When I think of a theist, particularly the more
fundamentalist types, it brings to mind a particular set of words: I think
arrogant, boastful, and condescending. I might be stereotyping here but it
seems that every theist I have encountered either in person or online is the
proud possessor of the aforementioned qualities. This is particularly true when
they are trying to convert you to their beliefs or as I prefer to call them
superstitions.
The above mentioned accusation is especially true when you
inform them that you were once a former theist or believer yourself. I consider
myself to have given the biblical deity more than a fair try and to have
educated myself thoroughly on what at that time I once professed to believe. I
will even go as far as to say that I have gone further into my beliefs and
practices in those days than most. I prayed constantly, fasted often, read the
bible on my own and in church daily, and when called upon to preach I preached
and ministered to the flock of my home church and other local churches I was
invited to preach in.
As a Christian I read the bible from cover to cover a total
of three times in English and once in Spanish. I’ve read the book of Mormon,
and the New World Translation of the bible (Jehovah’s Witness translation), and
most of the key JW proselytizing materials. All this: to inform myself and be
ready to counter competing belief systems I might come across during my street
ministry. I laid hands on the sick, gave
some a prophetic word of the Lord, cast out demons from those with apparent demon possession
or oppression. I did all of these things believing with all my heart that God
was using me as a vessel to carry out his will and to strengthen and minister
to his flock and those without a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
One thing I find most offensive is when I am discussing my
beliefs (atheist) now as opposed to then with a theist. I get the standard;
“maybe you did not have a true conversion experience,” or “you were not as
committed to the Lord as you thought.” If this response is not arrogant or
condescending then I don’t know what is! It’s a literal slap in the face is
what it is. But in all fairness, the theist is not entirely to blame. You see
as opposed to what many think, the bible teaches this us against them
mentality. It gives believers this superiority complex and the idea that they
are above the rest of the human race that disagrees with their beliefs. This is
one of many contradictory teachings of the bible that is seldom addressed.
On the one hand as it is adequately demonstrated in Jesus
alleged sermon on the mound, believers are instructed to be poor in spirit,
gentle, upright, merciful, pure in heart, and peacemakers. (Matthew 5: 3-11). But
historically, what the Christian faith has given the world is the complete
opposite. Christians are instructed in Matthew 7:1,2
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1 'Do not judge, and you will not be
judged;
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Yet it seems that being human
makes this little commandment impossible, since we are all opinionated about
something and tend to judge everything and everyone around us. While Christians
are told to be meek, mild, patient, and longsuffering etc. they are told how
important they are in the eyes of God. The bible teaches that they shall
inherit the earth and that they are the salt of the earth and the light of
the world (Matthew 5:13-16). They are told that they are not of this world
but chosen by God (John 15:19). Christians are expected to focus on the
things of the spirit and on pleasing God alone. The bible makes a clear distinction
between the world (us) and the man of God (them). Our lives are different as
well as our ambitions and goals.
In James chapter 4:4 the church is
admonished “Adulterers! Do you not realize that love for the world is hatred
for God? Anyone who chooses the world for a friend is constituted an enemy of
God.” The love of the world over the things of the spirit is equated with
adultery which is basically being married and engaging in an illicit affair
with someone who is not your legal partner (unfaithfulness). But in the
religious sense it is being unfaithful to God.
As I have demonstrated, while the
bible admonishes believers to be humble etc. It also strokes the egos of
believers by telling them how special they are. How much more significant
they are in the eyes of their imaginary guy in the sky as compared to the
rest of us who refuse to believe the myth. Is this not a formula for
disaster? Church history has thoroughly confirmed this by being one of the
bloodiest histories ever recorded. Of course you may argue that man used the
bible and misinterpreted its meanings for evil, but then you would have to
try and justify the Hebrews actions for doing the same things as written in
the bible as being commanded directly by Yahweh. The early church
believed that they were doing what was right before God by eliminating all
nonbelievers, heretics, pagans, etc. but they learned from the bible itself that this
was okay.
Christians claim their beliefs to
be absolute truths without any evidence and yet they claim that secularists,
scientists, and nonbelievers are arrogant? Isn’t this the same as the pot
calling the kettle black? This is the greatest and most shining example of
hypocrisy ever known. And what does the bible say about hypocrites? In the
book of Revelations 3:15,16 in an admonishment to the Laodiceans it says:
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I wonder if their response, their challenge to your committment to faith is more a matter of their inability to come to terms with someone who has been there but escaped.
ReplyDeleteIt must be incredibly confusing, and perhaps freightening to them. Maybe it's their way of sorting out the reasons for something that is so inexplicable to them that they can't wrap their heads around it, or apply any other explanation other than an original deep seated flaw.
Just speculating an alternative, given their indoctrination and stunted ability to understand the outside world/reality.
Your theory regarding this negative behavior sounds right on the money Hump! Theists do demonstrate that they have a one track mind. The real world as viewed by the rest of us poses many challenges that are outright contradictory to what many of them have been led to believe. In essence they have been voluntarily blinded by faith.
DeleteI get the standard; “maybe you did not have a true conversion experience,” or “you were not as committed to the Lord as you thought.” If this response is not arrogant or condescending then I don’t know what is!
ReplyDeleteThis is incredibly arrogant -- they are claiming they know better what is or was going on in your head than you do! But it seems they have to be that way. They have a simple, closed-off view of how the world works, and everything that happens must be fitted into that and made consistent with it. They can't ever just acknowledge that they don't know, as a rational person would.
I've had run-ins with strongly religious people and always found that same arrogance. They knew nothing about me but insisted they knew exactly what I ought to believe and why I didn't.
Infidel, thanks for commenting and visiting my blog. Regarding the matter of discussion I feel that theists are experts at making ridiculous assumptions. They assume that since we are not theists that it is impossible that we can live happy and productive lives. That it is impossible for us to know about morals, since in their twisted minds morals come from their imaginary guy in the sky. They say you have fallen from the faith because you took your eyes off of the Lord Jesus etc. But you cant blame them entirely. They are so blind that they can't even see the forest for the trees. It's a virtue to them to be indoctrinated to the point of believing the absurd.
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