Hey, ever locked horn with religious jerks or as.sholes who are unpleasant, arrogant fanatics that hate anyone expressing beliefs or religious interpretation that contradict theirs? Ever been pestered, provoked and rebuked by self identified 'devout, practicing believers' who cannot deal with religious differences, admit they could be wrong or admit your right to express religion as you understand it?

We 'll be talking these dogmatic, militant and supremacist religionists whose absolutist mindset propose that only their views deserves to be official or be heard, their view is perfect and anyone with alternate view is fraud. We 'll focus on these jerks online and their offline counterpart who happen to be our neighbour, roommate or family.

Here are 5 salient attitudes of religious jerks and the keys to tackle them.

1. They thrive on personal feuds and derail from the bone of contention.

Whenever you express an idea, criticising certain views, you invite a whole lot of listeners or readers. Some of them agree with you, others disagree and provide evidence for counter claims while respecting your choice. But there are certain nut cases whose point of replying you isn't merely to disagree but to shame you and hurt your feelings.

Usually, they sound very nasty, employ foul language or innuendoes. They may accuse you, call you names, put words into your mouth all these to hurt your feelings. The focus of a critical listener or reader in every subject is the ideas or views expressed or criticised. For the religious jerk, who is not interested in critical or progressive thoughts, his focus is your person, soiling your character in mud. By so doing, he kindle a personal feud and divert from the bone of contention.

They have this tendency to drag forgotten misunderstandings over time, ressurect past and irrelevant disputes into a fresh matters. Religious jerks can be a pain in the as.s. They seek for the tiniest flaw observable in you and even if this flaw has no bearing with the topic, they 'll exploit as a basis to dismiss you.

Here is an example, listen as this ma'am shares her experience with a religious jerk who happen to be her co-religionist. Pay closer attention from the 2:30 minute to the end.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxEBlAsNzjQ

The Key:

Many times, i have met these kinds of jerks offline and here on Nairaland. Like many in my shoes, i 've tried reasoning with them in the past. It is sheer waste of time. Once you find them already accussing, rebuking, ridiculing you or attacking your persona instead of focusing on your ideas, just forget them. No critical mind will back them.

2. They lack courtesy or diplomacy in handling their critics or naysayers

A fine way of testing for religious jerks is to politely and academically criticize a viewpoint they just expressed. Religious jerks are emo-sensitive and cannot differentiate constructive criticism from personal attack. Thus, however humble and well meaning you sound, you are sure to enrage jerks when you contradict their views. Desperate to share their bitterness with you, they resort to ridicule especially if unable to find fault in your view.

You 'll expect such weak and easily offended minds to talk less and mind their business but, no. Religious jerks are often nuisance, judgemental and very inquisitive.

It was clear i was dealing with a nutcase. He presented no proof for his allegation against me, yet here he was emphatic for a proof of the same accusation against him. Hence, i gave up the matter. But trust jerks, he wanted to hurt me real good, so he made innuendoes regarding me days later. In return, i presented full evidence from his religious texts for my allegations against him. Again, he went bonkers, dismissed the proof without a genuine basis and repeatedly demanded proof.

I can present the link to the page, where all of this may be read but i 'll rather not further disgrace this folk. Several days latter, he 'll return with his innuendoes against me on the same thread. But i have put that behind me. I won't dwell on jerks.

The Key:

Sometimes, only deep into the conversation do you realize you are dealing with a religious jerk. It is never too late to sign out. Get over the matter and resist all the tempting, provocation or taunts by the jerk to get you back into the dispute. For an online conversation where you are compelled to post one last word that may be helpful to candid readers, post with the minimum reference to the trolls or jerk and move on.

A real jerk is being in a Religion section when you'an atheist

usermane:
The Key:

Sometimes, only deep into the conversation do you realize you are dealing with a religious jerk. It is never too late to sign out. Get over the matter and resist all the tempting, provocation or taunts by the jerk to get you back into the dispute. For an online conversation where you are compelled to post one last word that may be helpful to candid readers, post with the minimum reference to the trolls or jerk and move on.

Good one... learnt something here..

KingEbukasBlog:
A real jerk is being in a Religion section when you'an atheist

[size=20pt]spot on !![/size]

3. They hold supremacist and militant religious views

Having a religious jerk as a boss, elder or online forum moderator can be a frustrating experience. They 'll cross their limit, interfere in your lifestyle and try to change you by enforcing their views or restricting yours.

For instance, i did live with an elder relative for a while last year. I always stay awake late into the night, thanks to my job, so i had to get up late.

