Chasm -
In your experience, most theists preach to you. Your experience. You quoted the bit where I said that "it's not like that everywhere", and in response, you didn't dispute that, instead you began talking about things in your experience and things that you'd heard about. I get it, I understand, but that is your experience.
And anyway, if all or even most theists per se are preachy, then why don't I ever encounter them? How come all the people who I know to be theists (of any kind whatsoever) don't preach? How come every time (admittedly few, but enough to spot a pattern) I've been in a religious environment, whether it be a church or the home of someone who's religious, how come not only did no one there preach to me, but they actively went out of their way to let me know that they're not even interested in doing so (even when I've subtly insisted on a debate)? You see, depending on where you are, you could live your whole life being preached at by christians (let's face it, that's what is meant by "theist" - christians are "your" theists, in your experience), or you could live your life barely giving any thought at all as to who believes what, because no one really considers it an issue. Over time you've become so conditioned to equate christian=preachy, theist=(probably) christian, theist=preachy, that that has become your experience and that is all you see. I've been accused many times, and quite correctly too, of not having evidence for what I believe. But this is an exception, and if you want evidence that your world is not everyone's world when it comes to this, do these two things :
- Spend time in another, very different part of the country, or even another country
- Forget about all of this, quit trying to see a problem
And over time you'll realise that your current experience is not shared by all. Go to San Francisco, London, New York, there are many places where no one even cares about your views on god. If a gay person lives in a small village, they're more likely to have a hard time there than they would if thy lived in a city. That's why you get gay communities in cities and not in villages. That's why the experience of gay people in cities is much more pleasant and free than in villages. If you live in the bible belt or somewhere similar, no wonder you see everything the way you do. No wonder you can say the phrase "Most theists do preach to us", yeah I bet they do. I bet most theists where you live are christians, and also preachy. But notall theists are christians and not all christians are preachy. If you don't believe me, see for yourself, go somewhere different. Don't get me wrong I totally understand that you must be frustrated, but frustration has an effect on judgement, and yours is way off. Expand your horizons and you'll see.
In your experience, most theists preach to you. Your experience. You quoted the bit where I said that "it's not like that everywhere", and in response, you didn't dispute that, instead you began talking about things in your experience and things that you'd heard about. I get it, I understand, but that is your experience.
And anyway, if all or even most theists per se are preachy, then why don't I ever encounter them? How come all the people who I know to be theists (of any kind whatsoever) don't preach? How come every time (admittedly few, but enough to spot a pattern) I've been in a religious environment, whether it be a church or the home of someone who's religious, how come not only did no one there preach to me, but they actively went out of their way to let me know that they're not even interested in doing so (even when I've subtly insisted on a debate)? You see, depending on where you are, you could live your whole life being preached at by christians (let's face it, that's what is meant by "theist" - christians are "your" theists, in your experience), or you could live your life barely giving any thought at all as to who believes what, because no one really considers it an issue. Over time you've become so conditioned to equate christian=preachy, theist=(probably) christian, theist=preachy, that that has become your experience and that is all you see. I've been accused many times, and quite correctly too, of not having evidence for what I believe. But this is an exception, and if you want evidence that your world is not everyone's world when it comes to this, do these two things :
- Spend time in another, very different part of the country, or even another country
- Forget about all of this, quit trying to see a problem
And over time you'll realise that your current experience is not shared by all. Go to San Francisco, London, New York, there are many places where no one even cares about your views on god. If a gay person lives in a small village, they're more likely to have a hard time there than they would if thy lived in a city. That's why you get gay communities in cities and not in villages. That's why the experience of gay people in cities is much more pleasant and free than in villages. If you live in the bible belt or somewhere similar, no wonder you see everything the way you do. No wonder you can say the phrase "Most theists do preach to us", yeah I bet they do. I bet most theists where you live are christians, and also preachy. But notall theists are christians and not all christians are preachy. If you don't believe me, see for yourself, go somewhere different. Don't get me wrong I totally understand that you must be frustrated, but frustration has an effect on judgement, and yours is way off. Expand your horizons and you'll see.
