What's your experience been like with Christians?

format_quote Originally Posted by Serinity

I've only met pretend christians, they don't take it seriously, they are cultural.

I know tho that they don't represent christianity tho. Idk tho.

Traditional Anabaptists are the only real Christians left. I like the Conservative Mennonites quite a lot.

The main difference between modern Christians and atheists is that modern Christians violate the third commandment and atheists don't.

format_quote Originally Posted by fschmidt

Traditional Anabaptists are the only real Christians left. I like the Conservative Mennonites quite a lot.

The main difference between modern Christians and atheists is that modern Christians violate the third commandment and atheists don't.

Thou shalt not take the name of thy lord God in vain? Or are you thinking of something else as the third commandment?

As an atheist, I find it interesting to read about how Muslims and Christians regard each other because I am am outsider to both. I wonder if Christians in general are more tolerant of muslims or atheists. The first is pushing a different religious message and the second is disregarding religion outright. Which do they see as worse? Which do they feel more allied with and more common ground with?

I think the outright bigotry from Christians goes more against Muslims, but I think antagonism towards atheists is more widespread amongst Christians than antagonism towards Muslims.

Interfaith and nutual acceptance can happen with highly conservative Christians and Muslims, but I dont think that is so with either highly conservative set of religious folks in relation to atheists.

So I think you folks get the harshest hatred from them, but more of them are against us than you. In national polls we are less liked than you by them as a general group, but in extreme cases of hatred it goes against you (ie trump, edl etc).

Do you folks have the same impression? Opposite impression?

format_quote Originally Posted by EgyptPrincess

EDL is your donald trump of the UK. Cancerous scumbags that's who.

EDL = English Defence League. It's a political party with 0 seats LOL

They are a protest group and not a political party. You might be thinking of the BNP or Britian first.

format_quote Originally Posted by Pygoscelis

Thou shalt not take the name of thy lord God in vain? Or are you thinking of something else as the third commandment?

As an atheist, I find it interesting to read about how Muslims and Christians regard each other because I am am outsider to both. I wonder if Christians in general are more tolerant of muslims or atheists. The first is pushing a different religious message and the second is disregarding religion outright. Which do they see as worse? Which do they feel more allied with and more common ground with?

I think the outright bigotry from Christians goes more against Muslims, but I think antagonism towards atheists is more widespread amongst Christians than antagonism towards Muslims.

Interfaith and nutual acceptance can happen with highly conservative Christians and Muslims, but I dont think that is so with either highly conservative set of religious folks in relation to atheists.

So I think you folks get the harshest hatred from them, but more of them are against us than you. In national polls we are less liked than you by them as a general group, but in extreme cases of hatred it goes against you (ie trump, edl etc).

Do you folks have the same impression? Opposite impression?

I think its very complicated in the UK. For example the hatred for Islam from..... lets say right wing "Christians" isnt religious but more ethnic/migration/ political issues.

The Atheists on the left are more accepting of non christian groups not because of religion but because of their views on migration and ethnicity/liberalism.

However if we look at faith schools, religion in public then the christian and the Muslim have a lot more in common then the Atheist.

The rise of Richard Dawnkins type of atheist compared to the old lefty/socialist Atheist have very different approaches to Islam and Christianity as well. The former being christian friendly and the latter more Muslim friendly.

Very complicated and the change of the political environment changes stances of different groups to each other.

We are majority Muslim country, but I would say I get well with Christian/Catholics, my primary and high school school was a Catholic one. High school was more or less I guess though a few christias did start questioning about Islam when I was on my final year and we had this awful debate in class. But in general, its A Okay.

Oh! I learned a few things from them like don't say God's name in vain. We used to use OMG and someone would say "Don't say God's name in vain!". So I said the same thing when my mum said it

format_quote Originally Posted by Pygoscelis

Thou shalt not take the name of thy lord God in vain? Or are you thinking of something else as the third commandment?

Yes but since "in vain" isn't used much in modern English, a better translation today is "You shall not misuse the name of Yehovah, your god". The actual Hebrew seems to mean not to use God's name for "emptiness", meaning for nothing. And this is exactly what modern Christianity does.

Note that I am not Muslim, so I, like you, am an outsider. Tolerance today is at an all-time low because people don't seem to understand the concept. The concept isn't accepting what you disagree with. Rather it is tolerating what you disagree with without having to accept it as part of your life. Muhammad, to his credit, understood this. Modern atheists and modern Christians do not understand this.

Mainly negative. Tell you to do one thing while they practice the other. Commit heinous crimes throughout the week then go to church on Sunday and sing about how they believe they are saved

Christians are shayateen who act like they think they are angels.
And I'd say I would have had more exposure to them than most here as I was raised one. Too much hypocrisy in the church but I guess when stealing a cracker is considered as much of a sin as murder according to church teachings we shouldn't expect any better.

format_quote Originally Posted by ardianto

Hypocrite people like that exist in every religion, not only in Christianity. I have seen many Muslims with behavior that similar as those Christians.

Everyone is different, everyone has his own character and personality. So we cannot generalize all Christians are like that, all Hindus are like that, all Buddhists are like that, just because some of them behave like that.

She asked for experiences. I gave mine. I wasn't going to sugar coat it because a let's all sing kum baya together response was wanted

As I am living in the Christian majority society, I meet them of course daily. My family, friends (well, mostly) and workmates are Christians (one is Muslim but we aren´t in same shift often). In the most of cases there isn´t any problems at all. Sometimes I have met some Christians whose try to impose their faith but not only to me but to everybody. In my society such thing is normally viewed in strictly negative as people feel that religion and faith is everyone´s personal matter, not the public matter. Some Christians have came to critize Muslims in general and whine why they don´t follow their religion as they (of their minds) should. Then I usually have asked do every Christians follow at least the Ten Commandments in their lives and if so, why here is still murders, adultery, robberies etc. so much.

Basicly most of my contacts to the Christians have been positive but as you know, people are all different.

About interfaith meetings, my Islamic community has arranged few already. Members from different religion communities have gather together and discussed about some theme like the racism in the society. Later we have drunk some coffee, eat sweets and chat together. Nice, relaxing and surely it has increased understanding between different religion groups.

Hi LaSorcia,

I don't think i've met any practising Christians...

A lot of 'westerners' that i meet are very secular and are not interested in religion...

I have found myself that Catholics tend to be more serious about their faith then other Christians. This is a general observation, perhaps because Catholicism is more conservative than other denominations?

btw, @Pygoscelis I agree that conservative Muslims and Christians can relate to one anther on more common ground as compared to atheists - unfortunately I would find it more difficult to relate to an atheist in matters of religion. At least with Christians we have something to relate to one another - a faith and belief in God and certain guidelines - even though they do differ fundamentally.

Having said that, criticism and attacks against Islam are more aggressive both because of the current state of world affairs and because, for some Christians or people of faith, Islam has always been more 'threatening' than atheism, perhaps in terms of its doctrines and the primary importance and influence Islam has in our life as Muslims.

Tolerance is tolerating what you do not accept or like.

we can't go out and insult other religions, that'll just generate enmity and stuff, and is counterproductive.

if we all were intolerant, we'd argue every night till the day of Judgment.

There is some degree of tolerance, but there is a limit.

For example I'd never obey a christian / kafir in disobedience to Allah SWT, or have such tolerance as to compromise my deen, and perhaps even losing it.

There are 2 extremes: being completely tolerant, and completely intolerant.

One has to have it balanced.