We wanted to start this post by mentioning the old hit Losing My Religion, but the famous R.E.M. song is not about faith at all, but about unrequited love. Although, on the other hand, when a person turns away from religion, turns away from God in one sense or another, this can also be called unrequited love. Or a love that no longer exists.
Such love always leaves scars on the heart, and for many people who once believed in the one or many above, they obviously needed a very good reason to turn their backs on religion. And this now-viral thread has just those people as well as their reasons.
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The hypocritical behavior of deeply religious people.
Can't argue with that. I do believe in a God or divine intelligence but all these rules about sin and who is good and who is evil just comes off as bickering kids or school yard bullies having to be better and right.
I agree with you, and couldn't put it better myself. Thank you!
Load More Replies...Gandhi said "I like your Christ, but not your Christianity." I believe he was referring to just such hypocritical behavior
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Load More Replies...Cancer, starvation, poverty, war, the likes of Putin. I won't go on there are so many more.............God?............ Nah, not for me, just can't believe there is one. Sorry if it upsets some, just my opinion.
Im a bit late to reply, but anyway- it seems like you have a hard time believing God would allow all those bad things to happen, and I kinda do too. But my answer is that God limits his power and allows life to run it's course, because if life was perfect, there would be no point in faith.
Load More Replies...So very much. These are the people who will with one breath claim that sex and gender are the same and what you're assigned at birth is the gospel because "that's how God made you", and in the next heartily promote mutilation of intersex children's genitals because "it's a sin against nature" that they were not born exactly into the physical binary. Apparently "how God made you" only applies if you were born close enough to typical...
To be fair this is one hell of a generalization! The thing is you only hear about these people, not those quietly and deeply following their own religion, without judging others or other religions. These people do exist.
@Burnt Bagel. To your second sentence...As it Should Be.
Load More Replies...If 'Heaven' was full of such people, it would be a literal hell to be stuck with them for eternity.
My brother was denied a church wedding by a very well known priest in our area. He and my former SIL were married by a justice of the peace before their scheduled church wedding because he got a teaching job out of town and he had to sign a morals clause, which would have prevented his fiancee from moving with him because they couldn't live together without being married. The a*****e denied them their wedding in his church and when they tried another church, he blocked them. This priest, who got all high-handed and holier-than-thou over a civil union, was notorious for his secret girlfriends and to this day I still fume over that.
Totally agree….follow the basic commandments and you can’t go wrong…
Lack of evidence supporting the existence of god.
Upvote this every time. Show me your god and I might believe it, if you don't I won't.
Watch it, asking for specifics and evidence will get you a downvoted….
Load More Replies...I can't show him to you. I can show you his new plane that my pastor just bought.
I respect every persons religion but in my opinion once I see it I will believe it. No hate
Well it's called belief for a good reason. If we could see Him right in front of us, that wouldn't be much of a test I guess. However if you walk in life with an open heart and open eyes, many (who are unbiased I guess) will realize that there is a Master Designer, call Him what you want! Has anyone ever read the Holy Quran? There you will find countless signs, which modern science is conforming today, from the Big Bang to the shape of the Embryo. Alright, these were my 50 Pesos, you can start with the downvoting now :)
They've had thousands of years to do it and haven't provided the first shred of actual evidence. The first person to do it will be more than a rock star.
I absolutely agree 100% that religion is off the rails. Just like government, which is greatly similar actually. But living the majority of our lives in a man made structure, both physically socially and politically cuts us off from the natural world. The natural world is both vicious and perfect. People want to believe that if there is a God, life would be paradise all the time. Surely, life is occasionally paradise. Although it is surely hell as well. Believing that this is all there is may obliterate a belief in fairness and equity, but not intelligent design. To believe that our universe is an accident is the greatest leap of faith I can fathom. If this is only one chapter in a much larger book, suffering and death take on new meaning. Live your best life. All will be clear one day.
I believe this is something those with faith will truly understand, in my religion, countless of miracles have been proven to happen when one worshipped God or prayed to saints. Also, most religions source of existence are monuments, ancient buildings/places, and scripture.
When my religion had 120 billion dollars in a slush fund, owned 2% of the land in the United States, and made no effort to help the world with those funds.
And with that money supported politicians to take away the rights and privileges of marginalized people. They aren't about love, peace and spreading the 'word of the lord' they are about control, division and hatred.
And they actually make u sit down with the bishop to go thru ur tax returns to make sure they got their full cut! When my mom needed therapy, they told her they would have to excommunicate her before they could help her. And many many other horrible things
Load More Replies...And during the holidays puts vending machines all over the US where you can donate items to people in need. Now, I have heard that all the money that goes into those vending machines does go directly to charitable causes, when you have over $120 billion, seems kind of rude to ask people on the street to give $5 towards socks for a homeless shelter.
Came here to say this. Don't even get me started on the actual history that they failed to teach us
To them they are making an effort to help the world. Helping save the world through their recruitment ( sorry, missionary) work. I hire people to help with odd jobs. They are all smiles and sunshine, then they ask if i want to come to their church. When I oolitely decline, they are suddenly busy.
The very concept of "religion" is of Latin origin and can be literally translated as "bound by an oath" or "bound by faith." In other words, not just faith, but a conscious limitation of oneself in following this faith: following a certain set of moral norms and types of behavior, ritual actions, external signs and attitudes towards the world.
According to the World Population Review, in 2020 about 85% of the world's people identified themselves with a religion. This is in fact incredibly much, although, probably, out of the remaining fifteen percent, some have at least several times in their lives visited places of worship or taken part in some religious rituals. In other words, religion surrounds us like air, and it can be very painful to abandon it even for a modern person.
It turned its back on me first. I’m gay.
God loves gay people. It's the people who claim to love God but actually don't who are jerks.
Niall Mac Iomera, it's not condemned in the bible. That was a translation error, and it actually meant to say "man shall not sleep with boy", you know, as in ped0philia.
Load More Replies...i'm a christian, and i have no issues with gay people. i don't see any evidence in the bible that being gay is wrong, just as i don' t see any evidence that abortion is wrong. it's the extremists in any 'religion' that have issues with them.
Come join the church of Satan, they don’t care who you love.
the satanic temple is better imo
Load More Replies...God made man and women distinctively different yet uniquely compatible and complementary, and only joined them together in marriage - as the Lord Jesus Himself specified (Mt. 19:4–6) - and Scripture only condemns homosexual relations wherever they are manifestly dealt with. (http://peacebyjesus.org/homosex_versus_the_bible.html) And homosexual relations have been tragically primarily responsible for approx. 80% of new HIV cases among men and over 700,000 American deaths, (https://peacebyjesuscom.blogspot.com/2019/10/negative-effects-of-homosexual.html) though such is not even the decisive reason why homosexual relations are wrong. Yet there is still room at the cross for all who will come to God in repentance and faith, and trust in the Divine Son of God sent by the Father, the risen Lord Jesus, to save them on His account, by His sinless shed blood, and thus be baptized and live for Him. Acts 10:36-47
It is not condemned in hinduism there are many temples in india which have sculptures of people performing actual sex.In Hindu epic there have been deities depicted as gender fluid.It is the people who just can't expect something which is beyond their comprehension.Watch Pravee Mohan on YouTube he has excellent vedios ,the best i have ever seen especially temples depicting sex sculptures.
