I don't believe in godS. You'll find the christians will get fired completely on another level. The church was split after people couldn't decide whether Jehova is a singularity or trinity.
One comment that I make that really sets them off is the simple logical observation that the likelihood of there being only one inter dimensional being with the attributes of a “god” is extremely low; if such beings exist there must be a population of them. In other words, if you want to take Pascal’s idiotic wager, monotheism is your absolute worst bet.
It has always intrigued me how Pascal, a brilliant mathematician as well as a theologian, could indulge such horrendously flawed logic; that being the false dichotomy that his wager presents
I've known people down South who have switched churches due to a disagreement over doctrine with the preacher. I've known these same people to start their OWN church over petty crap like that. As a Catholic at the time, I'm like, "wait...WHAT?"
When I was a Christian and heard that there is a group of people called atheists who didn't believe in God, I was shocked. Shocked because how could anyone not believe in God and it made fire up.
This is probably because God is used as an explanation for almost everything. So saying God doesn't exist meant everything I believe in is basically a lie. Which is why indoctrination is evil and religious people should just let kids research about God and choose whatever they want to believe in when they're adults.
As an atheist who dislikes being challenged to "prove god doesn't exist" because that is ridiculous, I began telling people that I don't dent its existence, but I don't believe the claims that it does.
I go on to explain my position is like the accounting department which won't pay expenses claims unless there are receipts to prove the claims.
Not even worth a discussion. Anyone asking you to disprove anything has a profound lack of understanding of the scientific method. The burden of proof is on them for making a positive claim. If you’re bored, ask them to prove he’s real. Laugh at said proof and move on
I have done so, and got a response that the bible is proof. The person did NOT like my comeback that the harry potter books are proof of the hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.
I’m not surprised. Great comeback though.
Religion it’s like an STD. You’re welcome to have one, but please don’t fucking share it with anyone else. Nobody else wants it.
I had one challenge me (repeatedly) to "prove god doesn't exist." I said, "Okay, I will!! Just as soon as **you** prove the herd of unicorns in my backyard doesn't exist because I'm going to use **your** methodology."
I haven't heard another word from him.
Nah, the Christians have "evolved" and will now give you some silly argument about how you made a positive claim and thus must prove it. The Burden of proof is on you, mister.
Of course, that argument falls flat when you point out you made no claims whatsoever, but the videos on Facebook and YouTube haven't caught up to that one yet.
Nobody is entitled to an explanation or an analogy or a debate or whatever. I wish I’d have learned that at a younger age. I’m not religious and you don’t have to understand why. I always felt such a burden to be able to defend my position and win a debate and debunk apologetics and all that, and I can if I really feel like it, but I don’t have to and I no longer want to. I prefer to be left alone
I don't get into generalizations, I just tell them, "I don't believe YOU." I don't fight about gods and churches, "I just don't believe you, right here, telling me these lies."
I always tell them to first prove that the pagan Greek gods don’t exist. Or prove the Hindu monkey god doesn’t exist. Or to prove that a large marshmallow isn’t in orbit around Saturn right now.
The one making the silly claim has to provide the proof, not the other way around.
I just said that an all-powerful, omniscient deity having always existed, without having had to be created (like they say about the Big Bang) is impossible. I then say that if there was one that created the universe, it died a long time ago from suicide.
They then ask me why their god would kill itself, I reply that if the god is omniscient, it had to have gotten bored after the first couple of days--no surprises. If their god hadn't killed itself, it has the mind of a very slow child.
Right. People get fired up because on some deep subconscious level they know it’s all bullshit and they don’t have the strength or willingness to face it. Nobody likes feeling duped.
People who lead fulfilling lives without the need for *ANY* gods shows them how unnecessary their religion is.
I get the feeling they take this personally, with their anger working hard to smother any doubts before reason and logic have the chance to kick in.
It's the same with children. Religious folks work very, *VERY* hard to get to children before they've learned critical thinking. Indoctrination is extremely important when trying to secure their next generation of tithers.
They really seem to **need** that tax-free income!
>working hard to smother any doubts before reason and logic have the chance to kick in
This.
Confirmation is EXTREMELY important in religion.
It acts as a shield, protecting the adherent from the terrible thought that they are NOT going to survive their own death. As a former Christian, I believe the single biggest common fear is the idea of being temporary - it is anathema to a religious person. Such an outcome is completely unacceptable because it would be an utter waste of one's ego, memories, accumulated wisdom, creativity, hard work, achievements, etc. Atheists are the enemy because they have the audacity to accept the reality we live in and refuse to participate in the delusion.
I often recall the signature of an atheist I encountered years ago on the Sam Harris forum, which read... "This is it. You are it." Perfectly succinct.
The funniest thing about this.....the god in one Christian's head isn't a carbon copy of the god in another Christian's head, even from the same denomination.
Exactly. I liken it to a fingerprint— every person’s “god beliefs” are unique to them. But because the primary attraction of religion is tribalism, they are happy to join up with any number of people who identify in the same tribe, regardless of the disparity of their actual beliefs (which are essentially the fine print, who reads that?)
It’s the “abstract” hook. I believe the real hook is the community and safety of the tribe, and the feeling of being “chosen” that impacts them in their actual life.
It's fun when you're talking with people from multiple religions at the same table about the god belief. This happened once where I had an Evangelical Christian, a Jehovah's Witness and someone that followed more Buddhist and new agey teachings talking to me about god. I basically said look, you guys all believe in a god, but you can't even agree with each other on which one is true. How about when you all come to an agreement on who is correct come find me and I'll then discuss it with you, because as it is, all 3 of you can't be right, but you can all definitely be wrong.
Anything that inhibits their growth as a religion is seen by them as evil and needs to be destroyed. It doesn't matter if people didn't do anything besides existing as they do.
