Some Boundaries For Atheists When You Interact With Me Online

Hello, beautiful people!

These are just some boundaries that I'd like you to follow when you interact with me online, based on previous experiences I've had interacting with atheists online.

Let's start with the "I don'ts" and get them out of the way.

-I don't appreciate it when atheists imply that I'm ignorant, dumb, stupid, benighted, and uneducated.

I've already predicted your objections. "No atheist implies that theists are benighted, ignorant, and uneducated!" You exclaim.

Oh, but some of you do. I know how much you guys value proof so here is my proof. This is a screenshot of a review someone left for a King James Bible App on Google Play. 

As you can see, I've highlighted the bit where the reviewer calls Christians dumb people. Only an atheist would use such vitriolic rhetoric as seen in this review. Agnostics tend to be more accepting and charitable towards people of faith. Well, the ones I've encountered wouldn't belittle Christians like this. In fact, they wouldn't belittle theists for their religious beliefs at all. But that doesn't mean all atheists behave like this towards people of faith. In fact, here's another blog post containing screenshots of my convo with a very kind, accepting, and charitable atheist:

Being called an idiot also counts.

I will politely end the conversation and atheists who imply I'm ignorant, benighted, and uneducated will be blocked.

My next "I don't" is related to this one.

-I don't appreciate it when atheists lecture me.

 It has happened and I will provide proof.

Here are two screenshots of an atheist's replies to me in which the atheist lectured me. I have highlighted the bits in which the atheist was lecturing me. 

As you can see in the highlighted sections, LadyofWaterLilies said, "This is about this little thing called 'Morals," and "We 'believe' in this little thing called Science," as if I didn't know what morals and science are! I do know what science is and I know what morals are.

I understand that you guys are very intelligent, but I am not an "ignorant and benighted little Christian."

"Oh, this poor little Christian is ignorant about X, Y, and Z, so I will inform them about these topics" is how statements like this come across to me, particularly when I know some things about certain topics. It comes across as snobbish, condescending, and patronizing.

-I don't appreciate sarcastic replies  to comments I post.

I don't mean sarcastic like Obi-Wan Kenobi saying, "Oh, this is going to be easy," when he and Anakin Skywalker are flying straight for General Grievous's ship in the opening scene of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

When I mean "sarcastic," I mean condescending comments like this:

So this comment was actually a reply to a comment I left. In the comment I posted, I expressed my point of view with sincerity and assertiveness. I was being very charitable and respectful. And yet this is the reply I got. It was very hurtful. In the future, I will politely announce that I am ending the conversation if I receive sarcastic, patronizing comments like this again. I have zero tolerance for them. In the future, I will block atheists who leave disrespectful comments like this for me.

This "I don't" leads me to my next one.

-I don't appreciate when people put words in my mouth.

-I don't appreciate it when atheists try to trip me up with a "gotcha" question.

While I personally have not been on the receiving end of a "gotcha" question from an atheist, I have witnessed another Christian (online) be on the receiving end of a "gotcha" question from an atheist.

The Christian didn't know the correct answer, and so he kept giving avoidant answers. I do know the correct answer, but I didn't bother to give the atheist the answer because the atheist would have incorrectly told me it was wrong.

Even though I have not been on the receiving end of a "gotcha" question from an atheist, I'm just covering my bases.

"Gotcha" questions will result in me politely ending the conversation and blocking atheists who try using "gotcha" questions with me.

You have been warned. 

-I don't appreciate the use of the "fairies, elves, unicorns, leprechauns, Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy" analogy. I won't fall for it.

- I don't appreciate when atheists tell me that my "immoral belief system has clearly broken my moral compass." I have zero tolerance for statements like that. I will end the conversation and atheists who tell me that will be blocked.

-I don't appreciate being asked where my trusted and verified sources are when I provide you with the links to open letters I've written to elected officials and political candidates on the subject of abortion.

This has happened. I provided an atheist with the link to an open letter I wrote to my congressional representative about our respective positions on abortion. I am pro-life while my congressman is pro-choice. The atheist pointed out the absence of trusted and verified links supporting my position in my letter. It's an open letter, not a friggin' research paper or peer-reviewed science journal. Political candidates and elected officials such as congressional representatives and senators are very busy people and I'm keeping that into mind when I contact them. They're running around trying to get themselves elected and doing things for other people while in office. When they're not doing either of those things, they have lives of their own. They don't have a ton of time to read scientific research articles or peer-reviewed science journals.

I follow a YouTuber called Mr. Beat. A few months ago, Mr. Beat uploaded a video in which he called the office of every single US Senator to let them know which issues he cared about. Only six Senators took the time to reply to him personally. Six out of a hundred Senators took the time to personally reply to this guy. Let that sink in.

And none of the six were the two Senators from my state. Five of the Senators who replied sent Mr. Beat a letter. The sixth who replied was Senator Cory Booker and he took the time out of his busy schedule to record a quick but personal and thoughtful video reply to Mr. Beat.

What's my point in telling you this? My point is I'm not going to put links to verified and trusted sources supporting my position on abortion in my open letters to political candidates and elected officials when my Senators didn't even take the time to send Mr. Beat a personal reply and acknowledge his concerns.

-I don't appreciate assumptions that I don't have evidence when I go for Pascal's Wager.

It's not that I don't have evidence. It's that in my experience, atheists ask for evidence and then box themselves in even when evidence is presented to them or they have a very high criteria level when it comes to what constitutes good evidence. So to save myself some frustration and also to save time and energy instead of trying in vain to present evidence in favor of God's existence to stubborn and picky atheists, I often opt for Pascal's Wager.

