There’s a large amount of trauma and pain behind that scorning, and the realization that for much of that truama and pain, the only acknowledgement we get from far too many christians, even leftist leaning ones is, “God has a plan”
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I’ve been staying out of this thread because I am a Preacher’s Kid, and I consider myself an atheist. For me, the argument always feels like re-hash. Separating yourself from religion is not easy when everyone is expecting you to be the one to follow in your father’s footsteps. It was so tough to be independent but still try to be respectful to my dad’s beliefs (and not tarnish his image within the congregation), but once I turned 18 he allowed me to do as I chose, which was stop going to church.
Thanks for your support.
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Seems to me that would make your input especially valid.
I consider myself an agnostic, having long since moved away from the penecostal attempts at indoctrination which I was exposed to as a youth.
No one has any evidence for what they personally believe or disbelieve and so the never-ending argument becomes insufferably tedious whenever smug zealots of either bent insist on dredging it up yet again…
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I call this incident “Jesus Opens a Can on the Conservatives.”
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One of the things that blows folks’ minds (from a PK perspective) is my belief that I will wink out of existence when I die just as easily as I came in.
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Many folks think that, and that’s okay by me.
The idea utterly terrifies others, though.
For me, I kinda take comfort in the unknown.
Energy never dies; it just changes form.
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I wanna know what you’re thinking 
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this is not particularly comforting to me. my mom said it was a very long labor 
that phrase is so insufferable to me. especially because evangelicals then ascribe every good thing they take for themselves as part of the plan, and every bad thing they do to other people as also part of the plan. ( it’s just amazing how much god must love them /s )
anybody pretending like they know for a fact the way things work… it lacks the humility that i think we should all have.
there are christians who believe strongly in free will ( as opposed to the calvinist predestination that “the plan” implies ) – i think it’s probably just rarer in america than elsewhere.
yeah, this. they also have taken the mantles of “patriotism”, “family values”, “tradition”, and “the true meaning of christmas” … err, i mean the constitution.
it’s hogwash. none of those things are theirs. if anything, they’ve twisted all of those around to the exact opposite meanings.
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I mean before you were born you didn’t exist and it was okay for you then, right? Kinda the same thought I have.
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Was it okay? I don’t remember what non-existence was like…but I do understand I was crying afterward, which doesn’t make it sound all that good to me.
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To be fair, it could have been the shock of going from a nice, warm, safe space to… you know… here… I mean… look at this place. 
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And through a space that literally re-shapes your body for a little while! Very painful! For both parties!
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But what does that have to do with Christianity declining in adherents?
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The thing is, if you actually read the Bible (which I have despite being an atheist as an adult), you learn that it is isn’t all smiles and rainbows. The Bible is a horrific book and anyone who takes it seriously would have to be horrific as well.
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Sure. It’s not at all because there are Christians who are raging fascists… /s
And those are?
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I think that the points you’re making could just as easily be applied to other major religions. It’s one of the reasons why I, as an atheist, still appreciate the rich tapestry of faith around the world.
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Belief is not facts. It can be your truth, but it doesn’t mean it universal. And this is how we get to people being targeted for not conforming to other’s “truths.”
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If that is what you seek, then I am sure that that is what you will find, inshallah.
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