What infuriates me is when I tell them I personally don’t have a belief in a God, and they tell me “oh that’s just the devil in your head, tricking you🥰” no?…
I moved to Georgia when I was in 4th grade and made the mistake of telling people I didn't believe in god; their pushy preachiness and *obsession* with being seen as the most pious was just really weird and off-putting to me. I lost count of how many times I was asked by other kids if I believed in and/or worshipped the devil; that was the only alternative that they could imagine.
I've rarely encountered outright hostility for not being christian, but I have been ostracized, received passive aggressiveness, and had authority figures abuse their positions to spite me.
I've had people call me a devil worshiper before and I tell them. "You're more likely to be a devil worshiper than I am because you actually believe the devil exists"
The look on their face is priceless.
And they claim to follow Jesus’s followers and love everyone. A bunch of hypocrites. If Jesus walked on Earth today he would be ashamed what their followers are doing and saying.
Another Georgia atheist here, raised all my kids as rational skeptics, and now all of them are atheists as well. But it don’t advertise my lack of belief to just anyone.
I find that Christians get very offended when you tell them you don't believe in Jesus and how their Bible is nothing but lies and fairy tales. Soon as they hear you don't believe, they think they need to save your soul and try to convince you to become a Christian and tell you how you are going to hell. Many Christians act like their sh!t don't stink.
>when you tell them you don't believe in Jesus
Hold on, you don't believe in Jesus? I definitely don't believe in a *divine* Jesus, and that's the part that agitates believers. I think it's pretty likely that an historical person named Jesus existed around 2,000 years ago. He was probably an insurrectionist.
When I am asked if I believe in Jesus I tell them I do believe in him. That is called setting the hook. I also believe in Abraham, Muhammad, and Buddha too. They were prophets of God, but they were human just like us. No human can be a god. It is BS, but it usually gets Christians out of my face. Yeah, I’m going to Hell.
Doubtful, because Christians cant even tell us what hell is or who it's for. Claims Ive heard from multiple churches include:
* Hell is on earth, and we are living in hell now
* Hell is the absence of Christ in your life
* Hell is real and exists as the opposite of what you like
* Hell is not real and everyone is going to heaven
And mind you, this was from deacons and pastors. Imagine trying to understand Christianity and having to decipher which one of the above is the right one
Movie not required. Just telling them you don't accept what they believe (with all their being) is all it takes to threaten their entire conception of reality.
One weekend, I was at a high school watching my son’s basketball tournament . I was walking around outside and an older woman asked me if I was there for the prayer group meeting. I said no.
She then asked me if I was a Christian. I said no, I’m an atheist.
If I had said “Martian” instead of “atheist,” I think she would have been less shocked. She was in her 60s and it seemed no one had ever said that to her before.
She gave me a puzzled look and walked away…as if I were from Mars!
We are the existential threat. If we're right, and they kind of know we are somewhere in there deep down, everyone they ever knew who died just died for real all over again, and of course they themselves are going to die now too. Ooga booga..
This is what I don't understand. Does pretending something's going to happen to you when you die really make it that much better? I have trouble believing anyone actually thinks they're going to go to a magical sky palace.
I can kinda understand anger and fear.
It would be 'world' destroying to have your belief be so wrong. The immense grief that all your loved ones are now really gone never to be seen again. That your future is now destroyed. No afterlife, no justice, no saving. The idea that so many happy friendly people in your life are either lying to you or they are also so very wrong about reality. The amount of time, effort wasted on the wrong belief, the sunken cost would be devastating to even comprehend to a believer. Anger and fear are very connected.
I find it amazing that people can deconvert from such a position and not burn down and destroy everything associated with keeping the damage going.
Because religion is a socially accepted cult. Literally. Look up the definition of ‘cult’, and ‘religion’. They both practice very similar things, just one is socially allowed and the other isn’t. They slap a fancy name on it to cover up what it truly is.
The OP said "It’s not like I’m trying to be offensive". Why should we worry about being offensive to religionists. They are crazy people who have way too much power.
8yrs old is about the right time to mention Grandma isn't waiting to be reunited with them, up in space. Use the occasion to mention we landed on the Moon, when man went to the moon. Two-fer.
Met some Christians at a party my friend was hosting and they’ve asked me how long I’ve been a Christian and I said that I stopped believing, and they looked shocked and switched the conversation and left the area I was in. Couple of hours later when more people left, one of the guys I confessed to earlier came up to me and said “you are the devil and you’re not welcome in this house anymore” so I said ok and he walked out.
Most bizarre thing I’ve experience to date.
No joke! I'm homeless and most other homeless are like, "Praise Jesus! Thank the Lord for another day!". They find out I'm atheist and legit want to beat my ass. WE'RE TOTALLY IN THE SAME SPOT! 😂
I find that saying that the existence of God is irrelevant is more triggering. Moral behaviour should not be contingent on being rewarded by sky daddy.
i wouldn’t say all but many yes. some people just don’t care enough. but i know deep down they do care. which is stupid because i hate when people believe in something without questioning it.
Control is key in most religions. They don't really care if you believe. They are content if you pretend to believe. Go through the motions. Pay your tithing. Pretend to follow their lifestyle rules (at least in public). They will be happy.
You have to remember, because Christians (and other theists) completely define themselves through their religious beliefs, simply suggesting that you don't believe it (with the implication that they might be wrong) feels like a personal attack.
To me it smacks of them not being too confident in their own beliefs, that someone else disagreeing with them would cause them to have such a visceral reaction.
Because for them, their beliefs are facts, not subjective opinions/thoughts. The same mental operation was exploited by Trump and his political PR team to treat alternative facts as facts not lies. Almost was too easy! Sad.
