I appreciate the "let's just all get along" sentiment, and general concern of the OP. As a theist member I know full well I'm in the lion's den so to speak (pardon the Biblical reference). This is a place for a lot of things and one of them, like aleialoura said, is to vent. I actually catch less flack for my beliefs here than on the Christian Forum I am also a member of. All I had ever met in other atheist forums and in RL are the "anti-theist" on steroids stereotypes the OP is alluding to. This forum has done tremendous strides in helping me better understand the majority of atheism and atheists. I have no quams with the occasional lash out from bitter atheists, it's part of the reason I'm here and I accept that. It requires a bit of a thick skin and losing the freedoms to fully express myself. For instance, a lot of people would be offended if I ended a PM or conversation with "God Bless you and yours", even though I consciously attempt very hard to genuinely have positive thoughts about someone after an exchange. The atheist of this community are far more rational and kind than I anticipated when coming here, and I appreciate their patience with me in the begining. Some of them are stellar examples of what a rational, intelligent and compassionate person (regardless of their theology) should be.
What I don't like is talk like "our enemies" or "those people" while out of the other end of the conversation you're basicly saying "all people aren't perfect or rational". So you think that's respectful and intellectually honest? I think it's still condemning people, just less zealously. Until we can breack down more of those , "us" and "them" walls, we have a long way, as a society, to go.
What I don't like is talk like "our enemies" or "those people" while out of the other end of the conversation you're basicly saying "all people aren't perfect or rational". So you think that's respectful and intellectually honest? I think it's still condemning people, just less zealously. Until we can breack down more of those , "us" and "them" walls, we have a long way, as a society, to go.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