It took me until my early 50's to realize the BS that was stuffed down my throat was a lie. President Jimmy Carter said that after 73 yrs of bible study, he never found that Jesus condemned homosexuality, even though it was a naturally accuring human behavior. SMFH!!!
Too many unanswered questions and double standards.
I lose a lot of "Christians" when I say, the Bible is a book written by men who wrote what they thought. Just like today. Many books provide insight into different subjects, but none are flawless. The insistence that the Bible is flawless is shutting out growth and understanding. What if a medical book written 2000 years ago was the only text we were allowed to use?
I think a lot of the bible is divine but it was not written by god but man. So does that mean it is not all true and man interpreted it wrong, I do not know. However the language was different back then and some of the bible might have gotten lost interpretation s.
Load More Replies...We ought take it, they say on faith, for the gods work in mysterious ways.
Had an abusive father growing up , and no matter how much I prayed god did nothing.
Yes. If God allows those who cannot defend themselves to be abused, it's no god I want to know.
If god can stop bad things, but doesn’t, then they are not benevolent. If they see bad things but can’t stop them, then they are not all-powerful.
Load More Replies...This is the reason I'm doubting my religion. My father is abusive, my mom doesn't do s**t about it, I'm being bullied and sexually harassed at school, and the school isn't helping, no matter how many times I report it. I've asked him to help so many times and yet all of this is still happening. I don't think a 14-year-old should go through all of this :(
Oh AZZy, I am so truly sad to hear what you are going through. No, no fourteen year old should ever have to go through what you are experiencing or feel like they have to have the crushing wait of the world on their shoulders. Is there a loving friend or trusted adult you can reach out to? Your local library may be a safe haven as they often have resources or people you can talk to report abuse and sexual harassment. You should never ever have to deal with abuse and sexual harassment. You are loved and valid. I may not know you but everyone deserves to feel safe and truly hope that you are able to find someone to confide in or resources that can help you.
Load More Replies...Ooo, I've had same situation. And when I went to the priest and questioned it, he said that being abused is god's will. I turned around and never came back
Jeez, well he WOULD say that, wouldn’t he?
Load More Replies...God could have created a universe with clouds and creatures that would never do anything immoral or otherwise harmful, just a nice universe, reflecting God's power, majesty and wisdom humming along. Instead, by creating beings who have the ability to choose, and alternatives to choose btwn, with consequences, then the reality is that these beings are the only ones that actually cause God grief. We only manifest our ignorance in railing against God as if we also were omniscient, and had a better plan and sure standard for morality. As said before, God could have, 1. made us (and angels) with no moral standard or sense or deprived us from the moral ability to respond to or choose good [morally insensible, even as with clouds]. 2. granted us free moral agency, but never have given us anything to choose between [negation of moral choices] More: https://www.quora.com/How-do-atheists-reconcile-a-loving-God-with-the-existence-of-natural-disasters/answer/Daniel-Hamilton-53
This, except mine was a stepdad. I was the epitome of a perfect little girl, yet I was made into the family slave and literal punching bag for 15 years, plus horribly bullied through my entire schooling. Where was God, and why did He let that happen to me?
But I'm guessing he was a religious man, so it made it ok for him to do? That's usually where that goes
By the way, these are not isolated cases, but a real trend. According to statistics given by the British sociologist Stephen Bullivant in his book Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America, if in 1972 the number of Americans with no religious affiliation was 5% (and if we take into account people under 30 years, then 10%), then in 2018 the same indicators were 23% and 34%, respectively.
Bullivant says the majority of this shift is caused by people actively leaving the religion of their childhood (the “nonverts” of the title), not because they were born into nonreligious families (though that trend is coming). In other words, there are many reasons for people to turn away from religion, but this is rather an objective historical process.
I grew up as a Christian and even spent a little time working in ministry. For years there were some nagging things that just didn’t add up for me. I worked for Child Protection Services for years and decided any God that has the power to prevent heinous abuse against his supposed innocent, but doesn’t, is either a sadist I don’t want to worship, or simply non existent. If this all started between God and Satan they can leave me the f**k out of it. It’s the b******t manufactured responses from Christians that were the nail on the coffin.
God started out as the bad guy, imo. Eve couldn't possibly have known it was bad to eat from the Tree until AFTER she had already eaten. God set her up to fail, then held all humanity accountable for one transgression from one person who was utterly innocent of her wrongdoing. No court in the world would have convicted her, but God did, and the rest of us until the end of time? Screw anyone who behaves like this. It's narcissistic gaslighting and victim blaming at its finest.
Oh, but it's okay because he sent himself to be sacrificed to himself so the rest of us are no longer on the hook for Eve doing exactly what he set her up to do. Makes total sense /s
Load More Replies...The Old Testament bible is full of "sinners" being punished by God. So God delivers the Ten Commandments. How were those commandments supposed to be communicated to all the humans on earth? No internet back then. Not even a printing press. So God basically punished humans who probably never knew those commandments even existed.
I mean, it might pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.
Load More Replies...This reminds me of the Abraham and Isaac story where God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac only to stop him at the last minute to say it was all just a “test of faith”. Any God who needs to do that is pretty sadistic, not to mention insecure.
Jesus walked in seeto a motel and put three nails down on the counter. He asked the person at the desk ”can you put me up for the night?"
The problem, among many, is that people literally think of “god” as a reflection of themselves, because that’s as far as thought itself can take you, and hence essentially as some sort of person up in the sky. It is thought, and therefore the thinker, which demands ”proof.” It just doesn’t work that way.
I thought god was supposed to be forgiving. Apparently a mistake was made and now everyone must suffer? That’s like a classroom full of children gets detention because one child did something wrong.
Clarifying is important as this abuse children will play a big role in times gods know what's going to happen before it does.
People put religion first over being a good human being
Religion is usually their first excuse to defend their crappy behavior.
When I complain to my parents about someone they always say that God punishes the bad and that they'll get what they deserve. They think it's disrespectful when I disagree with them because the person never did get punished and it's been 5 years
Load More Replies...I've gone to Catholic school my entire life, and in middle school I had a teacher tell my best friend, who was lesbian, that she would accept her identity but "God doesn't approve". When my friend asked her to elaborate, she said "I would support gay people and transgender people, because I don't personally think that's wrong, but God wouldn't allow that and I must follow what he says, so keep it to yourself, [friend's name]". Yeah... not for me. Imagine giving up your own (good) values in the name of being a good little soldier for some being that hates it's own creation.
As my Dad used to say, "Well, at least we know where all the hypocrits are Sunday mornings."
Oftentimes, they do 'good' things only to appease a nonexistent 'God,' and not for the real feelings of other people.
Exactly! When religion should MAKE you a good human being. Unfortunately that's definitely not how it works.
You don't have to be a good person, when you believe and give alms to the church.
I come from a fairly religious family (some are very, others, not so much, some not at all).
I became an atheist at the age of six.
Why?
Simply put, I could see, even then, how badly religion is use to manipulate, control, bully, intimidate, and attack people. And I wanted NO part of that.
My dads side of the family is deeply catholic and my moms side is Protestant but my parents raised us to be skeptical of everything unless there’s proof
I was somewhere between 6-8, had just gotten out of sunday school and was in the front lobby of the church with all the stained glass windows. I remember looking at one that was JC - when suddenly it came over me like a wave : the realization that it was all fake. Been atheist ever since and everything I've seen and learned in my life since has only confirmed that moment.
I was 8. Then I started reading the entire bible and was just even more certain that the whole thing was nonsense.
