Why is it that people who seem to passionately believe there is no god. Insist that:
1) Christians should prove that there is a god.
2) Christians should respect other people’s beliefs by not saying they’ll go to hell.
3) Christians are brainwashed sheep.
I”m well aware that there’s many non-Christians that don’t say these things. I have also come across plenty of people spouting these ideas in a single rant and I think that they are being a hypocritical and not really making much sense at all.
If being alive and experiencing creation, happiness, sadness, love, isn’t enough to convince you of a creator then surely the onus isn’t on Christians to provide more proof. Sometimes I think the tone of the questions and accusations almost beg for proof – why is it that people want to believe, but don’t?
Yes, people don’t like being told they’re going to hell. No, I haven’t actually heard many Christians ever tell a non-Christian that they are going to hell. The fact is that Christians believe that all people have done something wrong at some point and are separated from God because he is holy. Yes, Christians should respect other people’s but that doesn’t mean they should agree with them and it doesn’t remove their desire to share their beliefs. Believe it or not it’s out of love; Christians want their friends and family and even people they don’t know to be right with God and to know him. How is that disrespectful?
So after whinging about how high and mighty, disrespectful and intolerant we are, we get called brainwashed. We get accused of not thinking for ourselves. Just because you feel wrong-done-by, does that give you the right to do wrong to others?
“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.” – Marcello Truzzi
Christians (or believers in god(s), god, etc.) are making the extraordinary claim that there is a supernatural being, entity, force, whatever out there… and that’s just scratching the surface of the extraordinary claims that Christians, etc. make.
No, sorry the burden of proof is on you.
Hi Adam, this is a really old post, I wonder how you found your way to it!
Yep, I guess that’s why God parted the Red Sea, led his people around the desert by fire and cloud, spontaneously lit an altar, did countless miracles through Jesus including raising him from the dead. God has revealed himself, and if you choose not to believe the ways in which he’s done that, then okay.
I think what I was really speaking against when I wrote this post was that in some strange post modern mish-mash it’s okay for Atheists to tell Christians they’re flat-out wrong, but not the other way around. That Bible believing Christians are called intolerant, but atheists are not when they accuse Christians of believing in fantasy.
I understand that people will have differing beliefs and people can think that I’m stupid if they want to, but it’s silly that non-Christians should tell Christians they’re insensitive and wrong by being insensitive themselves. It’s hypocritical.
Hope that clarifies what I think may have been an unclear post (and what was ironically called ‘Sick of the whinging’ while I had a whinge).
I found your site via diythemes… I was browsing your site when I saw your Atheist tag and one thing lead to another.
I commented, despite the age of the post because your first point you said that you were upset that Christians have to prove that there is a god. It struck me.
Just to put it all in context – I am a former Christian… to much to go into here as to why but one of the main reasons is that there is simply no evidence of a god, Christian or otherwise.
See it’s easy for you to talk about God parting the Red Sea, lighting the alter, preformed miracle after miracle but there is simply no verifiable, scientific proof that any of that happened. It’s simply folklore, stories. Why doesn’t God do anything like that now? All your points of evidence supposedly happened thousands of years ago; their irrelevant today. No one alive today saw them happen.
I’m not saying that science has all the answers (yet) but what science does have is evidence, and in many cases solid proof.
If I say “I can float in the air” you will want proof, solid, tangible proof. Based on my claim the only acceptable proof would be for you to see me float in the air. Based on your claim the only acceptable proof would be to see god, and even then you’d have to explain to me why I should worship him.
Just the claim of the existence of god (never mind the other stuff) requires proof, solid, tangible proof. My point is that you should not feel frustrated that people ask you for proof. The burden of proof is on you because you are the one making the extraordinary claim.
I do not think you are stupid, I used to be a believer… people are free to believe what they want as I am free to not believe what I want.
I thought that might have been how you got here, I noticed you’re using Thesis 🙂
I really do understand your perspective (or not completely understand it, but see where you’re coming from I guess). I have looked around and wondered if our creation is as random as science would suggest… As a scientist, or just finishing up my study as one, I feel qualified to say that a lot of science is over-rated.
As for my first point about proving God exists, you’re probably right that the onus is on Christians to prove that God exists (actually it’s really on God to reveal himself), but I would ask an atheist to prove that he doesn’t… That is, I would if I thought it were possible to prove a negative, which it isn’t, and the only way to prove something is wrong is to prove that something else, which contradicts the first, is right. I don’t think science has done that (but obviously many do).
I didn’t think you were calling me stupid, but I have heard it before.
p.s. Your gravatar/profile pic is classic. Very cool.
I just saw Bill Maher’s movie “Religulous” and man was that an eye opener. He’s an atheist or more likely an agnostic that explains his case through humor and logic. A very interesting view.
Tom — I hadn’t heard of that movie. It certainly looks funny and interesting, but a well rounded documentary it isn’t, so an eye opener? Well, I’d have to see it to know for sure (and I will try to watch it). Anyone can make anything look ridiculous, all it shows is that humans can be stupid.
Thanks for bringing the movie to my attention.