Why do they get offended?

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Why do some people (who believe in a certain faith) get offended or angry when someone doesn't share the same belief as them? They suddenly get angry, and often times they feel the person w/ a different view as them is being obnoxious. Why does this happen?

Your guess is as good as mine as to why they suddenly start spewing so much venom. It would seem to me if they have all the tenets of the faith and/or religion which they hold up as their own; that, they would also be tolerant and accepting of other roads to spiritual bliss.

Sturgis wrote:

Your guess is as good as mine as to why they suddenly start spewing so much venom. It would seem to me if they have all the tenets of the faith and/or religion which they hold up as their own; that, they would also be tolerant and accepting of other roads to spiritual bliss.

Sturgis, actually, you pretty much hit the nail on the head here. We are to be accepting and tolerant of other's choices. I am a Christian and I believe that what Christ teaches is that yes, we tell of Him and His teachings, but if the person we are telling that to gets angry or doesn't want to hear it we are to stop. We are only to plant the seed. I really hate it when I hear people say that all Christians try to force their beliefs down everyone's throats. That is not what we are supposed to do.

When your perch is precarious, every little breeze is frightening.

rosborne979 wrote:

When your perch is precarious, every little breeze is frightening.

This is really spot on in answering the question. Christianity (I use this as an example due to my experience with it) holds to the principle that the only way to heaven is through acceptance of Jesus etc etc. Without excepting Jesus as your savior you can't be forgiven of your sins, thus you can't enter heaven going instead to hell or someplace similar.

Christianity, by it's nature is also a shakey religion at best. It has very little in the way of factual evidence to back the system of beliefs it espouses, largely relying on faith to keep itself alive. It's also rather difficult to maintain the lifestyle that the bible instructs. When someone comes forward and begins pointing out the flaws in this particular belief system, some that have never questioned their faith in the past can become instantly defensive, because in truth they have either not learned enough to, or simply can't refute the claims.

You'll find that in many religions there are always a substantial number of people that can't fathom the possibility that everything they were taught in Sunday school may not be 100% accurate.

That's a pretty broad brush you are using on us Christians. I will ask you like I have asked others, why would I want to have faith in a God that I would believe needs to prove His existence of Himself to me? I am not defensive when someone asks me questions about my beliefs. The only thing that I get upset with at all is it seems that Christians are thrown in that stereotypical descritiption. Yes, some Christians do feel the way you describe. But, no, not all of us do.

I find it ironic that (it seems so but I can't believe all feel this way) non-believers have no problem telling us Christians how wrong we are about our beliefs but if any of us may say we believe differently then we are accused of forcing our beliefs down someone's throat because of it.

I do not believe that all non-believers hold this position, please understand that. I am merely stating what I have run across as the more often than not situation in these threads. Now, if you were to say the same thing about Christians, I would understand and probbably agree.

A worry of mine is seeing the increase of religion in government. It was purposely separated from government, because history has proven that religious power especially, has been used to gain and to maintain power, not to provide a way to heaven. That is the reason I mentioned that old quote about power corrupting.

When I was young--a looong time ago--Christians for the most part, lived good lives and didn't intrude in the government except to vote according to their beliefs. My granny's bible was well worn and she lived her faith. What I have seen since Bush took office, is an alarming move toward including religion in government--mostly Christian involvement. Focus on the Family is an example--based on good intentions, but willing to use its power to direct decisions at a governmental level. This is a rich organization as are many of the others that have made their presence known in this adminisrtation.

Maybe most people believe that fundamental Muslims are evil. They are only a small sect of fanatic, murdering believers. They want to force their definition of religion on everyone. This is a common theme throughout history. I don't care how good you are, when power is achieved, we (humans) are changed and begin believing that power gives us special rights over and above 'average' people.

Read any history book and you will find a millenia of wars based on religion. A true respect for religion can only be based on every religion focusing on its teachings, not on gaining power, which is what evangelicalism has evolved into.

A worry of mine is seeing the increase of religion in government. It was purposely separated from government, because history has proven that religious power especially, has been used to gain and to maintain power, not to provide a way to heaven. That is the reason I mentioned that old quote about power corrupting.

When I was young--a looong time ago--Christians for the most part, lived good lives and didn't intrude in the government except to vote according to their beliefs. My granny's bible was well worn and she lived her faith. What I have seen since Bush took office, is an alarming move toward including religion in government--mostly Christian involvement. Focus on the Family is an example--based on good intentions, but willing to use its power to direct decisions at a governmental level. This is a rich organization as are many of the others that have made their presence known in this adminisrtation.

Maybe most people believe that fundamental Muslims are evil. They are only a small sect of fanatic, murdering believers. They want to force their definition of religion on everyone. This is a common theme throughout history. I don't care how good you are, when power is achieved, we (humans) are changed and begin believing that power gives us special rights over and above 'average' people.

Read any history book and you will find a millenia of wars based on religion. A true respect for religion can only be based on every religion focusing on its teachings, not on gaining power, which is what evangelicalism has evolved into.

This is what I meant by both sides pushing harder. But, I guess we feel we need to. Personally, I feel if someone is leading a God-led life, they will be more inclined to do the right things.

Unfortunatley, it's those particular Christians that are continually pointed out to us that take things to extremes that have made it difficult to get across how undangerous we really are.

What is dangerous to me is the fact that it is becoming such a widespread notion that Christians do 'intrude' and not merely practice our legal and religious freedoms. This is the part that I do not understand. Why are we intruding and non-believers are, as you say, 'practicing their rights?'

An Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science

"Within the community of Christian believers there are areas of dispute and disagreement, including the proper way to interpret Holy Scripture. While virtually all Christians take the Bible seriously and hold it to be authoritative in matters of faith and practice, the overwhelming majority do not read the Bible literally, as they would a science textbook.

Many of the beloved stories found in the Bible - the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark - convey timeless truths about God, human beings, and the proper relationship between Creator and creation expressed in the only form capable of transmitting these truths from generation to generation. Religious truth is of a different order from scientific truth. Its purpose is not to convey scientific information but to transform hearts.

We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different traditions, believe that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests.

To reject this truth or to treat it as one theory among others is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children. We believe that among God's good gifts are human minds capable of critical thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is a rejection of the will of our creator.

To argue that God's loving plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris.

We urge school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge.

We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth."

And, in my own experience with some, I have been accused of being the racist, bigot, sexist, etc., because I do not agree with the fact that God should be erased as it seems this is what some are trying to do.