I thought that this was sad, funny, informative, and hard to read all at once. It is from “Friendly Atheist.” It lists 20 things that Christians do that annoy him. I thought that the insights from an outsider was helpful and interesting. I even found myself agreeing with some of them.
I thought that it might be interesting to add to the list. What type of things do Christians do that annoy you? Write them out in a response. Come on . . . you know you have them.
I am going to give a few here:
11. Devotionals: Sometimes these become just a 5 minute way to get our spirituality out of the way for the day. If we miss, oh the guilt.
10. Praying before meals: Nothing wrong with this, but sometimes this can be annoying, especially when it is the only time we talk with God. Some people absolutely will not eat a bite until the prayer is said. Doesn’t the Bible say to “pray without ceasing”? Or does it say, “Don’t forget to thank God for each meal.”
9. Hiding our struggles: Christians have questions and struggles too. Many just think that when you become a believer, all your struggles just disappear. This is not true. They will come out sometime. Let’s be honest from the beginning.
8. Reading only books that agree with what we already believe: Why would we do that? If you are only going to read and study with those who agree with you, just write your own book. Are you working for change, or are you already perfect in your beliefs?
7. Proof-texting: I can find a single Scripture that will support just about anything. Scripture is only good when it is understood. Memorizing Scripture is good, but it does not mean that we understand it.
6. “Christian” jargon: Our Christian sub-culture has an entirely different language that even Christians don’t really understand. Why the sub-culture language? Are we not to be priests to the world. We already know what it is like when priests preach in a different language.
5. Thinking we must have an answer for every question: Search hard, but if you don’t know, admit it. Admit it to yourselves, God, and others.
4. Making friends with only those who think the same way we do: Make friends and respect those who don’t think exactly the same as you. They have their reasons for being the way they are and you need to understand and love them. Christ went to the bars to seek the lost. How many of us would be willing to do the same?
3. Getting so offended when people curse: Hey, that is just the way that people speak. If you leave the room every time someone curses, you will not be able to fulfill the great commission. You tell me, which commission is greater: “Go into all the world…making disciples” or “Leave the world with thine fingers in thine ears when people put syllables together that offendeth thee?” As Wayne Grudem says cursing can be compared to the sin of body odor. It is just offensive, nothing more. Don’t get so bent out of shape on this one.
2. Saying “I will pray for you about that” as another way of saying “I am right, you are wrong; only the supernatural power of God can make you see things my way.”
1. Saying “I will pray for you about that” and have no intention of praying at all.
14 replies to "Things that Christians do that annoys me"
My biggest gripe:
1) Pseudoscience in the name of God. I have immense respect for theologians. I have great respect for scientists. Let’s not blur the boundries and create things that atheists feed off of. A lot of the atheist blogs I read go on and on debunking the science many Christians try to create: it only causes problems! Though science can be helpful in understanding God’s glory, any definitive proof would undermine the ability to choose or not choose God. I think we all must admit that true scientific proof will only come to those who stick it out here on earth and make it to the undying lands.
I agree with the above comment on intelligent design; but moreover, my biggest gripe is with “Christians” who treat others who are different from them as enemies, particularly since conservative Christianity co-opted the Republican Party and Christianity became political (again. Can we say Constantine here??) It annoys me when I see Christians who slyly try to convert their relatives and disrespect their relatives’ own beliefs in the arrogant belief that Christianity will save the world. Christianity has been responsible for a lot of the grossest miscarriages of colonialism (particularly in Africa where we blindly go on waging Christianity on these people). Christ didn’t knock people over the head with the Bible. People just felt compelled to follow Him after listening to Him. Were that arrogant Christians were that subtle!
Firstly intelligent design is more scientific than evolution, it simply tries to follow the evidence where it leads. Secondly atheistic websites trying to “debunk” intelligent design invariably fail by falling back on crackpot hypotheses like Miller’s claims that since 25% of the bacterium flagellum can be found in the type three secretory system an evolutionary sequence can be created. There are three main points of fail.
1/ It’s only 25% of the required assembly. 75% still has to appear out of thin air.
2/ Stephen Minnich who is an expert, unlike Miller, observes that incubated above 37C the flagellum instead forms a secretory like organ, in other words the TTSS is probably a degenerate form of the flagellum.
3/ Evolutionary history claims that bacteria predated the multi-cellular creature. The TTSS is of no use without multi-cellular life to engage with. In other words Miller’s “solution” contradicts the evolutionary history. That indicates that these people aren’t interested in truth, they’re certainly not interested in science, they just want to justify their moronic atheistic philosophy.
