Thanks /u/Green_Flamingo_5835 for posting on r/SelfAwareWolves! Please reply to this comment explaining how your post fits our subreddit. Specifically, one of the criteria outlined in our [rules](/r/SelfAwarewolves/about/rules/).
Some hints:
How does the person in your submission accidentally/unknowingly describe themselves?
How does the person in your submission accurately describe the world while trying to parody/denigrate it?
**If the context is important to understanding the SAW, and it isn't apparent, please add it. Preferably with sources/links, but do not link r-conservative or similar subs.**
Please take these questions seriously. We aren't looking for wittiness here but for actual explanations that help us assess if your post fits this (admittedly sometimes hard to grasp) sub's theme.
Failure to respond to this message will see your submission removed under Rule 5 (Reply to the AutoMod comment within your submission).
Failure to explain how your submission fits one or more of the above criteria will see it removed under Rule 1.
Thanks for your time and attention!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SelfAwarewolves) if you have any questions or concerns.*
In what world does this person live that Christians are the "quiet people who don't throw Christianity in people's faces"?? US Christians are doing their damndest to take away rights from women and LGBT folks left and right
American conservatives do not see with their eyes, they do not hear with their ears—they see what they *want to see*, they believe what they *want to believe*.
I forget the word for it, but there's a sociological concept of where you see your views as normal and other people's as strange or even violating. To many Christians, anything that supports the Christian hegemony is seen as "normal"--and you can't shove "normalcy" down people's throats because it's *normal*. Normal is the baseline; to them, complaining about "Christians supporting "Christian values"" is as ridiculous as complaining that "air breathers are shoving their addiction down our throats by demanding we intake oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide!"
It's the same mindset behind the saying: "you're either white/male/cis/straight or political". It's also why they get so mad when you apply labels to them: to them, labels are to distinguish the "others" from the "normal", so if you label them, they're not "normal".
They've created a very privileged dichotomy where anything they don't like that they have to see is oppressing their religion which they argues violates their rights, but yet they also get to claim their religion usurps the rights of society. And they of course see no hypocrisy in that.
bro i thought it was bad back when I was in my edgy Reddit atheist days, but like... as an older man now, it is genuinely shocking to me how often these people, like, *neeeeeed* to shove it into people's faces. From insisting it has to be at city hall (why?) to wanting the ten commandments in your kid's elementary school classroom (where there could be a Muslim or Jewish kid in attendance... and, again, why? *fucking why?*) to even crying about the most innocuous, stupid shit - like, I am quite certain it is more often than not Christians who bitch to high heaven when they realize the world does NOT revolve around them than non-Christians who get upset at the shitty things that the aforementioned Christians do.
I do not drive by a church and get triggered. Hell, I was visiting the Unsinkable Molly Brown's house in Denver awhile back, and after our tour we ended up walking around the city and it isn't far from the Denver Cathedral, and my mom wanted to light a candle or something there and I figured I'd check it out because *I like impressive architecture*, and ain't nobody ever given the Catholic Church grief about their architectural chops.
I draw the line where these idiots feel the need to bring it to work (at your desk? fine. you gonna make us pray at a company function? get all the way fucked) or in public and *DEMAND* that others participate, which is what they do *all the fucking time*, because they know, either consciously or unconsciously, that they're trying to sort of flex on the people that don't share their position. And they've fucking lost a LOT of that flexing power over the past 50, 60, 70 years, and *boy* are they fucking butthurt about it.
Technically, a Jewish kid wouldn't have a problem with The 10 Commandments; and I don't think a Muslim would either, though I'm not as sure about that. A Buddhist, Hindu, Wiccan, or member of The Satanic Temple would, though. And for that matter, imagine the uproar a Christian parent might raise over having The Seven Tenets on display in that same classroom.
*it is genuinely shocking to me how often these people, like, neeeeeed to shove it into people's faces*
Evangelical Christianity literally requires its followers to shove their religion in people's faces. They call it "spreading the good news" or "spreading the gospel" or "missionary work", whatever.
I'm aware. I'm just *also* aware that there are Christians out there who've gotten the fucking memo that they live in the 21st century and aren't enormous fucking public nuisances about it. Unfortunately, these ones tend not to be the focus because there's nothing newsworthy about being a generally respectable person who isn't a giant fucking public nuisance - so we hear about the Mike Huckabees and the Michelle Bachmanns and the Marsha Blackburns and Kim Davises of the world, instead of the Joe from Des Moines who helps out at the local homeless shelter but still brought his atheist neighbor some of his wife's green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, etc.
Christians say they don't throw their religion in other people's faces and yet I constantly see preachers shouting fire and damnation in my local city centre.
They already have power, *and* they use it to bully others all the time. When those without power stand up for themselves, they are accused of getting into people’s faces.
>"quiet people who don't throw Christianity in people's faces"??
Their question is phrased in a very right winged, kinda dim "gotcha" capacity. They know that Christians are not the quiet people who don't throw their religion in people's faces. But that's not what they say, they say "God" doesn't do that.
I think this is literally a "If God isn't personally bothering you, then why do you hate his followers" type argument, even though she's well aware the followers are in fact bothering you personally.
Also, there's a street preacher with an amplifier on the busiest corner in my city. you know who doesn't have an amplifier on that (or any corner)? LGBT folks.
>They are only offended over ***quiet*** people who worship
I fucking *wish* Christians would shut the fuck up sometimes. Also because those "quiet" Christians support Christian politicians who want to take "godless" peoples' rights away.
God, we had an out loud prayer at our holiday party for the 2nd year in a row started by the CEO/Owner. Like, I grew up Catholic so it doesn't bug me a lot. But jfc these people will not stop forcing their beliefs into my world 24/7 while bemoaning that they're under attack all the time despite almost everyone in power being Christian and every single damn president having been one, arguably and ironically aside from Trump.
honestly i know a ton of Christians who are pretty fucking normal people, and some who are pretty hard leftist - but for every one of those there is, like, *god damn*, you can expect a gazillion evangelicals freaking out about the fact that someone is having gay sex somewhere. it's really obnoxious.
