'An FAQ on Christianity for the Unbeliever'

By +Frank B.
in General Discussion

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Grand Master

+Frank B. Subscriber²

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Disclaimer: I am an atheist myself.

One of the things which irritate me in some sub-forums of Neowin is how supposedly enlightened individuals keep ranting and raving against Christians at every possible opportunity. Tolerance goes both ways, folks... you may not agree with theist beliefs (I certainly don't), but it doesn't hurt to inform yourself about why they think the way they do and respect their faith.

A friend and fellow Neowinian posted the following link on Facebook the other day which I found enlightening as well as humorously written:

An FAQ on Christianity for the Unbeliever

Take the time to read the article and try to learn from it. More importantly, start engaging your brains before starting to hate on Christians for their beliefs.

  • Amarok and Hum
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Grand Master

ahhell

Posted
Posted

The guy makes it sound like Christians are being persecuted world wide...

They're the majority...

Christians always say they are being persecuted/oppressed. It's part of their shtick.

In what way was that supposed to be "enlightening"? It's like something written by The Onion.

Grand Master

jakem1

Posted
Posted

The guy makes it sound like Christians are being persecuted world wide...

They're the majority...

Not only that but they're a vocal majority with real power. I don't really care what people want to believe in so long as they don't force their ridiculous beliefs on me. For instance, here in the UK Hindus form a tiny powerless minority who don't use their religion to try and influence public policy and as such I don't have a problem with them believing in the silly things they believe in. At the point where they start dictating how I or others should or shouldn't live our lives I'll have a problem.

The other thing that irks me about Christians is that they rarely argue from a position of strength. They have the greatest sense of entitlement but when push comes to shove the very basis of their beliefs is hypocritical and contradictory. For that reason alone I think they should keep their "beliefs" to themselves.

By the way, it's been proven time and time again that atheists have a much better understanding than christians do of the bible and christian beliefs in general. I don't think we need a FAQ.

Grand Master

BajiRav

Posted
Posted

With all due respect, it's the same old self-contradicting bull****

Such as these two right next to each other

There?s some really weird stuff in the Bible, like (quote of strange-sounding rule from Leviticus or Deuteronomy). The Bible sounds stupid, and people shouldn?t listen to it.

Parts of the Bible can sound weird in isolation, but it takes lots of study to understand the Bible and how the Old Testament relates to the New Testament.

But don?t Christians just pick and choose what parts of the Bible they want to follow? Like (quote rule from Leviticus or Deuteronomy that Christians are unlikely to follow).

Christians do not follow much of what is known as the ?Mosaic Law.? Much of the reasoning for this is addressed in the book of Hebrews.

or this,

And don?t Christians know we now have science, which has replaced religion, and that there is no more need for Jesus, since we have lasers and rockets and other science stuff?

Science covers physical and temporary things, while religion covers spiritual and eternal things, so Christians still feel religion is very important ? even more important than science.

Seriously?

Grand Master

Tom

Posted
Posted

When I think about it I come to the conclusion that members of every major religion (and atheists) do this.

#1. Atheism isn't a religion, just like bald isn't a hair colour.

#2. Consider that in the last poll of where the Americans rank atheists in trust, I believe rapists were more trusted than atheists were.

Grand Master

threetonesun

Posted
Posted

When I think about it I come to the conclusion that members of every major religion (and atheists) do this.

Yeah, those Buddhists never shut up about how society is against their beliefs. :laugh:

I read the FAQ, it's silly. One of the biggest problems Christianity has is that it was originally aimed at repressed people. Life sucks? Don't worry, believe in Jesus and things will get better. Life doesn't suck? Better manufacture some repression so this whole Bible thing still makes sense.

Mentor

Descartes

Posted
Posted

I'd also like to point out that various branches of Christianity have a different point of view regarding science. At least Roman Catholics (not sure about all the others), as opposed to Protestants have no qualms about accepting the theory of evolution, for example.

#1. Atheism isn't a religion, just like bald isn't a hair colour.

You're correct. I mentioned them separately to emphasize that.

Yeah, those Buddhists never shut up about how society is against their beliefs. :laugh:

OK, I might have not thought it over enough :pinch:

Community Regular

selphj

Posted
Posted

Yeah, those Buddhists never shut up about how society is against their beliefs. :laugh:

I read the FAQ, it's silly. One of the biggest problems Christianity has is that it was originally aimed at repressed people. Life sucks? Don't worry, believe in Jesus and things will get better. Life doesn't suck? Better manufacture some repression so this whole Bible thing still makes sense.

Actually the message is quite different than that. Life Sucks? Jesus healed people and fed them and yet was mocked, beaten and killed, so don't be surprised when the people of this world do the same to you. Life is good? Then you have a responsibility to use that good fortune to help others. At least get the message right folks.

Grand Master

threetonesun

Posted
Posted

Actually the message is quite different than that. Life Sucks? Jesus healed people and fed them and yet was mocked, beaten and killed, so don't be surprised when the people of this world do the same to you. Life is good? Then you have a responsibility to use that good fortune to help others. At least get the message right folks.

I'm sorry, I should replace the Bible with the Church. You're right, the Bible basically advocates Communism with it's "from each according to their talents, to each according to their needs" teachings.

Grand Master

Phouchg

Posted
Posted

A FAQ on Atheism for the Believers:

Q.: What in the name of Jesus Harold Faltermeyer Christ?

A.: We're both atheists. I believe in one less god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

(as said by Stephen Roberts)

Grand Master

Tom

Posted
Posted

I seriously doubt it. Not worldwide anyway.

Wrong. Check your facts. ;)

http://en.wikipedia....ous_populations

Christianity -- 2.3 billion -- 30% world population

Islam -- 2.2.billion -- 29% world population

Hinduism -- 1 billion -- 15% world population

Non religious -- 750 million -- 11% world population.

In the US 79% of the population are Christian. 15% are non religious.

YOU'RE THE MAJORITY.

Mentor

Amarok

Posted
Posted

Thanks for sharing. It's a nice thought but humanity just isn't ready for coexistance yet, unfortunately. It's even worse on the internet. IRL every now and then I'll run into a jackass that uses either their religion or lack thereof to act superior to someone else. I tend to ignore those people as they're generally not worth bothering with. Thankfully though I have a pretty broad circle of friends that covers all the major religions and some non-religious people of various types and every now and then we discuss the topic of religion and it's done in a very respectful manner as we're all mature adults. It's pretty much impossible to have something like that over the internet though where people tend to lash out due to anonyminity, unfortunately. Religions get a lot of criticism at the moment, and a lot of it is brought on by the vocal crazies of each religious group. Much like said crazies/extremists/whatever word you want to use, there are atheists that exhibit the same kind of negative behavior and cause a lot of the dislike/distrust of atheists while I'd say most atheists are actually fairly laid back people and not the hate and anger filled raving lunatics that one tends to find on the internet.

Honestly though we haven't even really put much of a dent in racism yet, and are still killing each other over the same things we always have been, so I don't expect the world to unite and coexist any time soon. :p

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