Believing you are saved does not entitle you
to bully others. And yet, many seem to have such feelings of entitlement.
Humility and sheer gratitude seem to be out of style for many. Pride, as they say, often precedes a fall.
Christianity is a minority religion, globally. It is far from universally accepted as the "true" religion. Believe what you can. That should be sufficient. Leave others to believe or disbelieve as they can. That promotes peace.
That's my atheistic sermon for the day.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Now, it is used by many as a way to explain away wrong-doing and promote entitlement (to reiterate MineralMan's word). Manifest Destiny is a perfect example. I have heard born-again "Christians" actually say in effect, "Jesus already died for my sins. I can sin as much as I want. As long as I believe in Christ as my personal savior, I will be redeemed and accepted into heaven." There are Christian fundamentalists who are - sorry Bill Maher, but I disagree with you on this one - equally as bad as Islamic fundamentalists who claim the Quran calls on them to kill all infidels. Christians did/do that too. Take a peek at the profile of the Austin bomber. I think the difference is that there are seemingly more of the Islamic "martyrs" than Christian ones at the moment but just give it time. There are some real crazies out there. And they believe Jesus wants them to build an army to defend "Him". Ask my once-neighbor who had a picture of himself wrapped in bullet belts with a statue of Jesus next to him that said, "Guns for Jesus".
Thanks for your rant. 
