I have actually seen supposed atheists running down sympathetic Christians and even Christians who were in the early stages of doubt.
I suspect they were mostly newly minted atheists and thus in that extreme denial phase we tend to go through

It's not that difficult to be accused of "running down" a Christian since soooo many of them are so easily hurt by honest conversations about belief. Even the more open minded Christians tend to accuse atheists of being hostile if they can't win an argument.

So while there is a minority of atheists who go out of their way to "run down" sympathetic Christians, I think this problem isn't as big as the issue of "how do we get more Christians to listen and respond honestly without accusing us of being hostile?" It's difficult to do since even a civil disagreement can be interpreted as a "hostile" attack.

I can't quite see where there would be atheists running down sympathetic Christians. For a start, I seriously doubt there are such things as sympathetic christians, and second most atheists that I know would not waste their breath running one down, debating with one perhaps but not running them down.

Of course that creates hostility. We don't need to agree with peoples fantasies anymore than disagreeing with the pink tea pot orbiting the earth. We lead by example. Do as I do not as I say.

What is a sympathetic Christian? I certainly don't need their sympathy! They probably need more of my sympathy.

I think yes seeing as I've seen plenty of pissed off athiests tired of having religion shoved down their throats who are fighting back by doing the exact same thing people with religion do. I don't get it.

I'm starting to think this site might not be what I thought it was

Yes, definitely. I don't like religion but I try to be nice to religious people. I don't want them to go around saying "yes, those atheists are really evil people, that's what happens when a person walks away from Jesus". I want them to think, consciously or subconsciously, that atheists are nice, non-threatening, friendly people with morals and values.

Peace be with you! no need for hostility or adversity. As the lines from the song of Sting goes, "we share the same biology regardless of ideology" and also from the rock band Scorpions, "we all live under the same sun"

There is no such thing as a 'sympathetic' christian. There are tollerant christians - but fundamentally atheism is a challenge to the beliefs of theists, so theists may tollerate atheists but that's about as good as it gets.

That said, what I object to is not religion as such - but the evils committed in the name of religion and god. If a theist is not being an arsehole, there is no need for religion to have any bearing.

People are creating hostility by running down other people. I don't think that it is exclusive to christians or atheists. That said, there is no evidence for the existence of a christian god, and the sword of christianity is responsible for some of the greatest atrocities in human history, so; a christian asserting their beliefs to an atheist is not quite the same as the contrary. One is seeking to cease the use of ignorance to justify terrible behaviour (and to end the claim that everything we don't have proof of has to be proof in and of itself of the existence of god). The other is seeking to convince a skeptic to suspend their ability to think critically and retire their search for knowledge and understanding... all to worship a tyrant who allows the bellies of orphaned babies in Africa to bloat with starvation because he decided they were deserving of it the moment a chick (whom he endowed with free will) talked to a snake and was convinced to eat a piece of fruit 6,000 years ago.

I believe that atheists have become as "Guarded" and as "Judgmental" and "Defensive towards what they believe in" as Christians. When you approach the historical fact of the matter that the "Christian Society" forced themselves upon the natives when they arrived, it is apparent that there was only "Their way of understanding or the highway of death and strife". In the New testament Jesus proclaimed "Love your brother" and that this was the only commandment that he would give. Even if our brother doesn't believe we must still love him right? Just saying.