Why do some people react in such a negative, hostile way when the topics of God, spirituality, or feelings, and vulnerability is expressed?
Many people have experienced abuse, pain and suffering at the hands of religion and from religious believers.So there is a range of reactions from people who have been abused by religious people. "Devout" religious believers have hurt people physically, sexually and mentally as well as emotionally. One of my high school friends was repeatedly abused and raped by his church youth pastor throughout high school and none of us knew about it as he was too afraid to tell anyone. It was decades later that he was able to talk about it and in fact it became a focus of his life's work to help others who also had been abused.Those adversely affected by toxic religion understandably give a range of reactions going from skepticism ramping up in intensity to outright rage when presented with ideas which swirl around the topic.Remember that the next time people come out of the woodwork swinging punches, that often the knee jerk reactions are fueled by real fear, deep hurt and visceral deep scars.
In general, why do atheists tend to be hostile to people who believe in God(s), yet demand respect for their beliefs?
Most people you would call "atheist" find religion completely irrelevant to their lives and interests. They aren't hostile except when attacked. Even then, many still aren't hostile, because they find the attacks of atheistophobes...silly. I suspect most of the so-called atheists who get hostile on Quora and elsewhere are people who were raised in an oppressive religious environment and are still angry about what was done to them when they were relatively helpless to defend themselves. I remember being told I was "stupid" when I mentioned to an adult, as a teen myself, that I was agnostic. I remember some bible-thumpers offering to beat me up. Most outspoken people who are not religious can tell similar stories. And we all know we live in a country where no one but an avowed Christian can be elected President, and where avowed atheists could not, regardless of anything else--even if they were a Medal of Honor winner, faithful to a spouse of 30 years, self-made, philanthropic, kind to puppies....no matter. IF atheist THEN not President.And while there are a handful of self-proclaimed atheists who attack religion at every turn, plus a handful of authors like Dawkins and Hetchins, the other side is a strident legion of the aggrieved who act as if there's a War on Christianity--in a country that's over 80% self-proclaimed Christian. But just as American whites are usually unaware of the White Privilege they enjoy all their lives, American Christians are equally unaware of the Christian Privilege they enjoy in America, with some only focusing on the few attempts made here and there to keep religion out of the public sector.And this nearly rhetorical question exemplifies what I'm talking about. As if the tiny minority of so-called atheists in America have any ability to get Christians discriminated against. It would be like Egyptian Muslims claiming to be oppressed by the small Coptic Christian minority.But the ideology of Christian oppression--of, not by--and aggrievance plays well in rural white America, and so it goes on.
When a Christ centered marriage places the man in the headship?
If you take the Bible literally as some claim to do, then a marriage between a man and a woman should be based on the man being the head and leader. This would mean that the woman would have to submit to his decisions. Of course as with lots of other scriptural topics, many "literalists" do not pay attention to the verses in the Bible which call for this sort of partnership in marriage. (But don't dare say they "pick and choose"!) The reality for those strong enough in faith to admit it is that we have evolved on many issues and we do not do precisely as the Bible commanded or suggested. Slavery is a prime example. Most people have also evolved in their concept of the way in which a marriage should work, although admittedly not as many men have evolved their beliefs on this as women. I would say that most people in America view marriage today as more of an equal partnership in which both parties have an equal say and both parties contribute to the child rearing efforts. In practice, it's not always equal, of course, but our concepts and thoughts on equality are moving in the right direction. I feel equality would make a marriage better, because both human beings were created by God and both should have equal say and give equally to the best of their abilities for the success of the overall partnership.
I think my textbook is politically biased...do you?
Being from South America doesn't automatically make them poorly educated!! Perhaps, you should source your immigration facts first, as you are just guessing at the moment. Also, the book could be talking about Legal immigration and you seem to be talking about illegal immigration. 9/11 He main reason for 9/11 where troops IN Saudi Arabia, 1996 (before 1stWTC attack), BinLaden stated they'd attack the US because it had troops " in the holy land", so yes you are correct, but because the religious idea that western troops where in Arabic holy land and not because of Islamic religion per se. They're local radical beliefs are(sadly) part of the religion, Islam has many forms as does Christianity. Taliban have a severe local version. California Sorry, I have no knowledge here. When it comes to social/ political events then different views will see a bias if a text book doesn't agree with them!!
Why do vegetarians/vegans have such a bad reputation?
On the contrary, stereotypes are based on factual observation to a degree. Just as many vegetarians always point out that omnis have never met ALL vegetarians as to reach a definitve conclusion or that not all vegwetarians think the same, then it could be also just as logical to point out that not all vegetarians are "...peacefull, and caring. we arent crazy and over obsessed weirdos .." and that not all think that "live and let live.." is good for all. In fact, in this forum, you can find posters who practically define the negative stereotypes.
Have y’all ever had an encounter with dark energies or spirits?
All three witnesses, my mother, my sister and I perceived our encounter with an extremely hostile entity (it did not feel human or as if it had ever been human) as a dark gray cloud. My sister, who is the most sensitive of us, said the fog had a female shape, Mom and I just saw a foggy column.All three of us were sitting in the living room watching TV and I looked at the top of the stairs across the hall. Whatever it was appeared there. I asked my sister and mother if they saw anything there, both saw what I did.On instinct, I moved into the space between the living room and hall. It started floating down the stairs. It projected feelings of wanting to harm us, clammy cold and, not to be melodramatic, evil.I cupped my hands and focused my chi in the hollow. At the same time, I visualized the symbol I meditated on in my search for Deity. I could see the symbol glowing between me and it. Then I flung the ball of energy at it. There were no special effects, no fireworks; it was gone.To this day, forty years later, I don't know what it was. All I know is that it was gone and never came back.Jeff
People tend to be really hostile towards me when they first meet me. I tend to be a target for ridicule afterwards even if I haven't said or done much after the first encounter. Why?
To be honest, we dont know until we have meet you. I had similar encounters when I was younger, I was quite an unhappy teenager and this showed when I interacted with others. I am not saying this is the same as your situation, only sharing my experience. I would only focus on the negative in life, I didnt know it would be bringing others down. I was trying to find help from my friends but they were not going through the same situation as me so they could not understand. My family situation was quite unhappy and I didnt know how to deal with it. Now that I am older, I look back and see that it was better for me to distance myself away from my family drama. Some people will say you have an obligation to help your family problems. But not if one of your parents is manipulating you or having you side with them - that will only increase family conflict. I hang out with friends I trust and respect who have good character. I ask more questions about others and I try to help as much as I can. I hope this answer helped you.----Edit: Practical things that may help you: Go and enroll in a class that interest you, join a club or sporting event. Join a Church, be around people who treat others well and respect you. Observe how they treat others, what you like and dont like. This way you learn how to be a better person. Learn to forgive early - dont hold grudges. Stay away from activities that can harm you such as; smoking, drinking, drugs, early sex (until you are ready for parenthood - in case of birth control failure). Be careful of hanging out with people who are angry all the time or who always fight with others. The longer you stay with them, the more you are influenced by them. People like that, typically have harder lives because they dont know how to get along with others. Just make sure you stay around people who you respect, who are living good lives and who you trust. All the best <3
My ouija board is giving me odd answers?
I tried it alone and with my friend i asked constantly for people, celebrities ect and it says odd things like when i asked its name it said zay or it would jumble up between z and m i asked for Amy Winehouse and it spelled out nonmnm and i also asked my my sisters dead boyfriend and it kept saying 2 then goodbye also when i asked the spirit its age it said 2 it just kept going to two over and over help