by Elsewhere 35 Replies latest jw friends
It's because they've already judged you that you are going to Hell, and they are afraid you are going to drag them down with you by saying some magical words that might turn THEM into Athiests.
Also, you're an Athiest, why should they bother with you? Something about throwing Pearls to swine comes to their mind.
Yeah, I think it's the beard.
*** Rubs against Scully ***
My thoughts are that they are threatened because athiests have gone to court and won so many church/state decisions (in the US). They see athiests as a threat to their worship in that way. They see the christian/judeo belief system as the backbone of the country and any other belief as a threat to the values that they think that represents. At any rate, that is what I have heard many times from christians here in the states.
Now you know I would love to go off on that, but I'm restraining myself.
Sherry
Reading Sherry's post I realise I was only speaking from a French standpoint: here such religious issues are clearly limited to private relationships. As it is, any religious demonstration from a politician or public officer definitely runs against his/her interests.
They probably don't "dislike" you so much, as fear their god.
People are religious because they believe they are going to get something out of it. Association with you could jeopardize that.
j
People are religious because they believe they are going to get something out of it. Association with you could jeopardize that.
Wow!! What a correct statement!! I believe that 100%
I could never understand why a lot (not all) of religious people claim that if they go to church and become born-again, they will go to Heaven when they die and have a Mansion in Heaven and all that. Also, they believe that whatever they give to the Church, God will give back 10 Fold, Measured Out, Tamped Down.
Always sounded Materialistic to me. It always made me wonder, are they going to church just to get these things, or are they going there to worship God?
Are we equating "non-religous" with "athiest"?
I suspect they might think that you are against what the believe...as in refuting everything they hold dear.
I don't want to stereotype, but as to cases when this does happen, I think that under74 is right on the money.
One time when I told a co-worker that I was an atheist (in context, of course; I don't bring up religion as a topic of conversation), I think she was genuinely shocked. She wasn't offended, just surprised. I suspect that she probably had a conception of atheists as arrogant, immoral people. It's a little like when we used to tell people that we were Witnesses, and they were shocked. "But you seem so normal!"
I think that, especially in places where the culture is very dominantly Christian (e.g. Idaho, or Texas), some people don't realize that atheism is just another belief system, and that atheists aren't against mom and apple pie and everything good. So when you non-chalantly say "I'm an atheist", it's a little bit as if you had said "oh, yes, I'm a neo-Nazi" or "let's go destroy the fabric of society."
Okay, I'm exaggerating a little. But I think you get my point.
StinkyPantz wrote:
Are we equating "non-religous" with "athiest"?
I don't think there's nearly the same reaction to being non-religious, or even to being agnostic. Those are both perfectly acceptable in our secular society. But "atheism" is still a dirty word in much of the U.S.
Obviously you are not like them, it goes farther than someone who may just believe in a different religion so it is even more of a difference - or so it appears. Basically, I just look at it all as people who think differently, not all that much reason to get excited about either way.