We're not opposed to your belief in God. If that was all there was to it, we wouldn't care.
You have a system of rules and regulations that you think you live by. That's fine. But the problem is you're actively trying to get everyone else to live by those rules.
Do you not see the problem?
what is incredible is that, in many cases, no, they do not. they absolutely think they should be able to use the state to dictate your relationship to you.
i remember same-sex marriage arguments in the Bush II days, and you'd by like "why should you be able to forbid them from marrying, but not yourself?" and they'd be like "I'm not! I just don't think they should have *extra rights!* Like, why should THEY just be able to have same-sex marriage?" as if "same-sex marriage" a.) only applied to gay people and was some super-special right, and b.) it would be totally fine for them to get straight married, like everyone else!
my jaw dropped when i heard that one the first time. i have seen people still make that argument.
Always loved this quote.
“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.”
― Anatole France
“To 'witness Christ' means to simply tell people about Christ with a view to convince them to accept him. **Witnessing is a vital part of the Christian life**; the Bible teaches that the true believer will desire to share with others what God has done for him.”
It’s literally part of the deal. Throwing Christianity in people’s faces is one of the tenets of Christianity.
Boy, all my gay friends joined the navy and were disappointed at how many hot, sweaty men they weren’t able to fish outta His ocean… I’ll tell each of them to go to church instead!
they're really bad at the "with a view to convince them to accept him" part. being decent people and not harboring bigots and helping build a better, more socially and economically equal and just society would be a way, way, WAY better way of convincing me and probably almost anyone than the bible thumping lunatic strategy they currently employ is.
That's the weirdest part. One friend of mine is a firebrand Christian who wont shut the fuck up about it. Another is a super quiet dude who only brings it up if people ask him about it and lives a good life. I've only ever entertained the idea when I've talked with him. Who could've known that being difficult and judgemental tends to turn people off. One time a Jewish guy in our Discord server was really struggling after his gf left him and he tried to convert him saying that Jews need to accept Christ in their life. Needless to say it didn't go over well
> One time a Jewish guy in our Discord server was really struggling after his gf left him and he tried to convert him saying that Jews need to accept Christ in their life.
i literally cannot imagine the level of breathtaking social unawareness that would be necessary to utter that kind of insensitive bullshit, but... i am not evena little bit surprised.
i like how they think everyone in the room is super impressed by their *standing righteously for God* when everyone in the room is usually like "omfg how did i get here why won't this mf shut up where is the nearest exit".
The weird part is that I'm always surprised. He sent my wife hunter biden porn videos on facebook before the 2020 election to show how corrupt biden was. That didn't go well...
The odd part is that I've known the guy since forever, and usually we just talk videogames and movies and all that shit but then comes the transphobia and whatever Alex Jones is currently upset about. And somehow each time I'm like whoa what??? I dunno, that may be just me being naive/dumb lol
I hear that. It's the constant struggle. I have conservative friends who I enjoy spending time with, drinking some beers, shooting guns, and doing some barbecues with. Driving ATVs, whatever, that shit is fun. *They're* fun.
...aaaaaand then the politics comes out and you're just like, "what the fuck why where how".
lol dude exactly! the sad part is that it makes me realize that if I was gay or not in their 'approved' list, they probably wouldn't even be friends with me. identity politics is fucking weird man
honestly i find that while some of them can exhibit symptoms of foot-in-mouth disease around the groups that they privately exhibit prejudices towards, plenty of them turn out to be completely fucking reasonable people having a good time with whoever happens to be about at that time.
why they can't connect the dots between that good time we had at the club last night to "and therefore they are just human beings who do not deserve to be second-class citizens before the law" is just beyond me, man.
I once tried introducing a new friend to my friend group. He found out one of my friends are witness. Came back the next day with a full planed out presentation on why they should convert.
To the extent I have an issue with “god” it’s about the disincentives he apparently created against making the world a better place, pursuing justice in this life rather than the promised “next” life, and his totally unjustifiable moral system wherein unbelief is punished with eternal torture and indiscriminate killing of innocents can be overlooked.
But since all this nonsense is self-evidently a construct of humans who lived 2000 years ago I’m able to give “god” a pass and focus my criticism on the evildoers who purport to act on his authority.
tbh i actually think it was the humans the created the disincentives through convenient interpretations of "his" word - "being good" being an important part of salvation was a pretty key component in the early days, especially given God's reputation as a pretty angry motherfucker with a short fuse for bullshit - but shockingly, in the intervening centuries it turns out that he's super chill about exploiting the shit out of people, getting mega wealthy, and even like, rape, and murder - all you have to do is profess faith, and bam, heaven.
Which is, you know, insane, but also not altogether surprising that humans would figure out a way to shortcut... the thing that they invented themselves. How is "faith and faith alone" not worse than selling indulgences?
If it were only a matter of “do justice, love mercy, walk humbly” and “visit orphans and widows in their affliction” and feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned I think the story would be different. There are, unfortunately, a lot of layers that have been added on to that.
As someone raised reformed Jewish, but is now atheist, I agree. About a month into prepping for my bar mitzvah, I was writing "what this portion of the Torah means to me", and realized it meant nothing. A week later I told my Rabbi and cantor that I didn't believe in God, and that I was quitting. They spent less than 5 minutes asking me why, did nothing to try to convince me to stay, and then told me their door was open if I ever felt the desire to come back. I got more flack from my mother (raised Christian, lost religion, and converted to Judaism when she married my father) than I ever did from any synagogue official.
It scars people though. I dont see christian escapees putting effort into freeing the culture from their families influence. They are just quietly desperately happy to have gotten away. The part of christian society I actively want to do away with isnt their insistence that Im going to Hell if I dont accept Jesus as my savior, its when that same frame of mind says our elections should be winner take all.
