What?
So you were walking down the street and random people came up and professed their hatred of Jesus? Or, as I suspect you were talking about a religious or cultural issue and they expressed their opinion on it by expounding on their perspective...you know like people do in a conversation. Of course, you don't, you just make snide comments about how arrogant or blinkered people are while cloaking your own opinions so you can't be pinned down. Eh Dave?
I don't associate being an Atheist with "hatred of Jesus". That's ridiculous. Why would you try to make such a statement?
What makes you think I won't express my opinions? I really hope it isn't based on another discussion I had in another thread with another person, because it was ridiculous and it's really too much to ask to revisit that. I've been pretty open about what I believe in the past.
edit: I did leave out what I wanted to say. No one is "an atheist" to me until they declare themselves an atheist. I am sure I have met a great number of atheists that were wonderful people. This is partly about labels. If it is important to you that I know you are an atheist, and if you seem to feel that this should matter to me, then yes I find this unpleasant, the same way I find it unpleasant when someone tries to talk me into believing in the god that they subscribe to.
The last "atheist" I met was wearing a hat that said "Born Again Atheist". He was a stupid old man from England who did not know who Morrissey was, and that was the reason I asked him about his hat. Not to debate.
I did not say that when a
person I know tells me that they don't believe in "god" or when they tell me that they are an atheist, that I find this arrogant. However, when they seize on an opportunity to point out that they are an atheist, with an air of accomplishment, I feel that they are marginalized as a person.
I understand that Christians especially are free and encouraged to promote their beliefs and that maybe atheist beliefs are unpopular in some places, but I really don't think that atheists face the persecution that a small but vocal minority of them seem to feel they suffer.