A Serious Question For Theists

[John V]

I though Christians held themselves to a "better" standard.

I thought atheists considered themselves to be more moral than Christians.

[Bob Kelso]

I though Christians held themselves to a "better" standard.

I thought atheists considered themselves to be more moral than Christians.

Such is the state of jokes over moral superiority.

[Jacob(smooth)]

Seriously?! "A little over the top?!"

Yes, seriously, a little over the top. Maybe not even that. If the same things were said by an atheist toward a theist, no one would have blinked.

Indeed, but they're not claiming the moral high ground . When you wave the bible and tell people they should live by it, they will expect you to practice what you preach.

But I respect your view alpha. You're still a Christian, I'm not, so will be guided by you in what constitutes appropriate Christian behaviour.

That being the case allow me to say,  safe in the knowledge that I'm behaving in a Christian way, that you are less than a sniveling little brat, that it was a sad day when you were born. It always has to be your way or it's wrong, moma raised a brat of the grosses kind, I hope she's proud of something less than human. I have more respect for worms and value them more than I would ever value you. I guess you're getting what you wanted all along to ban me well go ahead I couldn't care less, at least I want have to put up with your arrogant self serving snotty nosed cry baby crap.

Amen.

[Esquilax]

Yes, seriously, a little over the top. Maybe not even that. If the same things were said by an atheist toward a theist, no one would have blinked.

But again, when has that, you know, actually happened? Maybe we get a little salty with our language, but that's attached to a broader point. What we're talking about here is an insult laden paragraph set up to ignore a lengthy post of mine in favor of simple insults. Hell, we've banned atheists for doing that in the past: just in recent memory, Coffee Jesus got booted from Area 69 for, among other things, insulting language.

And if all you're gonna do is post hypotheticals, well... that's not much of a position.

[Rampant.A.I.]

Yes, seriously, a little over the top. Maybe not even that. If the same things were said by an atheist toward a theist, no one would have blinked.

Indeed, but they're not claiming the moral high ground . When you wave the bible and tell people they should live by it, they will expect you to practice what you preach.

But I respect your view alpha. You're still a Christian, I'm not, so will be guided by you in what constitutes appropriate Christian behaviour.

That being the case allow me to say,  safe in the knowledge that I'm behaving in a Christian way, that you are less than a sniveling little brat, that it was a sad day when you were born. It always has to be your way or it's wrong, moma raised a brat of the grosses kind, I hope she's proud of something less than human. I have more respect for worms and value them more than I would ever value you. I guess you're getting what you wanted all along to ban me well go ahead I couldn't care less, at least I want have to put up with your arrogant self serving snotty nosed cry baby crap.

Amen.

This is what bothers me: foul language on an Internet forum somehow = negative quality of a person.

Heinous, vile, rape apologizing, genocide-condoning, slit-shaming, woman-hating, gleeful cheer for eternal torture of another human being with threat of potential violence by a theist, with no foul language = positive quality of a person.

I understand that there is a superstitious hold-over in some Christian sects that words have power over objects, and that thoughts are almost equivalent to action, and mere thoughts can be sins.

This makes absolutely no sense, and in my view is equivalent to superstitions like saying "bless you" after a sneeze to prevent demons from entering the body.

If you compare the actual content of the theist posts aimed at atheists (you're going to burn forever in hell, you deserve it, ha ha that's funny) to the content of posts theists use as "evidence" that secular people are morally bereft, e.g. being told to "fuck off" after the third gleeful eternal condemnation to unending torture, it just doesn't add up.

[Jacob(smooth)]

I remember that from the Christian forum. You could talk about nuking Iran, fags going to hell etc no problem. But drop the f bomb and you'd get the modhammer! I bet GC and friends think that that magnificently spiteful rant was OK because there were no cus words in it

[GrandizerII]

That is news to me, considering that the fictional Jesus character so much as stated that the old testament laws were to not be ignored.

The following verses illustrate that we're no longer under the old testament law. If we follow the two great commands given by Jesus we are complying with the moral requirements of the law. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you will always treat others with love and respect.

Ephesians 2:14-15
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.

Galatians 3:23-25
23 Before the coming of this faith,[a] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
Colossians 2:13-14

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[a] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

That was all Paul, not Jesus.

[Jacob(smooth)]

The following verses illustrate that we're no longer under the old testament law. If we follow the two great commands given by Jesus we are complying with the moral requirements of the law. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you will always treat others with love and respect.

I'm with you exactly fifty percent of the way.

Possibly more. I like you there Lek. I think what irks my heathen friends here is that when it suits them, Christians still try to hold people to the letter of the ot law, but throttle back to just the moral laws when that becomes awkward. Then of course there is the question of what's a moral law?

Not all. I've not seen you do it. But it does happen.

[Bad Wolf]

I though Christians held themselves to a "better" standard.

I thought atheists considered themselves to be more moral than Christians.

That would be a funny comeback if there was a book that told us that we were morally superior to christians, but there isn't, so it's not.
On that topic though....I don't think atheists are more moral than theists or theists more moral than atheists. There are good and bad people everywhere who believe a variety of things.
But one thing that is true, all atheists think they are more moral than your god. I think all theists are too. That's not such an acheivement cause Hitler was more moral than your god too.

[Welsh cake]

If you love your neighbor as yourself, you will always treat others with love and respect.

And if you don't love yourself?