Do christians/Jews/Muslims/others? merely tolerate Atheists?

[churchcamefirst]

In Islam, we believe that everyone is born upon what is called “Fitra”, its natural state of knowing there is a Creator, the ONE CREATOR of all.

In Islam, those who deny the message of God, are disbelievers.

Push an atheist out of a plane and see what he says…what comes out of his lips, off his tongue.

americanrevert

The only one Creator, and who is also your Creator is Jesus Christ.
Whosoever denies the Christ, will surely perish eternally. This is my belief, the only belief.

 

[notsmart]

Notsmart - Could you be more direct? I’m not totally following you.

I think you are saying that evangelizing is okay, because everyone is familiar with it. But don’t think badly about the person you are evangelizing?? Is that what you are saying?

If that is what you are saying, then why would a Christian think highly of a pagan or gentile?

I never metioned thinking highly in this.

You can choose one or the other:

1. tolerate atheists
   2)love atheists

Which do you?

 

[Lisa44]

I never metioned thinking highly in this.

You can choose one or the other:

1. tolerate atheists
   2)love atheists

Which do you?

I love the person, not the “atheist.”

If I loved the “atheist” I would be condoning atheism.
I can love someone and not love their choices.

 

[notsmart]

I love the person, not the “atheist.”

If I loved the “atheist” I would be condoning atheism.
I can love someone and not love their choices.

So, you can love the person but not love atheism?
Is that what you meant?
Because your first scentence makes no sense.

 

[Ghoti]

Lisa, I dont think atheists would mind someone saying, hey I am a christian and want to tell you about God or Jesus and how to know him.
Most people already know the routine. Thank you but no thank you, or tell me more is usually the response to this evangelizing.
I have never met a person in my life that who had never heard of the bible or Jesus or Christians, or Jews, or Muslims.
So, no problem with someone evangelizing.
Problem with how the person is viewed.

I think the average garden-variety atheist would feel the same way about evangelicals as Catholics do when confronted by Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses. Or Amway dealers.

Some atheists are just that – atheist – and leave it at that. I know a few like that. I have had many rewarding discussions with atheists and agnostics. I know one atheist I corresponded with who was surprised at my attitudes toward evolution/creationism, given that I consider myself a fairly orthodox Catholic. We had a long rational discussion about the scientific method, the nature and provability of God, and the relationship of religion and science, faith and reason.

Others are similar to fundamentalist KJV-only Christians or Feeneyite Catholics. They look down on all believers (regardless of belief) as deluded or otherwise mentally deficient. Some go as far as to say that non-atheists should not be allowed to hold public office or teach children, that the work of all theistic scientists must be naturally suspect, etc. Penn Gillette, for example, refers to Christians as “Chris-tards” (a portmanteau of “Christ” and “retard”, I expect). At the mildest, they are very smug and condescending – same as any theist who is convinced s/he has a lockdown on the “truth” and everyone else is somehow a benighted mental midget. Sort of the way many Christians feel when dealing with the “tinfoil hat” set: the “crystal weenies”, “pyramidiots”, etc.

Love is not optional: Jesus commanded us to love all, did He not? As for tolerance: it can go both ways. Some would like tolerance to go to the point where no one would be allowed to say anything bad about anyone else. Thus for some, Christians who oppose homosexual marriage or abortion and speak out thus, would be lumped into the same category as Holocaust deniers and KKK hate-mongers. As has already seemed to happen in Canada (re: gay marriage) and the UK (re: abortion).

Militant atheism is a threat to Christianity as much as is militant Islam, although most likely with different methods. OTOH, militant Atheism is a threat to Islam as well… because as I see it, all militant mindsets are inimical to all mindsets outside of themselves – a form of theological xenophobia.

I can (try to – God willing) love all of mankind. I can tolerate beliefs or mindsets that do not will my destruction or subjugation, or the triumph of evil or wickedness.

But I cannot – will not – tolerate asparagus.

 

[notsmart]

But I cannot – will not – tolerate asparagus

For me, I cannot --will not— tolerate “Bratz” toys in my house.

