Why do Christians hate atheists?

[Annella]

Hey Mackenzie, are you still going to be around after moving into your dorm?  Probably not much.  I always had my nose in a book studying, even if I had an extra 10 minutes to myself....lol

[SurveyMack10]

Haha I will but not as much, school starts Monday and they never give us too much work the first couple sessions...plus a lot of my classses require work online and I have a couple actual online classes and I always end up giving myself a break to go to other websites haha. I'm really good at managing my time though so I will still be on some!! Especially if there's a good debate going haha

[SurveyMack10]

OK Daddy Mack, I live totally off grid and my batteries are about dead......come on back tomorrow if you like.

BTW, I'm a girl. So the smartalec remark was a bit ignorant in this case. I'll be sure to reply tomorrow or the next day, don't you worry.

congratulations.

What I find a bit ignorant is a female christion referring to them self with a masculine screen name, considering the pervasiveness of homophobic and patriarchal ideologies in your chosen form of spirituality.

Also, disagreeing with homosexuality is far different from being a homophobe...being prejudiced against a lifestyle is not the same as simply disagreeing with it.

[Annella]

OK Daddy Mack, I live totally off grid and my batteries are about dead......come on back tomorrow if you like.

BTW, I'm a girl. So the smartalec remark was a bit ignorant in this case. I'll be sure to reply tomorrow or the next day, don't you worry.

congratulations.

What I find a bit ignorant is a female christion referring to them self with a masculine screen name, considering the pervasiveness of homophobic and patriarchal ideologies in your chosen form of spirituality.

Also, disagreeing with homosexuality is far different from being a homophobe...being prejudiced against a lifestyle is not the same as simply disagreeing with it.

Amen!

I'll be going to the Philippines soon.  They're still working out the details.  It always comes down to funding.....doesn't everything?  I'm going to try and still log on with a laptop.  Gotta find out if that's possible.  Some on here say it is....so we'll see.  There can only be one IP per person.  May have to buy a special adapter or something.  My system isn't Windows based (got a Mac), so it may be a bit different.  I'll contact Apple and garner some info.  They should know better than anybody.  See ya around.......

[SurveyMack10]

OK Daddy Mack, I live totally off grid and my batteries are about dead......come on back tomorrow if you like.

BTW, I'm a girl. So the smartalec remark was a bit ignorant in this case. I'll be sure to reply tomorrow or the next day, don't you worry.

congratulations.

What I find a bit ignorant is a female christion referring to them self with a masculine screen name, considering the pervasiveness of homophobic and patriarchal ideologies in your chosen form of spirituality.

Also, disagreeing with homosexuality is far different from being a homophobe...being prejudiced against a lifestyle is not the same as simply disagreeing with it.

Amen!

I'll be going to the Philippines soon.  They're still working out the details.  It always comes down to funding.....doesn't everything?  I'm going to try and still log on with a laptop.  Gotta find out if that's possible.  Some on here say it is....so we'll see.  There can only be one IP per person.  May have to buy a special adapter or something.  My system isn't Windows based (got a Mac), so it may be a bit different.  I'll contact Apple and garner some info.  They should know better than anybody.  See ya around.......

I hope you have a wonderful time!!! And hope to hear from ya whenever you can! Until then, I'll try to hold down the debate and discuss forum haha.

[Annella]

I believe you can!

[queenofnines]

nothing shall by any means hurt us.

Have you purchased your magic prayer cloth to rub on your credit card to get you out of debt, too?

There's a difference between an unbeliever and someone who is just full of hate for God

Can't be full of hate over somebody that doesn't exist, honey.  I do very much DISLIKE how religion robs people of their right minds, though.

[queenofnines]

as you already know, all of that "hate", etc. is just as the Bible has predicted would happen to people who stand for the Lord. We can't expect any less.

Just because it says something in a book and you can pick and choose it to matching with reality does not give your claim any validity whatsoever.  I could do that with Harry Potter or Alice in Wonderland...does that make them true?  Of course not.

I wanted to ask you a serious question Queenofnines. You say you were a Christian, how long were you one? When did you become an atheist?

A little over 5 years.  2007.

I know me personally, all the things you have presented so far in the forum are things I have known since I can remember, The Big bang and Evolution and more, I have known about since like elementary school.

My main reasons for not believing in god don't have to do with science.   

It seems to me though, you only recently found out all this stuff and made a switch.

I guess 3.5 years is fairly recent?  I'm not that old! 

