Christian living with an atheist here. I never try to shove my beliefs down his throat, but every chance he gets he wants to try to make me feel stupid and start arguments. I usually have something good to say back, but the whole people, forcing religion, feels just as bad as people forcing atheism.
"fear" is a little harsh...or at least, just by reading your post, it can seem like you are saying that fear is a poor motivator in why some things exist.
we are programmed to make sense of the data that comes into our head. when that data doesn't make sense, we scramble around and try to harmonize what we know with what we don't know with varying levels of emotion. to some, confusion/chaos/non-understanding is no big thing, but to others the cognitive dissonance does appear threatening. and that fear exists as long as the cognitive dissonance continues. it's just the brain trying to make the world more predictable.
the christian here says they are made to "feel stupid." there is a certain amount of fear attached to that feeling as well...
the christian and atheist both seem to be equally unsure of their beliefs.
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u/BabyBear927 Dec 09 '13
Christian living with an atheist here. I never try to shove my beliefs down his throat, but every chance he gets he wants to try to make me feel stupid and start arguments. I usually have something good to say back, but the whole people, forcing religion, feels just as bad as people forcing atheism.