[iamzack]

I'm open to the idea that a religious person I meet just might maybe possibly be cool. I won't hold my breath. I've only known one decent religious person ever, and even she tried to convert me multiple times.

[Qent]

I promise I won't even try to convert you.

[iamzack]

Being ragetastic and mocking religious beliefs usually works that way

[el_magnifico]

If a majority of christians supported gay rights and sexual equality, we'd have gay rights and sexual equality in christian majority countries.

That doesn't takes into account other factors and exaggerates the influence of religion on legislation. Religions aren't the only conservative institutions in the world, you know.

Ultimately:

Same-sex marriage currently is legal in Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden and Portugal.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage#Country-wide_recognition

Spain:
Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%

Belgium:
Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25%

Canada:
Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census)

Sweden:
Lutheran 87%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 13%

Norway:
Church of Norway 85.7%, Pentecostal 1%, Roman Catholic 1%, other Christian 2.4%, Muslim 1.8%, other 8.1% (2004)

Portugal:
Portuguese society is Roman Catholic. 84.5% of the population are Roman Catholic and 2.2% being other Christian faiths.

I'm open to the idea that a religious person I meet just might maybe possibly be cool. I won't hold my breath. I've only known one decent religious person ever, and even she tried to convert me multiple times.

Hmmm... maybe I haven't been clear enough: I don't care if you're going to hell or not. No, really, I don't care. So I'm not going to try to convert you because I don't care.

[Solatar]

To be fair, I usually assume atheists are angry 16 year old self-proclaimed nihilists who refuse to accept others' positive views on the world.  When I see an atheist, all I see is somebody who hates life and everything in it, and will go to great lengths to try to make me feel stupid for not sharing their own ridiculous beliefs that enjoying myself is stupid.

But I do judge on a case-by-case basis if I'd like to interact with you.

[General Battuta]

To be fair, I usually assume atheists are angry 16 year old self-proclaimed nihilists who refuse to accept others' positive views on the world.  When I see an atheist, all I see is somebody who hates life and everything in it, and will go to great lengths to try to make me feel stupid for not sharing their own ridiculous beliefs that enjoying myself is stupid.

But I do judge on a case-by-case basis if I'd like to interact with you.

Being atheist isn't inherently negative. For a lot of atheists, the notion that the human race can handle itself without some kind of paternalistic care is a very positive one. And the idea that the universe is a mindless, mechanistic natural wonder is awe-inspiring.

[iamzack]

To be fair, I usually assume atheists are angry 16 year old self-proclaimed nihilists who refuse to accept others' positive views on the world.  When I see an atheist, all I see is somebody who hates life and everything in it, and will go to great lengths to try to make me feel stupid for not sharing their own ridiculous beliefs that enjoying myself is stupid.

But I do judge on a case-by-case basis if I'd like to interact with you.

I'm not an atheist, so that's irrelevant. Also I'm a hedonist, so I don't get why you're implying I don't enjoy life.

*snip*

Six countries out of how many Christian majority countries?

[Solatar]

I'm not an atheist, so that's irrelevant. Also I'm a hedonist, so I don't get why you're implying I don't enjoy life.

Just making sweeping generalizations. 

[iamzack]

About atheists being angry 16 year olds? Yeah, I make the same one all the time.

[Nuclear1]

Maybe the notion of negativity in atheists comes more from the stress involved in "coming out" to particularly religious family or friends, and the fear of being shunned. 

[el_magnifico]

To be fair, I usually assume atheists are angry 16 year old self-proclaimed nihilists who refuse to accept others' positive views on the world.  When I see an atheist, all I see is somebody who hates life and everything in it, and will go to great lengths to try to make me feel stupid for not sharing their own ridiculous beliefs that enjoying myself is stupid.

But I do judge on a case-by-case basis if I'd like to interact with you.

That's a baseless generalization.
And I find it a bit offensive, dare I add.

[Scotty]

*snip*

Six countries out of how many Christian majority countries?

And only two non-Christian majority country.  That's why he linked the stats.  According to that, there are more Christian majority countries that allow same-sexmarraige than non-Christian majority countries.  He was proving that

If a majority of christians supported gay rights and sexual equality, we'd have gay rights and sexual equality in christian majority countries.

We do.

[Kosh]

Six countries out of how many Christian majority countries?

Notice that none of those countries had a large evangelical minority. Coincidence?

To be fair, I usually assume atheists are angry 16 year old self-proclaimed nihilists who refuse to accept others' positive views on the world.  When I see an atheist, all I see is somebody who hates life and everything in it, and will go to great lengths to try to make me feel stupid for not sharing their own ridiculous beliefs that enjoying myself is stupid.

