Atheists

[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.

That's a very good deflection answer! It's a new one! I'm proud of you!

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.

1. You're a theist, right? Right. Other theists don't preach to other theists.
2. If you've been in a "religious environment" such as a church, how could have not been preached to? You were in a church!
3. No, let's not face it, shall we? A theist is someone who believes in one or more deities, correct? If you are Buddhist, you are a theist, because Buddha is a deity, and you believe in him. A Christian would also be a theist in that same respect, only they believe in God, not Buddha. When I say "theist" I don't automatically mean "Christian". Stop putting words into my mouth. And no, the theists in my experiences have been a variety of different religions. I would appreciate it if you would stop re-living my experiences for me.

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.

Really? Because a gay person who lives in New York City, the largest city in the U.S. and possibly the world, can't get married. Did you know that?

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.

I know that not all theists are Christians. I'm not a dumbass. I know that not all Christians are preachy. I'm not stupid. My point is, if you're an atheist and you tell a theist "I'm an atheist", 9 times out of ten, that person is going to question your belief on some level, and tell you a little bit their beliefs. That's being preachy to me.

If you don't believe me, see for yourself, go somewhere different. Expand your horizons and you'll see.

I've lived all over the U.S., on the East coast and the West coast. I've been to a few countries. I've expanded my horizons. I still stand by what I said. Most theists are preachy.