tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-811245612519910855.post5372763524212329377..comments2023-10-30T07:38:49.968-04:00Comments on Or else, what?: On "Why Are Atheists So Angry?"Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03722157675784558619noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-811245612519910855.post-42073288064439355892011-06-09T09:03:17.283-04:002011-06-09T09:03:17.283-04:00Lauren,
As a long-time reader of this blog, I wou...Lauren,<br /><br />As a long-time reader of this blog, I would encourage you to be a little more thoughtful with your words, lest you become that which you disdain. Simply blurting out "overly zealous religious people make me cringe" is not a very sensitive thing to say, nor does it make your position any more endearing. There are many overly zealous religious people doing a lot of really amazing things to love those around them (if you've never heard of <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and-brightest-2009/shane-claiborne-1209" rel="nofollow">Shane Claiborne</a>, you might find him interesting.) In those cases, religious zealotry is fueling a love for others.<br /><br />I'm sure that you've seen other people make destructive choices-- perhaps a friend who is in a bad relationship but refuses to leave, or someone who is using substances. In these cases, our friends who are finding peace within themselves still concern us because we see things from a different perspective. Believers who care about their friends who are losing belief feel similarly-- while our friends might see themselves as "finding peace," we see them as fooling themselves into a false peace. Our love for them often gets mixed up with sadness, anger, and bitterness that comes out when we say hurtful things.<br /><br />You say that you wish that believers wouldn't be so sure about our assumptions. Alex and I have talked about this for years, but I think we've generally concluded that eventually you have to settle on something that you feel very sure about for it to be useful in your life. People disagree about what the most important things to have a strong conviction about are, but whether or not God exists-- and how He wants us to live-- is generally accepted as a pretty important thing to decide on. You may not be convinced of this, for sure, but I think it's important to respect others who disagree with you.<br /><br />Finally, in response to your last point, there are lots of different ways of knowing, and what we can "prove to be real" in an empirical sense is a pretty small body of knowledge (especially considering how many other decisions we make on a day-to-day basis are not based on empirical knowledge.) If you're not familiar with, for example, <a href="http://www.ntwrightpage.com/" rel="nofollow">the work of N.T. Wright</a> in examining historical and cultural knowledge about Jesus, I'd highly recommend reading a few of his essays. Again, you might disagree about how we can know certain things, but you should be careful not to categorically dismiss people who disagree with you.<br /><br />In summary, I hope that you do find peace and that when you do, you are in a place where you can live and love freely. Along the way, I hope that you can respect the beliefs of others and treat them how you would want to be treated.Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17986483712873196944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-811245612519910855.post-13798290189687559332011-06-09T02:40:38.654-04:002011-06-09T02:40:38.654-04:00Sigh. Overly zealous religious people make me crin...Sigh. Overly zealous religious people make me cringe. Watching someone find peace within themselves should not be disturbing. I know it always will be, but I wish it wouldn't. I wish you all wouldn't be so positive that you're correct in your assumptions about something that you can't even prove to be real, enough so that you want to try and lead everyone around you to believe the same. We won't ever know until we die.Lolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01825755576233144756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-811245612519910855.post-54780487817871879042011-05-05T16:28:42.243-04:002011-05-05T16:28:42.243-04:00OK, so I've had intercations with atheists tha...OK, so I've had intercations with atheists that go something like this-<br /><br />Atheist: "Christianity is evil. Religion is evil. Religion is responsible for more death, destruction, etc. . . ."<br /><br />Me: "Actually, many of the really evil people in the world were atheists or were following a philosophy based on atheism. (insert Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, et al)"<br /><br />Atheist: "Ah, that's a tired argument, that atheism leads to mass murder and oppressive government. I'm sick of hearing it."<br /><br />So, I'm left to conclude that it's OK for atheists to attack Christians for the Crusades, but it's not OK for Christians to attack atheism for Stalin and Mao. Double standard?<br /><br />Also, I have heard many atheists critricize religious people for our oppressive/repressive morality (by which, they usually mean being pro-life and anti-homosexuality). But to retirt back that atheism provides no basis for any reliable system of morality meets with scoffing and the empty reply, "You're saying that all atheists are bad people, but we're not all immoral." That's not at all what I said or what I think.<br /><br />It's a very frustrating and unproductive exercise most of the time. <br /><br />As for media portrayals, Christians have been complaining for years that we have very few major media models of realistic and sincere religious faith. I've given up on media, for the most part.<br /><br />You also need to understand that, for most of us, seeing someone "deconvert" as you put it, distubs us deeply, espcially if we care about the person at all. If the Bible is true (and I know it is, in a way that is deeper than logical rationality), then your path is a dangerous one and is, in fact, leading you in the direction of eternal hell. You have turned your back on the One who gave you life, who sustains you and who is, in fact, your only hope.<br /><br />From where we stand and from what we have experienced in our lives, it feels a lot like watching someone get hooked on heroin or crystal meth. It's deeply saddening and utterly disturbing. You cannot honestly expect it to be otherwise.Jason A. Van Bemmelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06504517714802144368noreply@blogger.com