Christians who attack athiests!

This thread is to discuss, rationally, the reasoning behind the Christian attacks on Athiests. What are the underlying reasons for these attacks.

It's my humble opinion these attacks are used as a way make one feel important or shore up ones own belief system.

I feel the same about any belief system that seeks to build up its own credibility by attacking other's beliefs.

If these attacks made the attacker feel better about his/her belief system, I support their continued use. However, I don't believe anything positive can be gained by downgrading other's beliefs.

That's why I don't waste my time bashing other belief systems.

Discuss....

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too lazy to retype it

I give you an E for effort and a C for creativity.

I think you're too narrowly defining the issue by specify Christian vs Atheist. It can be any two groups who have conflicting philosophies. And as far as making them feel stonger/more powerful/more better, I think that's because they felt threatened that there is another group that doesn't hold their philosophies as they do, so prop up their own by grabbing onto a fanatical belief in their own, and pushing it out on others.

It's the bully effect, make yourself bigger by making others smaller.

I think I should get an A+ for making fun of that other thread.

Goes for a lot of folks on both sides.

A++

But the difference is Jesus was about love and not bullying. What it seems to me, and I could be wrong, is more of a "God's a member of my gang" thing. Just like the KKK used to say God was a charter member of their organization. If you're a Christian and you use it to berate others, what are you trying to accomplish? Conversion? Well I don't think that would work with those tactics. Humiliation? Would Jesus do something like that, not in the Bible I've read.

If Jesus spoke to you or reached out to you and touched you in a way that made you want to be a Christian, why not trust Him to so so for others. I always thought the main creed of Christianity was "to Love one another as I have loved you". Not bash others who don't think as we do.

The stuff that goes on in the name of Jesus in this forum is quite sad. But at the same time if they get some pleasure out of it, I guess it serves its purpose.

No, not really. He talked a lot about love, compassion, peace and harmony, and all that good stuff, but he was clearly playing good cop to the big guy's bad cop. I'd call "worship me as your lord and savior or my dad will burn you for eternity in a pit of fire" the very definition of bullying, and perhaps the most brilliant protection racket ever devised.

She hit me first!

This morning there was a knock at my door. When I answered the door I found a well groomed, nicely dressed couple. The man spoke first:
John: "Hi! I'm John, and this is Mary."
Mary: "Hi! We're here to invite you to come kiss Hank's ass with us."
Me: "Pardon me?! What are you talking about? Who's Hank, and why would I want to kiss His ass?"
John: "If you kiss Hank's ass, He'll give you a million dollars; and if you don't, He'll kick the shit out of you."
Me: "What? Is this some sort of bizarre mob shake-down?"
John: "Hank is a billionaire philanthropist. Hank built this town. Hank owns this town. He can do whatever He wants, and what He wants is to give you a million dollars, but He can't until you kiss His ass."
Me: "That doesn't make any sense. Why..."
Mary: "Who are you to question Hank's gift? Don't you want a million dollars? Isn't it worth a little kiss on the ass?"
Me: "Well maybe, if it's legit, but..."
John: "Then come kiss Hank's ass with us."
Me: "Do you kiss Hank's ass often?"
Mary: "Oh yes, all the time..."
Me: "And has He given you a million dollars?"
John: "Well no. You don't actually get the money until you leave town."
Me: "So why don't you just leave town now?"
Mary: "You can't leave until Hank tells you to, or you don't get the money, and He kicks the shit out of you."
Me: "Do you know anyone who kissed Hank's ass, left town, and got the million dollars?"
John: "My mother kissed Hank's ass for years. She left town last year, and I'm sure she got the money."
Me: "Haven't you talked to her since then?"
John: "Of course not, Hank doesn't allow it."
Me: "So what makes you think He'll actually give you the money if you've never talked to anyone who got the money?"
Mary: "Well, He gives you a little bit before you leave. Maybe you'll get a raise, maybe you'll win a small lotto, maybe you'll just find a twenty-dollar bill on the street."
Me: "What's that got to do with Hank?"
John: "Hank has certain 'connections.'"
Me: "I'm sorry, but this sounds like some sort of bizarre con game."
John: "But it's a million dollars, can you really take the chance? And remember, if you don't kiss Hank's ass He'll kick the shit out of you."
Me: "Maybe if I could see Hank, talk to Him, get the details straight from Him..."
Mary: "No one sees Hank, no one talks to Hank."
Me: "Then how do you kiss His ass?"
John: "Sometimes we just blow Him a kiss, and think of His ass. Other times we kiss Karl's ass, and he passes it on."
Me: "Who's Karl?"
Mary: "A friend of ours. He's the one who taught us all about kissing Hank's ass. All we had to do was take him out to dinner a few times."
Me: "And you just took his word for it when he said there was a Hank, that Hank wanted you to kiss His ass, and that Hank would reward you?"
John: "Oh no! Karl has a letter he got from Hank years ago explaining the whole thing. Here's a copy; see for yourself."
From the Desk of Karl
Kiss Hank's ass and He'll give you a million dollars when you leave town.
Use alcohol in moderation.
Kick the shit out of people who aren't like you.
Eat right.
Hank dictated this list Himself.
The moon is made of green cheese.
Everything Hank says is right.
Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.
Don't use alcohol.
Eat your wieners on buns, no condiments.
Kiss Hank's ass or He'll kick the shit out of you.
Me: "This appears to be written on Karl's letterhead."
Mary: "Hank didn't have any paper."
Me: "I have a hunch that if we checked we'd find this is Karl's handwriting."
John: "Of course, Hank dictated it."
Me: "I thought you said no one gets to see Hank?"
Mary: "Not now, but years ago He would talk to some people."
Me: "I thought you said He was a philanthropist. What sort of philanthropist kicks the shit out of people just because they're different?"
Mary: "It's what Hank wants, and Hank's always right."
Me: "How do you figure that?"
Mary: "Item 7 says 'Everything Hank says is right.' That's good enough for me!"
Me: "Maybe your friend Karl just made the whole thing up."
John: "No way! Item 5 says 'Hank dictated this list himself.' Besides, item 2 says 'Use alcohol in moderation,' Item 4 says 'Eat right,' and item 8 says 'Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.' Everyone knows those things are right, so the rest must be true, too."
Me: "But 9 says 'Don't use alcohol.' which doesn't quite go with item 2, and 6 says 'The moon is made of green cheese,' which is just plain wrong."
John: "There's no contradiction between 9 and 2, 9 just clarifies 2. As far as 6 goes, you've never been to the moon, so you can't say for sure."
Me: "Scientists have pretty firmly established that the moon is made of rock..."
Mary: "But they don't know if the rock came from the Earth, or from out of space, so it could just as easily be green cheese."
Me: "I'm not really an expert, but I think the theory that the Moon was somehow 'captured' by the Earth has been discounted*. Besides, not knowing where the rock came from doesn't make it cheese."
John: "Ha! You just admitted that scientists make mistakes, but we know Hank is always right!"
Me: "We do?"
Mary: "Of course we do, Item 7 says so."
Me: "You're saying Hank's always right because the list says so, the list is right because Hank dictated it, and we know that Hank dictated it because the list says so. That's circular logic, no different than saying 'Hank's right because He says He's right.'"
John: "Now you're getting it! It's so rewarding to see someone come around to Hank's way of thinking."
Me: "But...oh, never mind. What's the deal with wieners?"
Mary: She blushes.
John: "Wieners, in buns, no condiments. It's Hank's way. Anything else is wrong."
Me: "What if I don't have a bun?"
John: "No bun, no wiener. A wiener without a bun is wrong."
Me: "No relish? No Mustard?"
Mary: She looks positively stricken.
John: He's shouting. "There's no need for such language! Condiments of any kind are wrong!"
Me: "So a big pile of sauerkraut with some wieners chopped up in it would be out of the question?"
Mary: Sticks her fingers in her ears."I am not listening to this. La la la, la la, la la la."
John: "That's disgusting. Only some sort of evil deviant would eat that..."
Me: "It's good! I eat it all the time."
Mary: She faints.
John: He catches Mary. "Well, if I'd known you were one of those I wouldn't have wasted my time. When Hank kicks the shit out of you I'll be there, counting my money and laughing. I'll kiss Hank's ass for you, you bunless cut-wienered kraut-eater."
With this, John dragged Mary to their waiting car, and sped off.

