To be irritated by religious views...

[Frume]

I know I'll get flamed here. Of course it goes without saying that you are entitled to believe whatever you believe. And I understand that sometimes people turn to 'God' because that's their last hope. But..

My example that prompted me to write this...

I was on Instagram and catching up with a poor girl that I follow. She is 19 and has battled cancer 3 times. The page is updated by her mum and she says things like:-

'In Him we trust to heal his child'

'This is all part of His plan'

'He knows what he is doing'

Something good happens & then it's, 'God is good' or 'Thank you to Our Father in Heaven for making our prayers come true and healing his child'

Ok. Sure, that was it.. or probably science

The general 'Thoughts and prayers' when there is any kind of disaster. Because obviously that's all that's needed in a time of crisis.

I think in these situations you have to keep your own council, eg I have friends who will talk to me about amazing mediums they fully recommend and just as I'm about to unload my opinion they'll mention how they were told about their DLO and I just listen and keep my mouth shut.

Strident atheist here! Yes, I find religious views irritating, but I'd agree with others, if you find something irritating then if possible don't engage with it.

I'm not particularly religious. My dad almost died last year and I remember being 100% sure this was it yet my mom clinged onto her faith and she really believed he would make it because of God. He did even though all his doctors had given up hope. Who am I to tell her God doesn't exist? You sound like an intolerant pain in the ass atheist. Dont be an asshole and just keep your thoughts to yourself. HTH.

Thanks @makkmiss, that has made me ponder...

Religion proved the world was round while people were still adamant it was flat

A link would be nice, though I rather think two things will prove to be so:

A religious group believed as an article of faith that the earth was flat, so not proven.

A religious group proved by observation, I.e. scientific observation.e.g. the ship "suddenly" appearing on the horizon. in which case it is science, not religion.

If someone lets me know they have an imaginary friend, my main concern is: how does that make them behave towards real people? If they think that 'my imaginary friend says so' entitles them to discriminate against gay people, interfere with women's bodily autonomy or defend child abusers then they can fuck off. If they've imagined themselves a friend who a) has their back when they are scared/comforts them when they are sad and b) encourages them to help other people then I wish them luck.
I don't particularly care what they call their imaginary friend, or take much notice of the specific fables appropriate to that friend: I have just noticed, generally, that people tend to prefer the imaginary friend that has characteristics close to theirs, so the nice people have a kind imaginary friend, and the vicious arseholes have one who's all about the punishing unbelievers.

I don’t think anyone is suggesting going into threads like the one the OP is talking about and “berate” (favourite word from people of faith there). Of course you don’t. But surely on a discussion thread like this nobody has to “keep their thoughts to themselves” ?

A very sad post that has disdain and holds judgement for what helps a mother get through her pain

Why should the OP not judge? It's not as if she's messaging the woman back to tell she's deluded.

What ever gets them through their tough times. Personally I find religious intolerance far worse.

This. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, whatever they are.

I think it depends how those religious views are applied.

Person finding comfort in God during a difficult time expressing that - fine.
Me having a difficult time and people making cliche comments about God and seemingly minimisingy actual experience - not OK.
People going to chapel to pray whilst doctors operate to save their child - fine
People refusing child's treatment because God has a plan / will heal / wants the child for a sunbeam - not ok
People enjoying their faith - fine
People using their faith as an excuse to commit attrocities - not ok
People forcing their religious views on others - not OK.

Like anything, faith o God isn't the issue. People are.

Always confused me why religious people bother with doctors. Surly you want to get to heaven as soon as possible, after all isn't that why god sends you an illness? Going to a doctor must be defying gods plan.

I don't see much of a difference between rude pushy atheists and rude pushy proponents of any other spiritual position

I do think if you go around insulting other people's faith that's on the level of calling them a cunt and you know it.

Someone praying for you is positive in nature rather than spiteful or rude. If your inclination is to be negative in response it would probably be better just to ignore it.

Some very thought provoking replies, thank you!

Just to clarify - The post was just one example of many. Of course the family are going through a horrific time and whatever they can do to get them through then so be it. If it gives them comfort that's great. I do understand that.

I suppose for me personally I would instantly have the argument of,

If God is so great, why did 'he' let my child have cancer in the first place. Then 'cure' her. Then 'allow' her to have it a further 2 times. IYSWIM.

Again, an example.

And to those saying don't read or unfollow the person in question, it isn't offending me enough that I am going to unfollow. I offer kind words just not in the form of faith. They made the profile because they WANT people to know about her journey. I guess that's another form of how people deal with things.

I've never quite felt like this about a thread before... but I (genuinely) want to invite each and every one of you round to my house to discuss this further (please all bring wine!).

I've never copied so many quotes from pps before to paste into my answer that I've just literally lost track (hence why I need to invite you all round!) At time of writing, this thread is 64 posts long. I think I want to give individual answers to 50+ of them! (I won't).

