Why the hostility?

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This. Although I do have some venom for hardcore Evangelicals/Fundies and some of the more "out there" Catholics.

The populous is vain and cosmopolitan and organized evangelicals are beginning to use postmodern marketing trends to lull people into their product. Our church is quite open and deep, but others I see are analogous to salespeople with Bibles. We don't want to be associated with "fake people" so we choose atypical honesty and that scares people. Re-imaging to fake/real sensitivity has been around since 60s "counter-culture" (when a former Nazi client created vans to lull peace-goers.

At the time I was first on here it was openly hostile, now it's not so bad.

People are hostile to Christians for several legitimate reasons:
----They were raised by the crazier type of Christian.
----They have only talked to the crazier type of Christian.
----They are liberals, and believe that Christianity is by nature divisive and repressive, which I must say is justifiable in today's nuthouse political climate.
----They have only read the Old Testament.
----They are aspies. The aspie brain favors science over religion. I, unlike most kids, had to grow out of scientific reductionism and into a (non-political, non-crazy) religious worldview, because my brain processed facts more easily than beliefs.

And several illegitimate ones:
----They filter what stories about Christians enter their brain, so that these stories conform to their own views (e.g. only reading horror stories about missionaries when there are just as many stories about their good works).
----They have hastily prescribed to Dawkins-brand Bandwagon Atheism so that they can fit in with today's skeptical intellectuals.
----They are feeling rebellious and want to bash someone.

Ha! Just read Deuteronomy 28:15-68, It will really knock you off your socks.

lol,
well, Im just glad I wasn't born in that time and place, when that was written.

That's not a problem and no reason to worry about, as long as it doesn't cause any real harm and it doesn't become extremist.

There is something that I wonder now, its about christian parents, and I mean who are really devoted christians, what they do if their kids no longer want to go to church or don't believe anymore? would they be forced? I have wondered this because when I decided to not to go the church anymore because I became to have doubts, my parents let me, I had the freedom to choose wether I wanted to or not, and I believe that was good, and I wonder about other families, especially conservatives, when it comes to their kids.

My personal opinion is that I don't think kids should be forced.

Because religion is moronic BS.

I actually favor the "Old Testament" I hate the term Old Testament though. as if its somehow obsolete or useless
Its actually the very heart of the Bible and I see the "New Testament" as an extension to the "Old".


as far as what do fundamentalists do when their children no longer believe? The ones I am close to simply pray for their children to return as there is little else they can do. The ones that try and force them find it turns out very badly. I grew up Catholic and it drove me away from God because it was forced down my throat despite the fact that my family didn't even believe in it it was all about keeping family tradition and keeping appearances. Now years later I'm actually more religious than my family (although I am not Catholic)

I became a Christian not by throwing my brain away but by doing two things 1) I asked God if he was really real to make himself real to me. and 2) I studied the bible seriously. before I did item 1 the bible made no sense to me at all. after I did step 1 it all started to become clear. although since I'm not willing to throw my brain out the window I find it very hard to find a Church where I fit in and I'm often in conflict with the pastor over raising questions of doctrine or Church history, or some nitpicky thing about his last sermon or whatever.

I take my faith and consequently the study of it a lot more seriously than most and so just like everything else I don't really fit in except with a few oddballs like myself but thats ok it's certainly nothing new to me.

Probably because of the fact that some people who call themselves Christians tend to force their religion upon others through certain forums, all the while claiming that anyone who speaks out against this type of religious predation is oppressing their religious freedom. This is clearly ironic and hypocritical, as one would notice that Christianity is one of the major religious affiliations in the world, and anyone speaking out against actions of a majority is hardly oppressive.

There's more to this, but this is just the tip of the iceberg - probably the most reasonable and understandable explanation.

Of course, we could just go for the quick & witty response.

There was a poll a while back. There's definitely a greater percentage of non-religious people on this site than in the general populous. I think it’s because we have a harder time accepting beliefs that have a history of spreading through heredity and societal conformity rather than personal reflection. We don't have as strong of an innate desire to accept truths due to social pressure.

1. There is no gene for being Christian or otherwise.
1.a Parents can teach their kids whatever they want, but kids decide on their own.
2. If it were a matter of social pressures there would be no Christians today.

When have I ever been hostile?

Welcome to the interwebz- this forum is quite religious and tame compared to the devoted philosophy forums I've attended.

Christianity frequently correlates with bigotry. Being an atheist bisexual furry Aspie, I really have a problem with bigotry..