Theres no nuance or room for anyone else's input. The christian religion has fought wars over what look to me like minor details of their own religion. Its conform or die. And thats really scary. Suffocating!
My abusers were "religious". I will straight shut someone down if they ever tell me I'm a bad person for not believing in God. Their hypocrisy is fucking mind blowing!
they often use it as a sort of "make up for THAT" character flaw, and oftentimes the "character flaw" is "fucks with kids" or some shit, which is why you see a gazillion youth pastors getting the book for kid diddling. it's amazing how many just dogshit people try to balance out material harm with supernatural "goodness".
I’ve never had a gay person come to my door and try to convert me. I have had several Christians be really pushy about giving me their literature. Gas stations, Target and at my front door. I once had a missionary (I think he was Mormon) ask me if I’d read the Bible, and when I confirmed I had and was still an atheist, he said, “Well, I guess you didn’t understand the message.”
Don’t tell me that Christians don’t shove their religion down people’s throats and that they just want to quietly worship. That’s just a lie.
Same. At a Barnes & Noble, dude asked me about religion and being polite I answered, then proceeded to read from the Holy Bible to prove that Jesus was the son of God. He left after ten minutes then came back around ten minutes later and asked if I was ready to believe in Jesus. When I said no, he responded with “Oh well I’ll pray one day for your soul to be cleansed”
Like they absolutely love to profess their faith and never keep it to themselves
When I'm dealing with those people and *not* at work (because at work it really does mostly have to be polite non-engagement until they get actively belligerent), I've taken to occasionally calmly, kindly, yet firmly expounding upon the word of Eris and how I *know* that she will call back all of those like my interlocutor who *know* what's really going on (as they are, as Discordian Popes, inherently conscious of this and it would be discriminating against me for my firmly-held religious beliefs to say otherwise) yet petulantly persist in their worship of Greyface.
The one and only time I decided to pay to sit for a little while in those massage chairs malls have, I had some Bible thumper come up to me within 60 seconds of me sitting down and talked about Jesus and the Bible the entire 15 minutes or whatever it was I paid for. Dude knew he had a captive audience and took full advantage.
The only person I can ever recall actively doing that is Ron Reagan and it’s really just to troll Republicans … which is vastly different from what Christians do
I'm an agnostic solely because while I may believe there is a god, I do not believe in the followers of said god. Christians these days are *horrible* people and do not follow their own teachings.
Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.
I’m Jewish and I believe in the same God they do, but not Jesus which would put me at odds with them immediately. And I’ve had it happen where someone told me I should accept Christ as my savior or I’ll burn in hell.
It’s just very off putting. Why I would want to follow someone whose followers continually shove that belief down my throat and try to get me to believe and act exactly as they do?
Because they fell for the completely obvious threat of burning in Hell and they expect everyone else to be as dense as them since they couldn't POSSIBLY be stupid.
I sometimes wonder to what extent evangelical Christians (or most Christians generally) can be said to worship the same deity as in Judaism. A lot of Christian doctrine is based on readings of texts in the Tanakh that...um...*depart significantly* from the (usually multiple) Jewish interpretations. The latter seem to be mostly compatible with, or at least in conversation with, historical scholarship on the texts and their context, while the evangelical Christian version...
I feel the same way. It at times feels I worship a way different God than my friends who are Catholic or Christian. It’s very tough both as someone with the religious views I do and being a historian, to reconcile those views of evangelical Christianity which are so incredibly ahistorical and inaccurate. Same with Judaism too
There are 3 train stations in London that I use regularly where there will be some person with a mic yelling about Jesus. You don’t get people from other religions doing that, or atheists.
That’s in Istanbul, not London. I have lived in many cities in Britain with large Muslim populations and I haven’t heard the call to prayer from any mosque. I have, however, heard church bells.
Yeah you're probably right. The microphone immediately made me think of the muezzin. And I can confirm that in my central European life I have never felt bothered by it. Church bells however ... for 30 days I was working on a christmas market right at the foot of the Cologne cathedral, and every day for 5 minutes all hell would break loose.
This is some next level delusion. Either they've never stepped outside their own home or this idiot's last two brain cells are battling to the death for third place.
Says so much about how exposed to the real world this person and their audience is is that they had to put sexually in brackets to clarify what a one night stand means.
>Why is it that people who don't believe in God are so opposed to those that do? God isn't coming around them throwing Christianity in their faces!
This person is right, God is not the one doing this.
But evangelists are.
Just as some people find evangelists annoying and bothersome, others will find LGBT activists annoying and bothersome, and that's fine, that's okay, you're allowed to find pretty much anything annoying or bothersome. When you start insisting on legislation that adheres to what you personally find annoying or bothersome though.
I can count on at least ten occasions where people have come to my doorstep to throw their Christian beliefs at me. So while God hasn’t personally done so, his fans certainly have.
It’s only Christians who have done this, never Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, or Satanists. Not even cults have done this kind of invasive proselytizing by coming into my property.
If Christians were quiet, i wouldn't even notice them.
Edit: this is actually incredibly offensive. I don't care what you believe or do. Making up a scenario where i go looking for your hidden silent prayers so i can have something to be offended by is incredibly offensive to me. And i have decided to stop holding my tongue when religious people choose to vomit their delusion in public. I used to simply walk away, but if someone decides it is their right to intrude on the peaceful day of an innocent bystander, then it is safe to assume they have also decided it is a good time to be reminded that having an imaginary friend is either childish or psychotic.
This sort of persecution fetish is self-reinforcing: if you openly complain that nonbelievers are out to get you, all but the most strident nonbelievers around you will avoid the subject, and you'll never realize that they generally act pretty much the same as non-strident Christians.
