re: #120 Dangerman

if ‘what you believe’ can be threatened, and so easily, it’s not much of a belief

The issue is when you wrap up what you believe with who you are, and the two are inseparable. Anything which does not comport with that person’s belief then becomes a repudiation of that person.

It is the flip side of why it seems why whatever God wants so perfectly aligns with what the person wants. They will say they are following God’s will, and if you don’t align with that, then you are opposed to God.

This is why so often Christians and Muslims frame atheism as “rejecting God” rather than “not believing in God.” (It helps that their holy books frames it that way too.)

If you are perceived as rejecting God, then that person perceives it as rejecting her or him.