David has responded to me once again. For reference, please see this post.

The unbelieving world may not see their position in reality the same as Christians do but then the unbeliever is the one deceived, not the believer. They do not know exactly where they are until the Holy Spirit convicts them of their sin and prompts them to accept salvation.

This is easy for the believer to answer. The unbeliever attacks the Christian, attacks their message, believes lies about them, denounces their faith, and claims that their faith is not real as they do not believe God exists.

That is hatred towards God when you attack those that follow him and demean their faith The Christian is one of the bravest individuals there is. Often they have to go contrary to what loved ones believe enduring all sorts of pain.

They have to undergo attacks from those who do not believe and get mocked for believing in something. We have written about the toughness of the Christian life and as many can see, many who claim to be Christian cannot handle it.

I’m starting to think that David flips everything on its head, in pretty much any set of circumstances. It is his brand of extremist, fundamentalist Christianity that attacks and belittles others. David himself has been rude, arrogant and dishonest on numerous occasions. Fundie Christians are always pushing to gain more and more influence, through which they would deny others rights and freedoms. If left to David’s devices, women would be little more than slaves, the LGBT community would be treated as criminals, and other religions would not exist. There is nothing brave about him or his position, whatsoever.

What toughness does he face in life for being a Christian? Having his beliefs criticised, or called out for the harm they do others? Oh boo-hoo. Other groups face far more persecution, and they often face it at the hands of fundie Christians like himself. Criticism is not hate, mockery is not hate. Hate David, is seeking to deny others rights and freedoms, and hiding behind your faith as you do it.

This may come as a shock to most unbelievers. Since there is no middle ground, their attitude is a hatred. They do not allow God’s ways in government, education, science labs, and so on. That is physical evidence of hatred.

They do not want God’s ways and replace them with their own. There is no sugar coating here. If you love God you seek to have him present in all aspects of life not shutting the door in his face and saying we can do better. Well, humans can’t do better. There are over 6,000 years of physical evidence for that statement.

What?! Why should religion be permitted to interfere in every element of society, and who decides which religions, and to what degree? Would David permit Islam’s representation of God a seat at the table, when determining what religious rules should be forced upon everyone else? When has religion enhanced the pursuit of knowledge through science? If left to Biblical devices, we’d still believe the earth was the centre of the universe. We could kiss goodbye to the development of all the tools that have made our lives easier over the centuries. I’d also love to see this ‘physical evidence’ that David speaks of.

This is not true. The friction comes because those who love darkness over light, hate the light that comes and try to extinguish it. While there are episodes in history where certain groups forced religion on others, that is not generally what happens with true believers.

The problem is found in that statement where 2 generalized accusations lie. Those accusations are coerce and control others. True Christians are not doing that. While many fights for certain laws to be written and implemented, they have that right.

It is the same right that unbelievers think they have a monopoly on. Believers are citizens of a given country and they have a right to change its direction just like unbelievers think they have. Often, it is the unbeliever trying to control others.

Actually David, it is true. Religions have instructions for their followers to spread the gospel. With Christianity, it is subtle forms of manipulation.

“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Religion is always trying to interfere in society, and no, it does not have that right. They cannot force laws upon others who do not share their beliefs, or at least, they should not try to, but they try all the same. This does not happen the other way around. No one is forcing Christians to de-convert. No one is saying they cannot go to Church. However, it isn’t enough for the religious to get on with their beliefs. They have to try and interfere in everyone else’s lives.

Why should the believer leave the unbeliever alone? It is not hate to try and rescue them from a fate worse than death. Nor is it coercion or control over others. Giving people the right way to live is an act of love and freedom.

While some believers may go too far, most just present their side and let the unbeliever make their decision. That is not hatred but love for God as the Christian should share God’s desire that all men be saved. hatred comes in when you dismiss that message and then seek ways to outlaw and conversion therapy is one prime example.

If a non-believer wishes to learn about a given religion, they can do so, but that’s not enough for the religious, who will keep pushing and pushing and pushing, despite the destruction their belief system can bring. Conversion therapy is a great example that David unwittingly mentioned. It has caused great harm to the trans community.

Here’s an idea for you David. If a non-believer asks for you to leave them alone, LEAVE THEM ALONE! You are not respecting them, and certainly not loving them, by ignoring their wishes.

Creating laws that have people live correctly is not pushing, prodding, or hate-filled. There is a right and wrong way to do almost anything in this world. The believer just lets the unbeliever know what is right, wrong, good, evil, moral, and immoral.

Because the unbeliever loves darkness over light, they will always create false content, narratives, and other content distorting what has been said and done. An act of love would not write such quoted content.

Creating laws that endorse discrimination are hateful. Also David, despite your protests in an earlier comment on my blog about how you don’t force your beliefs on others, creating laws that criminalise the LGBT community would doing exactly that.

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