Why are some athiests "sinking to the bible thumpers level"?

Perhaps my favorite group of people to hang out with and share ideas with were the athiests. The ones I personally know are the most amazing people I know. However, it seems that in a lot of other places (such as funadvice…in fact…especially funadvice) the athiests are “sinking to the level” of the bible thumpers they “dislike”. Athiests (and myself) tend to dislike individuals that try to shove their religion down other peoples throats, but the moment someone on here asks a question about religion, there are comments from these athiests such as “anyone who believes in anything like that is stupid”. Isnt that like shoving your belief down other peoples throats? The only difference between “anyone who isnt a Christian is going to hell and I dont want anything to do with them” and “anyone who believes in a religion is stupid” is who is saying it. Now I know a fair amount of athiests who say “hey thats cool, you believe what you want, I’ll believe what I want.” and thats the more respectfull way to put it. So , please, lets go back to the grade school lesson “treat others how you want to be treated.” It isnt fair to attack everyone who believes in something. It is time for EVERYBODY to grow up a little. (This question really goes for anybody. Athiests are the example case right now.

Answer #1

ty I understand what you mean but its kind of common sense that someone with a badge is usually going to be looked up to in a way. Im just saying that whether advisors like it or not they are a role model. Its kind of like miley cyrus saying she doesnt want to be a role model and everyone says uh, dont be on a kid show then Of course you dont have to be a role model. Just maybe some advisors should. Anyway this wasnt about the advisors, and it wasnt specifically about athiests either, as I said they are the example this time. And I later said that I noticed too that a good amount of those people are advisors, its an observation. And as for advisors being opinionated, of course they are. But being opinionated is never an excuse to be rude. Am I saying that all christians have been wronged? Nope, the majority of them were asking for it by posting THEIR rude comments and or questions. But by being rude FIRST (as in not in defense, but starting it) is not being opinionated its being rude.

This question was posted to bring awareness to a group of individuals who sink to the level of the people they dislike by shoving their beliefs back at them. Out of that group, there are some athiests, and some advisors, both of which are examples here. If you dont think you are the type of person to be rude, then dont take offense to this question.

Take a deeep breath everybody and relax. Just be aware about how you handle confrontation, and if you are being fair. Advisor, Athiest, Christian, Wiccan, Buddhist, EVERYONE… just be aware. Thats all that was meant by this question.

Answer #2

Well, a reoccurring theme anywhere someone can post their ideas and thoughts passively, like the internet, you’ll have that. In the Religion section, you will find many posts about people preaching their heads off about their beliefs, only to instigate people that don’t believe the same thing to share their thoughts on the subject. Then, naturally, the entire thread turn into the believers ‘correcting’ the non believers and the non believers making fun of the believers for believing what they do.

The only difference between anyone who isnt a Christian is going to hell

That’s not exactly true. There are vast and uncountable differences between Christians and other religions, or lack of religion…belief wise, and anytime people differ, there are going to be arguments, hurt feelings, one trying to teach the other, or one up the other, trying to ‘help’ you or simply prove they’re right.

In religion, you have the desire to ‘show people the way’. Many people like teaching everyone who will listen, and even some who don’t want to, about their beliefs in hope that you will find the same peace and happiness with their beliefs. And still others are just self righteous ‘I’m right, you’re wrong. Get over it’ types.

‘What do we do about this problem?’ seems to be your question and you seem to have answered it. Treat others how you want to be treated. I agree, but with religion, it isn’t always that simple. There are still wars going on that were started thousands of years ago over religious beliefs. Some people today are still forced to believe what their culture deems ‘the right’ religion and don’t have religious freedom. Religion will always be something that divides us as the human race. Sadly, I don’t think there is much we can do about it.

Answer #3

Thank you gaia3 for this question, respect you more then ever.

It is one of the reasons I tend to not log in as much. It has become almost a Christian and Atheist battle on this site which is a pity, considering this is a question and answer format/style system but at times has turned into heated personal attacks.

I, probably will get in trouble for this, but will say this anyway. Some advisors are very vocal about being Atheists and at times, go all out being rather rude to members who as per your question content, have no issues belittling a member’s questions or answers because they do not like what is said.

There are ways to disagree with another member without resorting to personal attacks, for example using the words idiot, ignorant, grow up, stupid, don’t stuff up your life etc.

