NOM's totally unhinged attack on Atheists

[dawn9476]

http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/no ... 2/14/31775

[SquirrelySquirrel]

I don't believe in fairy tales, yet *I* am the one with a "delicate and frail mental architecture?" Mmkay.

:lol:

This kind of shit used to bother me, but now it just makes me laugh.

[emmiedahl]

You have the audacity to tell us Christians that we are “weak†and that our religion is a “crutch.â€

Are Christians routinely told this by atheists? Most of the atheists I know are very gracious about my faith, but I don't know if things are generally different with non-proselytizing minority religions than with the big evangelical majority one.

I don't think anyone at FJ (which has the highest concentration of atheists I have ever seen, and no one around here holds back) has ever been rude or condescending to me over my religion.

[VodouDoll]

Are Christians routinely told this by atheists?

Well, I think it's the kind of thing that, like, Richard Dawkins says sometimes. And maybe some of the ruder commenters on Ray Comfort's blog? But other than that, no.

[The Archivist]

I think some of the more idiotic atheists (who treat and defend their own views in a damn near religious sense and cannot seem to parse the irony of it) do say things like this. And I do think Dawkins has said it pretty stridently, but in my experience it`s mainly self-righteous neckbeards with vlogs on YouTube.

[emmiedahl]

Richard Dawkins can be harsh, but certainly less so than many evangelical preachers. In fact, when you compare him to religious leaders, he is mild and understated.

The atheists that I am close to are merely appalled at the abuses committed in the name of religion; they don't actually give a fuck whether I believe in something they don't.

[Conuly]

Are Christians routinely told this by atheists? Most of the atheists I know are very gracious about my faith, but I don't know if things are generally different with non-proselytizing minority religions than with the big evangelical majority one.

Atheists do sometimes say things like that, but mostly not in mixed company. It's generally more in the context of "Oh, my brother is such a pain, he wants me to go to church, and I said I'm an atheist and he got all condescending and said he'd PRAY for me! God, he's such a tool, and religion is such a crutch for his pathetic ass...." and so on. It's not like we're all spending all our lives thinking about how much Christians totally suck, but once in a while a really annoying religious person will invite the venting - and deserve it if they hear it, too!

[Aerial312]

Atheists do sometimes say things like that, but mostly not in mixed company. It's generally more in the context of "Oh, my brother is such a pain, he wants me to go to church, and I said I'm an atheist and he got all condescending and said he'd PRAY for me! God, he's such a tool, and religion is such a crutch for his pathetic ass...." and so on. It's not like we're all spending all our lives thinking about how much Christians totally suck, but once in a while a really annoying religious person will invite the venting - and deserve it if they hear it, too!

Exactly. I understand that God is an important part of other people's lives, and totally respect that. He is not however, a part of my life. The only time I have a problem is when people don't respect that.

[julie paradox]

ha, someone is claiming that she got in trouble with her boss for posting that and it's nothing like the articles the Ruth Institute usually uses.

Stupid much?

(I can't get over the single letter l, which makes my mind turn the i long...)

[debrand]

I think that religious people who aren't trying to proselytizewon't get many negative comments. Some religious people are either intent on evangelizing others or don't want to extend tolerance toward different beliefs. I would imagine that they would get nasty comments because they are annoying.

[QAF_Rocks]

Does NOM ever say or do anything that isn't "totally unhinged?" ;)

[debrand]

Wow. I just finished the article. The writer certainly didn't take Jesus seriously when he said to turn the other cheek ,did she? Mary Kochan is pretty angry. Maybe she needs a drink or something to calm her down.

Yes, you are outsiders. Go start your own damn country. This one was started by Christians, you puerile dimwits. It is Christians who established and largely Christians who fought and died to maintain the freedoms you enjoy. And Christians are still the majority. Apparently your vaulted belief system doesn’t equip you to handle being in the minority. That’s interesting, isn’t it? After all, this was and is a societal situation valiantly handled by millions and millions of Christians who suffered — and currently suffer — real oppression, violence, torture, economic deprivation, and cruel deaths. But you have to go through turning off the TV once in a while and so your precious puny feelings are hurt. How delicate and frail your mental architecture is!