For me, I'm an atheist. I'm REALLY happy to be so. @ReanimatedSGB, you're probably the closest to where I am in my life (I LOVE your references to imaginary friends!). BUT, I work part-time in a faith-based organisation. i thought it was going to be all torturing nuns and raping priests, but what I've found is people who just believe in love and goodness and want to share it, and I can't argue with that.
I gave someone a lift home one time, and I (against my better judgement) shared my views and told her that I LOVE helping/people and "doing good" just because it was a good way to be. And for me I LOVE that there's no reward.... I love that if I help or support someone, there's no-one "up there", taking notes. She said to me "RedHats, You'd make a GREAT Catholic" and I said "but I don't believe in god!!!". I think she was crushed.

What I hate is the SMUGNESS that goes with most religion (not the Muslims, as far as I've observed, but all the rest). The "oooo, see how PERFECT I am....." [subtext: Watch me earn all my heaven points, that I'll later boast about on celestial social media]

HOWEVER, if having a faith HELPS (and I've seen how it can and does) when we and our loved ones are at their very lowest, then who are we (without the faith) to take that away? We shouldn't.

I HATE religion (all of them) and I HATE faith. But when I've seen it do good, I think it's amazing.

And, btw, to the PP who said "can't they exist in harmony". No, they really can't. Except when they do [hypothetical scenario: The scientist sobbing about the terminal illness of a loved one and praying for a better outcome/thanking "someone" when they get it].

And then that's amazing as well.

I don't think ANYONE begrudges a good outcome (even an SA). I think where the SA bit kicks in is where the science gets ignored for the part it plays over something that's never been proven.

and, p.s.
I'm REALLY anti-god and anti-religious (that might be obvious!)

BUT my Catholics do this "we have to forgive each other, because even if we don't really think it, it's the best way to be" thing.
And it's brilliant. And works better than ANY other policy I've ever seen. It just WORKS. Even though I don't agree with it (what about "justice"? What about "right and wrong"? No, we forgive each other! "what about justifiable grievance?" "no, we forgive each other, even if you don't really mean it")

And this makes EVERYONE'S lives better.

They've got a point! It works!

This post is awful. You say people are entitled to believe what they want and then smugly rip apart the religion which is helping someone through an incredibly hard time. This is what religion does for people and you have no right to mock it like this. Truly cruel and narrow minded.

I'm an atheist and would never ever refer to people's beliefs as "imaginary friends". It's insulting and implies that you are right and others are wrong. I have very good friends with deep faith and I love reading and discussing theology. Frankly I find other atheist s more annoying if they have this attitude. It is also implying that religious people are a bit stupid. Very judgemental and reductive

YANBU

I hate it when people give thanks to God for things that are man made. "Thank you God for curing my cancer" how about thanking the scientists and medical professionals who actually helped you.

Your post reminded me of this song.

@Rosesaredead - Bit strong!

Go in peace

actually not entirely true. Religion proved the world was round while people were still adamant it was flat.
I'm another that's going to need to see the workings behind this statement!

I don’t understand religion or people having complete faith in a higher power with no grounding. It baffles me somewhat. But it doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t affect me.
Hearing about certain cases like the parents who denied treatment for their child with meningitis is upsetting but you have to remember these people are not representative of all believers.

Faith gives structure and meaning to life. Even within the same religion different people interpret that differently. At its best it allows spirituality to flourish. It isn't about imaginary friends.
I don't believe that wars would lessen if religions didn't exist. They would just be fought under a different banner.

@Gingerkittykat
Why can't we thank both God and people for medical interventions and scientific discoveries?

@RedHatsDoNotSuitMe
Smugness is not confined to religious people. Some atheists are incredibly smug at their supposed cleverness, 'enlightenedness' and superiority over those who have 'imaginery friends'. I'm not perfect. Far from it. That's why we have the sacrement of reconciliation and a special prayer at that beginning of every mass.
We do forgive each other as God forgives us. However, we still believe in justice e.g. Prison and eternal judgment from God (although we trust in His mercy for repentant sinners).
@Walkingdeadfangirl
We don't see Earth as a waiting room for heaven. Earth is a wondrous gift from God to build relationships with Him and other people. We can marvel at His creation as well. We just don't see Earth as our final destination. We absolutely should make the most of our time here and take advantage of medical interventions.

@echt
I think judging how one person reacts to such a struggle in their life is judgmental and lacking empathy. It's not up for her/him to decide if it is ridiculous or irritating when it is not bothering her/him.

Generally, I think that there is a real problem when a small number of experiences of religious people is taken as the norm such as 'These Christians believe that the earth was created in a a few days so all Christians must believe that" or " I read that a Christian allowed their child to die from XXX because they thought prayer was enough so all Christian must do such neglectful things."

There's HUGE differences between denominations.