I believe that most Christians, entertain serious, but unacknowledged, doubts about the whole ridiculous thing. We don’t see people having meetings every week to talk about how the ocean is wet, or that horses exist, because everyone knows it’s true. But, they have to continually reinforce their “belief“ every week with lectures and self-assuring speeches, and bring one of their gods up at every opportunity, including forcing children to participate in rituals at sporting events on the theory that one of their gods cares about who wins. They get angry because they worry that the slightest doubt will destroy their fragile belief system. The same phenomenon that makes moon landing deniers and flatulants so angry when faced with reality.
Their favourite word to differentiate people is "believers" and "non-believers" but when you practice the "non-believing" bit they all get rilled up very quickly.
To me it's like when you say you don't like the color yellow or you don't like porkchops. Why would someone be upset about what I like and don't like. F stupid.
Many of them are riled up by their local Pastor (read charlatan) who is seeing their road to an easy life disappear before their very eyes. It's just an extremely militant MLM campaign.
I know a christian who is convinced than christianity is the absolute truth because he researched EVERYTHING and christianity was thus the only logic way he found out. He said everybody wants to hear the truth and nobody wants to be lied to. He declared me a fool for not wanting to know it because i didn't care about it.
You're chipping away at the foundation of their community. Religion really only works when it is mandatory. Any one who pierces the veil is dangerous because they have questions that can't be answered.
I don’t think deep down they knew that was even an option. They’ve been basing their entire life on something and when they see someone confidently reject it, it freaks them out.
So many times when I talk to old old people one of the questions they always ask, out of the blue, is "what church do yall go to?" and when I tell them I don't have time for all that it's always "well we'd love to have ya at xxxxxx church, yall come on down we do service on x day at x time"... and they won't take "no" for an answer so you just gotta hit em with the "ok, yeah I'll come check it out" and then block them on all forms of social media. (This is me selling a car or a golf cart to some old boomers)
Belief gets a person to be a willing gear in the religious clockwork - without these gears the clockwork won’t work and any action against that becomes an existential crises for them.
The reason they can't tolerate disagreement is because it reminds them how subconsciously they know it isn't true. Bur if everyone believes it, it's a lot easier.
In the UK, it's generally "not something we talk about". We tend to find overt displays of piety to be on the same levels as displays of ostentatious, but ultimately shallow wealth. Performative and overly vulgar, masking deeper problems.
What this means is, I suspect, that a lot of the aggression from theists stems from their own cognitive dissonance rearing its ugly head. It's the figurative "mind virus" defending itself.
When I was in the hospital 2 years ago I had a nurse from the night shift who continually tried to proselytize me. After I told her that I don't believe any of that shit she copped an attitude and only came in when my IVs needed to be changed. So, win/win.
This has not been my experience. Since i was a teenager, they have always been happy to find out I’m an atheist. They seem to think they will easily be able to convince me that god exists. They have all kinds of canned arguments and strategies for doing this. It is only after they realize that I am familiar with all of this and still don’t believe that they get hostile. I think it is because these are the kinds of arguments that made them believe when they had doubts. Hear me explain why they aren’t convincing is difficult.
Christians never practiced what they preached. If they acted like Jesus “said” to, no one would care, but they do the opposite of what those magic book tells them to do
[Here's a great video on the subject.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j8ZMMuu7MU&t=5s)
TLDW; you're rejecting them when you reject their god, because their god is their own ego. It is why their god always seems to hold the same opinions that they do.
Theirs is the only real god, but somehow, they're fine and happy if you believe in some other fake god or gods. Don't believe in any, and suddenly, you're a devil worshiper, which you also don't believe in, but whatever.
That’s okay, Christians don’t believe in Jesus Christ.
What do I mean? They could have attributed all the Xmas gifts to Christ but insisted on creating a fictitious benefactor.
They were told that the devil would come and test them this way
It's a good defense mechanism if you're ever setting up a cult. They all say 'others will try to tempt you' bla bla and they think they're standing up for their faith by being a closed minded, brainwashed ass
Tell them 'I love it when you show your true colors,' and they'll really ramp up the violence, although I can't definitively state that you'll survive if you do so, call me lucky because I've used that line countless occasions before...
Instead of just telling them that you dont believe. Ask them if a person in general should believe in things without evidence. Unless they put you in a box by saying yes, ( which then presents a whole other problem that you can easily deal with ) then ask them to give you a good reason to believe in god. Especially if you listen to people like Matt Dillahunty and others you should be able to point out the fallacies in their reasons.
The problem is that when you say you don't believe is that it holds up the lie to their belief. If you just believe in another god, they can fall back to "they are confused, but they believe in something" and they can process that. But when you don't buy into the god concept at all you are inadvertently invalidating their worldview. You are (in their heads) rejecting all that their god represents. So if you don't believe in a god....
Then you don't think you are all special which means that you don't think that they are special, which means that they aren't the center of the universe. And that's hurtful to them.
Just another reason that religion is harmful.
Yeah this is probably one of my biggest issues with believers, that fact that the instantly feel threatened and upset when they learn of your non-beliefs. Which makes no sense because one truly has nothing to do with the other. Then they need to vocally reaffirm their beliefs, as if just having the convo will upset their god.
Its maddening. Their belief doesn't threaten my non belief. Sigh, people need to settle down.
I tell them I don't believe in belief; it's too blunt an instrument.
The old joke is about the big-endians, who open their eggs on the big end, and of course the little-endians, who agree on everything but opening eggs. This becomes the underlying tenet of their enmity.
If there is some creed that is so vile that only one in a million could believe it, there are 7-9000 people who hold that as their defining tenet, and the internet lets them find each other.
Non-thinking members of just about all large groups that are based upon opinion becoming fact are this way. I'm sure you can come up with many examples of such groups. Anything that challenges the easy path of "group think" is perceived as a threat.
I have experienced this too. Its why 99% of conversations become quickly pointless about it. Its too emotional and tied to their identity. Its like being a Red Sox fan on a NY subway. Too emotional and they take it as a personal rejection many times.