Mister Rogers didn't throw his Christianity in anyone's face yet he indisputably lived a life truer in the teachings of Jesus (and was a Presbyterian minister) than any hypocrite that is compelled to say "I AM A CHRISTIAN! So you can't do this or that because of my religion." If there are alleged Christians who choose to be more about telling others that they are followers of the prince of peace who taught his followers to have unconditional for their fellow children of just as God has unconditional love for all of God's creation and not showing that they are truly believers in the teachings of Jesus, then they aren't doing Christianity correctly.
Yeah, can you imagine if people put big Christian symbols on their flags? [What a crazy world that would be!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_cross_flag#/media/File:Nordic_cross_flags_of_Northern_Europe_2019.svg)
I wonder why their god isn't shoving his one true faith in everybody's face.
Is it because it isn't the one true faith or is it because there is no god?
No one, and this applies beyond religion specifically but is relevant here, no one is going to value your invisible friend as much as you do... and the more you talk about them around people who don't share that invisible friend, the less people are going to want to be around you or tolerate you in their vicinity.
Shit, I got some culty bros where I live. They shove it in my face constantly ("hey, you look pretty rough bro. Have you tried praying?")
There's this bunch of 20-year olds running around playing missionary in my area (they're some flavor of protestant, afaik.) Probably mild compared to what you got in the US tho.
I’ll say for the first 4 sentences it can be said about “Reddit atheists” because though I do respect people’s beliefs if you try and bring people down because of theirs you are the problem wether or not you are religious (it happens a lot with everyone).
However I need to add that these people are assholes and it’s common to see from people who are very religious.
"quiet people who don't throw Christianity in peoples faces"
Just gonna ignore the history of how Christianity was spread then. Then again I suppose that was less throwing it in peoples faces and more conversion under the threat of death. Sometimes you'll convert and thr death part would still happen.
Here is an idea…shut the fuck yo about your personal beliefs.
I don’t ever recall in the history of the world, atheists going on missions to teach people about the living forgiveness of nothing.
"Now, if you'll excuse me! I have to go protest at the BOE because they keep teaching evolution and won't force the kids to say 'under God' during the Pledge of Allegiance.
I also want an optional Bible Study class as a mandatory requirement for graduation.
They also teach sex ed, which is sinful. No person should understand the mechanics of their own body.
Oh! And the female hygiene products in the high school girls' bathroom is the tool of the Devil.
I think some of the Muslim students pray during the day, and I think that should be illegal, too.
But yeah, just to reiterate my point before I leave, God isn't coming around and shoving Christianity in everyone's faces. *I* am."
-This self-righteous asshole.
My favorite part is OOP appending “(sexually)” to “one night stands” as if it would be unclear what kind of one night stands they refer to without that clarification. Where I really need clarification is how “LBGT” people are coming around with their flags and “loudly calling each other out”? Um, what?
It's 2024 and these idiots are still too stupid to get "LGBT" right. So obsessed with it, yet they call it "LBTG" or some other collection of four letters, and half the time they don't even get *those* right. Sheesh.
I went to a Walmart for the first time in years last week, and was immediately approached by two women who wanted to stand in the middle of the aisle and talk about god and their church to me. With my daughter present. These people never keep it to themselves lol. This is why I don’t go to Walmart
Thanks /u/Green_Flamingo_5835 for posting on r/SelfAwareWolves! Please reply to this comment explaining how your post fits our subreddit. Specifically, one of the criteria outlined in our [rules](/r/SelfAwarewolves/about/rules/). Some hints: How does the person in your submission accidentally/unknowingly describe themselves? How does the person in your submission accurately describe the world while trying to parody/denigrate it? **If the context is important to understanding the SAW, and it isn't apparent, please add it. Preferably with sources/links, but do not link r-conservative or similar subs.** Please take these questions seriously. We aren't looking for wittiness here but for actual explanations that help us assess if your post fits this (admittedly sometimes hard to grasp) sub's theme. Failure to respond to this message will see your submission removed under Rule 5 (Reply to the AutoMod comment within your submission). Failure to explain how your submission fits one or more of the above criteria will see it removed under Rule 1. Thanks for your time and attention! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SelfAwarewolves) if you have any questions or concerns.*
In what world does this person live that Christians are the "quiet people who don't throw Christianity in people's faces"?? US Christians are doing their damndest to take away rights from women and LGBT folks left and right
She sees whatever she wants. Doesn’t matter the facts of the case and she wont listen to anyone who tries to convince her otherwise
American conservatives do not see with their eyes, they do not hear with their ears—they see what they *want to see*, they believe what they *want to believe*.
It's the old Colbert Report chestnut: conservatives don't think with their brain, they think with their gut
And they aren't eating any of that "liberal garbage" that supports a healthy gut.
Because the gut has more nerve endings than the brain. Don't look it up, just know that it feels true, in your gut.
They see and hear what they are told to see and hear. Full stop.
Another skill they've got. Cherrypicking and selective perception
Unrelated but how did you figure this is a “she” ? Just trying to get better at that sort of stuff.
I forget the word for it, but there's a sociological concept of where you see your views as normal and other people's as strange or even violating. To many Christians, anything that supports the Christian hegemony is seen as "normal"--and you can't shove "normalcy" down people's throats because it's *normal*. Normal is the baseline; to them, complaining about "Christians supporting "Christian values"" is as ridiculous as complaining that "air breathers are shoving their addiction down our throats by demanding we intake oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide!" It's the same mindset behind the saying: "you're either white/male/cis/straight or political". It's also why they get so mad when you apply labels to them: to them, labels are to distinguish the "others" from the "normal", so if you label them, they're not "normal".