that's awesome! where you get that?

Kendra, I'm stealing that.

wish I could claim it!

it's been floating around the internet unsourced for ages

But it's my personal fave.

steal away!

Kendra I pity you, oversimplifying an entire religion down to sauerkraut and hotdogs. I no longer have any respect for you. You just did what the original thread was about without even thinking it. If you don't want to belong to the christian religion thats fine, but don't try and rationalize something that is based ENTIRELY on FAITH. Whether you think you can prove it wrong or not is irrelevent. In fact I pity all of yall who laugh at this trash, religion is not a political base as much as yall would love it to be, it is based on belief's and morals. The fact that you proclaim to support freedom of choice, yet post this makes me think you are highly hypocritical. I would suggest you re-examine your own beliefs or lack thereof before posting anything further.

wow. And I so don't care!

Personally I think the "KIss Hank's Ass" piece is the single best summary of religion I've ever read!

I'd suggest you not tell me what's on my mind when I post something like that.

*Hint* I was dead fucking serious about it.

I know you were "dead fucking serious" and thats the part that is really disturbing. The whole you don't care thing is the single most ineffective excuse ever. You don't care about our feelings yet we are expected to respect yours? Grow up please.

C is for COOKIE silly boy.

I don't expect you to respect my feelings at all.
Nor would I demand that you do.

Like any really good parody that one resonates with people because it contains a great deal of truth. It's a perfect representation of the circular logic people use to justify belief. It applies equally to all religous beliefs that offer a system of reward and punishment that's both intangible and unproveable, incoporates arbitrary and subjective moral dogma (gay marriage bans, anyone?), and exists only on the word of ancient texts that mix ethical truisms with fantasy and factual error (the sky is not an upside down bowl and the stars are not holes to allow the rain to come down, for example). If you're so inclined I'd love to hear you state explicity in what ways the logic of religion differs from the logic in that parable, without resorting to circular logic or emotional argument. Like the characters in the parable, some people believe things simply because they want them to be true while others refuse to believe anything not backed up by proof. Personally, I think "Kiss Hank's Ass" is one of the greatest pieces of satirical writing I've ever read, but then I'm biased.

wow i was just belittling another thread. i didn't realize it would get good.

At least you admit it.

yet you do, this very thread is about that. You complained about someone calling you "dude" and said it was offensive to you, did you not? Here's another example, you are stongly for gay marriage am I right? I am personally apathetic, I don't care either way. Yet you expect me to repsect your right to marry. If you think back, you take my respect for your feelings for granted, but when I comment about how one of your rather naieve(?) little stories or w/e you want to call that trash is personally offensive and shows a lack of respect for others beliefs you respond with "I don't care"