trek4fr Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 One of the things I hated back when I was a Christian was "angry Christians." I'm sure you know what I mean, the kind of Christian who gets up in your face, his leather Bible flapping its pages at you, his voice telling you that if you don't accept Jesus, you are going to burn in hell. I was never THAT kind of Christian. I never saw Jesus using that kind of technique in the gospels. He seemed to be more "seeker-sensitive" so I tended to take that approach also. Now, I'll be the first to say that sometimes Christianity needs to be opposed with vigor, especially when it threatens our constitutional or human rights. Nevertheless, in my deconversion I don't want to become an "Angry Atheist" who gets in people's faces and tells them how stupid they are to believe all this stuff (even if I do think that to myself). So have you gone through this phase? How did you deal with the anger that deconversion can sometimes bring? Did you come out the other side with a more balanced view or are you still angry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinzon Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 I think we all hit a angry phase in religion if it either has effected us strongly or we believed in it with some strength. That is just my crank view on the subject. My way of getting over it was just allowing myself to be angry till it got boring, now its amusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 A lot of people need to go through an angry phase. It passes with time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilith666 Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 I did go through a period in which I was extremely pissed-off at Christians and their religion, because so much of what I had thought was true actually wasn't. But that faded as I came to terms with non-belief and the lingering fear of hell also disappeared. Spending time away from that environment as I'm in college also has helped. I think the idea of the "angry atheist" has been greatly exaggerated, particularly by Christians who feel defensive against the growing secularism in American society. I like to watch atheist YouTubers and they don't seem very in-your-face, even the ones who project a caustic image. They get mad about people trying to force religion on other people, like opposing marriage rights etc., and point out the nonsense that religion mostly is. So they do get angry sometimes when it's warranted. But the so-called Angry Atheist a la God's Not Dead is mostly a caricature of non-religious people by Christians trying to paint themselves as the good guys. Also, welcome to Ex-C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyfan70 Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 There's certainly a reason to be angry, especially at all the crap that religion does in the name of a god. In Christianland, the opposite was called "righteous anger" - getting angry at things like the Holocaust, the Khmer Rouge, etc. A justified anger if you will. I think it's ok to be angry, just don't be rude about it. You can get your point across better usually when you calmly show how screwed up someone's' belief is, rather than angrily tell them they're an idiot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Laughing at bible thumpers, while they are preaching up a storm, has proven to be therapeutic for me and fun too. Shaking your head in disbelief can be added to emphasize how stupid you think they are. They tend to go berserk when you do that, and that adds to the fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deidre Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 When I as an atheist, I went through that phase. But, I didn't want to be a ''preachy'' atheist like Dawkins. lol That said, I've returned to the faith, and I'm still not preachy. lol You may go through a lot of phases upon leaving Christianity. I know that I did. Good luck on your journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Pretty damn angry about all the wasted years at first but life is so much better now I've kinda mellowed and accepted the whole experience and just remember the relatively few good parts from back then. Onward with fewer looks back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burny Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Losing religion is like dealing with death. Anger is a phase we all went through. I have to ask what was so "non angry" about Jesus calling people names and inventing the idea of Hell as a place he'd gladly send anyone who challenged him? To suffer eternally. I think Jesus was one of the least tolerant and least loving people in history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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