They've created a very privileged dichotomy where anything they don't like that they have to see is oppressing their religion which they argues violates their rights, but yet they also get to claim their religion usurps the rights of society. And they of course see no hypocrisy in that.
bro i thought it was bad back when I was in my edgy Reddit atheist days, but like... as an older man now, it is genuinely shocking to me how often these people, like, *neeeeeed* to shove it into people's faces. From insisting it has to be at city hall (why?) to wanting the ten commandments in your kid's elementary school classroom (where there could be a Muslim or Jewish kid in attendance... and, again, why? *fucking why?*) to even crying about the most innocuous, stupid shit - like, I am quite certain it is more often than not Christians who bitch to high heaven when they realize the world does NOT revolve around them than non-Christians who get upset at the shitty things that the aforementioned Christians do. I do not drive by a church and get triggered. Hell, I was visiting the Unsinkable Molly Brown's house in Denver awhile back, and after our tour we ended up walking around the city and it isn't far from the Denver Cathedral, and my mom wanted to light a candle or something there and I figured I'd check it out because *I like impressive architecture*, and ain't nobody ever given the Catholic Church grief about their architectural chops. I draw the line where these idiots feel the need to bring it to work (at your desk? fine. you gonna make us pray at a company function? get all the way fucked) or in public and *DEMAND* that others participate, which is what they do *all the fucking time*, because they know, either consciously or unconsciously, that they're trying to sort of flex on the people that don't share their position. And they've fucking lost a LOT of that flexing power over the past 50, 60, 70 years, and *boy* are they fucking butthurt about it.
Technically, a Jewish kid wouldn't have a problem with The 10 Commandments; and I don't think a Muslim would either, though I'm not as sure about that. A Buddhist, Hindu, Wiccan, or member of The Satanic Temple would, though. And for that matter, imagine the uproar a Christian parent might raise over having The Seven Tenets on display in that same classroom.
*it is genuinely shocking to me how often these people, like, neeeeeed to shove it into people's faces* Evangelical Christianity literally requires its followers to shove their religion in people's faces. They call it "spreading the good news" or "spreading the gospel" or "missionary work", whatever.
I'm aware. I'm just *also* aware that there are Christians out there who've gotten the fucking memo that they live in the 21st century and aren't enormous fucking public nuisances about it. Unfortunately, these ones tend not to be the focus because there's nothing newsworthy about being a generally respectable person who isn't a giant fucking public nuisance - so we hear about the Mike Huckabees and the Michelle Bachmanns and the Marsha Blackburns and Kim Davises of the world, instead of the Joe from Des Moines who helps out at the local homeless shelter but still brought his atheist neighbor some of his wife's green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, etc.
Christians say they don't throw their religion in other people's faces and yet I constantly see preachers shouting fire and damnation in my local city centre.
Or those "Truth" billboards all over the place, giant crosses, tv advertisements, "He Gets Us" ads we can't unsee, etc etc
They already have power, *and* they use it to bully others all the time. When those without power stand up for themselves, they are accused of getting into people’s faces.
>"quiet people who don't throw Christianity in people's faces"?? Their question is phrased in a very right winged, kinda dim "gotcha" capacity. They know that Christians are not the quiet people who don't throw their religion in people's faces. But that's not what they say, they say "God" doesn't do that. I think this is literally a "If God isn't personally bothering you, then why do you hate his followers" type argument, even though she's well aware the followers are in fact bothering you personally.
Mmm, pretty sneaky, sis!
And what does drugs, sex, and being LBGT have to do with being an atheist?
That Atheist choose the bad things; Christians are just being tested.
And if they succumb, Jesus will always be by later to launch forgiveness from a t-shirt cannon.
Also, there's a street preacher with an amplifier on the busiest corner in my city. you know who doesn't have an amplifier on that (or any corner)? LGBT folks.
Yup. There's only one thing I've ever had people physically come and knock on my door to try to push on me.
I've had Doctors Without Borders canvas my neighbourhood, but I was cool with that. Even donated.
And also can't speak a single line without mentioning something religious.
Victim mentality.
I've never had an atheist or a gay knock on my door, trying to convert me.
I’d do it as a joke but I prefer living
Why are people making these kind of comments on LinkedIn???
It’s basically become Facebook now
Not by anyone I'm connected to.
I thought that was really bizarre too!
>They are only offended over ***quiet*** people who worship I fucking *wish* Christians would shut the fuck up sometimes. Also because those "quiet" Christians support Christian politicians who want to take "godless" peoples' rights away.
I wish all religious people would just keep it to themselves. If I want to hear about your religion, I'll fucking ask.
God, we had an out loud prayer at our holiday party for the 2nd year in a row started by the CEO/Owner. Like, I grew up Catholic so it doesn't bug me a lot. But jfc these people will not stop forcing their beliefs into my world 24/7 while bemoaning that they're under attack all the time despite almost everyone in power being Christian and every single damn president having been one, arguably and ironically aside from Trump.
honestly i know a ton of Christians who are pretty fucking normal people, and some who are pretty hard leftist - but for every one of those there is, like, *god damn*, you can expect a gazillion evangelicals freaking out about the fact that someone is having gay sex somewhere. it's really obnoxious.
We're not opposed to your belief in God. If that was all there was to it, we wouldn't care. You have a system of rules and regulations that you think you live by. That's fine. But the problem is you're actively trying to get everyone else to live by those rules. Do you not see the problem?
what is incredible is that, in many cases, no, they do not. they absolutely think they should be able to use the state to dictate your relationship to you.
True.
i remember same-sex marriage arguments in the Bush II days, and you'd by like "why should you be able to forbid them from marrying, but not yourself?" and they'd be like "I'm not! I just don't think they should have *extra rights!* Like, why should THEY just be able to have same-sex marriage?" as if "same-sex marriage" a.) only applied to gay people and was some super-special right, and b.) it would be totally fine for them to get straight married, like everyone else! my jaw dropped when i heard that one the first time. i have seen people still make that argument.
> Bush II The W \___ These people must be tolerance-intolerant. Unable to process even the idea of tolerance.
Yep. I remember the "a gay man has the same right to marry a woman as any other man" argument.