Her comment about turning off the tv made me laugh because that is what people have been saying to extremist who want to limit what can be said on tv, in music and in movies for a long time. Just don't watch or listen to what offends you. It's ironic that she tries to use the same line on atheists.

[emmiedahl]

Upon further thought, I sometimes get severely annoyed with Christianity in the public schools and other public, government places. It just does not seem appropriate to me. Maybe the author does not understand that it is not just atheists who are offended.

[alba]

Are Christians routinely told this by atheists?

Well, I sometimes joke to my fiancé that he believes in an imaginary sky wizard ... :p

Honestly, though, I've encountered way more rudeness towards atheists since I stopped believing in God than I ever encountered from atheists when I was a Christian.

[dairyfreelife]

Mary, you are an outsider. If you don't like the way things are for your brand of Christianity, go start your own country if you can find a place that has not been discovered yet. You can always invade natives. It's what people did here. This country was established by mostly Deists. I will not call you a puerile dimwit because that is rude. It was a mix of Christians and deists who started this country and fought and died for it to begin with and today a mix of religions and likely even some non-religious people fight and die for the freedoms you enjoy at this moment. Christianity is still the majority religion and I am including Catholics here as well. The majority of this country has a religion and believes in a higher being, but they are not all Christians. Seems that vaulted bubble you live in makes it difficult for you to accept anyone who differs from your beliefs in a very diverse country that hails religious freedom as a fundamental right for its citizens. Interesting, isn't it? How the societal situation seems to make you so afraid and ready to lash out. There are millions of religious people all over the globe and some face real persecution involving violence, torture, economic deprivation, starvation, and cruel deaths so pretending you are being persecuted when someone disagrees with you is insulting to those who truly do face it. What does the tv have to do with the above you wrote? It makes little sense anyway. Are you trying to say that people who turn off their tvs feel hurt by doing so because they disagreed with what is being said or are you trying to say people who turn off their tvs will have their feelings hurt by doing so? I bet you watch more tv than I do and I am sure if something on the tv is offensive to you, you turn it off. I do the same, but my feelings are not hurt in doing so. The only people I know who get their feelings hurt by things they read or watch are Christians like you, who think we should all bow to your ideals for our society. Note: our society, not just yours and those who share your specific beliefs. Also, name-calling to get your point across makes you lose your intended audience. It is also a poor debate skill and shows weakness in an argument or situation. Whose mental structure is delicate and fragile now?

Onto other matters now. I consider myself a Protestant Christian when asked my faith, but I am not evangelical at all and disagree with the concept. I am adamently opposed to proselytizing. I actually got into a debate with someone over this in my college Christian group when they wanted to go to a refugee camp and do just that. I thought it was morally wrong to do such a thing to immigrants who already have a religion and have suffered enough as it is. Actually, I disagreed with a lot of the group's ideas and the leader's as well, quite often. I really think some people do not realize that their specific beliefs won't bring someone to the fold and can often turn those away. I become an agnostic theist for a couple years (and probably still lean more that way than as a true Christian-I think the Bible is simply a book of books written by men of the time and while there are good aspects in there, it is not of God and ideas and beliefs are outdated) because of those types of people who could only answer my questions bitterly and with answers that angered me more than helped me understand. The self-righteous attitudes that came with the responses turned me off as well.

I think people of any specific set of ideas can be rude to those who differ, especially when people are adament about their beliefs and feel anyone who does not believe as they do is dumb and doing it wrong because they have it right. Things like telling someone who believes in a higher power or being that what they believe is a fairy tale is kind of rude imo and shows a lack of respect just as much as Christians who evangelize and tell atheists or anyone of a different religion than their own that they cannot be happy unless they believe in their God for someone else's opinions or faith.