alt Hacker NewsI think religious people just need to accept that their viewpoint will offend/confuse people who have a different viewpoint.
You'd probably be a bit offended if you encountered someone in the wild who told you that your religious beliefs sound more like a child's fairytale than an accurate understanding of how the universe functions.
Similarly, others will be offended when you tell them "things happen for a reason, under the guidance of a conscious actor."
No one is being overly reductive or misunderstanding anything -- we just disagree. And that's okay.
I'm not offended for people thinking my beliefs are like a child's fairytale, many of my closest friends also jab me with statements about "his sky daddy" and what not. I definitely understand the viewpoint of a non-believer, being one myself in the past. I'm also not afraid that some of my beliefs offend others, although I don't wish them ill will at all. After all, my eating pork and beef offends billions of people around the world for different reasons, and in the end I don't care.
What I'm talking about is specifically this statement:
> For religious people there is always the single factor
That for all religious people there is only a single factor, that factor being God. As if nobody else's own work and struggle enabled that positive outcome, it was just God that stepped in and make everything just magically happen every time. I've experienced people (plenty, trust me) who lived life this way, and I totally get the frustration at dealing with such people. Because, in the end they usually use such a mindset to not give a shit about the people who were actually there that made the positive outcome happen. They can ignore giving back and supporting those who toiled to ensure the positive outcome happened.
Suggesting all religious people live live this way and with this viewpoint is painting a very negative view of all religious people. Tons of religious people absolutely do not have this viewpoint, at all, even if they see God's influence in their lives.
I absolutely still credit the surgeon for my survival, I definitely still tip my bar tender for a good time.