I read the intro that explained how many times it had been translated and reinterpreted and was done.
Load More Replies...While god stands by and does nothing, because they don't exist.
Load More Replies...Good for you. to be so bright at that age. Recalling I was about eight before I saw the truth.
And if there is a historical process, that means that it is possible to model scenarios for its development. So, according to the Pew Research Center, which researched four such scenarios, in all four religiously unaffiliated Americans are projected to approach or exceed Christians in number by 2070. Yes, our society is really losing our religion, and the process looks unstoppable and impetuous - from a historical point of view, of course.
What they taught didn’t make any sense
A very boring vindictive one at that. Ancient Greek deities are vindictive as well but at least they have fun hobbies.
Load More Replies...I went to Catholic elementary school. Even with my poorly developed sense of logic at age 7, none of the religion made any sense to me.
Same here. We were sent around our neighborhoods collecting change for starving children in Africa because, if we couldn't help them find god, they were going to burn in hell. Even in 3rd grade this made no sense and was a horrible thing to be taught about a so called "all loving" god.
Load More Replies...In 3rd grade, at a Catholic school, I asked a priest if technically eating the Eucharist was a cannibalism, since it's supposedly the real body of Christ. He stumbled over a poor explanation of "it's... uh... different" before moving on. I feel like if you eat the real body of someone supposedly fully human (not just fully God), that's gotta be cannibalism, right? I was explained some time in high school that no, it's not, because the "form" is bread while it "is" the Body. My brain hurts just typing this out. Eventually I got tired of the contradictions and that's why I don't go to mass :-)
Asked the same question got the same answer. Same goes for the wine
Load More Replies...I've seen the interpretation of the Bible skewed such that ridiculous impossibilities become fact, but that is a one-off case-by-case with pastors, not God. The Bible is history and lore, NOT the perfect Word of God (we'll get that in Heaven). Patience!
Although religions can show a kinder, better way of living, they often fail with false premises.
Born into a Catholic family, I decided to read the bible, and that clinched it for me. St. Paul vs. Jesus. Crucifixes vs. the 2nd Commandment. Baptists in the South not allowing my black friends in their church. And people like Joel Osteen.
I went to Catholic schools through 9th grade. Starting in first grade I was always in trouble for asking questions that the nuns/priests couldn't answer. "If a person who commits suicide is considered mentally unstable, and mentally unstable can't be condemned to hell, how come it's a sin to suicide and one can't be buried in a hallowed cemetery?" "If we will be reunited with our families when we die, but we hate our families because of how they abused us, why would I want to go to heaven?" Many, many more questions. The answer was always,"You have to have faith." Yeah, right.
when MFers got ten grand for a robe and a gold ring and a gold cup but gives out soup and bread like they doin a grand thing. Oh and [abusing] children that part pisses me off.
Churches should be charged 75% taxes
hard time might mean something else to someone else
Load More Replies...the original comment on Reddit says r*ped, but I think abused fits better (sorry if I accidentally triggered anyone, I know that feeling.)
I don’t, that slightly changes the context and reduces the degree of the crime (not that both aren’t bad).
Load More Replies...Just because they're in the god industry shouldn't mean they get away with all sorts and are tax-exempt.
A very religious friend once told me "It's a shame you don't believe in god, you're a nice person and don't deserve to burn for eternity." I was like...if that actually happens, your god is an a*****e and I wouldn't worship them even if it was proven without a doubt that that god existed.
I'm open to the idea of a higher power. I don't think it's impossible that life was seeded on Earth by higher beings. But I'd want to see the evidence before I believed it and I certainly don't think that millionairs who demand money from the poor are the people spreading the word of any kind of saviour.
It's even better when someone tells your grade schooler they're going to hell if they don't believe in Jesus.
haha that happened to me when I was in elementary school
Load More Replies...Even if life was seeded here by higher beings that doesn't necessarily make them gods.
If the only thing keeping you from being a 'bad person' is the threat of eternal punishment, you are already a bad person.
Yes, exactly! When I was forced to go to church when I was younger, the question always asked was, "if so-and-so was the nicest person on Earth, would they still go to heaven?" The answer was always, "no," because they weren't saved or accepted the Lord into their heart. Basically, saying that y'all can be the evilest b***h, but as long as you accept God, it's okay.
THIS. How can you be a "good person" when you're perfectly comfortable with other humans suffering indefinitely (what kind of sadist has a plan like that, anyway?) because they don't go to church or go to the "wrong" church? That's enough to turn me away from organized religion right there.
This should be much higher! The whole fire and brimstone conservative Christianity c**p does a lot of damage to young, impressionable minds. Any religion based on fear is not for me! Although none of them actually are, their institutions just made them that way.
Yes my problem with a wraithful God. If God told you to go out and blow up or kill innocent people who disagree with you- you need a different God.
Be that as it may, we are now in 2023, not 2070, and each of the people who turn away from religion has their own motivation, their own story. So please feel free to scroll to the very end of this list, read these stories and maybe share your own in the comments. After all, as John Lennon used to sing, “imagine there's no countries - it isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too...”
Critical thinking.
In my country the education to become a priest is not a clerical education, but a university education. They teach critical thinking, social science and historical criticism. They want priests to think for them selves and be solid people. The priest wage is low and you have to live among your parishioners. Nor fancy robes, no grand buildings, no self interest, no hate (well, some really old time priests are not fans of female priests, but they are dying out). I love what the church in my country do for the poor, those in need and those who just need a free space. We're not Catholic, but we're Christians. Most of the time the problem is not religion, but white supremacist religion, any religion who thinks money and wealth should go to the top. And that is not Christianity, that is some brainwashed kind of sect. Instead of going after all religion, go after those specific sects that gives the rest a bad reputation. Any religion who hates a specific group can't be Christian.
And they are neither Christian, nor Jewish, nor Muslim, nor Buddhist, nor Hindi, nor Shinto, or any religion that doesn't hold the basic tenet of "love yourself and others".
Load More Replies...More like Magical thinking, delusion and self interest in most cases.
I think OP is citing their own critical thinking as their reason for leaving religion, not their issue with religion.
Load More Replies...
Because it is nonsense.
A structure build by certain people to control and benefit from the not-so-sharp knives in the drawer.
If it makes these people have a reason to be "good" in the fear of an almigthy punishing them... Fine with me.
I prefer to be a good person just because, I'm fully responsible for my actions and have no need for imaginary friends to blame.
Unfortunately, many modern religionists insist on bypassing the word of their god to decide for themselves what's 'good' and what's 'bad', and their decisions are ALWAYS based on their personal feelings about certain groups of people.
I think it's just a cute little building. I would live there if it was a house
Load More Replies...I once had an argument with a Jehovah's Witness. He asked me if I didn't believe in their god what was to stop me being a rapist, thief, or murderer. I said that, despite my lack of belief I robbed, raped, and murdered as many times as I wanted to. It just so happened that the number of times I wanted to was zero because I wanted to live in a nicer society.
As a student of science and psychology, it took me decades to realize there IS a spiritual realm and Jesus has an excellent handle on it. I read the Bible thoroughly and weekly and know that each person will have their own interpretation. To deny God and spirit is advertising ignorance and limited life experience. I choose to grow and learn knowing that Earth is but a kindergarten for souls, and much more will be revealed in the afterlife. Don't let Satan keep you away from life. Good living takes effort. Best wishes.
