no such thing as God, then why does it offend you?

No one ever said you have to celebrate Christmas, but for us that are Christians, it is our way if celebrating. And yes it is everywhere sry if we take pride in out beleifs. But dont condem us for it, we never said you had to partake in our celebrations,

Are they not able to defend their beliefs on the merits alone?

Not usually, no…

And it’s not ‘God’ that is offensive, its the person’s talking about him, or misrepresenting him… THAT is offensive.

If nobody gets offended by God then why did they want to take it out of the pledge and out of Christmas? they said themselves it was b/c people were getting offended, but if it isn offensive, then why else would they?

Nobody gets offended by ‘God’.

The supposed deity ‘God’ doesn’t offend me at all.

What does offend me is the people who do believe in ‘God’ dictating to me how I should live my life based on their beliefs. Faith is supposed to be a choice. I respect your choice to live by it, respect my choice to reject it.

The other thing that offends me is all the atrocities committed in the name of ‘God’. Would you believe that Exodus 21:15 states that any child who hits their parents is to be promptly killed. Also Leviticus 20:13, God commands us to put homosexuals to death. Thanks, but I’m not going to kill my own child because they get cross and hit me (as many young children do). I’m also not going to kill some of my good friends because of who they happen to fall in love with.

I’m especially not going to do it because ‘God’ (a deity who has no proof of existence), thinks I should.

Are you serious? maybe you have forgotten the meaning of Christmas. IT IS A CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY! I don’t think you even know what you are talking about anymore I think you need to read the bible or go to church or something because you clearly do not know enough about the God you worship.

…I don’t get offended by god talk, but I do get offended by those who try to force their beliefs on me by either law, social manipulation, or various threats. If people want to believe in silly ancient (or modern) nonsense, I have no problem with that if they keep their nonsense private.

People are free to believe what they want. What bothers me is the number of lives ended, wasted, or ruined due to belief in god(s) by the person concerned, or others around them. People conducting their lives in subservience to a vindictive, petty deity often don’t act in their own best interests or the best interests of those around them.

“I also can’t understand how people can’t believe in a God. There has to be a creator. The world is so beautiful. That just doesn’t happen. A world doesn’t just suddenly come from an explosion; if that were true, something had to have made the explosion”

This is an argument from failure of imagination. Just because you can’t imagine it happening without a god doesn’t mean it couldn’t have happened. And even if that were a valid argument, the idea of an all-powerful, self-aware omnipotent deity springing up from nowhere is no less absurd.

I believe in God but I just wanted to state my opinion. People get offended no matter which way you look at this subject. Atheist get offended with people who bring up God, even if they say its not God himself that annoys them. And religoius people get offended when someone doesnt believe in God. No God should not be used in every sentence, but science should not eather. Blievers and non-believers shuv whatever it is down each others throats in conversation every day equally. If non-believers say” well you preach God”,then beelievers can say “well you preach against God” Everyone should just let the other say what they will, becuase we are going to hear it both ways. No one well ever agree. For agnostic and atheist that is there religion For Christains there are many different religions We each have our own religion and we are entitled to it, so dont down others religion is insulting, dont say God is insulting it goes both way.

Jester:

“This is why we can get offended. Because its the people that do this to When you say happy holidays and someone says “its merry christman heathern” Yea we get offended.”

I just looked at what part of the country you came from. Dover is a pretty progressive place isn’t it. I’ve only passed though via your airport, never spent any time there so ignorance of your city is high on my part. I thought it might be some redneck southern state, no offense Miss Arkansas.

And I guess my immediate put down response to that dumb *ss would be - “hi I’m Jewish - Happy Hanuka, and again, Happy Holidays to you”.

I don’t need to explain my beliefs to anyone, neither do you. Attack those beliefs and you’ll get a large chunk of my opinions, and a smattering of my beliefs.

I also can’t understand how people can’t believe in a God. There has to be a creator. The world is so beautiful. That just doesn’t happen. A world doesn’t just suddenly come from an explosion; if that were true, something had to have made the explosion

just a thought, yes I am a Christian, and I believe in God.

I am stationed in Dover for only the past 6 months. I grew up in Kentucky.

Dover is pretty advanced in that area. We had a wiccan festival in the town park. Recently and I was shocked to find no protesters and such. I was impressed and felt accepted here.

Kentucky on the other hand in a bible belt state. I literally won’t tell my Grandfather I’m wiccan cause it might literally give him a heart attack. ( Heart condition and super religious)

No one is offended by God… People are offended when the subject of religion, and particular religious beliefs are brought up to insult and denegrade… When you’re telling 13 year olds they’re going to hell for being gay, people get offended… When you deny people their rights, people tend to get upset… When you use it as an excuse to do awful things to other people (slavery in the US was excused based on religion, the holocaust in Germany was rationalized based on religion, wars have been fought based on religion), well then people tend to get a tad bit peeved…

that isn what I meant, my point is, I dont see how one can get offended by GOD, im not talking bout getting offended by christians or other people,. im talking bout God, how can they get offended by him when they believe he doesn exsist? im not going to say it doesn hurt, b/c I guess it will. so im NOT sayin theres no pain there, or the hurt. I can see them getting offended by people, but im not asking bout the people, im asking bout God. and its their choice to choose that lifestyle, and some people dont argee with it for whatever reasons, with every choice theres a consqunce, good and bad.