-I don't appreciate it when atheists imply I don't ask questions. Just because I'm a Christian doesn't mean I blindly believe things, don't ask questions, and never use my critical thinking skills.

I'm knowledgeable about Henry VIII. How do I know about him beyond the information I was given in high school history class? Because I was curious. Because I asked questions. Because I did more reading. Because I watched several documentaries. And I did all of that in my free time. However, I wouldn't call myself an expert on King Henry VIII.

-I don't appreciate it when atheists reply to my perspective with just logic. It irritates me to no end when I express myself and an atheist responds to my perspective with logic and no empathy, especially when I express how certain things make me feel.

This clip from Star Trek: The Original Series perfectly portrays how I feel when atheists respond to me with logic, especially after I've told them how certain things make me feel. 

When atheists respond to me with logical arguments and try to point my "fallacious" perspective, I feel exactly how Amanda felt and want to yell, "Logic, fallacies! I'm sick to death of your fallacies and logic. Do you want to know how I feel about your logic, fallacies, and lack of empathy?"

-I don't appreciate it when atheists tell me to stop it with the "feigned indignation/emotions."

An atheist actually said that to me. And it made me even more upset.

When push comes to shove, I'll take an atheist sensing that I am actually experiencing emotions and incorrectly identifying what I'm feeling over an atheist telling me to stop feigning my emotions.

Ask almost anyone who knows me personally and they will tell you I am not someone who fakes their emotions.

In my experience, people who fake emotions are non-method actors or people with psychopathic tendencies. People don't need to be full-fledged psychopaths to fake emotions.

I took a drama/theatre class in my senior year of high school. We were taught what method acting is.

Method acting is when you attempt to empathize with your character through recalling personal experiences similar to what the character is going through and letting your emotions flow freely.

And while some actors are method actors, other actors are not.

When I experience emotions, I feel them deeply and acutely. The only time I fake emotions is when I'm acting. I do live theatre acting as a hobby. So if I ever get mad, frustrated, annoyed, irritated, etc. at you, know that I am genuinely upset with you, not pretending to be upset with you.

Atheists who accuse me of feigning emotions will be blocked and I will politely end the interaction.

I want to address why I will politely end conversations. I value being respectful and polite, even when others are not being respectful and polite to me. I make an effort to live by the Golden Rule.

-I don't appreciate it when atheists say I turn to a book for guidance on how to live my life well because my grasp on reality is weak. This has happened and I will provide proof.

As usual, I've highlighted the bit where the Atheist said the offensive remark. Atheists who say something like the highlighted bit of text will be blocked and I will politely end the conversation.

Being called "deluded," "delusional," or "crazy" also fall under this don't.

There are literally people who think China intentionally unleashed COVID19 on the world and that President Zelynsky purposely let Russia bulldoze his country.

I am not one of those people.   Furthermore, I have enough of a grasp on reality to see that Tom Cruise has been brainwashed by Scientology to the point that he lives in this alternate reality and can't see objective reality as it really is.

-I don't appreciate it when atheists tell me that my faith requires me to engage in mental gymnastics and contortions.

This has happened. I was clarifying the finer details of Catholic teaching on marriage to somebody in the comments section of a YouTube video, and an Atheist joined the thread. The Atheist said to me, "The mental gymnastics and contortions your belief requires of you are astounding..."

 I was annoyed at this reply, as I was only relaying what I have learned while simultaneously agreeing with the OP on a valid point he had raised. When I clarify the finer details of a specific Catholic teaching, I always speak as I find and as I have learned from reputable Catholic sources on that teaching. 

Atheists who tell me that my faith requires me to engage in mental gymnastics and contortions will be blocked (if the platform allows that) and I will politely end the conversation. And when I respond with "whatever," after an Atheist has told me that they're astounded by "the mental  gymnastics and contortions that my belief requires of me," I'm doing so to signal that I don't need your input. And when an Atheist responds by pointing out my "whatever" response is a massive special pleading fallacy, that pisses me off even more. In cases like that, it makes no difference to me which logical fallacy I employed. I'm just trying to set my boundaries in situations like that and I will put my foot down when an Atheist points out which logical fallacy I employed by giving a response like "whatever." 

-I don't appreciate being cursed at (ex: "shut the f up, ffs"), being called derogatory names, or people indicating that they're rolling their eyes at me because my religious beliefs. 

Atheists who reply to me with *rolls eyes* or an eyeroll emoji, curse at me, or call me derogatory names, especially under the "excuse" that they're being "aggressive-aggressive" in response to me or other Christians being "passive-aggressive," will be blocked and I will politely end the conversation.  

I am working on being assertive. And sometimes, I get so protective of my beliefs that I post things in an angry, dismissive, and condescending manner and I'm sorry for the condescension, dismissiveness, and anger. I love my faith and it is unlikely I'll ever walk away from it. 

-I don't appreciate the "Your God committed/condoned genocide, slavery, homophobia, misogyny, etc." objection. 

I understand where you're coming from with this objection, but I've grown really tired of it. 

Now that the "I don'ts" are out of the way, let's move on to the "I do's."

-I do  appreciate efforts to put any negative preconceived notions of theists aside.

-I do appreciate respectful and charitable behavior.

-I do appreciate your patience with my learning curve.

Again, I understand that you are very intelligent and many of you have studied Christianity and other religions extensively in order to defend yourselves against the followers of different religions.

-I do appreciate efforts to understand my perspective without passing a judgment on it. If this isn't possible, efforts to disagree civilly and charitably are also greatly appreciated.