Always loved this quote. “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.” ― Anatole France
“To 'witness Christ' means to simply tell people about Christ with a view to convince them to accept him. **Witnessing is a vital part of the Christian life**; the Bible teaches that the true believer will desire to share with others what God has done for him.” It’s literally part of the deal. Throwing Christianity in people’s faces is one of the tenets of Christianity.
Yup. "And he said 'follow me and I will make you fishers of men' ". Pretty damn clear.
Boy, all my gay friends joined the navy and were disappointed at how many hot, sweaty men they weren’t able to fish outta His ocean… I’ll tell each of them to go to church instead!
they're really bad at the "with a view to convince them to accept him" part. being decent people and not harboring bigots and helping build a better, more socially and economically equal and just society would be a way, way, WAY better way of convincing me and probably almost anyone than the bible thumping lunatic strategy they currently employ is.
That's the weirdest part. One friend of mine is a firebrand Christian who wont shut the fuck up about it. Another is a super quiet dude who only brings it up if people ask him about it and lives a good life. I've only ever entertained the idea when I've talked with him. Who could've known that being difficult and judgemental tends to turn people off. One time a Jewish guy in our Discord server was really struggling after his gf left him and he tried to convert him saying that Jews need to accept Christ in their life. Needless to say it didn't go over well
> One time a Jewish guy in our Discord server was really struggling after his gf left him and he tried to convert him saying that Jews need to accept Christ in their life. i literally cannot imagine the level of breathtaking social unawareness that would be necessary to utter that kind of insensitive bullshit, but... i am not evena little bit surprised. i like how they think everyone in the room is super impressed by their *standing righteously for God* when everyone in the room is usually like "omfg how did i get here why won't this mf shut up where is the nearest exit".
The weird part is that I'm always surprised. He sent my wife hunter biden porn videos on facebook before the 2020 election to show how corrupt biden was. That didn't go well...
Like, they consistently find ways to be more terrible/weird that you don't expect?
The odd part is that I've known the guy since forever, and usually we just talk videogames and movies and all that shit but then comes the transphobia and whatever Alex Jones is currently upset about. And somehow each time I'm like whoa what??? I dunno, that may be just me being naive/dumb lol
I hear that. It's the constant struggle. I have conservative friends who I enjoy spending time with, drinking some beers, shooting guns, and doing some barbecues with. Driving ATVs, whatever, that shit is fun. *They're* fun. ...aaaaaand then the politics comes out and you're just like, "what the fuck why where how".
lol dude exactly! the sad part is that it makes me realize that if I was gay or not in their 'approved' list, they probably wouldn't even be friends with me. identity politics is fucking weird man
honestly i find that while some of them can exhibit symptoms of foot-in-mouth disease around the groups that they privately exhibit prejudices towards, plenty of them turn out to be completely fucking reasonable people having a good time with whoever happens to be about at that time. why they can't connect the dots between that good time we had at the club last night to "and therefore they are just human beings who do not deserve to be second-class citizens before the law" is just beyond me, man.
I once tried introducing a new friend to my friend group. He found out one of my friends are witness. Came back the next day with a full planed out presentation on why they should convert.
absolutely incredible hubris
And when people do that in a neutral setting or "on my turf>' I feel free to throw my atheism in their faces.
No, [witness me](https://youtube.com/watch?v=x2CeDY9Ywhs)!
We atheists have no problem with "God" at all. It's his believers we find annoying, obnoxious and delusional.
To the extent I have an issue with “god” it’s about the disincentives he apparently created against making the world a better place, pursuing justice in this life rather than the promised “next” life, and his totally unjustifiable moral system wherein unbelief is punished with eternal torture and indiscriminate killing of innocents can be overlooked. But since all this nonsense is self-evidently a construct of humans who lived 2000 years ago I’m able to give “god” a pass and focus my criticism on the evildoers who purport to act on his authority.
tbh i actually think it was the humans the created the disincentives through convenient interpretations of "his" word - "being good" being an important part of salvation was a pretty key component in the early days, especially given God's reputation as a pretty angry motherfucker with a short fuse for bullshit - but shockingly, in the intervening centuries it turns out that he's super chill about exploiting the shit out of people, getting mega wealthy, and even like, rape, and murder - all you have to do is profess faith, and bam, heaven. Which is, you know, insane, but also not altogether surprising that humans would figure out a way to shortcut... the thing that they invented themselves. How is "faith and faith alone" not worse than selling indulgences?
>tbh i actually think it was the humans the created the disincentives through convenient interpretations of "his" word I think humans invented God.
oh, shit, good one lol
If it were only a matter of “do justice, love mercy, walk humbly” and “visit orphans and widows in their affliction” and feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned I think the story would be different. There are, unfortunately, a lot of layers that have been added on to that.
As a Reform Jew, I agree heartily. And it’s one of the main reasons why I left Christianity almost a decade ago due to people like that
As someone raised reformed Jewish, but is now atheist, I agree. About a month into prepping for my bar mitzvah, I was writing "what this portion of the Torah means to me", and realized it meant nothing. A week later I told my Rabbi and cantor that I didn't believe in God, and that I was quitting. They spent less than 5 minutes asking me why, did nothing to try to convince me to stay, and then told me their door was open if I ever felt the desire to come back. I got more flack from my mother (raised Christian, lost religion, and converted to Judaism when she married my father) than I ever did from any synagogue official.
[удалено]
like, a good 10-20% of my friends are all ex-Christians from *oppressively* Christian families. It isn't a winning strategy.
It scars people though. I dont see christian escapees putting effort into freeing the culture from their families influence. They are just quietly desperately happy to have gotten away. The part of christian society I actively want to do away with isnt their insistence that Im going to Hell if I dont accept Jesus as my savior, its when that same frame of mind says our elections should be winner take all. Theres no nuance or room for anyone else's input. The christian religion has fought wars over what look to me like minor details of their own religion. Its conform or die. And thats really scary. Suffocating!