Can I ask why you ever believed in God?

I've already told y'all, but here it is again (from the mega 'I don't believe in god' thread):

"In 2001 I was hospitalized due to anorexia.  I was admitted at 72lbs.  Shortly into my stay, I made a point-blank choice to start believing in god because I thought it might be an appropriate thing to do given my situation.  Soon after I contracted the rotavirus from the hospital and had to be put on isolation.  I was throwing up and pooping everywhere (sorry) and lost pretty much all of the weight I had gained.

As you may have heard, being deprived of human contact for an extended period of time tends to make a human crazy.  Throw in being severely underweight and sick with a virus and it only expedites the process!  I started seeing and hearing things that weren't there, like my eyes spinning when I looked in the mirror and even the Grim Reaper floating across the parking garage outside my window.  Those were some of the scary things.

There were also "positive" things, like I thought god was talking to me on the radio, I thought I saw angels protecting me and floating around the hospital, I even thought god (who was a black guy in my hallucination) was trying to teach me a lesson about vanity by coming in and shaving some of my hair (that didn't actually happen because my hair was intact, but it seemed so real because while I was in it, I could touch and see clumps of my hair gone).  I even thought I had already died and I was in some kind of waiting place.

When I got better and left the hospital, I used this "powerful personal testimony" to encourage myself to get into church.  I know now why the things happened to me; it was because my body was shutting down, not that god was speaking to me!!  And like Falconer said with his Star Wars, because I had just decided to believe in god immediately preceding these events, it's not surprising that that's where a lot of them took me.  I also thought the doctors were characters from books I had read, so don't think it was all god...

P.S.  I have been perfectly healthy and fine for years when it comes to the whole reason I was in the hospital, so you don't need to worry.  "

[shernajwine]

I made a point-blank choice to start believing in god because I thought it might be an appropriate thing to do given my situation.

This isn't how people come to true faith. You always defend your Christian experience as being real so that Christians can't say you didn't experience the real thing. Sorry, but it sounds like you had a bunch of craziness happen to you and crazy is what drove you to church. You Christian experience sounds shallow and full of misinformation about who God is. Your hallucinations were clearly not spiritual, so I agree with you there. Your confusion about God is certainly evident in the wacky hallucinations.

None of this sounds like any Christian walk I ever heard of....it's sounds like a bunch of crazy, from a person who never understood God in the first place. It wasn't that much of a leap to think atheism is rational when your Christian walk was based in psychosis. 

[queenofnines]

This isn't how people come to true faith.

Well at the time, the hallucinations were so powerful that I DID think it was god.  It was actually a pretty neat time for me, thinking it was god.  In any event, isn't the point that I DID come to the church and become a true believer?  

A lot of people have powerful experiences like mine, they're just not adept enough to see the explanation for it.  Because I am admitting to you the natural explanation for my main motivator to get into Christianity, you are calling me out because you're under the incorrect assumption that "no true Christian ever leaves the church".  Sorry to break it to you, but yes they do, each and every day.

You always defend your Christian experience as being real so that Christians can't say you didn't experience the real thing. Sorry, but it sounds like you had a bunch of craziness happen to you and crazy is what drove you to church.

This is an incredibly offensive thing to say (and I'm not the one who is usually offended).  How dare you accuse my Christian experience as being shallow, when I am telling you outright I very much did believe in god.  I was heavily involved with the church, paid my full tithe every month, got baptized of my own accord, etc.  But I've already told you all that.

You Christians love to go on and on about "the truth" (which is funny as hell, but I'll leave that alone for a minute), so why can't you accept the truth that many true Christians have and do leave the religion due to an increase in knowledge (or whatever the case may be)?  If you want to make yourselves look better, start dropping some of the falsehoods you love to spew out like this one.

Your hallucinations were clearly not spiritual, so I agree with you there. Your confusion about God is certainly evident in the wacky hallucinations.

Uh-huh...are you a doctor?  Why not say what you actually think -- it doesn't matter what their story is, if a person ever leaves Christianity, they were never a "real" Christian to begin with.  Remember that guy from The Atheist Experience you hate?  He was a Christian for 25 years and studying to be a minister...yeah, I guess he was just faking being an Xtian, too.  All of us atheists were, you know.

from a person who never understood God in the first place.

I understood god once I was in it.  You and Annella - such judgers.  

It wasn't that much of a leap to think atheism is rational when your Christian walk was based in psychosis.

