why do atheists only attack christianity? (Putin, claims, history, Georgia)
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First off, people are homophobic, misogynistic, racist...etc. Not religions. Religions may teach homophobia, misogyny, racism, etc. but it's up to the individual to accept or reject those teachings. Not all Muslims and Christians hold the same beliefs. There is a great variety of beliefs within each religion. There are a good number of Christians and Muslims, who reject the extremist and bigoted verses of their holy texts. There are other Christians and Muslims who hold onto these verses and use them to justify bigotry. In either case, it's the individual who chooses what they believe. And because of this, it makes little sense to decry Islam or Christianity as a whole, because in reality, these individuals are not unified in a belief, they are only unified in a label.
Secondly, just because someone is for the freedom to express religion does not mean they support the tenants taught by every religion. There is a crucial difference between fighting for the right to have a voice, and fighting for what the voice is saying. In this regard, I can only speak for myself, but I imagine there are others out there who agree with me. I don't always agree with what the voice is saying, but I do fight for the right for that voice to speak. This means that some Christians may preach racism, some Muslims may preach homophobia, etc., and while I disagree with both stances, I don't agree with the desire to censor them or suppress them.
That said, I don't condone violence in the name of religion. And I imagine there are many others who would agree with me. To have a belief and to voice it is one thing. To commit crimes in the name of a religion is another thing entirely. While I support with all my heart the right to voice one's opinion, I absolutely do not support the right to hurt or even harass others. This applies to Christianity and Islam alike. There is no double standard.
It may seem like a double standard because many liberals do complain more about Christians than they do Muslims. I think this has to do with level of contact. I imagine that if we spent any amount of time in a predominantly Muslim country, our frustrations and disagreements with Islam would be more on the forefront of our minds, much like how the tensions with one's parents become much more apparent when living with them every day, but fade more into the background when moving away. Christians are close to home, so the clash in beliefs are more apparent, like the 17 year old who gets caught in the small everyday stuff and talks about how she hates her parents and can't wait to get out. But Muslims are a minority in the U.S. and Islam is by large an abstract for most Americans, so it's easier for liberals to put their opinion of Islam into perspective, like the college student who feels like she can finally get along with her mother now that she's moved away.
Precisely.
It's like asking "Why do Minnesotans complain about snow and cold but not about hurricanes?"
It's like asking "Why do Minnesotans complain about snow and cold but not about hurricanes?"
So that is your backdoor out. Again, what about the honor killings that have happened right here in America? Are they of no concern to you? Also, are the women of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, etc, not importtant to you? That's not very liberal of you.
I think you got called on your hypocrisy and it's making your uncomfortable.
Your head is intact, isn't it? And so is mine. Or, that of Hamas MP's son who converted to Christianity couple of years ago, and has criticized Hamas openly.
But, going back to the premise of the thread, and generalizing it... why do people of one group, attack others?
Your head is intact, isn't it? And so is mine. Or, that of Hamas MP's son who converted to Christianity couple of years ago.
I hope that mine is, altough epistemologically I can't be sure. I do know that Muslims have been cutting people's heads off lately. Are we really having this discussion?
Your head is intact, isn't it? And so is mine. Or, that of Hamas MP's son who converted to Christianity couple of years ago, and has criticized Hamas openly.
But, going back to the premise of the thread, and generalizing it... why do people of one group, attack others?
I suppose I'll repost this.
Christians, Muslims, Atheists, whoever, attack others because they have a belief system that they assume to be correct. They then judge others by that belief system. It just so happens that the Christians are condescending, the Atheists are snarky and rude, and the Muslims will blow your head off. That's why I don't really care for the Muslims out of the bunch.
So that is your backdoor out. Again, what about the honor killings that have happened right here in America? Are they of no concern to you? Also, are the women of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, etc, not importtant to you? That's not very liberal of you.
Actually, I wish all the best for women the world around. But the level of my concerns - and yours, I imagine - are proportional to the physical, personal and social proximity to me.
What happens in my family is of more concern to me than what happens to me in a family across town. What happens to a family on a dead-end street in the NE side of Vladivostok is of no concern to me - others are going to have to concern themselves with that. I care more about the behavior of the kid next door to me than the murder rate in Barcelona. Again, this is simple logic.
Whooosh, right over your head, no doubt...
But back to Christians and Muslims, when Muslims start trying to gut biology education in the local schools, yeah, I'll be all over that. Last year, when a charter school in Minnesota was blatantly violated the Establishment Clause in promoting Islam, I was highly critical. So was the ACLU. You know, those liberals at the ACLU, who you claim "only attack Christianity"? ACLU to sue Twin Cities charter school that caters to Muslims | StarTribune.com
Ditto several years back when some Muslim cab drivers were refusing to transport alcohol and dogs. I fully supported the Metropilitan Airports Commission's crackdown on that discriminatiry behavior. Minnesota's Muslim Cab Drivers Face Crackdown - washingtonpost.com
And as I pointed out before (and which you conveniently ignored), liberal writers on the subject of atheism, from Richard Dawkins to Christopher Hitchens to Daniel Dennett to Sam Harris, are all pointedly critical of Islam.
I'm highly critical of all sorts of religious nonsense, your feverish fantasies that the cult you like is the only one that gets my disapproval notwithstanding. But the simple fact is that Christianity has immense political power in this country whereas Islam has almost none. Thus, Christianity does far more meddling and oppressing here because it can do so.
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I think you got called on your hypocrisy and it's making your uncomfortable.
Not Christian. No discomfort. I just spot a zealot whether they wear a cross or not.
Read it again, I didn't call you a christian. But you're sure doing a lot of finger pointing and name calling that you can't back up. You don't know me, so you have no way of knowing whether or not I'm a "zealot".
Keep up with the personal attacks, babycakes. It's trolliciously amusing.
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