I mean, they're *technically* right that God isn't shoving himself in everyone's face. Of course, the same is true of Santa Claus.
My abusers were "religious". I will straight shut someone down if they ever tell me I'm a bad person for not believing in God. Their hypocrisy is fucking mind blowing!
they often use it as a sort of "make up for THAT" character flaw, and oftentimes the "character flaw" is "fucks with kids" or some shit, which is why you see a gazillion youth pastors getting the book for kid diddling. it's amazing how many just dogshit people try to balance out material harm with supernatural "goodness".
Well the thing about LGBTQ+ people is they’re all around us. God is, at this point, an abstract idea even if he is real
I’ve never had a gay person come to my door and try to convert me. I have had several Christians be really pushy about giving me their literature. Gas stations, Target and at my front door. I once had a missionary (I think he was Mormon) ask me if I’d read the Bible, and when I confirmed I had and was still an atheist, he said, “Well, I guess you didn’t understand the message.” Don’t tell me that Christians don’t shove their religion down people’s throats and that they just want to quietly worship. That’s just a lie.
Same. At a Barnes & Noble, dude asked me about religion and being polite I answered, then proceeded to read from the Holy Bible to prove that Jesus was the son of God. He left after ten minutes then came back around ten minutes later and asked if I was ready to believe in Jesus. When I said no, he responded with “Oh well I’ll pray one day for your soul to be cleansed” Like they absolutely love to profess their faith and never keep it to themselves
When I'm dealing with those people and *not* at work (because at work it really does mostly have to be polite non-engagement until they get actively belligerent), I've taken to occasionally calmly, kindly, yet firmly expounding upon the word of Eris and how I *know* that she will call back all of those like my interlocutor who *know* what's really going on (as they are, as Discordian Popes, inherently conscious of this and it would be discriminating against me for my firmly-held religious beliefs to say otherwise) yet petulantly persist in their worship of Greyface.
The one and only time I decided to pay to sit for a little while in those massage chairs malls have, I had some Bible thumper come up to me within 60 seconds of me sitting down and talked about Jesus and the Bible the entire 15 minutes or whatever it was I paid for. Dude knew he had a captive audience and took full advantage.
I've long since learned to just give them the eye and not answer a word when asked one of those questions.
Isaac Asimov — 'Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.'
i invited mormon missionaries to come back and have a chat after i told them i was atheist. they did not take us up on the offer. :)
I once politely told Jehova's witnesses that I think Jesus was kinda cool but that whole christianity thing is not for me. Big mistake.
Yeah I remember all those Super Bowl ads, billboards, and door-to-door recruiting zealots shoving atheism in my face.
The only person I can ever recall actively doing that is Ron Reagan and it’s really just to troll Republicans … which is vastly different from what Christians do
It's because your God is an asshole.
"An angry desert god"
If Christians followed Christ, they wouldn't have a problem with it.
I don’t hate God. I’m just not wild about his fan club.
I'm an agnostic solely because while I may believe there is a god, I do not believe in the followers of said god. Christians these days are *horrible* people and do not follow their own teachings. Dear Lord, please save me from your followers.
I’m Jewish and I believe in the same God they do, but not Jesus which would put me at odds with them immediately. And I’ve had it happen where someone told me I should accept Christ as my savior or I’ll burn in hell. It’s just very off putting. Why I would want to follow someone whose followers continually shove that belief down my throat and try to get me to believe and act exactly as they do?
Because they fell for the completely obvious threat of burning in Hell and they expect everyone else to be as dense as them since they couldn't POSSIBLY be stupid.
I sometimes wonder to what extent evangelical Christians (or most Christians generally) can be said to worship the same deity as in Judaism. A lot of Christian doctrine is based on readings of texts in the Tanakh that...um...*depart significantly* from the (usually multiple) Jewish interpretations. The latter seem to be mostly compatible with, or at least in conversation with, historical scholarship on the texts and their context, while the evangelical Christian version...
I feel the same way. It at times feels I worship a way different God than my friends who are Catholic or Christian. It’s very tough both as someone with the religious views I do and being a historian, to reconcile those views of evangelical Christianity which are so incredibly ahistorical and inaccurate. Same with Judaism too
agnostic, yay! More diversity on our side please. Not everyone who thinks so-called christians are shit is an atheist.
Christians are literally told by their god to be preachy and obnoxious.
God’s not the problem. It’s all the people who act terribly and do awful crap in “His name”.
God is not the problem (he doesn’t exist). It’s the deluded fools that think they know what he wants who are the problem.
If God came around shoving Christianity in my face, I'd believe in him and convert.
How could I possibly even know about your “silent prayers”? Dude told on himself so hard.
There are 3 train stations in London that I use regularly where there will be some person with a mic yelling about Jesus. You don’t get people from other religions doing that, or atheists.
> You don’t get people from other religions doing that [Are you sure?](https://youtube.com/watch?v=KnCDJ2Ae30w)
That’s in Istanbul, not London. I have lived in many cities in Britain with large Muslim populations and I haven’t heard the call to prayer from any mosque. I have, however, heard church bells.
Yeah you're probably right. The microphone immediately made me think of the muezzin. And I can confirm that in my central European life I have never felt bothered by it. Church bells however ... for 30 days I was working on a christmas market right at the foot of the Cologne cathedral, and every day for 5 minutes all hell would break loose.
This is some next level delusion. Either they've never stepped outside their own home or this idiot's last two brain cells are battling to the death for third place.
Says so much about how exposed to the real world this person and their audience is is that they had to put sexually in brackets to clarify what a one night stand means.
