The Atheist Obsession with Insulting Christians

[MTL]

I have been fascinated by the phenomenon of the "angry atheist" ever since my arrival here in the forum. I expected and hoped to engage in intelligent discussion of our differences of opinion with the so-called "brights" of our society, but more often than not, I have been the recipient of a lot of misdirected venom.

And I'm not alone, apparently.

In this article posted at Dave Armstrong's blog, Jan Tik describes his own experiences with the angry atheists he has encountered and writes:

The Atheist Obsession with Insulting Christians
by Jan Tik
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstro...tians.html

But if one takes a look at just about any active combox underneath an atheist post that has anything at all to do with Christianity, the usual boorish, garden variety collection of insults will be immediately observed:

Christians are gullible, infantile believers of fairy tales on the level of unicorns, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, the Easter bunny, leprechauns, “magic,” the tooth fairy, etc. We are  anti-intellectual, anti-science, dumb, stupid, idiots, ignoramuses, and imbeciles who are impervious to evidence of any kind for our beliefs. We have a blind faith that is shielded from reason, fact, and any possible falsifiability. You name it: we’ve been called it by the sadly typical “angry / hostile” atheist.

Any curious human being, it seems to me, who observes this behavior, must marvel at both its near-universality and the extreme level of passion and vitriol involved. The question arises: “whence derives such utter disdain and derision?” It appears to be a species of a mentality that is brought to mind by the famous line of Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “The lady doth protest too much, methinks“. Source.

As I have observed and commented upon in this forum, Tik also notes:

The same people who produce the endless stream of invective against Christians and Christianity (or, “Christianity”) can (again, like all schoolyard bullies) dish it out but can’t take it. Any criticism back is met with even more highly insulting rhetoric and hyper-polemics.

Happily, there are a few members of this forum who do not fall into this pattern, but they are all too few, IMO.

Religion existed first.

There was no "Atheism" until there was Religion.

Now,

Anyone, in any argument, anywhere, who chooses to use that line from Hamlet,
unless there is demonstrably good reason for doing so, could win the argument.

Because they only way to combat that line, is to shut up and cease all protest.

And in this case, I think it was a very poor choice to employ that line.

There is no good reason for an atheist to "protest too much" against religion,
if he secretly believes in god.

Any atheist who suddenly has a spiritual awakening will suddenly find himself no longer in the minority.

What is difficult about that?

There is abundant reason, however, for someone in a close-knit church community or devout family,
who finds themselves inwardly leaning towards atheism,
to be reluctant to come out of the closet with said atheism.

Secondly, as far as being able to dish it out, but not take it...

...well, what scathing criticism of atheism do you have, as a theist,
that we haven't yet been easily able to scuttle?

Whereas the completely unproven and outrageous claims
and hypocrisies and inconsistencies of Religion,
not only lend themselves to the incredulity of Atheists,
but due to it's long-standing record of violence and oppression,
Atheists often cannot see much of a reason NOT to become hostile;
...nay, many feel there is a need, even a RESPONSIBILITY to become so...

but for the millionth time:
We are on the DEFENSIVE....RELIGION is on the OFFENSIVE.

If Religion had always been 100% consistent
and not co-dependent or controlling in its social privilege;
had never been violent or oppressive,
then Atheists probably wouldn't have become so hostile.

We might have rolled our eyes at the fairytales, or found them quaint,

....but the HOSTILITY you encounter would never have existed
had Religion not been burning people at the stake as fast as they could.


That being said,

OF COURSE there are some Theists who are, needless to say,
far more reasonable and likeable than others.

However, as an Atheist, while I like and respect a moderate, reasonable Theist, PERSONALLY,
far more than an extremist lunatic,

I cannot deny that if I was to convert to a religion, myself,
I wouldn't be moderate,
because the religious texts are not moderate, themselves.

They're pretty vengeful and bloody, in large measure.

That's why I don't belong to a religion,

and I don't understand how those "moderate" or "reasonable" Theists cannot bring themselves
to just bite the bullet and commit to abandoning their religion, entirely,
because, at its core, their religion usually is bloody and violent,
and those moderate, reasonable Theists, are not violent people.

They just seem to think that it somehow isn't enough to "allow" for the existence of a God,

...or to simply believe in a God
without feeling the need to clap some kind of superfluous belief structure onto said God.

So even those likeable, moderate, reasonable types of Theists,
if they want to get into it,
are going to have to defend why they consent to continue to be members of a violent club
if they disown the violence?

And I don't walk up to churches on Sunday and pick fights, you know.

But every time some Theist tries to do what he sees as a "well-intentioned" and "harmless" act
such as inviting me to attend his church,
or asking if I've been "Saved"
or knocking at my door and handing me a pamphlet,

they need to understand that, at its core, this could be construed as a hostile act.

because you are trying to pass off your ideology,
which is just a pile of unsubstantiated theories,
as if they are undisputed facts

...and the theories you are advancing, are, IMO, demonstrably dangerous and harmful.

They are not innocuous.

And these encroachments on the part of religion
are not limited to personal approaches on my person;
they are, more often than not, political in nature.

Such as opposing gay marriage.

After all that,
why you think that your religion doesn't deserve ridicule and hostility,
I don't know.