Diane, go read anything by Rodney Stark. Christianity did indeed save the world, and if atheists don’t like it, who cares? Atheists have contributed nothing to the world except massive bloodshed. The word genocide had to be invented to describe their activities. Try Vox Day’s The Irrational Atheist for some idea of how far the high priests of atheism are from rational thought.
Also, the inability to distinguish between Biblical Creation and Intelligent Design is another thing that irritates me about atheists and their compromising hangers-on.
Biblical Creation starts with the Bible as the inspired, historically accurate, document past Christians have claimed it to be and seeks to understand scientific observations in light of that.
Intelligent Design starts with observations about the incredible complexity that is found in nature and looking at possible sources for it, finds that an intelligent causation is the most likely explanation.
The general term for the type of complexity they look for is “specified complexity”. Writing on a page is specified complexity, crystals in a snowflake are specified but not complex, a jar of protein solution is complex but not specified.
In living systems DNA is much more like the written page than it is either of the other examples. The information it contains is independent of the chemical composition of its bases just as the words the ink forms on the paper is independent of its chemical composition. If it is reasonable to attribute a written page to a writer then it is reasonable to infer someone wrote the coding in the DNA.
“Atheists have contributed nothing to the world except massive bloodshed.”
So glad to see that Jason C hasn’t lost his edge.
Here’s what I most love about Christians: their winsome intellectual humility, their sensitivity to the limits of their own expertise, their awareness that they might be wrong.
I’m reminded of Winston Churchill’s observation. “He is a humble man with much to be humble about.”
So what have atheists contributed to the world CT? Did they invent science? No, that was Christians. Public hospitals, oh Christians again. Magna Carta and the rule of law… oh Christians yet again.
Contributed massively to the prison system, oh yes. In New Zealand atheists are 3 times as likely to be in prison as Christians. Genocide? In the twentieth century atheistic regimes killed about three times as many people in peacetime as all wars and individual crimes combined.
So show me that I am wrong. If I’m arrogant it seems I have good reason.
Christians invented science… ? …and with that knowledge, then designed numerous, huge, ‘apparently self-constructing’ monuments pre-dating Christianity by centuries worldwide that could go back in time and erect themselves.
This is hardly even Chicken/Egg debate worthy.
Science existed a long time before Christianity.If you need proof of this try the ‘History (non-fiction)’ section in the library.
Man invented God in the image of himself.
Jason C – as a Kiwi I am interested in your claim “New Zealand atheists are 3 times as likely to be in prison as Christians.”
Can you provide a reference for this? (It seems to conflict with the US data and I would like to know if we really are that different). I have heard this comment before but never been able to find the data.
Jason C, the 15th century called, they want their theology back.
who is god talking to during the creation? he keeps saying “let there be this and that” and it happens. he must be telling the true creator what to do. also why did he create the heaven and earth before light? it just makes him look stupid right off the bat.
Yeah, and on which day did he create internal dialogue and the universal language ?
Oh please. Do you remember the crusades? The in-fighting between Catholics and Protestants that killed so many? The inability of Christians to understand that other people may not think the way they do?
I have been a born again believer for many years. I am not a “good” Christian in the way most of us define good, but I know what’s what. The thing that annoys me about a lot of Christian women is this: They can’t talk about tying their shoelaces without invoking God. Now I know, or think, God is interested in our souls daily walk, I just don’t know if we should be saying “I mopped the floor today. Thank you God” or “Lord, thank you for leading me to Staples where I found the perfect ink pen”….you know? It all just seems so self righteous, or something. Maybe I am wrong but since you asked, I answered. 🙂
Oh, boy. This got off topic.
Jason C and everyone that responded to him, please listen: Treating your opponent’s view as laughable or idiotic is not going to get you anywhere. It will only make your opponent defensive and even more closed off from listening to anyone with your views in future.
This is one annoying thing about a lot of Christians that I must confess I have done, too: ridiculing every opposing belief. Sometimes, it is hard to understand how someone can hold to such wildly different beliefs, and sometimes, using extreme language to describe them can help to clarify things. But it’s important not to construct straw men just to make yourself more comfortable with your own beliefs. The other person may be wrong, but that doesn’t make them an idiot. They may be misinformed, or misunderstand the issue, or have an emotional reason to deny the truth. Mocking them won’t help any of that. And it doesn’t make you a better person, either.
(Incidentally, when Jason said Christians “invented science”, I think he was referring to Francis Bacon, who coined the modern scientific method. Just to clarify.)