Is ATS becoming Increasingly Anti-Christian?

I'm not Christian, but I think you guys ought to take a look at this for a sec:

Hostile media effect

The hostile media effect, sometimes called the hostile media phenomenon, refers to the theory that ideological partisans often think that media coverage is biased against their particular opinions on an issue. This phenomenon has been identified experimentally (Vallone, Ross, & Lepper, 1985).

Read the whole article, it's not too long and it's quite fascinating and insightful.

Point is, Christians will see the boards as having an anti-Christian tone, atheist will see it as anti-atheist, Muslims will see it as anti-Islam, Jews, anti-Semite and so on and so forth. Hell, even liberals will see it as being having conservative undertones and vice versa.

You all shouldn't read too much into it. Take a chill pill, relax, take a deep breath. Just ignore those posts that would offend you. Getting all antsy about it is really not worth it.

I think questioning long-held beliefs is increasingly becoming part of modern society (this is a great thing IMO). Christianity being the dominant religion in the West, it is bound to get the lion's share of criticism when people are examining religious beliefs here.

Taking an analytical look at Christianity has even punctured the mainstream with the success of the da Vinci Code book and movie and other things like Zeitgeist for example. Whether they are 100% factually accurate is not as important as the feeling that Christianity's grasp on morality itself needs examining (the argument for Chritianity isn't exactly grounded in cold, hard, solid fact, so one could say that the popularist counter-argument is suitably also not 100% factual).

I think these days, with this broad analytical view of religion and Christianity in particular, anyone who expresses a non-questioning attitude to the faith, or to use a current buzzword, 'fundamentalist' view of Christianity, is going to be looked at with a mixture of all kinds of reactions - derision and pity probably being the most likely.

I think such a reaction is wholly justified. Anyone who invests in blind faith in this day and age is opening themselves up to abuse by those higher up in power - religious and political power. When the availability of information regarding the monumental hypocrisy and obscene crimes committed in the name of Christianity is so prevalent - anyone who blatantly ignores this plethora of information and continues to wrap themselves in their religious security blanket deserves our derision and pity.


[edit on 20-11-2007 by VelvetSplash]

In 50 to 100 years, this planet will have different values and current religions will be over. New ones will arise, better then the current ones. This abuse of the Church has to end.

You can never accept the one near you as long as you want him to be like you, aka have your religion. Man makes religion, not the other way around. Man can change religion or even abolish it. Right now were so engulfed in religious ideas that we can't be open to our own self. We all desire peace, don't we? But how can you have peace when you want people to be like you?

you mean you want people to be like you?

[edit on 20-11-2007 by Isaiah 24:21]

I predict that in 10 years people will ALL believe in a GOD, creator. Perhaps if I write my book I can change minds and save some people. but yes, christianity will take over the world, including iraq.

Originally posted by Isaiah 24:21
you mean the way you want people to be like you?

Hehehe, in a sense, yes, I only ask for acceptance and tolerance. If he is Christian, I am Muslim and my other friend is Atheist, all three should have one common thing: Accept and respect each other. We could use a religion that would revolve around these 2 things.

We need a stop to religions that say: "I am the ONLY way to SALVATION". No you are not, there are 6+ billion ways to salvation, and not even salvation, but self discovery and understanding.

In very weird way, we're agreed. I'm as anti-religion as you can get.
But religion is a system of works, a system that fosters man's self-righteousness and says do this and maybe you'll ge that.

I don't preach religion, I don't even preach Christianity.
I preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. I preach a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, eternal life as a free gift, with assurance therewith.

Interesting topic, and many interesting replies.

I myself am a Christian, but I am only semi-religious. By that I mean, I believe that maybe once, our churches were on the right path, but down the road, they´ve grown farther away from the true teachings that they were meant to teach. But that doesn´t mean I hate religion, after all, I´m semi-religious.

My main beef with people knocking "religion" is they only attack one belief system (for example Christianity) when they say they are against *all* religious institutes.

I´ve said it before, and I´ll say it again here; I feel that most who bash Christianity do so because it´s easy, and in some ways, accepted. Unlike, if you were to bash Islam or Judaism. Don´t want a bomb going off or being called *anti-semetic* do you?

But, since I´m a Christian, that´s how I percieve things, much like followers of Islam or Judaism do when their religion is confronted.

There are both the good and bad in all religious (or non religious) outlooks. There are good Christians, there are bad Christians. Good Jews, bad Jews etc. The point (which has been made earlier by another poster) is that we are ALL human, and that also means we will make mistakes.

I myself (try) to make a point of NOT bashing any other religions/beliefs. To each his own.

I have many friends with various beliefs, Jew´s, Buddhists, Atheists and of course other Christians. We can sit down together and enjoy each others company. Because we respect one another.

The only religion I´d be very skeptical about is the one who advocates rape, murder, drug use etc. And as far as I can tell, no religion does that yet. So no worries yeah?

FK

I have lived in communism, where churches were destroyed, and it seems that those times are coming back again.

All of you "ateists" have been brainwashed. I have seen it before, and there is absolutely no difference in your thinking and the reasoning of the communists who had killed millions of Christians.

The funny thing is that you believe in "science"...and yet you are not able to see that your "science" is just another, cheap religion.

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth


When I look at the world today and I see such things on the news such as the Finnish shooter who had some very Darwinistic, athiestic views, I have to ask myself what is really going on. Why is it that we scapegoat certain groups when the problems seem to flood into so many different aspects of society?

Yet, when you bring up the fact that Darwinistic, atheistic mentalities are just as harmful as overly religious ones, there is a mad rush to defend atheism... Why? Can anyone expediently explain that anomaly to me?

