Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It doesn't irk me but, to present a counter point, how would christians feel if a believer of another religion or no religion at all intruded on them and tried to force their belief system on them? Would it "irk" you or anger you? You cannot "testify" and not expect others to do the same from their own point of view.
Any certainty of belief in anything can be demonstrated and argued by thorough explanation using reason and logic. That's the difference between being sure or not sure. The difference bewtween falsehood and truth does not rely upon strength is in numbers.
The idea that a god exists is a matter of selective opinion, not a fact.
Flowery language, vague concepts, and poetics may make for interesting literature, but cannot be accepted as explanations.
Human emotions can be offended and insulted, the human intellect not.
It doesn't irk me but, to present a counter point, how would christians feel if a believer of another religion or no religion at all intruded on them and tried to force their belief system on them? Would it "irk" you or anger you? You cannot "testify" and not expect others to do the same from their own point of view.
i agree with what you are saying here, but i think we need to make a distinction between testifying and ramming something down someone's throat.
i realize that a lot of the world is still operating under the 'there are two things i don't discuss with other people, politics and religion' rule, which i think is sad on a lot of levels. but there are others that are not operating on that system and i think it is short-sighted to condense the two of them together and try to make them equally offensive.
i can politely have a conversation with someone of a different faith or viewpoint, even disagreeing with what they are saying, without insulting them, manipulating them, or trying to show how wrong or stupid they are.
i know that there are a lot of faiths, and even some athiests out there (the majority of them that i am aware of are christian, but some of that is just because of numbers in the country i live in) that feel the need to tell people how ignorant and condemned they are, as if scaring or coercing them into obedience is worth their time and trouble. but that is not the case with the majority of religious, or athiest circles that i have interacted with. most of them are respectful and open-minded (note that open-minded does not mean that you can't come to your own satisfaction and conclusion with an answer that seems to fit your view of the world).
aaron out.
EDIT: after rereading your post, it seems that you were already agreeing with the above, so my post is somewhat redundant as far as you are concerned, though i feel that there are plenty of others (among all parties) that have not become aware of this fact.
Yes, it irks me.
And, yes, it is the strength of belief that irks me. It has nothing to do with Christians forcing their beliefs on me - no Christian ever does that to me.
It irks me when people cannot accept the possibility that their beliefs in supernatural, unprovable things are not completely accurate. That amounts to closed-mindedness in my opinion and nothing irks me more than closed minds. I can't close my own mind enough to buy completely into any belief system and I don't see how I ever could.
A huge part of the believing is to never let anything/anyone sway you. No proof, nothing. That gets drilled into your head from birth. Don't ask questions, don't doubt...you go to hell if you doubt, doubt is the devil talking...this is what gets rid of all that suspicious thinking IMO, it's based on guilt.
First you have to squish all rational thought and then you isolate, you say ours is the only one true god....others are evil and wrong...any cult works the same way. Look at how people were in Guyana with Jimmy Jones and drank the koolaid... sad but true. Some may have been forced to drink the koolaid but a lot believed it was OK and the only way into heaven.
Atheists, does it irk you that Christians are so sure of their beliefs?
No...
And I don't see any reason why it should. I mean after all, personal beliefs are quite strong in many areas outside of religion, too. I don't begrudge Chicago Cubs fans their belief that their team is the best.
But the control-freak nature of many religionists is a problem. And not just one of being a nuisance. Much violence and injustice is advanced in the name of religious fervor. Some faiths even have as a core principle converting the rest of humanity and killing that protion that refuses to submit.
Why is it that most religious faiths both embrace and ignore the Golden Rule? Why can't their devotees see the inherent contradiction?
It sounds like most atheists here are well beyond "irked" by the strength of Christians' beliefs.
I feel irked by it - but I get irked by many things daily.
To be irked is no big deal - atheists here seem royally pissed.
Not pissed, annoyed at how some will do anything to convert someone. How they kill in the name of their god and find a way to justify it, etc,.. And I only think about it when they come knocking on my door and ask if I'm saved yet or when it's being discussed, like here. I don't give it any thought otherwise. Too busy putting up Santa Claus posters....:-)
Not pissed, annoyed at how some will do anything to convert someone. How they kill in the name of their god and find a way to justify it, etc,.. And I only think about it when they come knocking on my door and ask if I'm saved yet or when it's being discussed, like here. I don't give it any thought otherwise. Too busy putting up Santa Claus posters....:-)
Yay, Santa!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Atheists, does it irk you that Christians are so sure of their beliefs?
