If on the other hand I should post something regarding my secular beliefs, I am often met with similar reactions from Christians. My beliefs are regarded as “evil” or “controversial.” Or I’m trying to lead people away from God. And yeah, that last part is 100% correct.
Minutes ago, I reminded a friend (who’s also a preacher) that his Bible is full of errors. I did this because he’d made a post about how the Bible does not change but rather is intended to change people. I was polite. I was humble. His reply was to remind me of his precious college degree and that he personally has translated several books of the Bible from Latin to Hebrew / English. I was tempted to point out that it didn’t matter since the historical errors were still there, but it would have been rude to further hijack his post. I left it so he can collect yet another round of “AMEN” comments.
Instead of attempting to argue from a position of authority (which is *always* false*), why not have a calm discussion? Rather than arguing just for the sake of winning the argument, how about arguing to find the truth? And no Christians, you don’t always have the truth. History has repeatedly shown all manner of errors and false history (lies) in the Bible. In an honest debate, you cannot win. But we can still engage. Prove me wrong.
But those on my side of the fence are not blameless. Atheists can get downright nasty at times. There are those who claim that Christianity is a legitimate mental disorder, which is patently false. There are others who claim that religious faith is a sign of low intelligence. Ouch. I’ll freely admit that organized religion fosters ignorance. Having a layperson’s basic understanding of the sciences often leads to questions that religious leaders cannot honestly answer. But ignorance is not a mental disorder or a sign of low intelligence. It’s simply a lack of knowledge. And ignorance is rampant in all organized religions. You do not question the scriptures.
Religious people for the most part likely see the writing on the wall. Their numbers are slowly dwindling. As such the faithful cling ever more tightly to their archaic beliefs. You can see the desperation in their social media posts if you look closely. They close their minds to anything that contradicts their holy books. But a closed mind cannot grow. It stagnates. They cocoon themselves in ignorance. They wear their ignorance like a badge of honor. And many of them subscribe to every conspiracy theory that comes along – especially the “Mark of the Beast” stuff. It becomes impossible to have a reasonable conversation with them. The more a rational person tries to enlighten them, the deeper they bury themselves under the security blanket of willful ignorance. It’s a sad state of affairs.
It doesn’t help that a lot of atheists have joined the Satanic Temple. Most Christians don’t realize that these people don’t actually worship (or believe in) Satan. I for one get tired of having to explain this when Christians accuse me of being a baby-eating devil worshiper (yes, this happens). Lucien Greaves and his friends need to act like adults and cut the crap. Stick with the Flying Spaghetti Monster. At least no one takes it seriously.
OK I feel better. If you actually read the whole thing then thanks for letting me vent. 
Think 4 Yourself 
I agree wtih you mostly (except for the having a person like that preacher as a friend) and I would challenge you on the claim that religion isnt’ a mental disorder. If anyone made these claims about any other kind of imaginary being than a “god”, I would find them having a mental disorder. Like if someone told me that there was a shuggoth in their basement tht they worshipped. I suppose there is a fine line between just damn strange and a mental disorder.
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Religious faith is as much cultural as anything else. When you’re indoctrinated from childhood in a certain belief, it sticks. It’s indoctrination, not a sickness. Think about it – you’ve got people from all walks of life, many of them with formal education who firmly believe in God. Are they all afflicted with sick minds? No, they’re not.
As to my friends, I don’t judge people on a single issue. Yes, he’s a preacher. So are several other of my friends. But we look past our disagreements to what we have in common. You should learn to do the same.
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Why when they are sure I deserve to be killed and worse?
there is being indoctrinated, and then clinging to it despite facts. That’s why I find it a mental problem.
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“A “mental problem” isn’t necessarily the same as a sickness. The level of indoctrination some of these folks undergo can lead to clouded thinking. Shine some light into their world and sometimes (not often) you can clear their minds.
Look at those like Matt Dillahunty, Seth Andrews and other well-known Atheists. Former tried and true believers who shook off the mental chains and embraced reality. They weren’t retards. They were mislead. Same with me. I once drank the Baptist Kool-Aid by the bucketfull. But I escaped it. Was I a retard? Was I sick? No. I was indoctrinated as a child and those chains are hard to break. So don’t judge believers too harshly. 🙂
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