Planks And Specks, Vol. 2

Recently, no fewer than four of my Facebook friends posted a link to this comic (there are some bad words in it, so follow at your own risk) :

How To Suck At Your Religion

I won't copy it into my page because 1.) I don't like it, and 2.) I don't want to get in any kind of legal trouble.  So, you can follow the link.

I take issue with this for a number or reasons but, chief among them is the inherent hypocrisy of it in the first place.  Drawing up a comic, or any other form of expression, couched in the delivery and language that this is, taking (mostly) Christians to task for being hateful and judgmental, is blatantly hypocritical.

Here's the deal, Atheists (or is it "atheists"?  Is it capitalized?) - we all get that you don't believe in God, Allah, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Yoda, etc. ad nauseum.

We believe in something that you don't. We get it. We really do. However, taking every possible opportunity in your lives to lambaste others for their beliefs doesn't really make you right. It just makes you kind of a jerk. If you're going to call theists judgmental and hateful and pushy, maybe you should take a little more care that you don't exhibit these same traits yourself.

That's what gets me. The hate directed towards telling theists how hateful they are. It's a real "fight fire with fire" approach, and I don't think it really accomplishes anything.

Maybe that's what I'm so bothered about: What are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to convince theists that you're right? Has a hateful theist won you over? No? I didn't think so. Is it some masturbatory reflex to get other atheists to pat you on the back and tell you how clever you are and how you really stuck it to the Christians? Are you so sad inside that you need that validation?

Tolerance.  Tolerance and diversity.  That's all you scream about.  The Christians are SO hateful because they say that I'll go to Hell if I don't sign on with their Imaginary Sky Daddy.  Yet, you can't have an honest discussion about it without resorting to ridicule.  You want tolerance?  Practice a little.  And that free-thinking you so value?  Why do I have to freely think exactly what you think in order to not be ridiculed?  Guess what?  I used to be a militant atheist, just like you.  Free thinking led me to faith in Jesus Christ.  Um, is it not supposed to work that way?  Did I do it wrong?  Geez.

There's more to say here, but I'm tired and want to close this before it gets way too long.  I'll close with this question:

When did our egos get so fragile that we can't tolerate anyone who doesn't think exactly the way we do?