Do understand if someone who is older and have many years of life experience telling another member off but when someone who is barely over 20s and have not have had the same life and worldly experiences as other older advisors, they shouldn’t be so down rude nasty with their answers to member’s questions or answers.

Answer #4

ty well to be fair to fruitylicious, when I posted this question there were several people from this site I had in mind and come to think of it most of them have badges. And some people that answered this question talking about how silly it is that people do that ARE the people I was thinking about LOL Although you are right, advisors are people. But maybe the badge gives some of them a wee bit too much confidence??? I can see how some people might get carried away with it, and being an advisor isnt really just about a badge. That badge says that you have been thought to have been a respectable person and that your advice is usually helpful. Advisors are kind of like role models for the rest of us, so it does come with a little bit of responsibility. Advisors should try to be the last person to be rude. It comes with the job. AND this question was not directed at advisors specifically, its just something I realized now that its been brought up by the comments here.

Answer #5

hey guess what you can hang out with christians…man its not like their gunna kill you and tell you everyday your going to hell…man. Atheists say hey believe what you want thats ok…well damn it I think anyone in any religion can say that, not just the people that dont believe in anything. Im spiritual somewhat a christian and my friend was a satanist and I understood what she believed in and I wasok with it.

Just everyone accept everyone! be who you are and understand your apart of a big picture. Understand people are who they are and whatever they believe is fine just be nice to me and understand me and dont hurt me and I will be friends with you.

makes sense…be happy, make others happy, accept them, care for them, and you’ll never be sad. Its hard to find people like that. And most of them come from religions atheists christians and a lot of people are die hard for what they believe. Accept it and go on with your life because thats who they are.

Answer #6

‘I, probably will get in trouble for this,’

Why? Because there’s a conspiracy to kick out or to harass the christians on this site by the advisors? I’m sorry, is it some kind of projection to be on the constant look out for persecution?

The advisors are people. We are free to voice our opinions. Having that badge doesnt prevent us from taking sides in debates (there are plenty of times where we get into debates with each other). We’re all just members. What gives some members permission to speak and others not to? If being an advisor in any way restricted our ability to speak our minds freely, I’m pretty sure a lot of us wouldnt be doing it. As for the word ignorant, what exactly would you prefer? uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, unknowledgeable? if someone is misinformed about a subject (and completely dogmatic about their false views) or provides blatantly false information, what do you propose to call it?

As for your question, people are going to be rude no matter what. And quite frankly, they’re probably frustrated. Because you go into a question about how to tell my parents I’m an atheist, and the christians are trying to convince the poster that they need to be christian. You go into a post on homosexuality and the christians are talking about sinning against God. Is there a better way to be? Absolutely. But it is simply a reaction to the whole convert the entire world perspective that some people seem to have.

Answer #7

When you sign the atheist pledge card, you don’t give up your right to be a jerk. But it’s my understanding that it violates the rules to call others here stupid.

But I think there’s a big difference between arguing a position and characterizing a position as stupid. For example, if I said I thought the Bible was stupid (which I do), I haven’t attacked anyone. I’ve merely stated my opinion regarding a book. Sometimes, because people hold beliefs so strongly, they will take a statement such as that as a personal attack, but it isn’t.

On the other hand, if someone says “all atheists are going to hell”, that is a personal attack, since it is directed toward a class of people rather than an inanimate object. Of course, while I take I don’t believe in hell, I nonetheless take such statements to really mean “I hate you”.

Answer #8

Many non-believers succumb to The Village Atheist Syndrome. This occurs when non-believers get tired of being outnumbered and/or picked on that they tend to walk around with a chip on their shoulder. Around the 1000th time atheists hear some variant of Pascal’s Wager, the watchmaker argument, the 2nd law of thermodynamics proving God, first cause, etc. we tend to jump down the throat of believers who smugly think they can put atheists in their place with one of these worn out arguments.

I know it took me many years to get over the anger I felt toward Christianity because of the shabby way some believers treated me. I will admit that being human sometimes I still go overboard in the heat of an argument.

As far as having an Adviser badge empowering me goes it really doesn’t. If anything it probably tones me down since I don’t want to reflect badly on funadvice by being too provocative.

