Why the HATE?

[McBell]

I think its because the truth hurts.

And what "truth" would that be?

Or are you merely going to present your beliefs and label said beliefs "The Truth"?

But others seem to get a raging attitude and have the most sarcastic, disrespectful and inconsiderate comments about Jesus Christ.

Perhaps it has to do with the inconsistencies that Christians present as to what exactly their "truth"/beliefs actually entail?

Perhaps it has to do with the FACT that so many Christians put themselves on pedestals, some self righteous higher ground, etc. and then make total arses of themselves by proclaiming their beliefs are to be followed by everyone?
In fact, is that not exactly what this is:

"I believe every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is LORD."
​

the look I was given said 1000 words

Now the real question is... are those thousand words YOU give that look anything even remotely resembling what the one giving the look was thinking?
Is it even remotely possible that you are merely putting words in the fellows mouth?
Words that your own bias and prejudices have dictated?

 

[Breathe]

I don't hate Jesus, at all. On the contrary, he is probably my favourite guru.

I don't hate the followers of Jesus either for their faith, but I hate the way certain individuals cram it down your throat. (Door-to-door evangelists included.. why do they always bother me!) - and I hate the way certain hate groups try to justify their ways, Westboro Baptist church style - but I like the majority of Christians.

I have known people who hate Jesus though (they were my friends until I became a Christian, then harassed me) - and sometimes it's an anger that spills out from the harassment they have received from Christians, other times (like my ex-friends) it's because they're idiots who think it's cool to oppose the majority.

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Gandhi

And they should get that "backlash".... from ALL people of good will.

Sounds good to me.

 

[Runewolf1973]

I believe in Jesus Christ. In college, I learned about many different religions. Never once did I have HATE toward any other religion/deities. So why is it such a strong HATE towards Jesus Christ? Why the hostility? I will share why I think hate rears its ugly head anytime Jesus is brought up in a conversation with or around non believers. I think its because the truth hurts. I have noticed the same type of hate when the truth its revealed in other instances. One can talk about the Dalai Lama /Buddha/satan/atheists beliefs- all day around me. I believe every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is LORD. So I listen and ask my questions ( if speaking with ppl who believe different from me about religion) and move on with my life. I share my testimony, maybe a few verses, then I'm done. I do not intentionally INSULT their beliefs!

But others seem to get a raging attitude and have the most sarcastic, disrespectful and inconsiderate comments about Jesus Christ. They also seem to be eager to break my spirit or try to make me feel dumb about my beliefs!...keep in mind that i don associate with rude ppl on purpose..the rudeness is hidden until religion becomes a topic! Someone asked me at work "how do you deal with the stress of having 3 sons?" I answered.." I pray a lot and lean on Jesus for strength and wisdom"...you would have thought that I said "I kill babies with chainsaws and rape old women"...the look I was given said 1000 words...and I just could not understand why at the time.

Why the hate??? What is your opinion?

What I hate is when people say that Jesus is the ONLY way, when clearly he is not. There are many ways. Nothing personal though, it is only when people try to push their Jesus beliefs on me that it really bothers me.

 

[AlsoAnima]

-snip-

Like many other religions in the world, Organized Christianity is known for it's repression to other religions. Because it it the most popular religion, it generates the most amount of backlash.

 

[monta]

I think it may be a Pavlovian thing, there is only so many times you can hear the phrases like," let me talk to you about my lord and personal saviour Jesus" followed by a well meaning but dull and irritating one sided (and often loud) lecture, before the mere mention of the name Jesus causes you to run away screaming or curl up into the fetal position on the floor.

 

[OmarKhayyam]

"Why the hate??? What is your opinion?"

So Seeking, you have several very good answers to which, sadly i am unable to meaningful add.:sad4:

Nonetheless, at the risk of belaboring the obvious, I add this. It is not possible logically to "hate" something or someone that you not believe exists. Just as I am sure you don't "hate" Athena I and others do not "hate" your JC creation.

