Reply #312: Did you folks even READ my OP? Really read it? [View All]

[Kat45]

I very politely explained why it bothered me when people made disparaging remarks about Jesus. I acknowledged that many do not share my beliefs and I had no problem with that. I just tried to explain why it bothered me. And now every nonbeliever is jumping on me and accusing me of trying to shut people up. All I did was ask for common courtesy. That's it. You can tell me all you want about your disbelief, but please don't be mocking me in order to do so. Yes, faith is a private matter and I don't tend to participate in the threads that bother me; I just wanted to let you know that it does bother me: I love Jesus and don't appreciate denigrating remarks. I know he means nothing to some of you. But hey, your mother means nothing to me either but I don't make denigrating remarks about her because she is someone you (presumably) love. Common courtesy.

OK, I will admit that perhaps I'm not especially aware of the persecution etc. experienced by atheists. But that's not so much because I'm a Christian (which I only started identifying with a few years ago). It's because I live in a relatively fundie-free area. I live in the Northeast. New Englanders tend to keep to themselves. People rarely talk about religion, nevermind their particular religion. And to be more precise, I live in the Boston area, the heart of "liberal academia." I would guess that there are more atheists per square mile in this area than in most other areas. It was a long time before I would admit to being a Christian around here, because everyone around here thinks of Christians as fundies. It took me a while before I even started telling people that I had started going to church. So I supposed I don't know what personal experiences may have driven folks to having such a vicious views of Christianity. Just know that those of us trying to live Jesus message are nothing like those who pervert his name to their own ends. Peace.