Once again, I strongly recommend reading stuff written by Joseph Campbell, probably 50 years ago, on the "functions" of religion: 1. To explain natural phenomena (in the days before science, now the "god of the gaps). 2. To distinguish, by beliefs and customs, "Us" from "Them" as a mechanism to increase survival/dominance of the group bearing a particular religion meme. This allows, and indeed encourages the slaughter of those who believe differently. (See: Deuteronomy 20:16-18 or read the news about the Middle East.) 3. To promote "good behavior" in the populace, out of fear of a vengeful god (Think Santa Claus, who knows if you've been bad or good - another bearded, omniscient, mytholoigcal being), and finally 4. As busywork for under-employed philosophers.
Some of the best and kindest people do not believe in any higher power, while some of the earths most vile profess a belief in a God, of some sorts.
Just love people who say God told them such and such. Personal hotline, huh? Hallucination, maybe? Too many drugs?
You don't have to be a dull knife to fall into the trap of religion, especially if you were raised in it. The constant reinforcement is a very powerful thing. I know; I was raised that way. Most of my immediate and extended family is religious, and I would say many of them are of at least average and higher intelligence. If you haven't been in that world, you can't possibly understand how compelling it can be, and not just because of the brainwashing, but also because of the community and sense of hope. Frankly, losing my faith was one of the most painful things I ever went through. It becomes a core part of your identity.
Was being lectured to "not want material things" by someone driving a Hummer
Hey, don't judge hummers. What they do in the privacy of their own home is.... Oh c**p they're talking about the car. Oops!
Tough gig around here sometimes on this type of humor! Got a thumbs up from me! Some people need to lighten up!
Load More Replies...Yes laugh every time I see evangelicals in suits wear gold bling and flying their own private jets. Jesus hung out with the poor and disenfranchised not people like you.
my story: Was told that being gay was a sin by a history teacher who once got caught by the school doing unholy things to a measuring stick (if you know you know)
Or Owns a private Jet and walled compound while demanding all Your Possessions
"And if you send as much money as you can, you will be given reward in heaven"
Oh this! The head priest of the Catholic school & church I attended preached about living in poverty, but drove a brand-new Lamborghini.
Well the crowd just didn’t know what to do with that Nor could they prove what he said wasn’t true And since he had what everyone else thought they wanted It seemed like the thing to do And with that we rolled into the future And ain’t it a son of a b***h To think that we would still need religion To keep the poor from killin’ the rich? - Todd Snider "In The Beginning"
I found my own path to spirituality.
Why do you think spiritually is important? And what is it?
Load More Replies...This one should be higher, if not the top. And it should be a fundamental life goal.
I guess Spirituality has many different meanings, but for me it means that there is a spirit within us, within all things. That spirit exists beyond and without the physical body we inhabit. We continue to exist beyond the death of the body, but I believe we can explore the spirit world all around us. I'm not referring to ghosts, although I'm not excluding the spirit of preliving humans, but the spirit of all that surrounds us. I have sat in nature and experienced the spirit of the place. Many individuals, but also the combined spirit of the place and its past. Our one body is actually a colony of independent organisms. Our blood cells carry out their mission without our instruction. As does every cell in our body. Perhaps we too are cells in a larger organism. One that we may be able to connect to if we try being the whole, rather than a self important part.
I've always considered myself to be a "Heinz 57" , when it comes to religion. I have studied lots of different religions and believe bits of each of them, not 100% of just one.
I'm autistic. So when I asked a clarifying question ( as I am want to do) at age 6 in sunday school i was told
"Dont ask questions"
And that was the end of that.
I went to Jewish Religious schools and one of the things I learned in first grade was that one of the essential things in Judaism is a requirement to ask questions, it is even part of the Seder on passover. Asking questions in encouraged, or at least supposed to be, as long as it is done in a respectful way with intent to get an answer as opposed to being antagonistic
yeah, judaism (at least reform judaism) is the cool religion, i am an agnostic jew, and i am still fully accepted at my synagogue, and still go to services every once in a while
Load More Replies...Wow. I mean, I at least give my old pastor credit for trying. Some of the discussions during confirmation classes were surprisingly nuanced for a dozen middle schoolers. I mean, I don't know how much it costs to get a master's in theology, but it must be pretty mind-numbing to go from that to preaching to a room full of fidgety kids and hungover adults with a few enthusiastic idiots here and there every week.
There's a reason Christianity refers to the flock as SHEEP... do as you're told, don't ask questions.
The fact there are over 4,000 religions in existence today. Which one of them is right?!
South Park did a great episode on this btw, where everyone died and I think only the Mormans went to heaven, all other religions went to hell, because turns out they were incorrect in choosing their faith. Epitomised how ridiculous religion is.
That and everything else already said in this thread.
Satanism(https://www.churchofsatan.com/eleven-rules-of-earth/) sounds pretty sweet... "We Satanists are thus our own 'Gods,' and as beneficent 'deities' we can offer love to those who deserve it and deliver our wrath... upon those who seek to cause us... harm."(https://www.churchofsatan.com)
I have a theory that there may be multiple gods, and that's why there was the commandment about God being jealous, and there's a old testament verse that (in some translations) mentioned other gods having kids with humans. But other translations say its angels. I just thought it was interesting.
Oh I know that episode, whenever there’s an argument about religion, me and my dad just say “well only Mormons go to heaven anyway”
This is the fundamental point. Either there are multiple gods or only one (or none; either there is reincarnation or there isn't. They can't all be right, so why believe any of them?
Such a western way of thinking. Eastern religions know how to embrace ambiguity a hell of a lot better than western religions.
Load More Replies...There are 8 billion "religions" in the world. Each of us has our own path to God. Please don't push your views on others; at the same time avoiding evil and helping good. Tricky.
One of the constructs of any organization is discomfort when you leave. Some promise everlasting death before the fact and others after. Still the same.
To make it worse, each branch of Christianity says it's the RIGHT one & all the others are wrong & going to hell.
I was forced to go to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, for years. Even as a young person I started seeing the bias and hypocrisy in organized religion when a teacher was trying to tell me if you 'didn't know Jesus you were condemned to hell'. I asked 'what about the Indians'? And the teacher had no answer for me. Didn't make sense to me that a 'loving God' would send a whole group of people to hell because they hadn't been exposed to the bible.
Over time the fact that churches tend to be cliquish and are always begging for money that generally gets spent to big bigger and 'better' churches just left a bad taste in my mouth.
I also have a hard time believing that a book that a bunch of 'old' guys at the time wrote based on stories told by mouth over hundreds or thousands of years is really the 'word of God'.
I still believe in a higher power and intelligent design but I am not going to follow the teachings of organized religion. I do believe in basic ethics and standards of how to treat your fellow human beings but I don't need some fat dude in a cheap suit telling me how to behave every Sunday morning.
Well, yeah -- that's why Christian missionaries went all over the place, to "save" the savages. Even built entire plantation-style missions in California. And remember that guy a few years ago who went to that island in the Indian Ocean inhabited by a tribe of historically unfriendly cannibals? Yeah, he knew it was illegal, but he just HAD to try to convert them. As for the origin of the bible, that's a whole college class. OT is a record of Jewish oral history, NT is mostly Paul writing letters to various communities about how to be Christian (Jesus' followers were Jewish; it was Paul who took it from a form of Judaism to a different religion). Mark *might* have been written by the actual apostle Mark, but decades after the events described. The books of the NT were chosen at the Council of Nicea in the 300s, because there were a whole bunch of various gospels in use before then (now called the gnostic or apocryphal gospels). Christian history completely undermines Christianity.
