CARM writer Robin Schumacher posted a very interesting  assessment and advice column on dealing with atheists who hate. Coined “hatetheist”,  its also applicable to gays who hate, who by the way, have increased exponentially in the last few years.

He writes, “I thought I would try and present a profile of the hatetheist vs. the atheist so Christians can have an idea of when to enter into discussions and when to walk away with unbelievers. The points below are based on my experience alone.”

• Whereas the atheist is respectful during a conversation or interaction, the hatetheist – either immediately or very soon – descends into ad hominem attacks and disrespectful name calling. The names used many times completely mischaracterize a Christian’s true position (e.g. “flat-earther”). Sometimes, the hatetheist will go so far as to say that anyone who believes in God is clinically crazy or insane.
• In addition to attacking a Christian’s intelligence or character, the hatetheist routinely tosses out derogatory names or references to God (e.g. “invisible sky fairy”) and Jesus (a “Jewish zombie” or “Bejebus”). The atheist, however, typically does not refer to God or Jesus in such ways.
• Hatetheists tend to be inordinately arrogant and border on narcissism when it comes to their perception of their own intelligence vs. those who hold to a theistic worldview. An example are hatetheists who label themselves as “The Brights,” with the obvious message being anyone who is not an atheist must be dimwitted.
• The atheist genuinely considers arguments and presents evidence, where the hatetheist does not. The hatetheist either ignores expert testimony, uses numerous red herrings, or charges the Christian with “quote smithing” when various quotes from experts are used to support the theistic position, and never considers the expert testimony. Ironically, many of the same hatetheists who do this maintain web sites with rotating quotes from famous atheists and they sport links to other atheist sites that contain quotable information. But the bottom line is there is a “willing unbelief” in the hatetheist that will not entertain a position that is contrary to their own.
• The atheist adheres to science, but understands and recognizes its limits, whereas the hatetheist is a devotee to scientism. If the faith of scientism is new to you, see what the limits of science are in a recent blog post of mine.
• The atheist tends to be universal in his critique of any god, but the hatetheist focuses mostly, if not solely, on Christianity. The hatetheist shows no fear in mocking Jesus in graphic ways, but is remarkably restrained where others, such as Muhammad of Islam, are concerned.
• The atheists’ actions are ones that are secure, in that they will not lash out in irrational ways to thoughts of theism. Christianity is not threatening in that way, and they find no need to interject themselves into a Christian’s worship or their special days to interrupt them. The hatetheist, on the other hand, exhibits very insecure activity such as launching billboard promotional ads during seasons where his worldview is most threatened, such as during Christmas and Easter.

Homosexuals who hate follow the same profile trajectory:  attempted intimidation, illogical and irrational rhetoric, quick, off the cuff ad hominem attacks on character, swarm tactics,  intentional injection of victimist theory, despising God and his word, science worship and gay rights narcissism among other social and emotional malfunctions.

Don’t be alarmed if this happens or has happened to you. Its really an old, recycled tactic used by satan against the people of God for countless centuries. You can get a good picture of what Im referring to by reading  Nehemiah 4th chapter. Gayters are the new Sanballats.  Sanballat, the Jew’s arch-enemy,  name has an interesting meaning from the Aramaic: “The god sin has vivified”.  Sanballat kept a bag of sneaky, underhanded tricks up his sleeve which he used when his outright war against the rebuilding efforts of Nehemiah and the Jews failed to work.  From wikipedia:

As soon as Sanballat and his associates heard that Nehemiah and the Jews were actually building the walls, they were angry; and Sanballat addressed the army of Samaria with a contemptuous reference to “these feeble Jews.”  Tobiah appeased him by saying that a fox (or a jackal) climbing on the wall they were building would break it down. Nehemiah and his builders, the Jews, vigorously hurried the work, while Sanballat and his associates organized their forces to fight against Jerusalem. Nehemiah prepared to meet the opposition and continued the work on the walls. Five different times Sanballat and his confederates challenged Nehemiah and the Jews to meet them in battle in the plain of Ono. Nehemiah was equal to the emergency and attended strictly to his work. Then Sanballat, with Jews in Jerusalem who were his confederates, attempted to entrap Nehemiah in the Temple; but the scheme failed. Sanballat’s Jewish allies, however, kept Sanballat and Tobiah informed as to the progress of the work in Jerusalem.

Homosexual activists and their double agent allies (both political and religious) use the same tactics. Look at the irrational but palpable hate here.

Acknowledging that although some believe everyone should be “engaged” with the truth, Schumacher says that the Scriptures seem to warn us away from sustained (note the importance of that word) interaction with hatetheists/gayters where sharing the gospel is concerned.

Two episodes in the gospels give us Jesus’ take on the matter. First we have Christ’s command in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” (Matthew 7:6). Commenting on this passage, John MacArthur in his Study Bible sums up Jesus’ warning in the following way: “This principle governs how one handles the gospel in the face of those who hate the truth.”

There is also the Stephen issue told in stunning prose in Acts 7.  Stephen’s unflinching denunciation of the hatemongers inspires us all who have to stand for truth even when we feel alone.  Sometimes God himself will bring you into conflict with the haters and your life will be at risk. Fear not; whether you live or die, speaking and standing on truth is the more important issue.  Stephen’s death at the hands of the pharisees may have been proof of their power to them, but to God it was a witness of their rejection of truth, thus a rejection of salvation itself.