But indulge me for a moment and imagine this incident. You and others are setting around at lunch perhaps just chatting. I notice a loose thread on your sweater. I say, "Look Seeking has failed to properly care for his clothes. He has chosen poorly weaved ones and now allows that poor choice to literally come apart as he wears it.
Now as it happens MY God Athena is the originator of weaving. And my knowledge of her divine skills allows me to explain to you how to properly weave and care for garments. Let me tell about my God and her skills and so allow you to avoid being so embarrassed by your ignorance as you are now."

How might you feel about my comments?

We feel much the same about being "instructed" about your JC myth.

 

[Kathryn]

You have to understand that many people have been treated badly by Christians who basically condemn anybody who does not accept Jesus as being real or Divine. It is easy to then approach the subject with some negativity.

So two wrongs make a right?

I've been a Christian for most of my life. Sure, on occasion I've run across nut jobs who handle snakes, spout rhetoric from the pulpit, and generally embarrass me by association.

But more often, I've seen the good that Christians do in their communities.

I was raised in a Christian home by parents who were involved in full time ministry work - a non denominational ministry that worked with the military. Consequently I was around many different sects of Christianity. Due to our daily involvement on a religious level with all branches of the military, I was exposed to not only Christian beliefs, but all sorts of religious beliefs, races of people, backgrounds, etc.

It never occurred to me to treat another person's religious beliefs with disrespect. To this day, I am amazed at the cruelty, sarcasm, and disrespect that I see from others - both religious and non religious - towards people whose ideas they don't share.

I think it's a shame from ANY source and I think it seriously undermines a person's credibility.

 

[Madhuri]

So two wrongs make a right?

I've been a Christian for most of my life. Sure, on occasion I've run across nut jobs who handle snakes, spout rhetoric from the pulpit, and generally embarrass me by association.

But more often, I've seen the good that Christians do in their communities.

I was raised in a Christian home by parents who were involved in full time ministry work - a non denominational ministry that worked with the military. Consequently I was around many different sects of Christianity. Due to our daily involvement on a religious level with all branches of the military, I was exposed to not only Christian beliefs, but all sorts of religious beliefs, races of people, backgrounds, etc.

It never occurred to me to treat another person's religious beliefs with disrespect. To this day, I am amazed at the cruelty, sarcasm, and disrespect that I see from others - both religious and non religious - towards people whose ideas they don't share.

I think it's a shame from ANY source and I think it seriously undermines a person's credibility.

I am not proclaiming that two wrong make a right, and neither that all Christian people are annoying. But you see, it's the ones that are so adament to push their beliefs on others that stand out because they really expose themselves. These people, and any others like them from whatever faith/group, only cause hassel and create a negative impression of the religion they represent.

I am personally surrounded by wonderful Christian people in my life. They are usually very respectful people. It is my experience that people from many religious backgrounds are disrespectful to non-believers of their faith and which cause the people subjected to their aggressive method of preaching feel negatively toward their institution. But the OP was asking specifically about Jesus.

 

[Phasmid]

I like Jesus... I'd give him a great big man hug if I saw him.

Unfortunately his dad has some strange rules that I'm required to follow and they just don't make any sense to me, so I'm going to a place of eternal pain and suffering... so I'll never get that hug

 

[Storm]

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Gandhi

I'm with him, for the most part. I, too, have known many wonderful Christians. And yet, they allow the jerks to represent them, at least on the national stage.

ETA:

I think its because the truth hurts.

It's pretention like this that gets the reactions you describe.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

I blame the Romans.

 

[Breathe]

I'm with him, for the most part. I, too, have known many wonderful Christians. And yet, they allow the jerks to represent them, at least on the national stage.

I agree, I've met some fantastic Christians, too

 

[Nepenthe]

... I think its because the truth hurts. I have noticed the same type of hate when the truth its revealed in other instances. ... I believe every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is LORD.