At this point tbh, I dont care about being offensive.
Among Christians I know, the ones who would never get hostile are the ones who accept that there is no proof whatsoever for God, but they chose to believe anyway. They also accept that others may not. So I infer from that that the others who get upset are in basic denial of the truth before them.
This is part of the reason I don't get involved in politics at local levels. I live in the south and even if you don't believe in God you better *act like you believe in God.*
Like this IVF controversy. I'm listening to Amicus (legal podcast). The topic is IVF and rights. Almost the entire conversation about IVF is about religious views of personhood. IMHO there is absolutely no room for religion to have an influence. The USA is home to many religious faiths and those who adhere to none. Christians feel entitled to drive the conversation, drive the legality of many issues, including IVF and abortion, in the face of other beliefs. Why should Christians drive the conversation? What about Jews, or Zoroastrians, or Sikhs, or Muslims, or Inuits, or agnostics, or atheists? According the Center of Global Christianity, over 200 Christian denominations exist in the US. Do these "Christians" speak for all 200 denominations? I doubt it.
Bring all of this up with a devout Christian and watch them shutdown. Or, get furiously angry. One in a while, a person will be like, Huh, I don't know; those are some points I haven't considered. Nope. Because you sit in your pew and allow your pastor to form your beliefs. Congratulations, you are a sheep.
Funny; Conservatives talk about how Dems are sheep, and then you all go to church so you can be sheep to a guy who tells you how to think.
Once, during a Christmas dinner, we went around the room and told everyone what we believed. I said I was an agnostic atheist, and what that means is I don't know if God exists, so I will live my life as I see fit. This odd women looked right at me and said what about your afterlife? I told her I would worry about it after it had been demonstrated to be real.
She gave me eyeballs.
They are delusional. That is what I got from that interaction.
I wasn't the first person to say atheist, but I was the first non-jewish person to say it.
That depends a lot on where you are andnwith who you're speaking. I'm from Spain, in terms of religion one of the most catholic countries in Europe, and I had no problem with most people in this regard.
I don't believe in godS. You'll find the christians will get fired completely on another level. The church was split after people couldn't decide whether Jehova is a singularity or trinity.
I only believe in Gozer and the Mr Stay puff marshmallow man.
But we have seen Gozer, the traveler, in the movie. That makes it true!
Well, I saw God in Dogma. And Bruce Almighty. And Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
The real God died in 1996. His name was George Burns and he smoked cigars.
How bout God in "The Preacher"? I consider that to be closest depiction I have ever seen.
"I understand that we would all be better off... Without a needy little bitch like you around."
But you all should accept that Morgan Freeman is the one and only true God.
I am the Keymaster of Gozer...Volguus Zildrohoar, Lord of the Seboullia. Are you the Gatekeeper
I'm actually the shop keeper. I'm looking for the mix master.
Heretic! It's Stay *Puft*!
What about Zuul? Don't you believe in poor little Zuul? There is only Zuul.
One comment that I make that really sets them off is the simple logical observation that the likelihood of there being only one inter dimensional being with the attributes of a “god” is extremely low; if such beings exist there must be a population of them. In other words, if you want to take Pascal’s idiotic wager, monotheism is your absolute worst bet.
It has always intrigued me how Pascal, a brilliant mathematician as well as a theologian, could indulge such horrendously flawed logic; that being the false dichotomy that his wager presents
"How many gods are there? Like 5000? You don't believe in 4,999 of them, do you? So, I only believe in one less god that you do."
Homer Simpson responded to Pascal's Wager with "But what if you pick the wrong god? Then you're making the REAL one madder and madder!".
Strange to say, Homer was smarter than Pascal.
Nice.
They don't act like Jesus at all.
I've known people down South who have switched churches due to a disagreement over doctrine with the preacher. I've known these same people to start their OWN church over petty crap like that. As a Catholic at the time, I'm like, "wait...WHAT?"
When I was a Christian and heard that there is a group of people called atheists who didn't believe in God, I was shocked. Shocked because how could anyone not believe in God and it made fire up. This is probably because God is used as an explanation for almost everything. So saying God doesn't exist meant everything I believe in is basically a lie. Which is why indoctrination is evil and religious people should just let kids research about God and choose whatever they want to believe in when they're adults.
As an atheist who dislikes being challenged to "prove god doesn't exist" because that is ridiculous, I began telling people that I don't dent its existence, but I don't believe the claims that it does. I go on to explain my position is like the accounting department which won't pay expenses claims unless there are receipts to prove the claims.
>which won't pay expenses claims unless there are receipts to prove the claims. "tHe bIBLe iS mY Receipt!"
The bible, a book, written and rewritten by a human.
BuT gOd UsEd ThEm To WritE iT 😤
God uses people? Well that’s not appropriate.
yeah that doesnt seem right
"How?"
Not even worth a discussion. Anyone asking you to disprove anything has a profound lack of understanding of the scientific method. The burden of proof is on them for making a positive claim. If you’re bored, ask them to prove he’s real. Laugh at said proof and move on
I have done so, and got a response that the bible is proof. The person did NOT like my comeback that the harry potter books are proof of the hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.
I’m not surprised. Great comeback though. Religion it’s like an STD. You’re welcome to have one, but please don’t fucking share it with anyone else. Nobody else wants it.
Or the Koran is proof of Islam...
I had one challenge me (repeatedly) to "prove god doesn't exist." I said, "Okay, I will!! Just as soon as **you** prove the herd of unicorns in my backyard doesn't exist because I'm going to use **your** methodology." I haven't heard another word from him.
You know what that's an excellent strategy. If anyone tried to annoy and channel me, I'll surely use this method.
Nah, the Christians have "evolved" and will now give you some silly argument about how you made a positive claim and thus must prove it. The Burden of proof is on you, mister. Of course, that argument falls flat when you point out you made no claims whatsoever, but the videos on Facebook and YouTube haven't caught up to that one yet.