If you're talking about North Sentinel Island, it's protected by the Indian government and people are strictly prohibited from approaching the island; the missionary evaded patrols to catch people like him, broke the law, which was set in place for a reason, as the North Sentinelese have a well-documented history of being very hostile to outsiders. Additionally, because they've been isolated for so long, they don't have immunity to diseases that most of humanity does; so not only did he endanger himself, this selfish missionary was endangering everyone on the island by bringing microbes with him that could have annihilated the island's population. Dude f****d around and found out. (Also there is 0 evidence that they're cannibals.)
Load More Replies..."I don't need some fat dude in a cheap suit telling me how to behave"- I guess you're on the naughty list this year then
The religion to which you subscribe is almost entirely dependent on the time, place, and culture in which you live.
touching on the first paragraph: in my old school I asked my religious studies teacher why God loves all and teaches to love all, but sends gay people and people who haven’t been shown the bible to hell… needless to say, I got put in a detention 🤷🏻♀️ 100% worth it tho, headteacher and I had a long discussion about it
I tried to believe, I really did, up until the age of 16, when I travelled the world on cargo ships. Seeing so many people with so many different beliefs sealed it for me - not that they were all going to hell, but that for some reason our religion was the only one out of all of these others that was correct. Once you accept that even if there is a god your particular brand of religion cannot possibly be the only 'correct' one, the rest of it all starts to unravel.
But theologians are clever. Just that question was outlined in Dante's Inferno - The "Virtuous Pagans" such as Aristotle and such were consigned to somewhere between Heaven and Hell, because they did not have the "benefit" of an opportunity to become Christian - same for stillborn babies, who died unbaptized. A bunch of underemployed philosophers can come up with some creative solutions.
Totally agree. And that "knowing Jesus as you personal Lord & Savior" bullsh*t? I remember asking my oh, so Christian Mother, "So the little bushman in Africa, who is gentle and kind and has never hurt anyone or anything, is going to hell because he's never heard of some guy in some book?" She didn't really have an answer for me.
The OPs question is a fallacy, that people "become" atheists for a reason. The false assumption is that faith is the natural state for all people, so there must be a triggering event (e.g. loss of a loved one, an accident, etc) that caused the individual to leave the "correct" state and enter into an aberrant state of non-belief.
In reality, belief in a god or other mystical reality is the aberrant behavior, begun by early privative culture and perpetuated by training each new generation.
I "turned my back on religion" when I went away to college and realized there was no reason at all for me to go to church on Sunday. There was no meaning in it. I shrugged and moved on with my life.
It was (and still is) an easy way to control a population. The oldest profession is not prostitute, but shaman.
The first shaman is like: I don't want to hunt or gather. It's too hard. Hmmm. I'll have the rest of them sacrifice their food to me so that I can make sure that we have a bountiful year. Anyone who calls me on my BS will be smoted.
Load More Replies...Second graf: I think I've been an atheist my whole life. My parents did the Catholic thing when I was little, but I never got it. Then my mother got "saved" later, and I got it even less. Religion is nothing but another form of tribalism that discourages rationality in favor of blind, slavish adherence to unsubstantiated myth. And that was really obvious to me even in elementary school. Big fat nope. The closest I've ever come to religion was some dabbling in paganism because I think the natural world is amazing, but even then I couldn't worship it. Nope.
Human history shows us, that every single society developed some sort of religious practices, so the assumption that religion is the natural state is probably true in contrary to what OP says. Organized and docmatic religion probably not so much. It developed in a very wrong direction, especially monotheistic religions.
I strongly suspect belief in religion is an evolutionary adaptation which strengthens community and motivates collaboration. Why else would religions be so wide spread in (almost?) every human culture, and for so long? In that sense, it *is* the "natural" or "default" state, but that's not the same as "correct". It doesn't mean it's technically correct, just that for much of human history, it was *useful* and even mutually beneficial.
And, in case anyone misunderstands, I'm not saying this was a good development necessarily, and I certainly don't deny that religion has motivated countless terrible acts. Evolutionary adaptations are neither good nor bad, they simply aid in the survival of the species. I certainly wouldn't call homo sapiens killing off neanderthals "good", or killing off species of dangerous predators "good", but it did make us more successful as a species.
Load More Replies...Agreed. People are taught from birth about " god". It's a load of crock!
We're all born atheists and have to be taught religion to know anything about it! A child from a christian family becomes a muslim if only taught islam. A muslim child become a christian if only taught christianity. Religion is a revelatory knowledge, that is, it is not something we are born with like an instinct - we have to learn about it if we are to know it. So if noone teaches us religion, we don't know anything about it. We are all born atheists.
Mental gymnastics. Also the fear tactics got tiring
Easy way round this, stop the gymnastics and stop being fearful of their b******t.
I was raised a southern baptist. A terrible environment for any child, even worse for girls. Misogyny and child abuse are hallmarks of this particular form of religious indoctrination. My sister struggles with feelings of guilt and shame to this day, and she is someone most people would consider a model child, and a good person. She's mentally screwed up because of our religious upbringing. I'm so glad it did not have the same impact on me.
Aside from the sheer absurdity of the biblical timeline and the fantasy that magic man is watching what every person is doing at all times, I have a son with autism. The challenges he faces to do the most simple things are cruel and inhumane. There is no intelligent design behind any of this.
Much like how it's usually people with lots of money who insist money doesn't matter, it always seems like it's some pretty lightly burdened people who like to say that.
Load More Replies...I, for one, am curious as to the explanation for how one entity could have almost 8 billion pairs of eyes at once.
The two best refutations of intelligent design: 1. Human Parturition, and 2. The Prostate.
Intelligent design is such a western concept. The west just can’t accept ambiguity and intellectual lack of understanding. Such an emphasis on logic!
Honestly the terrorism, the greed and religious hypocrisy that comes from people who follow it made me an atheist/agnostic for a long time add to the fact that when your God commands you to kill Jews and non believers it makes it more of a cult than a religion eventually I discovered Hinduism which worked for me personally. So technically I’m still not sure about God but I love the religion, the practices and the easy going nature of the religion, Buddhism is pretty nice too.
Hinduism is "easy going"?! I suspect that there are the families of thousands upon thousands of dead Seikhs and Muslims who would not agree.
Balinese Hinduism is pretty chill, since they are rather out of touch with the region it came from. Though this might be more cultural than it is religion.
Load More Replies...But sadly, the "peaceful" Hindus slaughter(ed) Muslims in India, and the even more peaceful Buddhists did the same to Muslims in Sri Lanka. At its bottom, religion is a meme (in the original sense of the word - an idea that spreads, like a virus, among the human population. In order to evolve and out-compete other competing memes, the "law of the jungle" applies, and it is sometimes deemed necessary to slaughter the competitors.
Some people use the veil of religion to carry out their diabolical acts.
Straight up recommendation: Stephen Batchelor; Buddhism Without Beliefs. Also “Alone With Others”, by same, if you want a great book on seeing how Christianity and Buddhism are not at all incompatible.
The reason priests told people to kill Jews was that they killed Christ. How can you kill a god?