Not hate, but annoyance at the condescending dogmatic religious like some Christians- Christianity comprising 31% of this planet's population (over 2.1 billion)- who use their faith to attack, suppress and impede social, political, scientific, and even religious progress. Christians are overwhelmingly represented in the Western world's politics and hold the highest positions of power. There's a reason non-Christians are primarily critical of some Christians, particularly those who aggressively proselytize and use their positions of authority to impose their morality on the minority. Christianity is the major faith to impact the West, and so celebrating the positive aspects of your faith is a given, but so is critiquing the negatives.

 

[Katzpur]

I don't claim with 100% certainty that "God does not exist". Instead, I say "God probably doesn't exist" as absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. I whole-heartedly think that everything has a naturalistic explanation to it - everything can and will eventually be explained by science.

I don't see how science being able to explain something has any relevance whatsoever to whether there is a God or not. I mean why couldn't God exist independently of whether science can explain something? I don't get it.

 

[Katzpur]

But others seem to get a raging attitude and have the most sarcastic, disrespectful and inconsiderate comments about Jesus Christ. They also seem to be eager to break my spirit or try to make me feel dumb about my beliefs!...keep in mind that i don associate with rude ppl on purpose..the rudeness is hidden until religion becomes a topic! Someone asked me at work "how do you deal with the stress of having 3 sons?" I answered.." I pray a lot and lean on Jesus for strength and wisdom"...you would have thought that I said "I kill babies with chainsaws and rape old women"...the look I was given said 1000 words...and I just could not understand why at the time.

Why the hate??? What is your opinion?

I'd be interested in hearing more about "the look" you were given. Is it possible you misinterpreted it? I honestly have never encountered very many people who "hate" Jesus. A lot of them don't believe He existed. A lot believe He existed but is not what Christians believe Him to be. I can't think of anyone here on RF (and there are a LOT of agnostics and atheists here) who has ever said they hate Jesus. A lot of them hate Christians, though, and don't hesitate to say so. Some of them have some pretty good reasons for hating the way certain Christians have treated them over the years and are inclined to generalize their feelings to extend to all Christians. That's what irritates me.

 

[richardlowellt]

I think its because the truth hurts.

And here you have a perfect example of why many find this attitude insulting, and disrespectful. "the truth hurts" what in the name of Crom does that mean? Truths come from evidence, evidence that can be examined, are you saying that you have evidence for your truths? If so please share them with us.

Was it not this Jesus that suggested your religion should be kept private? If the religious would only do exactly that then maybe this "hate" that you speak of would not exist, but when this religion is forced on all as in Creationism being taught in public schools, rallying to block scientific advances as in stem cell research, politicians looking to change the U.S. Constitution to be more "inline" with the teachings of the bible, Ex Presidents shouting that Atheists should not be allowed to vote, then perhaps you can see where some of the Hate comes from.

 

[EtuMalku]

Not one for tip toeing around, I will bluntly state that "I absolutely loathe the Abrahamic religions"
On the other hand I have absolutely no qualms with the Yeshua dude

 

[Father Heathen]

As others have pointed out, self-righteous holier-than-thou fundamentalists who have tried to impose their beliefs upon others and use those beliefs to justify bigotry and injustice gave Christianity its negative reputation. Also, the idea that the abrahamic faiths think they have a monopoly on the whole god concept doesn't help, either.

 

[Vile Atheist]

I don't see how science being able to explain something has any relevance whatsoever to whether there is a God or not. I mean why couldn't God exist independently of whether science can explain something? I don't get it.

God can exist independently of whether or not science can explain something, yes. But if science is able to attribute a rational, naturalistic explanation to everything, then that detracts from the probability of God's existence. Too many theists love to attribute things they don't understand to God. "Why is the sky blue?" "God made it that way."

But if we can explain how God is not required to colour the sky, people are going to see the irrelevance of God in that factor and will be less inclined to accept God because of it. I could be wrong, but that's the way I see it. I just find God - existing or not - is an irrelevant factor in explaining naturalistic phenomena.

 

[Azakel]

what in the name of Crom does that mean?

Haha I have to give you frubals just for the use of a Conan(since I just watch that movie today).
And to keep on topic I agree with what most have posted here.