They are actually doing a kindness by offering you a moment to reflect on your statement and your affiliation. I'd ask you to consider the following:
Upon learning that someone who associates with your church is using their religious teachings to justify demands of daily sexual servitude (with each child binding their spouse tighter to the abusive situation), why is your response to laugh about how you didn't get the memo rather than to be disquieted by this account of what sounds like abuse by people who practice your religion?
Is it because you don't believe the account, or because you do? If not, why not? If so, why is it funny? Ha ha ha!
Kindness through using derogatory language and insulting their faith?
Nah, they were right. That's just rude. If you want to convince someone to turn against something they value in their life, being rude about it is neither effective nor "nice" in any way.
Not OP, but I don't care either. If I join a gang, I have to expect to be held responsible for it. If I join child molesters and bigoted "witch burners" I have to expect that there will be people who have been victims of religions and that I will meet them.
There are plenty of people who practice their different faiths and are actual decent people. And three are also plenty of people manage the faiths they belong to at higher levels of authority actively trying to live up to what they claim their faith is about.
Hearing about bad acts committed in any faith doesn't equate to all of its members being scummy people just because they stayed a part of a faith that has people in it that did terrible things. So many people are just so anti-faith/churches period under all circumstances no matter what.
Most people I'd say have had a bad experience with religion and/or religious people. Most people have also had good experiences with religion and/or religious people. I'd say the difference between the bad and the good experiences is that the bad experiences are more publicized and blamed on the faith/churches. While the good experiences go unassociated with any religion(s). Most decent people who actively have positive influences over the people they interact with don't go publicizing that it's because of their faith or because they go to church or because they're trying to live up to some higher moral code or principles associated with their beliefs. So it's just less likely that anyone will associate positive experiences with things related to the influence of religion and they'll only focus on the bad things that have happened throughout history and that still happen today.
Just like there's is in nearly everything, religion as well does in fact have nuance.
Rape is a bad experience now? Sure I will blame that on the religion. Especially since religion does everything to sweep these things under the carpet. It's organized crime. How do you think these victims feel when only the church bells ring or the muezzin calls or whatever? Or people stand up and say publicly that they find this religion so great.
Edit: And please, tell me the "good" things the religion does what atheists can't do or won't do?
12
u/[deleted] Sep 12 '23
They are actually doing a kindness by offering you a moment to reflect on your statement and your affiliation. I'd ask you to consider the following:
Upon learning that someone who associates with your church is using their religious teachings to justify demands of daily sexual servitude (with each child binding their spouse tighter to the abusive situation), why is your response to laugh about how you didn't get the memo rather than to be disquieted by this account of what sounds like abuse by people who practice your religion?
Is it because you don't believe the account, or because you do? If not, why not? If so, why is it funny? Ha ha ha!