Don't ask, millions of Jews over history have been killed for that, today we are just grateful most people, including official Catholic theology has moved beyond that
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I went to a church of England school, which involves singing hymns, prayers etc. Pretty standard for primary school age kids. I was talking to another girl about religion and she said 'I'm an atheist'. I asked her what it was and she explained that she didn't believe in god. I was mindblown, I didn't even know that was an option, but it immediately made sense to me in a way Christianity never did.
My parents never spoke about religion much or went to church, but I went home to tell them my new discovery and they both just laughed and admitted they don't believe in god either. I have a few atheist family members too, I learnt my grandmother, now 93, doesn't believe in god, and my Grandad on the other side who passed a few years ago.
Yeah, from an anthropology perspective, religion is a cultural/community thing. Like a book club, but it's the same book over and over. Historically, your religious community served as a social safety net, supporting each other when needed -- making sure a guy's wife and kids didn't starve if he died, taking in orphans, etc. -- because the notion that a government might do that is relatively new. At this point, though, religion -- especially as it's practiced in modern societies -- is totally obsolete. So church members now tend to either be the casual "social hour" attendees or the over-the-top "REPENT!/NO, YOU REPENT!" variety. Of course, now we're seeing a lot of "I love God and Guns" types, which I *think* is the middle part of a venn diagram of those. Or it might just be a form of mental illness. I dunno, I didn't take abby psych. XD
To be fair, most people who were raised Church of England are pretty chill. We mainly only go to church for weddings, christenings and funerals, if at all. I would consider myself an atheist since I don’t believe in a mystical higher power, but I do like the traditional and cultural aspects of ceremonies that mark significant life stages. For me, a church is a way to bring communities and families together to say familiar words and celebrate events as our parents, grandparents and great grandparents did before us. A link to the past and marking the start of a future. Just don’t get me started on the idiots who mix together church and state, or believe fairytales should dictate how I live my life or interfere with my bodily autonomy.
If the parents didn´t believe in God either, Why did they send OP to a school of the church? (which shouldn´t even exist, btw.).
Oftentimes religious schools are private in the UK and some parents believe that their children may receive a better education.
Load More Replies...My much adorable and much appreciated Granpa was a fervent catholic. And i though my mother and aunts were also. Turns out we all attendend church because it made him so happy. A bunch of granpaholics if i might say. If at all, i pray to Granpa now, because he was the closest to a saint i ever witnessed.
There's a Sumerian (or maybe Babylonian) tablet somewhere with the transcript of a trial. Farmer A accuses Farmer B of stealing his goat. Farmer B does indeed have the goat, but no proof that it's his. The authorities brought both farmers to the temple of Marduk, and told them to repeat their stories to the statue of the god. Farmer B, terrified, confessed to being a thief, despite the severe penalty. So indeed, religion sometimes has uses (See Campbell's 3rd reason, in my note several stories above.
My favourite aunt went to church every Sunday, not because she believed in any of the BS (her word), but because her neighbours wouldn't talk to her if she didn't.
MendelOfGrendel said:
Reading.
ctgreeves11 added:
Same here, I started reading the bible during lockdown and found a load of nasty s**t which basically convinced me that I didn't really like what christianity stood for so i decided to stop believing.
Besides the torture porn, there are way too many contradictions. 'Love thy neighbor', 'don't murder'. Followed by 'stone them b***hes that don't believe!'
great to see you chose something better!! good on you!!!
Load More Replies...I chatted with a priest once in a non church setting (because I don't attend) about all the rules and he said you have to take it with a grain of salt and treat it like the lessons in Aesop'e Fables. I thought that was pretty cool. He was Episcopalian if that makes a difference
That sounds like an open-minded priest who questions. Hermeneutics or the study of the bible places the reading of the bible in a historical, cultural, and even feminist and queer context at times. It should be required for ANYBODY going into the priesthood as it teaches them to not blindly question their faith and speak about portions of the bible with a variety of different people from various background.
Load More Replies...Most Christians have not read and studied the Bible for themselves, they just accept what is preached to them from the pulpit, tailored to the flavor of the day in the church.
I’d like to hear more details on this. Most? How many? How have you reached this conclusion? How many of the 2 billion Christians have you spoken to?
Load More Replies...Agnostics and spiritualists understand it as well.
Load More Replies...The christian and Catholic religions were a way to try and turn the societies of that day from matriarchal to patriarchal to give men the power. Then it was deemed women were evil and the reason for sin. When I'm reality, had Eve not eaten from the apple and tempted Adam to do the same, there would b NO people on earth. They would have had no kids. Just the 2 of them for eternity. It was the eating of the apple that gave them the knowledge of life and ability to create it
Christianity is a Death Cult, if anyone truly examines it they might just as well join the Solar Temple.
Difficulty I have is that those who profess to live a biblical life .. 1) Do not expect women to live outdoors for a week every month(OT) 2) Ignore when God says the descendants of Ishmael shall be a GREAT nation(thus deserving respect) didn't say anything about heresy 3) Totally ignore the teachings of the star of the NT MAN is the one who interprets the bible, and usually shapes it to his tastes
How it handled the most basic questions (usually by avoiding them or calling people rude for asking). That and the double standards.
Ignorance of who and what Ganesha is would be my guess.
Load More Replies...In an astoundingly stupid statement, the pastor of the church I attended as a kid said "God always answers all prayers; sometimes the answer is 'no.'"
Load More Replies...“ Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." And for asking THAT the thief on the cross next gets sent to Hell. Maybe Jesus didn’t have the lung capacity at that point to explain that He was sacrificing Himself; so it was death in agony and off to Hell, smart guy. And you too, smart alek school kid, are going to Hell for asking the obvious questions. Your Sunday school teachers are respected members of the community, and they won’t tolerate pushback any more than the leaders of Jerusalem did in 30 AD.
I used to think that the invention of monotheism was the worst, most evil invention of mankind. In high school and early college, I was somewhat reinforced in that opinion, since the Greeks and Romans tolerated (until those pesky, arrogant, intolerant Christians) other religions, either assigning equivalence (Zeus = Jupiter), or adding to the pantheon (e.g., Mithras), but then there are lots of bloodthirsty polytheistic religions, so forget that thought.
Finally had MY biggest question answered. Why plural during Genesis when Adam and Eve were admonished not to eat from the tree of knowledge "they will become like us"...US!. A layperson of the Catholic faith explained the referral was to the archangels. Ok... but I think we are not the only intelligent life in the universe and are the product of...oh never mind.
I always thought it was the "Royal We.." - Higher ups merit plurality. Q.E. I: "We are not amused."
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My grandma died when I was 11. She was the most religious person I've known, she made us pray all the time and scolded us when we didn't go to church with her.
She got lung cancer and died after surgery. I prayed to god like she taught me when she was in the hospital, and when the news came out that she was dead, I felt a betrayal as never before.
I felt let down. I had prayed like I was supposed to, did everything she asked me to do for god. And he didn't save her.
Now that I'm older I know that my parents didn't communicate the severity with me as they should have. They knew it was a major surgery with a small percentage that she would survive. But I didn't. I thought she would get help there and be back in time for the next sunday service. This all lead to me loosing the simple faith a child has, and I'm an agnostic now.
The loss of a loved one is always disconcerting. do not worry about there being a god or not as there is none. granny was only doing what she was taught to do. Ashes to ashes, so to speak.
I apologize if it's been mentioned before, but the most comprehensive study on prayer to date determined it doesn't work at all. The odds are no better than flipping a coin, or doing nothing at all. In fact, prayer was shown to hurt in some cases. If someone knew they were being prayed for, and failed to get better, they shared feelings of disappointment, like they let people down, and that negatively impacted their health.