Probley getting offended by these things being strictly ABOUT ‘God’, some people just want to live their lives without everything having to have ‘God’ drilled into their head. People should be able to make a pledge without being dragged into the idea of ‘God’ and should be able to celebrate Christmas without having to hear ‘God’ this ‘God’ that, blah blah blah.

just to make this clear, when I said consequences I wasnt meanin religious wise, I was meaning daily life consequences.

Are you serious? maybe you have forgotten the meaning of Christmas. IT IS A CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY! I don’t think you even know what you are talking about anymore I think you need to read the bible or go to church or something because you clearly do not know enough about the God you worship.

…point proven.

lol I thought that was funny I dont believe in it or religion all that much but theres a line between not believing in it and being ignorant

seao2florida, please get off your high horse about athiests posting in this section. Do you not see how many questions are directed directly at athiests. Do theists need some kind of protection from the big bad atheists. Are they not able to defend their beliefs on the merits alone? Is there some kind of rule that says religion can never be questioned?

I’m an Atheist and personally I don’t care if someone throws God into every conversation with me…it’s not going to change my opinion so why should I care? I don’t care if someone says Merry Christmas to me…merry is just a word. I don’t care if other people celebrate Jesus’s birthday on Christmas…why should I, I celebrate Christmas as what it is…a man made holiday. And lets face it folks Santa, Christmas trees, wreaths, tinsel, lights and nutcrackers have absolutely nothing to do with Jesus’s birth. So, if you want to celebrate it as his birthday, great but for me it’s just a day to give to the people I love.

ty, I see your point, but if they dont believe in him , then why get upset over something they believe and feel doesn exsist, why should it matter what we say, or use it for?

Putting someone down like that is going to offend them either way, it doesn’t matter if they believe it, it hurts to hear things like that and to think other people look down on your just because of your sexuality.

Well put captain…

Lish, I’ve already stated no one if offended by God…

what they are offended in is trying to bring religion into areas it does not belong, which includes the government and law… why should God be in the pledge, what if you dont believe in God? what if you believe in Krishna, or Buddah? Should we add all dieties to the pledge? Why use the Christian word for a diety?

The reason they want to get rid of it is because it violates the seperation of church and state…

As for why do people get offended by being told they’re going to hell if they dont believe in God, well personally I dont care if you’re telling me I’m going to hell for not being christian, or being gay or whatever. I’m an adult and fully capable of letting such sentiments roll off my back while rolling my eyes. I, however, take great offense when a person decides to tell a child any such thing. Given that the bible mentions love, forgiveness, charity, peace etc about 100 times, and mentions homosexuality two or three, you’d think people would try not be hypocritical and actually follow what the bible says, but that seems to be beyond them…

so yes, people get offended when you try and bring a religion they dont believe in into their lives, they are offended by a lack of respect for their beliefs (for some reason it is as if only religious people are allow to demand respect), and they are offended when you try to curtail their rights based on a religion they dont believe in

Religion per se, does not offend me at all (I am more than happy to let other people have religious beliefs so long as they dont push them on to me) What really p*sses me off is the fact that some (NOT all) people use religion as a tool to convey their hatred or contempt for a particular group of people. I will cite 3 examples: 1 - A person on youtube who believes that being homosexual is a disease and that all gay people will burn in hell (not giving names out btw, could get kicked off) 2 - A lady on here (funadvice,co,uk) who believes that witches and people who are wiccan or pagan are spawn of the devil and will also burn in hell 3 - Another lady who went onto the Jerry Springer show because she was “trying to cast out the gay demon that had “possessed” her nephews body”

It is this sort of belief that makes me offended and it is this sort of belief which makes me glad I am not religious

lish54– How would you feel if everytime you told someone you were christian everybody stoped and looked at you weird, they say “dosent that like worship Horis” when in fact you don’t even believe in that God? What if you were told all the time that your God and Bible is just you living in a fantisy world, that you jsut never grew up. Now how would you feel if everytime someone form another religion found out you were Christian they told you you need to find Hercules or your going to Hell.

This is why we can get offended. Because its the people that do this to When you say happy holidays and someone says “its merry christman heathern” Yea we get offended.

I’ll discuss God from a practical and logical standpoint. But how would you feel.

how would you feel if when you tried to celebrate you easter it becomes a news event cause someone thinks its evil. think about it.

Don’t know why people get so torqued when someone mentions God. If that is their belief, so be it. Thank you, I don’t believe him in Him or religion or a Divine Being, should suffice to end the conversation.

My beliefs are mine and just that. Mine. But what I do firmly believe it is everyones’ right to theirs as well. I don’t wish to hear atheists spouting off any more than they wish to be preached to. If they are out to “change me”, it’s not going to effect my beliefs, unless they have a post card from the alien that left the original Coke can from which my ancestors developed. And I have no intent to change or alter their views. They are just that, their views. End of story.

