Charlie Lewis of the Holy Post has offered another opinion piece on the relationship between atheists and believers. You can read it here. Among the numerous comments that have been generated, Charlie responds to one poster in a manner that succinctly brings a light to the reason why we believers demand that our voices be heard in the public square. I share it in the hopes that it might generate a discussion here on his assessment.
Good will to all men? Not from the grumpy atheists! (Thank God not all atheists are grumpy but there sure seems to be a lot of them)
Why is it that so many in the atheist community cannot bring themselves to get past their anger whenever they engage in discussions? The language of many of their contributions in public debate is laced with invective and dripping with sarcasm and bile. There are exceptions of course, but they tend to fall more into the category of being the 'exception that proves the rule' when compared to the hostility of many of today's atheist posters. Comment offered by the theists in the public square is often depicted as being 'malicious' or 'venomous' and intended to enslave the 'feeble minded and weak' by those who post. Nothing could be further from the truth. Venom is something that is oriented to death. Christians are oriented in a 180 degree different direction. We speak not to the culture of death that grips our world but rather for the culture of life and light which ends with the gift of eternal life. For example, the Catholic Church in its hum...
To answer some of Charlie's points: "I'm just as valuable a citizen as you are."
ReplyDeleteOf course you are. But you're not more valuable. Not for any reason. But especially not for reasons of religious affiliation. Or lack of it.
"The other issue is you're assuming all religions are the same."
And it appears as though you assume all atheists are the same. It also appears that you view all non-Christians as atheists.
"...the concern of many religious people is in the realm of social justices, relieving third world debt, reducing poverty."
You're saying that as if you think non-religious folk do not care about social justice, poverty, and debt. When did such become strictly the purview of religion?
"Give me one concrete example of someone trying to shove anything down your throat."
Political activity, trying to enact laws for the entire country based on one's own religious ideals, when they are not voluntarily shared by everyone else. You, personally, may not do it, but there are your co-religionists who do, and they claim to be speaking for you, too! And they are loud and insistent about that. So if you, personally, do not like being lumped in with all those irritating buttinskies on street corners who iinsist that they do, indeed, speak for you, then hadn't you better take it up with them?
Lady Janus
ReplyDeleteit is wonderful to live in a free country where "political activity" is open to everyone...so if a group is lobbying for something you don't agree with you are just as free to lobby against it so sharing in them is not a requirement...depending on the issue i believe it is passion and conviction and where we lobby or protest or not is always an individual decision.
I hope u have a wonderful Christmas and that 2011 will be a year filled with many blessings and with wishes that come true:))
Mary, you are misunderstanding me. I am not against political activity for anyone. I am against someone else's religious agenda's being applied to me without my consent, courtesy of that politicial activity!
ReplyDeleteI am having an exhausting Yule (great fun, these Yule festivals, but oh! so ennervating!), and plan on hiding from the world for a week after sundown tomorrow. Today. The twenty-first.
You have a wonderful Christmas!
Lady Janus,
ReplyDelete"Political activity, trying to enact laws for the entire country based on one's own religious ideals, when they are not voluntarily shared by everyone else. You, personally, may not do it, but there are your co-religionists who do, and they claim to be speaking for you, too!"
Everyone, regardless of what religion they are, or no religion, or agnostic, or athiest, is entitled to lobby the government through legal ways to try get them enact laws which they wish to have. I suppose if you don't agree with a particular law, you could say it is being forced down your throat, but that is the essence of democracy isn't it? What was that famous saying, a government or leader can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time or something like that? Seasons greetings.