But I do judge on a case-by-case basis if I'd like to interact with you.

And I usually assume religious people are uneducated fear mongers trying to impose their fantastical BS on everyone else.  But I do judge on a case-by-case basis if I'd like to interact with you.

How do you think it feels for a 10 year old to be told they are "going to go to hell" because they dont share your rediculous beliefs?


Take this:

That's a baseless generalization.
And I find it a bit offensive, dare I add.

I don't know where he is from, but in America discrimination against atheists is par for the course.

[iamzack]

seven (I think S. Africa is Christian majority, actually) out of all these purple countries:


The majority of Christians do not support gay rights.

And to put the one nonreligious country that allows gay marriage into context... there's only like ten countries in the world that even have a nonreligious majority.

If a majority of christians supported gay rights and sexual equality, we'd have gay rights and sexual equality in A MAJORITY OF christian majority countries.

fixt, ok? now the claim i made makes sense.

[el_magnifico]

*snip*

Six countries out of how many Christian majority countries?

And only two non-Christian majority country.  That's why he linked the stats.  According to that, there are more Christian majority countries that allow same-sexmarraige than non-Christian majority countries.  He was proving that

If a majority of christians supported gay rights and sexual equality, we'd have gay rights and sexual equality in christian majority countries.

We do.

To be fair, maybe South Africa also has a Christian majority*. I checked, but there were a lot of religions and I felt too lazy to calculate.
My own country, Argentina (Roman Catholic majority, by a wide margin), is about to approve gay marriage. The bill has already passed the Chamber of Deputies with a comfortable margin, it's probably going to pass the Senate too, and president Cristina Kirchner is definitely not going to veto it, so as far as I care, it's quite probably a law already.

Besides, Christianity is only 33% of the population worldwide, not enough to justify the lack of gay marriage in almost every country in the world.

If a majority of christians supported gay rights and sexual equality, we'd have gay rights and sexual equality in A MAJORITY OF christian majority countries.

fixt, ok? now the claim i made makes sense.

Thank you.

*: Checked iamzack's post, and yes, South Africa actually has a Christian majority.

[iamzack]

Besides, Christianity is only 33% of the population worldwide, not enough to justify the lack of gay marriage in almost every country in the world.

Islam makes up another 21% of the population. We already know how that majority feels about sexual equality.

[el_magnifico]

How do you think it feels for a 10 year old to be told they are "going to go to hell" because they dont share your rediculous beliefs?

Well, if you are like me, first you were scared, then you felt guilty, maybe a little sad, or frustrated. Maybe now you ask to yourself if they really had to be so cruel.

When I was around 8, my mother, a nice, intelligent, adorable person, told me exactly the same when I complained about having to go to church. Because, lets face it, it's boring as hell, especially for a child.
These persons aren't trying to hurt you. In fact, they care about you and are trying to help you. The problem is, they are wrong. At least in Roman Catholicism, fullfilling a ritual is useless if it's void of any content. If you don't know why you are doing something and actually wish to do it, you can do all the rituals, and you're still going to hell. You have to live with faith inside, do with faith in your life, and do all the rituals. That's why I gave up long ago . Scaring childs is useless... no, it's actually counterproductive, because you associate negative feelings with something that's supposed to make you feel good.

So yes, I know how it feels. And I know they hurt you back then. And if someone from my religion did that, I apologize on their behalf.
I know it's hard, but do try to forget it, because it's ultimately hurting you, not them.

[Solatar]

For the record; I don't actually think negatively of atheists (or any religion/lack of).

From what I've read in the last few pages of this thread, people seem to be grossly overgeneralizing religion in general.  Crap generalizations work both ways. I was merely returning the favor.
 

[General Battuta]

For the record; I don't actually think negatively of atheists (or any religion/lack of).

From what I've read in the last few pages of this thread, people seem to be grossly overgeneralizing religion in general.  Crap generalizations work both ways. I was merely returning the favor.
 

I concur with this sentiment.

[el_magnifico]

For the record; I don't actually think negatively of atheists (or any religion/lack of).

Ok.

From what I've read in the last few pages of this thread, people seem to be grossly overgeneralizing religion in general.  Crap generalizations work both ways. I was merely returning the favor.
 

Don't do it. While I feel as irritated as you do with such generalizations, returning the favor is only going to make things worse.
They don't act that way because they intend to offend you, they probably just feel threatened and are acting out of a supposed need to defend themselves. You don't know what they have passed, or the motives behind their behaviour.