 

[dzheremi]

Maybe my atheist friends are unusually perceptive and kind, but I have found that in my discussions with them about God and faith, they have generally been positive about the tenents of Christianity as they know it through me while still maintaining a rejection of the system as a whole. I don’t underline “through me” out of any desire for personal glory, only to emphasize that through knowing me and what kind of person I am it gives them a different perspective on Christianity than if they only heard about it from people like Pat Robertson or Jerry Fallwell, because I think for so many atheists those people ARE Christianity.

To know a Christian as their friend who sincerely loves them and wishes only the best for them softens their stance on Christians even as they remain unaccepting of Christianity as a belief system just as surely as knowing them as atheists who sincerely love me softens my view of atheists as people even though I would never accept their views as my own. This is a very important reason we must LOVE atheists, not merely tolerate them (though some of them strain our abilities to do even that, I’ll admit), in addition to the fact that our Lord’s teachings command us to love ALL and to treat people as we would like to be treated. It is so very hard to hate the one who you know so well, even if you disagree with them in the most important matter. Or, as a friend of mine once put it: “It’s just that…well, y’know, you’re Christian, and you seem like a really well-adjusted guy!”

Privately, I had a nice little chuckle over that one.

 

[grandfather]

**

Push an atheist out of a plane and see what he says…what comes out of his lips, off his tongue**.

]

Sounds very Islamic.

 

[notsmart]

Maybe my atheist friends are unusually perceptive and kind, but I have found that in my discussions with them about God and faith, they have generally been positive about the tenents of Christianity as they know it through me while still maintaining a rejection of the system as a whole. I don’t underline “through me” out of any desire for personal glory, only to emphasize that through knowing me and **what kind of person I am **it gives them a different perspective on Christianity than if they only heard about it from people like Pat Robertson or Jerry Fallwell, because I think for so many atheists those people ARE Christianity.

**To know a Christian as their friend who sincerely loves them **and wishes only the best for them softens their stance on Christians even as they remain unaccepting of Christianity as a belief system just as surely as knowing them as atheists who sincerely love me softens my view of atheists as people even though I would never accept their views as my own. This is a very important reason we must LOVE atheists, not merely tolerate them (though some of them strain our abilities to do even that, I’ll admit), in addition to the fact that **our Lord’s teachings command us to love ALL **and to treat people as we would like to be treated. It is so very hard to hate the one who you know so well, even if you disagree with them in the most important matter. Or, as a friend of mine once put it: “It’s just that…well, y’know, you’re Christian, and you seem like a really well-adjusted guy!”

Privately, I had a nice little chuckle over that one.

I highlighted the parts that would have helped me in my past, had only I known a christian like this poster.

 

[abucs]

In Islam, we believe that everyone is born upon what is called “Fitra”, its natural state of knowing there is a Creator, the ONE CREATOR of all.

Yes, i can’t help thinking that young children reflect the essence of God very clearly.

 

[pyreshadow]

i’m going to give you a third person veiw of this “problem”. no, im not catholic, but however i can still watch this situation like i am watching tv. what i mean by that is the person watching the tv knows more than the people in the tv. now im not a know it all, because even the person watching the tv, there’s still things hidden within the show on the tv. ok moving on.
its not a matter if Catholics should tolerate or love a persons who are atheist, or agnostic. or the other way around. in the point of view of the catholics the atheist are cold-hearted, unfriendly, and not understanding people full of hate. but at the same time the atheist feel that people with religions wont leave them alone, are insensitive, foolish, and “are out to get you”. atheist feel the need to lash out and prove they dont need a god to live their lives happily or simply doesnt believe god is even real. my remedy is that both of these different views should be respected and not pushed to be changed. just let it alone and live your own lives. i feel that if everyone respect everyone’s own faith or path then there would be so much less fights and pains in this world. i know that this god would much rather people live in different faiths and paths (or even no faith at all) in peace, then everyone fighting over (killing over) of who’s right and who’s wrong.
god wants his people to live free. if he didnt…well everyone would be his mindless worshipers.

 

[notsmart]

Yes, i can’t help thinking that young children reflect the essence of God very clearly.

Young children are filled with every possible goodness that I can imagine.
Yet they can still be the meanest bullies too.
I don’t know what to think about this one.