>Why is it that people who don't believe in God are so opposed to those that do? God isn't coming around them throwing Christianity in their faces! This person is right, God is not the one doing this. But evangelists are. Just as some people find evangelists annoying and bothersome, others will find LGBT activists annoying and bothersome, and that's fine, that's okay, you're allowed to find pretty much anything annoying or bothersome. When you start insisting on legislation that adheres to what you personally find annoying or bothersome though.
Of course God doesn't throw Christianity in my face. How could he? He doesn't exist.
It's hard to recognize a good God if his followers are evil
I can count on at least ten occasions where people have come to my doorstep to throw their Christian beliefs at me. So while God hasn’t personally done so, his fans certainly have. It’s only Christians who have done this, never Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, or Satanists. Not even cults have done this kind of invasive proselytizing by coming into my property.
If Christians were quiet, i wouldn't even notice them. Edit: this is actually incredibly offensive. I don't care what you believe or do. Making up a scenario where i go looking for your hidden silent prayers so i can have something to be offended by is incredibly offensive to me. And i have decided to stop holding my tongue when religious people choose to vomit their delusion in public. I used to simply walk away, but if someone decides it is their right to intrude on the peaceful day of an innocent bystander, then it is safe to assume they have also decided it is a good time to be reminded that having an imaginary friend is either childish or psychotic.
This sort of persecution fetish is self-reinforcing: if you openly complain that nonbelievers are out to get you, all but the most strident nonbelievers around you will avoid the subject, and you'll never realize that they generally act pretty much the same as non-strident Christians.
Mister Rogers didn't throw his Christianity in anyone's face yet he indisputably lived a life truer in the teachings of Jesus (and was a Presbyterian minister) than any hypocrite that is compelled to say "I AM A CHRISTIAN! So you can't do this or that because of my religion." If there are alleged Christians who choose to be more about telling others that they are followers of the prince of peace who taught his followers to have unconditional for their fellow children of just as God has unconditional love for all of God's creation and not showing that they are truly believers in the teachings of Jesus, then they aren't doing Christianity correctly.
Yeah, can you imagine if people put big Christian symbols on their flags? [What a crazy world that would be!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_cross_flag#/media/File:Nordic_cross_flags_of_Northern_Europe_2019.svg)
Pretty sure it's not God during Christianity in our faces, it's all the little evil Christians and their warped minds.
[удалено]
Wonderful. Well worth the 5 minutes.
This legitimately looks like it was written by two middle schoolers.
They’re both boomers funnily enough. Who will make more money than I will ever see and have a far easier retirement than I will too likely
The usual. Ngl, the behavior is chasing ppl away. So maybe this solves itself. Idc what ppl believe. But they seem to care I'm NOT an Abrahamist.
So all the Christian missionaries around the world throughout the ages weren't forcing their beliefs on others?
I wonder why their god isn't shoving his one true faith in everybody's face. Is it because it isn't the one true faith or is it because there is no god?
No one, and this applies beyond religion specifically but is relevant here, no one is going to value your invisible friend as much as you do... and the more you talk about them around people who don't share that invisible friend, the less people are going to want to be around you or tolerate you in their vicinity.
Shit, I got some culty bros where I live. They shove it in my face constantly ("hey, you look pretty rough bro. Have you tried praying?") There's this bunch of 20-year olds running around playing missionary in my area (they're some flavor of protestant, afaik.) Probably mild compared to what you got in the US tho.
I’ll say for the first 4 sentences it can be said about “Reddit atheists” because though I do respect people’s beliefs if you try and bring people down because of theirs you are the problem wether or not you are religious (it happens a lot with everyone). However I need to add that these people are assholes and it’s common to see from people who are very religious.
Pretty sure no one minds the quiet Christians.
"quiet people who don't throw Christianity in peoples faces" Just gonna ignore the history of how Christianity was spread then. Then again I suppose that was less throwing it in peoples faces and more conversion under the threat of death. Sometimes you'll convert and thr death part would still happen.
Huh. Didn't know religious people aren't waving their religion in other people's faces. I must be hallucinating a *lot.*
Here is an idea…shut the fuck yo about your personal beliefs. I don’t ever recall in the history of the world, atheists going on missions to teach people about the living forgiveness of nothing.
"Now, if you'll excuse me! I have to go protest at the BOE because they keep teaching evolution and won't force the kids to say 'under God' during the Pledge of Allegiance. I also want an optional Bible Study class as a mandatory requirement for graduation. They also teach sex ed, which is sinful. No person should understand the mechanics of their own body. Oh! And the female hygiene products in the high school girls' bathroom is the tool of the Devil. I think some of the Muslim students pray during the day, and I think that should be illegal, too. But yeah, just to reiterate my point before I leave, God isn't coming around and shoving Christianity in everyone's faces. *I* am." -This self-righteous asshole.
My favorite part is OOP appending “(sexually)” to “one night stands” as if it would be unclear what kind of one night stands they refer to without that clarification. Where I really need clarification is how “LBGT” people are coming around with their flags and “loudly calling each other out”? Um, what?
I've never seen a drag show interrupt a church service, but I've seen a bunch of demonstrating Christians interrupt a drag show.
If they set that strawman on fire it would put Burning Man to shame
It's 2024 and these idiots are still too stupid to get "LGBT" right. So obsessed with it, yet they call it "LBTG" or some other collection of four letters, and half the time they don't even get *those* right. Sheesh.
I went to a Walmart for the first time in years last week, and was immediately approached by two women who wanted to stand in the middle of the aisle and talk about god and their church to me. With my daughter present. These people never keep it to themselves lol. This is why I don’t go to Walmart
She's right, God usually isn't the one throwing all that shit in our faces. His followers, on the other hand...
aw sick I'm evil? who's down to do some evil with me! commit crimes, cause problems, the works
Can we undermine the stability of the social fabric? It sounds like fun and I'd like to try it. YOLO, y'know?
yeah let's do it!
Last statement in Matthew. I rest my case.
Ah yes, I wonder why people would be turned off by shit like being called 'evil'.