Don't worry. She is now in a shiny gold mansion in the sky!/S
Again, fire and brimstone Christianity damages people, especially children.
There is a scale of personal development/behavior - I think named after Erikson, in which early stages "behave" only when they know they're being observed, while the highest stage incorporates the concept of doing good deeds without reward. Religion serves to enforce good behavior, since most people are stage 1. Think "He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake...." Bearded omniscient guy who will only reward/punish you based on your behavior. Keeps folks in line.
Load More Replies...I experienced something similar with my mother. she died of cancer when I was 9, and was quite religious but not as much as many others on this list. I was doubting Christianity long before this though. proof is important, I received none. a powerful, merciful god like they say it is would not let this suffering happen.
Your grandmother was a deeply religious person that clearly did good to others, hence why it hurt you so much that she died. You praying for her health was a good thing but God decided it was her time and that he wanted to take her life when she was at her maximum goodness as a person. That basically guarantees heaven for her. Your parents should have told you this and that even though you wanted her to stay with you you should be happy for her because she is in good hands now.
people literally can not take Real Life "Character Development", which is what god gave you to become a stronger person. Sorry for the lost tho.
Bro. what the actual f**k. how does that make sense? you're taught to pray to god and he'll help, and he does nothing. it's a broken promise. I'm glad I'm a Satanist/pagan witch. Ave Satanas.
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I couldn't be bothered to get up on Sunday mornings and slowly learning about the seedy s**t Catholic priests get up to behind closed doors
Wait until you hear about their past & current financing of legislation in (mostly) African nations to institute “kill the gays” laws. They’ve already succeeded in at least two nations and are financing the initiatives, propaganda and promotion in several others. All proxied through adjacent (yet official) groups like the Knights of Columbus. Meanwhile, they have this apparently supportive and progressive mouthpiece who implies otherwise & he’s beloved because of his apparent kindness & silly behavior. But then, the pope is still the head of the worlds largest tax-free, organized crime group.
"God"-father, indeed - of a multinational crime syndicate.
Load More Replies...The answer is to remove tax-free status for any organization that marginalizes women. Similar thing happened when the Mormons were coming under scrutiny for tax exemption in the U.S. because they would not grand full membership to Blacks. (Founder, Joseph Smith said Africans were turned black as punishment for being evil.) But, just before they were going to lose their tax exemption, some archangel or other, maybe Moroni - came to earth and told the then LDS church leaders that full membership was ok. Good to hear it, even second hand, from god.
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maturity, it is clearly all BS
Does feel kind of like not believing in Santa Claus any more. Kind of sad but reality.
The overly religious people (extremists) and what they do claiming that it is what God would want.
Also, the fact that the main religions do not afford a thought that God can...change. I mean, Christians, Muslims and Jews (pretty sure that goes for Hindus and Shintoists, too) are pretty proud of following the traditions set up thousands of years ago. But people change, cultures change, attitudes to various aspects of life change. Why do people deny that a God can change, too? That it can now feel cringe towards the things it "demanded" earlier?
When I was a teenager I liked brutal videogames, gory fatalities of Mortal Kombat, cynical comic plots like the Watchmen (probably would have loved The Boys tv show if it aired back then), heavy music like Death Metal or the "screaming" aggressive albums of Marilyn Manson. Now I recall this time with cringe because my tastes changed. Now I like softer music, pixel roguelites and kinder movie/tv/comic plots where the good guys win and Naruto Therapy works, can't stand gory games. So what if God feels something similar? "Yeah, I killed the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah, killed the Egyptian babies, still feel ashamed, or ordered to sacrifice sheep on Kurban Bayram, but sheesh it was so long ago dudes, why are you still doing it?".
Few people are proud that they are following ancient social traditions like slavery or racism, that are outdated. Few people are proud to still use the vastly outdated tools. But too many people are proud that their worship is almost the same as it was hundreds of years ago.
I truly believe religion was made by the wealthy few as a way to control the masses. No police or law back then. So they make up this all mighty being that can see and hear all you do. They scarred everyone into behaving they way the rich wanted them to.
Good point. The Hammurabi Code. Babylonian legal text written around 1750s BC. 282 laws from the monarchy in Mesopotamia. Pretty much eye for an eye to make punishment visible
Load More Replies...It's crazy to me that I, an athiest, follow the teachings of Christ more than any so-called christian I've ever known.
There are loads of rules in the Bible that made sense at that time, but are ridiculous now. "Don't eat shellfish" was a sensible rule at a time when there was no refrigeration. "Don't get tattoos or piercings" was a sensible rule before the invention of the autoclave. We don't need such rules now, yet Jehovah has not changed them.
God also tells us to be fruitful and multiply, so I guess childfree people like me are an affront to God! It’s extra bad because I’m female, and God isn’t big on the autonomy or independence of women!
Load More Replies...I've felt that spiritual lessons can only be taught in the framework of what a being is capable of comprehending and even then so much will be misunderstood. As we evolve the lessons should be evolving also to meet our greater capacity to understand our own human nature and how it best functions in the world, the universe and in relationship with God. The old lessons created rules and a frame work for a savage and ignorant time, we've learnt out times tables and abcs it's time to explore a bigger world view now.
Everyone wants to be rich without the responsibilities. Dream on. Do nothing and die or work and see your life improve. Church makes society better. Show them how it's done, don't complain. God rocks!
I generally feel the converse of this point. While I am an atheist, I have continuing knowledge of the ever changing rules of the LDS (Mormon) religion (Utah native here). The 12 apostles have a direct connection to God, but God seems to change his mind whenever socially convenient. Statehood being pursued? God suddenly decided polygamy is not cool anymore. Losing members and faith due to rising respect for LGBT in the 21st century? God is now relaxing his rules on that. To be clear, secular society controls the Mormon God, NOT the other way around.
Religions can "evolve" in response to tax laws, or prosecution of child molesters, or strategically to harm the competition. No birth control or abortion means more folks paying into the franchise a generation later.
Gods where invented to pacify the people. There, no longer is that need.
It would make sense. The God of the New Testament (while not explicitly present) is completely different from the old testament.
White people and Christianity, once I realized what we consider Christianity in the United States is an aggregated, filtered/edited version of the religion and it's history in support/promotion of white power structures I was done. Seeing Judaism used to subjugate the Palestinian people and steal their land to create an apartheid state.
I want to believe in this concept of divine design and lines that lead thru all creation however humans have shown they will use this sense of order to control behavior and beliefs.
Personally I'm good on religion, read too much to go backwards...
Still respect the idea of trying to understand how we all got here, mostly thru science but there's still that unknown "magic" to creation.
There's an unknown 'magic' to pregnancy too. And baking bread. And we know how both those things work. Failure to understand a natural process doesn't make said process 'magic'. Clarke's Law.
So many people are locked into the idea that 'religion' equals Christianity. Look at Paganism. The magic is there, but not the dogma.
Playing devils advocate here, could that be due to pagans being in the minority and suffering misunderstanding and abuse from the major organized religions? Suppose, oh IDK... Druidry had become the majority world religion. Wouldn't some self-proclaimed Druids be dogmatic and abusive?