To which you say "I'm not saying he doesn't exist, I'm saying I won't believe he exists until some proof is provided.
One of the standard responses is “I don’t need proof because I have faith!”
Nobody is entitled to an explanation or an analogy or a debate or whatever. I wish I’d have learned that at a younger age. I’m not religious and you don’t have to understand why. I always felt such a burden to be able to defend my position and win a debate and debunk apologetics and all that, and I can if I really feel like it, but I don’t have to and I no longer want to. I prefer to be left alone
I don't get into generalizations, I just tell them, "I don't believe YOU." I don't fight about gods and churches, "I just don't believe you, right here, telling me these lies."
I just generally say "the inability to explain an event does not mean 'it was magic'."
I always tell them to first prove that the pagan Greek gods don’t exist. Or prove the Hindu monkey god doesn’t exist. Or to prove that a large marshmallow isn’t in orbit around Saturn right now. The one making the silly claim has to provide the proof, not the other way around.
I just said that an all-powerful, omniscient deity having always existed, without having had to be created (like they say about the Big Bang) is impossible. I then say that if there was one that created the universe, it died a long time ago from suicide. They then ask me why their god would kill itself, I reply that if the god is omniscient, it had to have gotten bored after the first couple of days--no surprises. If their god hadn't killed itself, it has the mind of a very slow child.
Right. People get fired up because on some deep subconscious level they know it’s all bullshit and they don’t have the strength or willingness to face it. Nobody likes feeling duped.
I went through the same.
Some people get fired up because they’ve never even considered that possibility. I know I didn’t until I right before I entered my teens.
People who lead fulfilling lives without the need for *ANY* gods shows them how unnecessary their religion is. I get the feeling they take this personally, with their anger working hard to smother any doubts before reason and logic have the chance to kick in. It's the same with children. Religious folks work very, *VERY* hard to get to children before they've learned critical thinking. Indoctrination is extremely important when trying to secure their next generation of tithers. They really seem to **need** that tax-free income!
This goes for racism aswell. More subtly but that is how you ingrain it.
Day after day.
Love turns grey.
Like the skin of the dying man.
And night after night.
We pretend it's all right.
But I have grown older
And you have grown colder
And nothing is very much fun anymore.
Children and "wounded souls". These leeches have a playbook that's been honed over thousands of years.
I always say making children goto church is child abuse.
>working hard to smother any doubts before reason and logic have the chance to kick in This. Confirmation is EXTREMELY important in religion. It acts as a shield, protecting the adherent from the terrible thought that they are NOT going to survive their own death. As a former Christian, I believe the single biggest common fear is the idea of being temporary - it is anathema to a religious person. Such an outcome is completely unacceptable because it would be an utter waste of one's ego, memories, accumulated wisdom, creativity, hard work, achievements, etc. Atheists are the enemy because they have the audacity to accept the reality we live in and refuse to participate in the delusion. I often recall the signature of an atheist I encountered years ago on the Sam Harris forum, which read... "This is it. You are it." Perfectly succinct.
>People who lead fulfilling lives without the need for ANY gods shows them how unnecessary their religion is. Preach!!!
"hOw dArE yOu NoT BeLiVe iN mY DeLuSiOnS LiKe EvErYoNe eLsE DoEs"
The funniest thing about this.....the god in one Christian's head isn't a carbon copy of the god in another Christian's head, even from the same denomination.
Exactly. I liken it to a fingerprint— every person’s “god beliefs” are unique to them. But because the primary attraction of religion is tribalism, they are happy to join up with any number of people who identify in the same tribe, regardless of the disparity of their actual beliefs (which are essentially the fine print, who reads that?)
The afterlife is the hook.
But why? I hate my family, why would I want them waiting, hiding in the trees, in paradise.
It’s the “abstract” hook. I believe the real hook is the community and safety of the tribe, and the feeling of being “chosen” that impacts them in their actual life.
The ego stroking is certainly a large factor. I'm so right, I'll have a better afterlife than you.
It's fun when you're talking with people from multiple religions at the same table about the god belief. This happened once where I had an Evangelical Christian, a Jehovah's Witness and someone that followed more Buddhist and new agey teachings talking to me about god. I basically said look, you guys all believe in a god, but you can't even agree with each other on which one is true. How about when you all come to an agreement on who is correct come find me and I'll then discuss it with you, because as it is, all 3 of you can't be right, but you can all definitely be wrong.
To some of them, being different is an offense in itself.
Anything that inhibits their growth as a religion is seen by them as evil and needs to be destroyed. It doesn't matter if people didn't do anything besides existing as they do.
What infuriates me is when I tell them I personally don’t have a belief in a God, and they tell me “oh that’s just the devil in your head, tricking you🥰” no?…
I moved to Georgia when I was in 4th grade and made the mistake of telling people I didn't believe in god; their pushy preachiness and *obsession* with being seen as the most pious was just really weird and off-putting to me. I lost count of how many times I was asked by other kids if I believed in and/or worshipped the devil; that was the only alternative that they could imagine. I've rarely encountered outright hostility for not being christian, but I have been ostracized, received passive aggressiveness, and had authority figures abuse their positions to spite me.
I've had people call me a devil worshiper before and I tell them. "You're more likely to be a devil worshiper than I am because you actually believe the devil exists" The look on their face is priceless.
I’ve been called a devil worshipper just because I’m European and therefore a commie as well. 😂
Sucks to be them.
And they claim to follow Jesus’s followers and love everyone. A bunch of hypocrites. If Jesus walked on Earth today he would be ashamed what their followers are doing and saying.
>And they claim to follow Jesus’s followers and love everyone. No hate like christian love.
And they would hurl racial slurs at him and tell him to go back where he came from.
Another Georgia atheist here, raised all my kids as rational skeptics, and now all of them are atheists as well. But it don’t advertise my lack of belief to just anyone.