Uh, don't let your opinion of one person to define a stance overall.  THAT isn't rational.  And I was hallucination-free for the rest of my Christian walk, so it isn't fair for you to say it was "based" on my hospital experience - it was based on god!  See, this sort of thing is an example of you not thinking critically.

[queenofnines]

queenofnines:  I'm not saying you turned to God out of fear, but if so, when people turn to God from fear rather than in faith, it usually isn't "real".  The salvation part I really can't say if it's real or not if it's just prayed "out of fear" but I know one can go to church, pray and do all the other things that Believers do---but the actual relationship with God is missing.

Thank you, Sheryl.  Your words were much sweeter than others I have gotten when sharing my Christian experience.  I appreciate how you use words like "probably" or "might" -- that is what I try to do when speaking about people/issues because to not use them is to wrongly judge.  It's a very personal thing, ya know, revealing what I went through.  I'm fine doing it because I'm not that person anymore, but it still deserves respect due to the nature of it.

Me choosing god wasn't out of fear...even though I was potentially near death.  It was more like an intelligent choice or a rational wager.  I knew my only reason for not believing was based on one thing; I might as well be fair to religion before I came to an ultimate conclusion, you know?  And that's what I did...I did give Jesus a fair shot, and now have experience being on 3 sides of the issue (non-religious first, Christian second, true atheist third).

As for having a "relationship" with god...I had prayers answered and "blessings bestowed", so I definitely felt like there was some interaction there.

[queenofnines]

Let me elaborate...mine was "mental" hers was "dying?" yet how are the similar?

They both happened in the brain, hon.  That's why they're similar.

I also wanted to add for Sherna: before the hallucinations, when I actually made the choice to believe in god, this is how it happened:

I was making a list of things I believed in when I decided to change the radio from my usual rock station to Christian music.  The list said stuff like family, friends, animals...and the last thing I added, after a moment of pause, was "GOD".  In big capital letters.  I felt this warm, proud feeling move over me (what you guys attribute to god) and posted that note over my bed for all to see.  

I also later asked the nurse to take me to the chapel to pray, something I was nervous about doing because I hadn't had much experience in church, but did nonetheless.

[SurveyMack10]

I understood god once I was in it.  You and Annella - such judgers.  

This is ironic to me considering every single thing you've said about Christians has been judgemental. && how unbelievably immature you are to randomly throw Annella in and run your little mouth about her when she's not even in the conversation. Petty personal attacks as usual.

[shernajwine]

you're under the incorrect assumption that "no true Christian ever leaves the church"

Those words never came out of my mouth....your words not mine. And yes I know Christians leave the church all the time. I don't even recall using the term "True Christian" ...I could have but I don't recall. At any rate, it's not about being a true Christian it's about having an indwelling of the Holy Spirit within you that doesn't leave room for doubt, once that kind of truth has been revealed to you, you don't turn away from it. Many many many Christians are going through the motions and not really experiencing that indwelling of God's spirit. Those people are more easily deceived and more prone to doubt and unbelief.

Edit: This doesn't make someone who is filled with the Spirit superior, it doesn't make them more important, it doesn't make them better in any way. It simply brings a person into deeper relationship and a stronger defense. The Holy Spirit is also referred to as the Spirit of truth....this is not just a truth that you decide to believe, it is a truth that lives and breathes in you.

This is an incredibly offensive thing to say (and I'm not the one who is usually offended).  How dare you accuse my Christian experience as being shallow, when I am telling you outright I very much did believe in god.  I was heavily involved with the church, paid my full tithe every month, got baptized of my own accord, etc.  But I've already told you all that.

I'm a little confused as to why you would be offended about me saying your experience was shallow....you think Christianity is a crock, you think God is a delusion...why does it matter what delusional people worshiping a delusional god think about your delusional experience?

I felt this warm, proud feeling move over me (what you guys attribute to god) and posted that note over my bed for all to see.

I get nice warm feelings when I take a hot bath, I don't attribute that to a spiritual experience. Experiencing God goes far beyond warm fuzzies.

if a person ever leaves Christianity, they were never a "real" Christian to begin with.

Once again, your words, not mine.

[jordandog]

Why do you think we can't hear God or see God or any kind of spirtual thing?

As far as seeing god, the bible states in quite a few places that no one will see him, even if you think you did. A couple examples:

Timothy (6:13) says, in part that "god alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see."

Exodus (33:20) And he (God) said, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me, and live.

Since you are able to type, I have to assume you are still alive.