespect for others' views to cause disharmony.

I know lots of people of various religions and none of them have ever tried to push their views onto me or tell me mine are wrong. Yet the atheists have OFTEN tried to push their views onto me and tell me mine are wrong (and in the most disrespectful way). They should take a good look at themselves.