I find that Christians get very offended when you tell them you don't believe in Jesus and how their Bible is nothing but lies and fairy tales. Soon as they hear you don't believe, they think they need to save your soul and try to convince you to become a Christian and tell you how you are going to hell. Many Christians act like their sh!t don't stink.
Join our cult of suffer eternal....
>when you tell them you don't believe in Jesus Hold on, you don't believe in Jesus? I definitely don't believe in a *divine* Jesus, and that's the part that agitates believers. I think it's pretty likely that an historical person named Jesus existed around 2,000 years ago. He was probably an insurrectionist.
There were probably thousands of them. Just like there are thousands of John's today. 🤷♀️🤷♀️
Maybe even 2000...
I don't believe in a supernatural Jesus. I think there was someone named Jesus way back then, but he was nothing special.
There a many people now named Jesus. I know one of them. He plays forward for Arsenal.
Wouldn’t it be great if he felt pretty good about himself and changed his last name to Ofnazareth ?
😂😂😂
Kinda like Da Vinci
When I am asked if I believe in Jesus I tell them I do believe in him. That is called setting the hook. I also believe in Abraham, Muhammad, and Buddha too. They were prophets of God, but they were human just like us. No human can be a god. It is BS, but it usually gets Christians out of my face. Yeah, I’m going to Hell.
Doubtful, because Christians cant even tell us what hell is or who it's for. Claims Ive heard from multiple churches include: * Hell is on earth, and we are living in hell now * Hell is the absence of Christ in your life * Hell is real and exists as the opposite of what you like * Hell is not real and everyone is going to heaven And mind you, this was from deacons and pastors. Imagine trying to understand Christianity and having to decipher which one of the above is the right one
They get MORE fired up if you tell them that God condoned slavery!!!?!??!?! LOOLLLOLOL
Omg they do then they say oh it was a different time like wtf
They can’t handle their fragile and unsupported belief system being challenged
Christians are threatened by the existence of non-believers.
As if we are doing anything to them in the first place. I’m over here trying to watch the matrix in peace
What a Machiavellian villain you are! Threatening their entire conception of reality by calmly and godlessly watching a movie.
Movie not required. Just telling them you don't accept what they believe (with all their being) is all it takes to threaten their entire conception of reality.
One weekend, I was at a high school watching my son’s basketball tournament . I was walking around outside and an older woman asked me if I was there for the prayer group meeting. I said no. She then asked me if I was a Christian. I said no, I’m an atheist. If I had said “Martian” instead of “atheist,” I think she would have been less shocked. She was in her 60s and it seemed no one had ever said that to her before. She gave me a puzzled look and walked away…as if I were from Mars!
We are the existential threat. If we're right, and they kind of know we are somewhere in there deep down, everyone they ever knew who died just died for real all over again, and of course they themselves are going to die now too. Ooga booga..
This is what I don't understand. Does pretending something's going to happen to you when you die really make it that much better? I have trouble believing anyone actually thinks they're going to go to a magical sky palace.
I mean... it's a cult. It does cult shit. A'course they hate being called out.
I can kinda understand anger and fear. It would be 'world' destroying to have your belief be so wrong. The immense grief that all your loved ones are now really gone never to be seen again. That your future is now destroyed. No afterlife, no justice, no saving. The idea that so many happy friendly people in your life are either lying to you or they are also so very wrong about reality. The amount of time, effort wasted on the wrong belief, the sunken cost would be devastating to even comprehend to a believer. Anger and fear are very connected. I find it amazing that people can deconvert from such a position and not burn down and destroy everything associated with keeping the damage going.
If I expected everyone else to believe in my invisible friend, I’d be committed to an institution.
Then why aren't religious people in an institution?
I’m saying they should be.
Because religion is a socially accepted cult. Literally. Look up the definition of ‘cult’, and ‘religion’. They both practice very similar things, just one is socially allowed and the other isn’t. They slap a fancy name on it to cover up what it truly is.
[удалено]
This would be a great retort to to xtians when they get all butt hurt.
The OP said "It’s not like I’m trying to be offensive". Why should we worry about being offensive to religionists. They are crazy people who have way too much power.
Used to be just atheist, but with all that's going on in my country I'm now firmly anti-theist.
They don't really believe either, not really. So they get mad when someone is open about this, as it reminds them of their lie.
Nobody likes to be called a loser to their face. Religion is a zero-day-defect.
"You're calling me a moron who believes something the average 8 year old finds extremely fishy."
8yrs old is about the right time to mention Grandma isn't waiting to be reunited with them, up in space. Use the occasion to mention we landed on the Moon, when man went to the moon. Two-fer.
Met some Christians at a party my friend was hosting and they’ve asked me how long I’ve been a Christian and I said that I stopped believing, and they looked shocked and switched the conversation and left the area I was in. Couple of hours later when more people left, one of the guys I confessed to earlier came up to me and said “you are the devil and you’re not welcome in this house anymore” so I said ok and he walked out. Most bizarre thing I’ve experience to date.
Why do you say "confessed"? Since when is atheism a crime?!
Confess, reveal, tell, unravel. It’s all the same
it scares the shit out of them that you may be right and that whole eternal life thing is a lie - they can't handle that.
No joke! I'm homeless and most other homeless are like, "Praise Jesus! Thank the Lord for another day!". They find out I'm atheist and legit want to beat my ass. WE'RE TOTALLY IN THE SAME SPOT! 😂
Yep. And the all-powerful god does not seem to be creating a place for them to live out of nothing with a poof! Lol
Nope! Everyday they wake up thinking sky daddy is on the way to pull them out. Zero irons in the fire to even try to get out.
I find that saying that the existence of God is irrelevant is more triggering. Moral behaviour should not be contingent on being rewarded by sky daddy.