Answer #9

I guess you havent been here long enough to notice. The advisors who are opinionated have always been opinionated. Is it a coincidence that advisors happen to be opinionated, of course not. Advisors tend to provide in depth answers and have opinions. Some just happen to have opinions on more controversial subjects than others. I dont see how having a difference of opinion is unhelpful. As for the job description. Did you come up with that or see that on another site? Because the admin who run THIS site have provided us with a job description.

‘On FunAdvice, and advisor is appointed by the administrators, in recognition of their great answers, trusted and accurate advice, a good grasp of spelling and grammar, and a reasonable level of maturity. These things are usually recognized by other members of the site, and the people who display these qualities are recommended for advisory roles.’

It says nothing about being role models, or not expressing how we feel honestly. And you may not have directed this question at advisors, but I was directing my answer to fruitylicious, who did decide to make this about the advisors.

As for rudeness, do sarcasm and innuendos count? Or do you just object to bluntness?

Answer #10

ok so one more comment then I think we will both be just beating a dead horse. My comment was not a slap on the wrist at you, it was a hey she may have something there so just think about it I did not mean for it to sound as if I was completely defending her and just dismissing your opinion. You had an excellent answer, its just that when she said the comment about advisors, she was right, it happens sometimes, it was something she brought up that I commented on because she had a point, as did you. and I forgot to space out the comment between what I was saying to YOU and what I was saying to the whole community. the if you dont think you are the type of person to be rude … was not directed at you, and neither was the and some people that answered… comment either. I meant no harm but clearly you did not appreciate the comment, apologies.

Answer #11

Do I have to repeat that my comments were directed towards fruitlicious? You may have not directed anything towards the advisors, but she did. I was talking to her. I thought I made that clear? As for ‘If you dont think you are the type of person to be rude, then dont take offense to this question’, then perhaps you shouldnt make provocative statements… ‘And some people that answered this question talking about how silly it is that people do that ARE the people I was thinking about LOL ‘. You may have brought up a legitimate concern. But the sarcasm and the innuendo is just as bad as being upfront and rude.

Answer #12

jlw82, you are right there isnt much we can do about intolerance throughout the world, but we can change the way things are done bit by bit by being the change we want to see in the world (quote from ghandi). If we can all simply watch our behavior here on funadvice, and in our personal lives, a small difference can be made. Thanks for the comments, this was mostly a think about this rather than a question, I hope it made some people think, Again thanks

Answer #13

that was actually the best explination out of all of them this wasnt even my question and you answered a question I had

Answer #14

Excellent point filet. I will just add that it is usually believers who post questions to athiests like: How can you have proper morals without believing in god. While the people asking these questions might not mean it, these types of questions are very insulting, not to mention narrow-minded. It shows such a level of arrogance and ignorance, it is inevitable that someone will react harshly.

Answer #15

I see much more of that behavior coming from the believers than I do from the athiests. Some people are just rude, regardless of what they believe.

Answer #16

five555, being agnostic does not mean you do not care about religion. It means you either are unsure about the existence of God, or you feel one can never be certain whether or not God exists. Agnostics tend to question both the religious and atheistic viewpoints. The word comes from a- “not” and gnostos, “known.” So “unknown,” not “don’t care.”

What you’re describing is apathy, not agnosticism.

Answer #17

That is why I almost consider myself agnostic. I don’t believe in God (which makes me Athiest) but I don’t care about religion in the first place (which makes me kind of Agnostic). So basically what I say about religion (and all my friends (no matter what faith they are) agree with it) is simple. I won’t force my religion on you as long as you don’t force yours on me.

Answer #18

The high-and-mighty atheists who for some reason think they know better than the 90% of the world who believe in a higher power give atheism as bad a name as the abortion-doctor-killing Christians and the car-bombing Muslims and militant West Bank Jews.

There’s really no place for anyone in a peaceful world, atheist or religious, who sincerely believes they know what is best for everyone.

Answer #19

I am an atheist but onl really answer when asked directly for an opinion. and even so, im not as dogmatic as most. I at least back myself with evidence.

Answer #20

I agree with the growing up ppart being that whenever someone post anything about jesus someone always has curse them just cause they believe in jesus and it goes both ways sometimes religous people judge those who arent religious im a strong believer in God and I love jesus but this world is filled with ignorance

Answer #21

Nicely put. I’m really with believe what you want and I’ll believe what I want. Like im actually a Catholic adn strongly believe in God, but my best friend in like the entire world is an athiest. We both agree to disagree on different religious views and it’s totally fine with each of us.

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