Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
While reading the news coverage of the vigil, I see countless comments by strident atheists mocking everything about faith and God, from MSNBC to CNN to Huffington Post...everywhere. Who are these people? Why are they spending their time in the wake of this tragedy smugly proclaiming people of faith to be fools?

My small request to anyone who is tempted to proclaim the atheist gospel to give it a rest for now. Show some respect. If you have no words of comfort, just don't say anything at all.

I get it, you're religious and you don't want people being disrespectful.

But the problem is that there any many, many religious people who go around being disrespectful every day to the non-religious and you turn a blind eye on it. Only when it affects you personally do you object. The religious question and badger the non-religious daily ranging from including religious phrases in everyday speech to proselytizing to condemnation (and mockery) for non-belief. I find the quietly respectful religious to be the most admirable, and yet they are seemingly few and far between.

There is a phrase "the pot calling the kettle black" with which you might want to familiarize yourself. Yet another religious hypocrite.

This.

Anonymous wrote:
While reading the news coverage of the vigil, I see countless comments by strident atheists mocking everything about faith and God, from MSNBC to CNN to Huffington Post...everywhere. Who are these people? Why are they spending their time in the wake of this tragedy smugly proclaiming people of faith to be fools?

My small request to anyone who is tempted to proclaim the atheist gospel to give it a rest for now. Show some respect. If you have no words of comfort, just don't say anything at all.

I get it, you're religious and you don't want people being disrespectful.

But the problem is that there any many, many religious people who go around being disrespectful every day to the non-religious and you turn a blind eye on it. Only when it affects you personally do you object. The religious question and badger the non-religious daily ranging from including religious phrases in everyday speech to proselytizing to condemnation (and mockery) for non-belief. I find the quietly respectful religious to be the most admirable, and yet they are seemingly few and far between.

There is a phrase "the pot calling the kettle black" with which you might want to familiarize yourself. Yet another religious hypocrite.

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying anything about you, PP. I'm just saying what I've observed. And I honestly don't think I would be able to persevere (or merely skate by) if I suffered such a tragic loss...but I've noticed that people who have faith somehow seem to not only soldier on, but thrive. It amazes me. And I don't think it's the support they receive from family, friends or their communities....it is something from within. I wish I had such faith...

I believe you may be suffering from what's called "confirmation bias." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias)

And, no, we atheists will not please stand down. I'm not out there mocking anyone for their religious beliefs, but I'm sure not going to be told that I'm not allowed to speak just because you think you're holier than I am.

This shooting has been horrible for everyone. And for the religious people who believe that atheists are all secret serial killers who think that life is meaningless, well, I don't believe there's much I can tell you that will make you understand that's not accurate. But I sure as hell won't be told by you that I can't say what's on my mind just because you harbor ignorant views about what atheists think about the world.

Again: this has been awful for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea I have seen making the rounds among my religious friends - the suggestion that a loving God would abandon a bunch of six year olds to being shot to death because of political correctness in schools or a phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance is.... repugnant. Jaw droppingly reprehensible.

If that is your God I want no part of him.

I can't tell you how many otherwise reasonable people I've seen posting that one. It's just, horrible. A few people were colleagues and I think, damn, do you seriously have no more sense than that? I actually wonder if any of them took the time to consider what they were suggesting with that post. A weak god who follows the rules (someitmes, I guess) or a god so vindictive that he intentionally allows this to happen to kindergartners because, what, he doesn't like that they aren't forced to pray to him?

I AM a spiritual person and when I see people posting that I think, there's someone who does not understand god.

yupyup

I'm an athiest but I'll say amen to both of these posts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not PP, but no. If there's no "better place," there's no "burn in hell" either. Everyone dies, they go nowhere else, and leave only their legacy and the memories of their loved ones.

Right, exactly. So DCUMers get away with affairs, being greedy and selfish without consequence, and mass murderers have the same ultimate fate as their innocent victims: they cease to exist.

OR we are all held accountable in the end, because God's justice is perfect.

What if the shooter was mentally insane? Then he won't be held accountable after death as well, right?

Anonymous wrote:
While reading the news coverage of the vigil, I see countless comments by strident atheists mocking everything about faith and God, from MSNBC to CNN to Huffington Post...everywhere. Who are these people? Why are they spending their time in the wake of this tragedy smugly proclaiming people of faith to be fools?