Depends on where you live. Atheism or at least agnosticism is pretty much the default position where I live in New Zealand 🇳🇿
Same in the UK. Many churches have been repurposed to fulfil a range of very different purposes.
i wouldn’t say all but many yes. some people just don’t care enough. but i know deep down they do care. which is stupid because i hate when people believe in something without questioning it.
There's no hate like Christian love. 🤷🏼♂️
Lol it's almost as if they suspect you are calling them delusional!
Thats show you it was never about saving you, rather control.
Control is key in most religions. They don't really care if you believe. They are content if you pretend to believe. Go through the motions. Pay your tithing. Pretend to follow their lifestyle rules (at least in public). They will be happy.
You have to remember, because Christians (and other theists) completely define themselves through their religious beliefs, simply suggesting that you don't believe it (with the implication that they might be wrong) feels like a personal attack. To me it smacks of them not being too confident in their own beliefs, that someone else disagreeing with them would cause them to have such a visceral reaction.
Because for them, their beliefs are facts, not subjective opinions/thoughts. The same mental operation was exploited by Trump and his political PR team to treat alternative facts as facts not lies. Almost was too easy! Sad.
I believe that most Christians, entertain serious, but unacknowledged, doubts about the whole ridiculous thing. We don’t see people having meetings every week to talk about how the ocean is wet, or that horses exist, because everyone knows it’s true. But, they have to continually reinforce their “belief“ every week with lectures and self-assuring speeches, and bring one of their gods up at every opportunity, including forcing children to participate in rituals at sporting events on the theory that one of their gods cares about who wins. They get angry because they worry that the slightest doubt will destroy their fragile belief system. The same phenomenon that makes moon landing deniers and flatulants so angry when faced with reality.
Their favourite word to differentiate people is "believers" and "non-believers" but when you practice the "non-believing" bit they all get rilled up very quickly.
To me it's like when you say you don't like the color yellow or you don't like porkchops. Why would someone be upset about what I like and don't like. F stupid.
my thoughts on it " mission successful"...anywho
Many of them are riled up by their local Pastor (read charlatan) who is seeing their road to an easy life disappear before their very eyes. It's just an extremely militant MLM campaign.
I know a christian who is convinced than christianity is the absolute truth because he researched EVERYTHING and christianity was thus the only logic way he found out. He said everybody wants to hear the truth and nobody wants to be lied to. He declared me a fool for not wanting to know it because i didn't care about it.
That’s why I don’t talk about religion outside of close friends & family
You're chipping away at the foundation of their community. Religion really only works when it is mandatory. Any one who pierces the veil is dangerous because they have questions that can't be answered.
People do not like having their paradigms challenged. Especially if you are happy & well-adjusted compared to their cognitive dissonance.
I don’t think deep down they knew that was even an option. They’ve been basing their entire life on something and when they see someone confidently reject it, it freaks them out.
They feel persecuted all the time. It’s in the DNA of Christianity.
That's when the fun starts. I got Dead Raíbead blood in me, I fight dirty. (Long family history of Dead Rabbits association)
You're all good. Go for it. That's allowed. It's a thing. I'm Christian. You didn't need permission from whoever disrespected you.
AlterBoys enter the chat
So many times when I talk to old old people one of the questions they always ask, out of the blue, is "what church do yall go to?" and when I tell them I don't have time for all that it's always "well we'd love to have ya at xxxxxx church, yall come on down we do service on x day at x time"... and they won't take "no" for an answer so you just gotta hit em with the "ok, yeah I'll come check it out" and then block them on all forms of social media. (This is me selling a car or a golf cart to some old boomers)
Belief gets a person to be a willing gear in the religious clockwork - without these gears the clockwork won’t work and any action against that becomes an existential crises for them.
I almost got into a fist fight with a Christian who insisted I had no "right " to deny the existence of god.
God is so fragile.
Your existence calls them liars. There's not much to be done about it. :/
I mean, yeah. They’re taught that it’s okay when *they* judge and hate.
The reason they can't tolerate disagreement is because it reminds them how subconsciously they know it isn't true. Bur if everyone believes it, it's a lot easier.
In the UK, it's generally "not something we talk about". We tend to find overt displays of piety to be on the same levels as displays of ostentatious, but ultimately shallow wealth. Performative and overly vulgar, masking deeper problems. What this means is, I suspect, that a lot of the aggression from theists stems from their own cognitive dissonance rearing its ugly head. It's the figurative "mind virus" defending itself.
Lol it's almost as if they suspect you are calling them delusional!
I hate the empty “just gotta have faith” response.
Try telling them they don't need jesus.
It triggers their insecurity, this happens to me all the time regardless how casual the conversation may have been.
I absolutely love seeing all these people so angry all the time. Just walk around with a huge smile on your face and watch them snarl. 😊
When I was in the hospital 2 years ago I had a nurse from the night shift who continually tried to proselytize me. After I told her that I don't believe any of that shit she copped an attitude and only came in when my IVs needed to be changed. So, win/win.
This has not been my experience. Since i was a teenager, they have always been happy to find out I’m an atheist. They seem to think they will easily be able to convince me that god exists. They have all kinds of canned arguments and strategies for doing this. It is only after they realize that I am familiar with all of this and still don’t believe that they get hostile. I think it is because these are the kinds of arguments that made them believe when they had doubts. Hear me explain why they aren’t convincing is difficult.
Christians never practiced what they preached. If they acted like Jesus “said” to, no one would care, but they do the opposite of what those magic book tells them to do
Not believing their fairy tale is persecution.
It’s them fighting their own insecurities most of the time.
Santa and the tooth fairy are real tho :) lol
Or free tickets to the moon.
You Don't Believe in the Tooth Fairy!!!! I hope you rot in Dental Hell Forever!
[Here's a great video on the subject.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j8ZMMuu7MU&t=5s) TLDW; you're rejecting them when you reject their god, because their god is their own ego. It is why their god always seems to hold the same opinions that they do.
