Hate: A Four Letter Word
Comments that I get tired of hearing:
- Atheists just hate God.
- Atheists hate Christians.
- Atheists have a negative outlook on life.
As an atheist, I can assure you that I do not hate god. The statement that an atheist hates god is about as nonsensical as saying that Christians hate sentient hamburgers. In order for someone to “hate” something, one must actually believe that the something exists. How can I possibly hate that which I do not believe exists? Please, I would really like an answer to this one.
As for hating Christians (or any other theist, for that matter), nothing could be further from the truth. For the most part, I do not know you. Just like the example above, I would have to have a certain degree of knowledge about you before I could decide whether or not I “hate” you. Seems rather fundamental to me.
As for the negative outlook, I would contend that theists hold more of a negative outlook on life than an atheist would. Otherwise, why look forward to a “paradise?” I think that I would rather bring about positive change in the world that I know exists than wait for the “next life,” which is, to say the least, unproven.
Yes, there are things in this life that I hate. Bigotry, for example. Homophobia would be another example of things I hate. Injustice is a good one. Narrow-mindedness. That’s a big one.
So, if you are a narrow-minded, homophobic person that happens to hate others due to their gender, race, creed, age or disability and you just happen to be a Christian… Well, I think you see where I am going with this.
I was watching a tv program the other day where a pastor was going on and on about the hate the atheists have; as we do not have the love of God. He preaches it from the pulpit; no wonder there are such misconceptions about atheists.
(I admit iI sometimes watch church tv)
We are not judgmental towards gays or lesbians, we don’t tell our children masturbation is sin (or sex out of wedlock); so many things we are tolerant about that believers are not.
I want to add that morality & do not come from the Bible, the Torah, the
Quran or any religion.
Believers tend to think we are without morals because we don’t have an invisible alien watching us 24/7 (which I always find voyeuristic to say the least).
Isn’t a sentient hamburger a cow?
Considering that the term “sentient” involves self awareness, something which cows have not displayed, no. Also, hamburger would be better described as “dead meat,” in which case, sentience would not be possible. But, thanks for playing.
mmmmm… Hamburgers….
{Rival goes off to find ground-up cow carcass}
Hamburgers…
Humans, including theists, and especially American Christians, tend to see their own motives in the actions of others. These are people who have painted the world in black and white, good and evil, god-warriors and devil-worshipers. They do not acknowledge a middle ground, which is why just saying that you don’t have any belief in god at all makes you an enemy of theirs and their god. The false dichotomies that they have built around themselves even go as far as their own emotions – either love or hate. They love god, they love their baby Jesus, and they love all fetuses, and they pretty much hate everyone else for their sin, for their opinions, or, in the case of other Christians, for their lack of “real faith.” Their idea of love is wrapped up in a fictional character, and their hate is diluted over all the billions of people on the planet. In other words, they say the words love and hate, but they have only the most pale vision of either.
They don’t seem to account for all the gray area that I see. There are only a few targets for my love, and only a few targets for my hate, and in those cases, both love and hate are pure, acute, and powerful. I reserve those positions for only the most critical and important things, objects I deem worthy of my desire or fury. Most everything else in the world fits somewhere between those two extremes, in a normal distribution with a peak in the middle at “indifference.”
Compare that to the thinly-veiled Christian hatred of everything and everyone that doesn’t live up to their moral superiority. That’s how they look at the world, and that’s how they assume everyone else does, too. So they think that when I say how much I disapprove of religion, religion in government, religion in politics, and so forth, that I must “hate” it. What they don’t know is that it’s simply not on the same plane as the real, untainted hatred I hold for only a handful of individuals. It’s no wonder that they ascribe to us atheists the same emotions that they feel: diluted hatred for everything remotely dissimilar to their ideals.
As I once said to a Christian who accused me of hating her:
“No, I don’t hate you. I barely even know you. If you think this is hatred, then you’ve never really been hated by anyone. And you think your love for god, a character that exists only in an ancient storybook, is total and overwhelming love. If you think that’s love, then you’ve never been loved before, either.”
Okay, I made with the words. I’m going to get my hamburger.
mmmm… hamburger…
If you’re ever in the Akron, Ohio area, make sure you stop at Swenson’s for a great burger.
Ok, back to hate…
Hate isn’t always wrong, but please, reserve it for when it is right! Save up your hate for child molesters, pimps, drug dealers, Bill O’Reilly, axe murderers, Ann Coulter, ex-wives, and yippie dogs. Oh, and Hugh Jackman.
I mega-loathe you all,
Rival
/sarcasm
I’m sorry.
Christian’s give a false impression on people when they tell everyone that they need Jesus.
but.
It all comes with a choice.
I am truly sorry.
Love,
A christian girl