I even saw one article slamming an elderly priest who was interviewed immediately after tending to families at the fire station for "laughing inappropriately," insinuating he thought this devastation was funny, when it was clearly a hysterical, sobbing reaction to trauma.

link(s)? I've been reading a lot of news coverage and have not seen anything like what you are mentioning (comments by athiests mokcking people) in ANY news article.

Link please?

It's a ridiculous conceit that life has no meaning if there is no after life. What do the two even have to do with each other?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So there are no consequences to the perpetrators of child massacres? There is no hope of eternal justice?

What about your God's culpability for allowing this to happen? Why didn't he intervene? That might have been preferable for those kids than eternal fires of damnation for the shooter. That won't do those kids and their families much good.

There is so much evil in the world...because we chose it. We were given the gift of life and the gift of freedom, and we choose evil, over and over again.

Or there is no such thing as evil in the world...because this life is meaningless.

No one knows the fate of any of the eternal souls involved in the shooting.

Anonymous wrote:
So there are no consequences to the perpetrators of child massacres? There is no hope of eternal justice?

What about your God's culpability for allowing this to happen? Why didn't he intervene? That might have been preferable for those kids than eternal fires of damnation for the shooter. That won't do those kids and their families much good.

The PPs made it clear that they were citing the ideas of others, OP.

You're the one that started this discussion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea I have seen making the rounds among my religious friends - the suggestion that a loving God would abandon a bunch of six year olds to being shot to death because of political correctness in schools or a phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance is.... repugnant. Jaw droppingly reprehensible.

If that is your God I want no part of him.

I can't tell you how many otherwise reasonable people I've seen posting that one. It's just, horrible. A few people were colleagues and I think, damn, do you seriously have no more sense than that? I actually wonder if any of them took the time to consider what they were suggesting with that post. A weak god who follows the rules (someitmes, I guess) or a god so vindictive that he intentionally allows this to happen to kindergartners because, what, he doesn't like that they aren't forced to pray to him?

I AM a spiritual person and when I see people posting that I think, there's someone who does not understand god.

yupyup

I am the OP, and I don't know if you are all intentionally citing those ideas as mine, but in any case, that is not what I said AT ALL. That is a straw man position that goes right past my point.

I know this is going to sound a little crazy. Just go with it, ok?

How about you not assume "atheist" trolls speak for all atheists and I won't assume that Fred Phelps is the voice of all Christians?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea I have seen making the rounds among my religious friends - the suggestion that a loving God would abandon a bunch of six year olds to being shot to death because of political correctness in schools or a phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance is.... repugnant. Jaw droppingly reprehensible.

If that is your God I want no part of him.

I can't tell you how many otherwise reasonable people I've seen posting that one. It's just, horrible. A few people were colleagues and I think, damn, do you seriously have no more sense than that? I actually wonder if any of them took the time to consider what they were suggesting with that post. A weak god who follows the rules (someitmes, I guess) or a god so vindictive that he intentionally allows this to happen to kindergartners because, what, he doesn't like that they aren't forced to pray to him?

I AM a spiritual person and when I see people posting that I think, there's someone who does not understand god.

yupyup

Anonymous wrote:The idea I have seen making the rounds among my religious friends - the suggestion that a loving God would abandon a bunch of six year olds to being shot to death because of political correctness in schools or a phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance is.... repugnant. Jaw droppingly reprehensible.

If that is your God I want no part of him.

I can't tell you how many otherwise reasonable people I've seen posting that one. It's just, horrible. A few people were colleagues and I think, damn, do you seriously have no more sense than that? I actually wonder if any of them took the time to consider what they were suggesting with that post. A weak god who follows the rules (someitmes, I guess) or a god so vindictive that he intentionally allows this to happen to kindergartners because, what, he doesn't like that they aren't forced to pray to him?

I AM a spiritual person and when I see people posting that I think, there's someone who does not understand god.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea I have seen making the rounds among my religious friends - the suggestion that a loving God would abandon a bunch of six year olds to being shot to death because of political correctness in schools or a phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance is.... repugnant. Jaw droppingly reprehensible.

If that is your God I want no part of him.

+infinity

+1

I am an atheist and I haven't posted my feelings on this tragedy anywhere until now...and all I'll say is STFU. With all the pain these families are in, you're offended by some trolls on a MSG board? Step away because many of us aren't worrying about our own sensibilities right now, because we're too sad for the families who have suffered the incomorehensibke. So, yes, pls STFU