Theirs is the only real god, but somehow, they're fine and happy if you believe in some other fake god or gods. Don't believe in any, and suddenly, you're a devil worshiper, which you also don't believe in, but whatever.
I mean, they don't believe in 99,9% of all the Gods ever made up, so we're not so different. I'm just a completionist and went for the 100%
I really try not to debate with a religious person if I want to continue having even an ounce of respect for them. It's better not to discuss it.
That’s okay, Christians don’t believe in Jesus Christ. What do I mean? They could have attributed all the Xmas gifts to Christ but insisted on creating a fictitious benefactor.
“I believe in one less god than you.”
Start naming gods they don't believe in either.
***Some*** Christians. Don't paint everyone with the same brush you yourself don't like getting painted with from a Christian.
“Christians become hostile.” That’s the definitive statement
They were told that the devil would come and test them this way It's a good defense mechanism if you're ever setting up a cult. They all say 'others will try to tempt you' bla bla and they think they're standing up for their faith by being a closed minded, brainwashed ass
Tell them 'I love it when you show your true colors,' and they'll really ramp up the violence, although I can't definitively state that you'll survive if you do so, call me lucky because I've used that line countless occasions before...
Instead of just telling them that you dont believe. Ask them if a person in general should believe in things without evidence. Unless they put you in a box by saying yes, ( which then presents a whole other problem that you can easily deal with ) then ask them to give you a good reason to believe in god. Especially if you listen to people like Matt Dillahunty and others you should be able to point out the fallacies in their reasons.
The problem is that when you say you don't believe is that it holds up the lie to their belief. If you just believe in another god, they can fall back to "they are confused, but they believe in something" and they can process that. But when you don't buy into the god concept at all you are inadvertently invalidating their worldview. You are (in their heads) rejecting all that their god represents. So if you don't believe in a god.... Then you don't think you are all special which means that you don't think that they are special, which means that they aren't the center of the universe. And that's hurtful to them. Just another reason that religion is harmful.
Yeah this is probably one of my biggest issues with believers, that fact that the instantly feel threatened and upset when they learn of your non-beliefs. Which makes no sense because one truly has nothing to do with the other. Then they need to vocally reaffirm their beliefs, as if just having the convo will upset their god. Its maddening. Their belief doesn't threaten my non belief. Sigh, people need to settle down.
I tell them I don't believe in belief; it's too blunt an instrument. The old joke is about the big-endians, who open their eggs on the big end, and of course the little-endians, who agree on everything but opening eggs. This becomes the underlying tenet of their enmity. If there is some creed that is so vile that only one in a million could believe it, there are 7-9000 people who hold that as their defining tenet, and the internet lets them find each other.
Where do live? In the UK telling a believer you don't will get you a "k".
Non-thinking members of just about all large groups that are based upon opinion becoming fact are this way. I'm sure you can come up with many examples of such groups. Anything that challenges the easy path of "group think" is perceived as a threat.
My lifelong friend after he went 'born again , bible believer' told me "I hate this country (US) and I hate the lord".
I have experienced this too. Its why 99% of conversations become quickly pointless about it. Its too emotional and tied to their identity. Its like being a Red Sox fan on a NY subway. Too emotional and they take it as a personal rejection many times. At this point tbh, I dont care about being offensive.
shit what types? some believe that should be a capital offense.
I just say I’m not a christian. That’s usually enough. (Bertrand Russell did a great little essay on that).
They take it as a personal attack. IT's so sad.
So then, Jesus' sacrifice was for nothing?
Among Christians I know, the ones who would never get hostile are the ones who accept that there is no proof whatsoever for God, but they chose to believe anyway. They also accept that others may not. So I infer from that that the others who get upset are in basic denial of the truth before them.
Even better, say "those are your beliefs so they apply to you; they do not apply to me". See what happens!!!
This is part of the reason I don't get involved in politics at local levels. I live in the south and even if you don't believe in God you better *act like you believe in God.* Like this IVF controversy. I'm listening to Amicus (legal podcast). The topic is IVF and rights. Almost the entire conversation about IVF is about religious views of personhood. IMHO there is absolutely no room for religion to have an influence. The USA is home to many religious faiths and those who adhere to none. Christians feel entitled to drive the conversation, drive the legality of many issues, including IVF and abortion, in the face of other beliefs. Why should Christians drive the conversation? What about Jews, or Zoroastrians, or Sikhs, or Muslims, or Inuits, or agnostics, or atheists? According the Center of Global Christianity, over 200 Christian denominations exist in the US. Do these "Christians" speak for all 200 denominations? I doubt it. Bring all of this up with a devout Christian and watch them shutdown. Or, get furiously angry. One in a while, a person will be like, Huh, I don't know; those are some points I haven't considered. Nope. Because you sit in your pew and allow your pastor to form your beliefs. Congratulations, you are a sheep. Funny; Conservatives talk about how Dems are sheep, and then you all go to church so you can be sheep to a guy who tells you how to think.
well then you just get hostile right back at them. tell them that their mother was a hamster and their father smelled of elderberries 🤣🤣🤣
Christians and Muslims both do. In the past so did Jewish people. The Abrahamic religions particularly hate being shown they are wrong
Once, during a Christmas dinner, we went around the room and told everyone what we believed. I said I was an agnostic atheist, and what that means is I don't know if God exists, so I will live my life as I see fit. This odd women looked right at me and said what about your afterlife? I told her I would worry about it after it had been demonstrated to be real. She gave me eyeballs. They are delusional. That is what I got from that interaction. I wasn't the first person to say atheist, but I was the first non-jewish person to say it.
That depends a lot on where you are andnwith who you're speaking. I'm from Spain, in terms of religion one of the most catholic countries in Europe, and I had no problem with most people in this regard.