Load More Replies.....and that most "Christian" sects holds that the others are apostates...again, man's interpretation
I agree with the above, except that rather than aparteid, it's ethnic cleansing.
the part about the severe filtering yeah definitely. When i was in school we had to write a report on a biblical paragraph (the school was "non religious thats why they said paragraph") i wrote about a controversial one and was told it wasn't in the bible got in trouble for bringing the bible in the next day and showing them the passage
Yea, and devote Muslims killing for no reason innocent Jews. Let's not get lopsided.
I am convinced the Universe is 100% energy, and because people couldn't understand this, they created "God." Jesus allegedly said that we could do all the miracles he could do, and more. With faith. Instead of praying to questionable deities, I use my understanding of energy and intention to do 'miracles' myself.
Here is what gets me. I'm Christian with the United Church. My wife is agnostic, one of my best friends is wiccan and their husband is a church minister and we all play D&D with different gods. We get along great. I have no doubt there are thousands of common stories of how crappy a religious person is and I feel bad for those wronged by religions. It's unfair to group every religious person together. It's the same as saying all Muslims are terrorists. Yes, there are bad ones but there are great ones out there too. Just like there are good cops mixed in with bad ones, good lawyers mixed in with the ambulance chasers, good Americans mixed in with the horrible ones. I'm not here to change any one's mind but want to just say that there are good people out there. As for the number of religions....To me, it's Hamlet vs. Lion King. Same story, different tellers. Ultimately, each story tells of a higher power and those that believe in the faith and how they are rewarded or punished.
I don't disagree with any of this but I also don't think much of it is unique to religion. To take an extreme (but shockingly common) example, look at the MAGA movement: It's followers regularly tell lies which a 30 second Google would disprove, some of them are then even proven wrong by the courts and still people blindly follow and even commit violence. Religion does have some problems unique to it but many of those have the same root as those with MAGA - People that are able and willing to abuse power.
For me it's the rampant sexism and lack of female representation in the divine as well as how psychologically unhealthy a lot of religious beliefs are. Also one sky daddy is so boring.
I think religion as fine as long as it helps a person be a better human being. Some people need to be motivated by a negative to reach a positive, some religions help them with that. I was raised Mormon but saw the ugly side of it by not being part of the social norm and that helped me see the hypocrisy at a young age. Grown up, the most mind-blowing for me is that Mormons strive to reach the highest tier of heaven so that they, too, can become Gods of their own worlds .... yet they don't believe in polytheism? I mean, what? Seriously.
I'm sorry but I can't just believe God isn't real when He's part of the reason I didn't end myself. I respect everyone else's choices religion-wise tho
I follow Earl Hickey faith. Do good things and good things happen. It's simple, and you actually see the results of your good deeds.
I'm not religious. I'm spiritual, like my ancestors before. Religion is man made, which means, they are human. Which means they can lie, change things to benefit them. Hear say, after passed down just in hours, gets all wrong. Yet something passed down for many, many years, is suppose to be fact? I don't think so. You can be a good person without religion.
Personally speaking, I do have a faith. I do believe in God. But, I up voted every single one of these. I absolutely understand all of these viewpoints. I will totally defend every single one of them to anyone who has the presumption to judge and declare the sentence (going to hell), be part of a war about religion and wants to kill any of you because you don’t believe. We’ll both go together on that one. And so on. Everyone has the right not to believe in a god. Everyone has the right to make their own decisions and not be judged for it, nor have to endure people who try to persuade you. My dad always said “My church is standing under the night sky.” Me too dad. Me too.
I don’t wanna make anyone feel bad for their religion so I’ll be civil for now but I’ll tell you what’s the most recent nail in the coffin for me. I realized that most people believed in Christianity, and even though it’s a free religious country, people immediately expect you to be Christian (specifically in black communities). If I ever outwardly said I wasn’t Christian, I’d be shunned, everyone would be mad at me, and it’s almost like no matter what I say in my head, I have to be outwardly Christian to not get in trouble (so much for free religion huh?). It also doesn’t help that it’s legal for catholic schools to exist, considering you’re forced to participate in mass, pray, and other things no matter what religion you are. How comes kids don’t get to think of their religion their selves.)
Here is what gets me. I'm Christian with the United Church. My wife is agnostic, one of my best friends is wiccan and their husband is a church minister and we all play D&D with different gods. We get along great. I have no doubt there are thousands of common stories of how crappy a religious person is and I feel bad for those wronged by religions. It's unfair to group every religious person together. It's the same as saying all Muslims are terrorists. Yes, there are bad ones but there are great ones out there too. Just like there are good cops mixed in with bad ones, good lawyers mixed in with the ambulance chasers, good Americans mixed in with the horrible ones. I'm not here to change any one's mind but want to just say that there are good people out there. As for the number of religions....To me, it's Hamlet vs. Lion King. Same story, different tellers. Ultimately, each story tells of a higher power and those that believe in the faith and how they are rewarded or punished.
I don't disagree with any of this but I also don't think much of it is unique to religion. To take an extreme (but shockingly common) example, look at the MAGA movement: It's followers regularly tell lies which a 30 second Google would disprove, some of them are then even proven wrong by the courts and still people blindly follow and even commit violence. Religion does have some problems unique to it but many of those have the same root as those with MAGA - People that are able and willing to abuse power.
For me it's the rampant sexism and lack of female representation in the divine as well as how psychologically unhealthy a lot of religious beliefs are. Also one sky daddy is so boring.
I think religion as fine as long as it helps a person be a better human being. Some people need to be motivated by a negative to reach a positive, some religions help them with that. I was raised Mormon but saw the ugly side of it by not being part of the social norm and that helped me see the hypocrisy at a young age. Grown up, the most mind-blowing for me is that Mormons strive to reach the highest tier of heaven so that they, too, can become Gods of their own worlds .... yet they don't believe in polytheism? I mean, what? Seriously.
I'm sorry but I can't just believe God isn't real when He's part of the reason I didn't end myself. I respect everyone else's choices religion-wise tho
I follow Earl Hickey faith. Do good things and good things happen. It's simple, and you actually see the results of your good deeds.
I'm not religious. I'm spiritual, like my ancestors before. Religion is man made, which means, they are human. Which means they can lie, change things to benefit them. Hear say, after passed down just in hours, gets all wrong. Yet something passed down for many, many years, is suppose to be fact? I don't think so. You can be a good person without religion.
Personally speaking, I do have a faith. I do believe in God. But, I up voted every single one of these. I absolutely understand all of these viewpoints. I will totally defend every single one of them to anyone who has the presumption to judge and declare the sentence (going to hell), be part of a war about religion and wants to kill any of you because you don’t believe. We’ll both go together on that one. And so on. Everyone has the right not to believe in a god. Everyone has the right to make their own decisions and not be judged for it, nor have to endure people who try to persuade you. My dad always said “My church is standing under the night sky.” Me too dad. Me too.
I don’t wanna make anyone feel bad for their religion so I’ll be civil for now but I’ll tell you what’s the most recent nail in the coffin for me. I realized that most people believed in Christianity, and even though it’s a free religious country, people immediately expect you to be Christian (specifically in black communities). If I ever outwardly said I wasn’t Christian, I’d be shunned, everyone would be mad at me, and it’s almost like no matter what I say in my head, I have to be outwardly Christian to not get in trouble (so much for free religion huh?). It also doesn’t help that it’s legal for catholic schools to exist, considering you’re forced to participate in mass, pray, and other things no matter what religion you are. How comes kids don’t get to think of their religion their selves.)