Some days, this man wakes earlier and by 5:15 a.m, at the start of Muslim prayer in a nearby Mosque, he dashes out of the house to join the prayer while am still in bed or just getting out. On his return, he 'll begin berating me for not joining them in the Mosque, accusing me of laziness, not being steadfast with Islam.

The experience left me bitter. I took the time to present him evidence from the Qur'an; Morning prayer musn't be done at the instant the local Mosque begins it but anytime within dawn, only noon prayers on fridays is specified by the scripture to be held in congregation and so i don't have to bother missing the congregational morning prayers held in the local mosque daily. His blind rejection of this evidence coupled with his negligence of my right as an adult to religious choice or privacy culminated in my premature departure from his house.

I find religious jerks to be insecure by virtue of their militant and supremacist stance. Take Muslims as a case study. There are multiple sects, schools of thought and alternate views regarding various religious issues in the Muslim community. Hence, it only make sense that in this forum, an Islam section should be open to Muslims to share their alternate views and agree to disagree.

Where the moderator is a jerk, this is not possible. Expect shitty moderating like deleting of posts for merely contradicting the moderator 's views, banning of posters who express different Islamic views from the mainstream. They usually accuse you of being a bad influence, misguiding Muslims, ignorance e.t.c. Jerks do not decide based on reason or for justice, but based on emotion and aim of enforcing their views.

The Key:

Initially i was upset by the injustice dished out by such jerks. Now i don't even mind. Only pathetic, insecure losers feel the need to enforce/protect their views by deleting posts and banning writings with views that contradict theirs. They usually do this in the name of God, but even religious terrorists kill in God 's name. Find somewhere else or another medium to share your views and move on.

Sadly, there is no much you can do when your boss or elder is a religious jerk especially when you badly depend on this person. You might just have to endure till you find a way.

4. They Have A Dogmatic Mindset

Whenever i express my views verbally or written, i follow up with academic, logical and moral proof. In fact, views do not matter. What the genuine truth seekers desire is the strength of the proofs. However, even if you present the strongest proofs, religious jerks lash out at you and paint you as the devil 's advocate provided you contradict their views. And there isn't a question of how formal and polite you present yourself, ask them even a simple question that challenges their view, they 'll bash you regardless.

They seldom present concise proof to back their views or reject your view. They often appeal to names and mass value. What ever contradict the mainstream or their famous jurists is foul and must not be considered. Thus they seldom take their time to objectively, rationally analyze proof, after all these folk are limited by tunnel vision and never think outside the box.

Their dogmatic mentality summarises their poor zeal and incompetence for rational, logical analysis of religious ideas and their preference for invoking God excessively, threaten you with Hell, pointing fingers and employing other unfair psychological strategies to assert their views and stall dialectics.



The Key:

As earlier said, ignore these jerks. Dogmatic people usually have nothing to offer. They tend to be militant and could force their views on you if they are empowered. Be mindful of their psychological tactics, if you fall for it, you may be engulfed in guilt and remorse whereas you are actually doing a good job. Reason over dogmas.

5. They are egoistic and self-centred

You can't miss this, most religious jerks have fat egos and hardly admit their faults. This is a product of their fascist and supremacist stance. You could devote all your time rationalizing, analyzing and elaborating to clarify why it is their fault but all will be in vain. Arguing with these jerks is like arguing with a stone. In fact, it is counterproductive. They will deny, decieve or bemoan to disown their fault and blame it on others.

Additionally, they are self-centred and inconsiderate of others' views or feelings. I lived in a neighbourhood last year where i could never get a decent siesta because of a nearby Church. I respect the right of centres of worships to hold activities, but using this as an avenue to cause noise beyond the walls of the temple with speakers or musical instruments is unethical. While a reasonable fraction of Christians in such Churches may admit this is a fault, there are jerks that don't give a damn. That goes for Synagogues and Mosques too.

Such jerks can also be rude when you confront them, they 'll accuse and blackmail you. I recall a friend during my undergraduate days had to deal with bitter dispute and malice with a Muslim roommate whom he calmly confronted for noise, disturbing those asleep as he prepared for his dawn prayer.



The Key

Those are typical jerks you don't want to encounter. If you do, don't let them rule you. Believe me, these jerk wont give you a break for the slightest discomfort you cause them. Report to authorities after you have calmly approached them in vain, otherwise separate from them if it becomes intolerable.

Conclusion

This closes the topic. Religious jerks aren't too hard to hit and identify. It is also noteworthy that these jerks may be the most courteous person in other areas of life. But once it pertain to religion, they become typical jerks and as.sholes. Hopefully this piece should be your guide to them.

KingEbukasBlog:
A real jerk is being in a Religion section when you'an atheist

A million likes for your post!