I think you've made a very pertinent point here. There is a kind of fashionable urge amongst some to lay all or most of the worlds ills at the door of religion, especially the Abrahamic religions but don't forget there have been more than a few acts of evil committed by people who subscribe to a materialistic, nihilistic philosophy, more than a few serial killers and dictators influenced by the works of Neitze and his ideas about Ubermenche and Darwinistic survival of the fittest. Not to mention the nasty unpleasant and downright horrible people we encounter on a daily basis who have no higher belief than that their needs matter above all else, which is basically Darwinian. Of course it doesn't follow that all belief systems stemming from materialism are this brutal and lacking in morality but conversely it doesn't follow that all beliefs stemming from Christianity result in rabid fundamentalist practices either. People should be more willing to see a balanced picture rather than a transparent steroetype to bolster their own unchallenged bias.

Originally posted by jedimiller
I predict that in 10 years people will ALL believe in a GOD, creator. ...

Could you offer any details on why you belive that within 10 years ALL people will belive in a God/Creator?

Originally posted by jedimiller
... Perhaps if I write my book I can change minds and save some people. but yes, christianity will take over the world, including iraq.

And what are you proposing to save people from?

Originally posted by mattifikation
Personally, I get sick of every good debate being ruined by somebody interjecting with, "This is just like the Biblical Prophecy says!" or "This happened because so-and-so does not follow the word of God!"

You can't debate real, observable events when people bring in illogical statements about spirituality. Because you can't counter a religious point without debating basically the entire religion, It forces the entire debate to change course into a discussion of God instead of the topic at hand.

It's exactly that sort of thing that atheists refer to when they talk about having religion "shoved down their throats." A group of people will be having an enjoyable and informative discussion about, say, the Iraq war and all of a sudden a few of them decide they're going to use the thread to debate Biblical prophecy instead.

This is why there are so many "anti" Christian threads; better those arguments happen there than in unrelated discussions.

That's exactly what I was trying to say. They just can't keep the conversation factual, it has to be about religion.

Originally posted by jedimiller
I predict that in 10 years people will ALL believe in a GOD, creator. Perhaps if I write my book I can change minds and save some people. but yes, christianity will take over the world, including iraq.

Dude, you had better hope it does.....

Unless you want to stand in that line to either praise Allah or have your head lopped off contemplating those Christians you drove out that weren't so bad after all.

Just remember, if it weren't for Christians you Liberals would have to wade thru 3 times the homeless people on your way to the bitch and moan session of the day.

I just think Christians on the board are keeping their Faith to themselves more than they used to. The reasoning behind that is that all the God haters can say literally anything they want about God or Christianity and as long as they don't mention you, it's A-OK in the book of ATS.

Yea, I''m getting a little uppity but once in a while I can't help it. You see being a Christian doesn't make you perfect. I'm still a human with emotions.

Originally posted by jbondo

I just think Christians on the board are keeping their Faith to themselves more than they used to.

Thank God

reply to post by ubermunche


Correctemundo...

People don't want to face the fact that much of Hitler's ideology came from the rantings of the German philosopher Fredrich Nietzsche... You bring that up and they always try to find some other "boogeyman" to blame. "No, Hitler was Christian. Hitler was an occultist. Hitler was blah,blah,blah."

No, Hitler believed firmly in the "Superman" of Fredrich Nietzsche's philosophy.It's that simple. There is no need to look for any other boogeyman that the one that is obvious.

We're not even going to get started on the likes of Lenin and Stalin.



[edit on 20-11-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

reply to post by SpeakerofTruth


the war on terrorism is a renewed crusade by the 2 abrahamic religions ? poor abraham if he were resurrected right now and told that what the world thinks are christians or the muslim religion or the rabbinic religion-that all 3 were part of the religion that abraham practiced he would say i dont know you-----none of these were the religion i practiced------and the same words would come out of the mouths of isaac,jacob,moses,Messiah and G-Ds prophets.muslims keep friday to worship their god mainstream "christians" keep sunday to worship their god and rabbinic jews have devised their own set of rules to follow which are more important to them than doing what moses said even though they observe G-Ds 7 th day sabbath.the religions of this world are just that-----they are not G-Ds religions------like Messiah said why call Me lord lord and do not the things which I say ?luke 6:46---------how many religions do you know of that really practice all that Messiah tells us to do in the 4 gospels ?

reply to post by yahn goodey




Good points,actually. I suspect that God is somewhat dismayed and the current state of those who claim to follow his Son.

reply to post by SpeakerofTruth


how G-D knows the future is a mystery -----i could only guess time travel--------or a real good idea of what our age would be like after watching the behaviour of adam and eve and their children up to the time of the Messiah's human sojourn and the apostolic church-plus some divine intervention from time to time to keep prophecy on track.the apostle john was used to write the book of revelation at the mouth of the Messiah's angel------revelation 11 speaks of 2 witnesses G-D is going to send when the beast and the false prophet are enslaving the world with their nwo=babylon the great------these 2 witnesses are going to spend 3 1/2 years trying to teach what real christianity is besides contending with the nwo leaders and their followers---------at the end of those 3 1/2 years G-D allows them to be murdered and their bodies to lie in the streets of jerusalem for 3 1/2 days while the nwo rejoices at their death like its xmas time.when the 3 1/2 days expire G-D resurrects them to life again and they rise to meet Messiah in the air as He returns to establish the kingdom of G-D on the earth.3 1/2 years of teaching true christianity and the reward by this worlds leaders for that is to be murdered ------true christians have always been hated and despised by most of this world nevertheless 144000 of 12 of israels tribes and an inumerable multitude will become true christians when they repent during the 3 1/2 years tribulation when the 2 witnesses are teaching.

If there were no God, there would be no Atheists.
G.K. Chesterton.

Ok, what IF it were the "sun" of God and not the "son" of God?