And especially on the Religious section of a website. Don’t wish to read about Religion, hear about God - DON”T FREQUENT THIS SECTION. And if you do, don’t preach about hearing about God all the time HERE.

You get accosted on another posting in the Cooking section, a simple I don’t believe should suffice, if it doesn’t then take care of business.

Someone says Merry Christmas - remember it is their belief - wish them a Happy Holiday, Happy Hanuka or Happy Kwanzaa. Don’t have to pick a fight over different beliefs. That’ll do the trick.

Christians celebrate December 25th as Jesus Birthday. It was in fact placed on a Celtic pagan holiday coinciding with the Winter Solstice. It and other pagan holidays were assigned Christian holidays in an attempt to recruit or force them into Catholicism - whatever they were doing at the time. Christian scholars can’t determine Jesus’ birthday and those I’ve read place it sometime in the Spring of around 2 BC. Which also throws our calendar off by a couple of years.

Hey that’s ok, If we do adjust the calendar, that makes me 2 years younger.

Since I am in the Religious and Spirtuality Section - Merry Christmas folks! And to the none believers, and non-Christians on this thread or site, Happy Holidays!

no im perfectally fine with the talk of religion IF and ONLY if it is an unbiased, or intelligent conversation. I get angry when people push their religion on me or act like they are better than me because theyre going to heaven and im not!

I believe in Many gods and Goddesses. However I only get offended when someone try’s to shove the god I believe in out of my life and force there’s in.

Other than that you can worship whatever or whomever you wish. I just don’t want to be told that my god/esses are not real or that you have “Sinned”

Hope this helps.

okay well stephanief987 has a good point. When poeple bring the idea of God into everyday life… “God be with you” for example. I ignore it but it still annoys me on the inside. It would be like someone telling you “Buddha be with you” simply assuming you share their beliefs in Buddhism.

Even if your belief is in nothing

of course that would be YOUR opinion…not a fact.

p

It does not bother me in the least when I am around someone who has a deep religious belief. What does bother me in when, upon finding that I am a different religion, they try to convert me. I have had people ask if I mind if they pray for my conversion. Do I mind if they pray for that, no. Do I mind that they feel they must tell me of their plans for my eternal soul, yes. I also have no problem with someone saying “Merry Christmas” to me (I am jewish). What I do have a problem with is stores (and we have a few privately owned around here that participate in this) that offer an extra 10% off your purchase if you say “Merry Christmas” to the clerk at the register. You don’t the the extra off if you say “Happy Holidays” which is what I usually say or if you say “Happy any other religious holiday”

fine, but they dont have to celebrate it they way everybody else celebrates it, just b/c you say merry christmas doesn imply that you are a christian or anything, it just says that you have some christmas spirit. nobody isn drilling God into no one. the pledge is the only thing that God in it anymore. so no one is hearing him, theres nothing bout him on tv ( I dont count tv preachers), the only time he is brought up on the radio is on the am stations, you can go anywhere, and there is NOTHING there to be thrown in your face.

people bring God into other conversations because God is a vital part of their lives. He isn’t just a religion, he’s a relationship.

Facts, people:

1. The pledge originally did NOT have “god” in it - do some research.

2. Christmas = a pagan holiday, became a Christian holiday to help subvert the masses when a pope declared, coincidentally, that the holiday was also the birth date of Jesus, when the historical records put it at a fall birth if you read the bible…religious scholars agree as well ;)

So, given the ignorance, here, of those who seem to believe in the Christian “god”…is it any wonder they would take offense?

For me, personally, I expect faith, understanding and tolerance out of any believer in any religion. If you have it, it’s a beautiful thing. Even if your belief is in nothing :)

ty, I see your point, but if they dont believe in him , then why get upset over something they believe and feel doesn exsist, why should it matter what we say, or use it for?? if something doesn exsist, it doesn offend me b/c its is here to offend me.

thats exactely my point but unfortunately lots of people dont see eye to eye on that.

im not trying to be rude bout it, but im just saying, I know all dont, but I know some does (for ex. one of my friends) she gets all offended by it, but I asked her htis and she never really could answer me.

Actually you’d be surprised - I get religion thrown into my face quite often. I’ve gone downtown and there’s guys with pamphlets about god throwing them in peoples faces, I have those people coming to my door trying to tell me how good god is… I was in the god dang hospital with a bad blood infection a couple months ago and a woman was going from room to room trying to preach to patients. Need me to keep going? I live in a town of only 78,000 people and I still have ‘God’ shoved in my face quite frequently. …and you’re saying ‘god’ isn’t thrown in people’s faces? It is, it’s happening all the time and I find it odd that you don’t realize that because I could come up with so many examples.

I dont think iam better than anyone else, im not perfect, im still human, and I make mistakes and I sure dont think I am better than you or anyone else b/c of what I believe in. we are all made out of the same dirt pile, so why would I be better?!??!