So, I accused yesterday of "disrespecting the beliefs" of someone I know because I said that the bible (not specifically, I referred to religious books in general) were story books.

Anyway, I was going to post this on Facebook...



Why is it that religious people believe they should be immune to questioning of their beliefs?

I truly feel that religion should be irrelevant in the modern world.

The topic came up over the status update... "As a Christian I don't understand how people can use religion to justify violence and murder" or something along those lines.

As an atheist it baffles me how people use religion to justify any action good or bad. If you are only good to people because you fear you would go to hell if you were bad to people then surely you are not a good person?

Anyway, rant over.

Are you are complaining that you were wrongly accused of being disrespectful to others' beliefs.
Or that it is correct and appropriate to be disrespectful of same?

I'm saying that not only was I accused wrongly of being disrespectful of their beliefs but that by their own definition they too are being disrespectful of every other religions beliefs.

However, because they are religious they seem to be immune to that accusation. They don't see that atheists and religious people are pretty much alike.

A Christian person believes in one god out of thousands of possible gods.
A Muslim person believes in one god out of thousands of possible gods.
An atheist believe in no gods out of thousands of possible gods.

A Christian person doesn't believe in Thor, Zeus, Hera, Allah, and The Flying Spaghetti Monster exactly the same way that I don't believe in a Christian god.

Yet, when an atheist says that they don't believe in a Christian god they are being "disrespectful" to the beliefs of Christians.
When an atheist says that they don't believe in a Muslim god they are being "disrespectful" to the beliefs of Muslims.

However, when a Christian (or any other religion) say that they don't believe in a Muslim god (which is, by definition, what they are doing just by saying they are Christian) they some how are not being disrespectful of anyones beliefs.

The same is true for the religious books as well as gods.

And the bit where you claimed, without specific prejudice to any particular religion, that they are all based on story books, was entirely respectful? Or was it just as much respect as those pitiful imbeciles deserve?

I had the understanding that "god" is the same god in all religions, just being adored in different ways.
In Catholic school we were told that the bible was a "guide" book, we were never told to take it literally, especially not the old testament.I think it was pretty lax though, it seems a lot of countries have a lot more hard lining faiths.

The fact that people think they are good because they go to church rather than because they behave in a kind way was the main reason why I stopped going to church in my early teens. What's the point in going to celebrate with people who con, steal, lie etc because they know that they can confess and all will be ok again?

I have no grudge with people who want to believe in a god or many gods. Whatever, that's up to them. What I don't feel is acceptable is people using religion to justify their behaviour. It's the same as sexuality. If you're gay then that's fine, just don't wave your willy in my face.

However, I truly believe that in the modern world we should be able to just be nice people.

We don't need a list of commandments or scripture to know how to be nice.

What's wrong with "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself"?

It doesn't require any divine entities, it applies in all parts of life, if people follow that a lot of bad things would go away.

Is it because there's a difference in the way you said it?

If you say you're an atheist, that's all you are saying. You are not openly "attacking" other people; it is very different to saying "your religion is hokum" which is much more direct.

If I said "I'm a Muslim" all I'm doing is declaring it. If I said "Islam is the only religion, all others are false," that's more direct. If said "Islam is the only religion, Christianity is hokum" directly to a Christian, it's more of a direct attack.

The way I see it, who you say something to is just as important as what you say. Saying "Hinduism is hokum" to another atheist is different to saying it to a Hindu.

Yeah, I guess it's the directness.

It's strange, but they are both saying exactly the same thing.

I guess I really just don't get religion at all. I will never understand the need to create some divine entity.

To me you are missing the point. If you spend your life working towards how you will be treated after you die then you really are missing the point of what life is.

It's the same than vegans then? What's the point in eating rubbish food so you can live longer eating rubbish food?

LOL!

Very true.

ojfoggin is a freemason and his god is baal

Hehe

Actually, I just defeated him the other day... and my name is Twinkles and I'm a mage

Unless you're not talking about Diablo III

Completely true but also completely unrealistic. I've come to realise that the only way to avoid fighting/conflict is to make sure there's only one human being on the planet. As soon as you add another, you're gonna get a difference in the way people think, react and decide. That can lead to conflict.


Maybe we do? Perhaps that's why it all came about? Either there is a deity and it decided people need to be guided, or some people decided to make up some rules in order to create something out of chaos. Who knows? Maybe without religion, we would have still gone around bashing people on the head for no reason? Remember, science was borne out of religion.

Look at the law. We've created a law that says it's so wrong to touch little kids that they must be punished. That could only have come about because some people thought it was okay.


Not everyone has the ability to perceive how other people think or act. Not everyone has the ability to even understand what you've written.


Not necessarily. You can't create a "law" or rule without either a stick or a carrot. See the above. Perhaps heaven/hell is a way of controlling people towards a more utopic future?


But that's your viewpoint. Similarly, others have their own viewpoint. If it takes religion for people to behave themselves, then so be it. The problem is that religion gets blamed for a lot of things and yet if you removed all religion, it wouldn't stop what happens, just the reason for it happening.

I am not a practicing anything. I think the Bible and other religious tomes are important to those that believe in them, but in general they are all good morals stories, which should lead one to lead a good life, without strife.

Unfortunately most of the religious tomes are also a little bit ambiguous and can be interpreted to mean the exact opposite, which is why the Bible, for example, says love thy enemy, but religious fanatics used other parts of it to mean that they should raid the Middle East and murder, rape and pillage in the name of God...

And now it is coming back to haunt us as certain people in the Middle East have misinterpreted their books to mean that they should declare war on the infidels and murder, rape and pillage in the name of their god.

Their neighbours, who have been all but pogromed out of existence over the centuries don't seem to have learnt much either from their experience and are the poster child for the "abused child grows up into an abuser."

And the neo-religious numpties on the other side of the Atlantic seem to be rediscovering the interpretations that Europe used in the Middle Ages and applying them to the current day.



Me? I get along well with members of all of the above, just not the zealoted bigots who seem hell-bent on destroying all life on the planet. It is a shame, most people are pleasant and you can talk to them easily, regardless of their backgrounds, just as long as you avoid the subject of religion.

There were good reasons why soldiers used not to be able to discuss politics or religion in the barracks...

Disrespect all religion equally. That way you really can't go wrong.

Mark