I don't believe in God

Degeneratefk said:

I can't talk about religion with my mother. She starts to cry and says she failed as a parent.

My mom wouldn't cry but she would say the same thing.  She's not even overly religious. 

Degeneratefk said:

I can't talk about religion with my mother. She starts to cry and says she failed as a parent.

Can you blame her? Though I don't think it's so much about religion, just in general.

cincybearcat said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

RogueStoner said:

brianlux said:

Degeneratefk said:

I can't speak for other religions (hell,  I can't speak for Christianity.  It's just what I grew up around) but it's existence relies on people jammingbjt down everyone's throat. Doesn't Christianity teach that all Christians must spread the word? Why do you think people always say "I'll pray for you?" Aren't they praying that you or whoever will turn to Christ? 

This is certainly true for Christianity.   You're supposed to proselytize.  If you're a "true Christian", a "good Christian", you're supposed to be an evangelical.  I got interested in the Jesus movement for a while back in the seventies because some of the people I knew who were into it were very kind and giving but the two things that turned me off were the notions of having to say the right words ("I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior") to get into heaven (otherwise you go to hell?  fuck that) and the insistence that you had to proselytize to be a true Christian.  No thanks.

I hate that! So basically, as long as you accept Jesus..., it can be on your deathbed but you'll still get into heaven, regardless of what kind of person you were in life? Even if heaven existed, that wouldn't be right. What does that even mean? What's the point? 
I respect others' religious beliefs but when they start pushing them on me...it's on! They better have some damn good arguments. They never do.  

this is yet another in a long list of things I never understood about it, as you mentioned here. It was even made into a joke on the Simpsons when Homer quit going to church. Another character asked him about getting into heaven, and Homer replied "meh, I'll recant on my deathbed". it's such a stupid idea. 

Not so stupid.  It's the whole, you can always be forgiven....but you have to mean it.  It's not really meant as an excuse to do a bunch of terrible things and then get away with it...

But it sure works as one.

If the world lasts that long... people will eventually 'wise up'.

And let's not try to pretend that religion, and belief in God, are passed on predominantly through indoctrination before the age of reason.

rgambs said:

cincybearcat said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

bootlegger10 said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

I don't believe in God either. My religious parents don't get me.

My parents are very religious.  They've kept quiet for about 10 years but finally said something to me over the holidays.  It really bothers them that I don't go to church.  I feel bad because you never want to let down your parents.  I don't know where I am at with it though.   The religious person discredits evolution/big bang by saying what created the particles or whatever to make us (something from nothing?), and the atheist asks where did God come from?   

Don't feel bad.
It would be insane to believe in something someone tells you to believe in when there is no evidence to prove its existence.
Plus, they're letting YOU down by forcing you into believing something you don't want to.

1) It’s not insane. It’s faith. And you do this too I’m sure in other areas where you believe what people say.
2) how are they letting him down...or forcing exactly?

i wasn’t at the conversation so I don’t know if it was a good conversation or judgmental. For those of faith they believe that the other will not go to heaven. So I’m sure it’s uosetting to think your kid will not be joining you.  It’s all in how the conversation goes and the intent. Just because people talk about god or faith doesn’t make them wrong/evil. 

It's easy to make the argument that faith IS insanity.  
If you tweak the circumstances away from something that happens to be indoctrinated to the point where it's widely accepted, it begins to look incredibly insane.
If I start talking about faith in God it gives people fuzzy feelings so it can't be insane, but if I start talking about having faith that I AM God, it looks pretty insane.
Faith that the Earth is flat doesn't look very sane, faith in Scientology isn't usually regarded as highly sane.

That's the way I look at it....hearing someone say "I strongly believe in the tooth fairy" (or Easter Bunny, Bigfoot, Santa Claus) is equal to "I strongly believe in God"

If you give it some thought there is really no difference

Gern Blansten said:

rgambs said:

cincybearcat said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

bootlegger10 said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

I don't believe in God either. My religious parents don't get me.

My parents are very religious.  They've kept quiet for about 10 years but finally said something to me over the holidays.  It really bothers them that I don't go to church.  I feel bad because you never want to let down your parents.  I don't know where I am at with it though.   The religious person discredits evolution/big bang by saying what created the particles or whatever to make us (something from nothing?), and the atheist asks where did God come from?   

Don't feel bad.
It would be insane to believe in something someone tells you to believe in when there is no evidence to prove its existence.
Plus, they're letting YOU down by forcing you into believing something you don't want to.

1) It’s not insane. It’s faith. And you do this too I’m sure in other areas where you believe what people say.
2) how are they letting him down...or forcing exactly?

i wasn’t at the conversation so I don’t know if it was a good conversation or judgmental. For those of faith they believe that the other will not go to heaven. So I’m sure it’s uosetting to think your kid will not be joining you.  It’s all in how the conversation goes and the intent. Just because people talk about god or faith doesn’t make them wrong/evil. 

It's easy to make the argument that faith IS insanity.  
If you tweak the circumstances away from something that happens to be indoctrinated to the point where it's widely accepted, it begins to look incredibly insane.
If I start talking about faith in God it gives people fuzzy feelings so it can't be insane, but if I start talking about having faith that I AM God, it looks pretty insane.
Faith that the Earth is flat doesn't look very sane, faith in Scientology isn't usually regarded as highly sane.

That's the way I look at it....hearing someone say "I strongly believe in the tooth fairy" (or Easter Bunny, Bigfoot, Santa Claus) is equal to "I strongly believe in God"

If you give it some thought there is really no difference

I totally agree. There is no difference whatsoever besides that fact that the insanity of religion has been normalized.

Normalized as in "believing in the tooth fairy isn't normal and believing in God is".

I personally have absolutely no qualms in saying I'm an Atheist is any and all situations, because I couldn't care less what other people think about it. Also, I'm always extremely intrigued when I discover that someone is a devout whatever. When I find out a co-worker or someone actually attends Church and is really religious, I'm genuinely fascinated, and want nothing more than to discuss their beliefs and their experiences with that. I find that most very religious people are weirdly closed-lipped and self-conscious of their faith, while I've never met an Atheist who is.... And these are not faithful people who get persecuted or teased or anything about their religion at all. So that makes me wonder wtf they're so uncomfortable about. Perhaps they are insecure about it because deep down they know that a lot of it is pretty ludicrous, or maybe are afraid a non-religious person is going to be able to easily poke holes in the beliefs (I wouldn't do that in this scenario)... That makes me wonder if their faith is as solid as they seem to want it to be. Either that, or they are basically just a bunch of snobs who don't think an Atheist is worth sharing with. And no, I don't do anything to make them feel weird or judged. I show genuine, friendly interest and curiosity about it. I really enjoy hearing their perspectives about it, especially when they're converts from other faiths or something. I dunno... lately I feel like a lot of religious folks, particularly Christians, have a persecution complex that acts like a kind of defense mechanism.

PJ_Soul said:

Normalized as in "believing in the tooth fairy isn't normal and believing in God is".

I personally have absolutely no qualms in saying I'm an Atheist is any and all situations, because I couldn't care less what other people think about it. Also, I'm always extremely intrigued when I discover that someone is a devout whatever. When I find out a co-worker or someone actually attends Church and is really religious, I'm genuinely fascinated, and want nothing more than to discuss their beliefs and their experiences with that. I find that most very religious people are weirdly closed-lipped and self-conscious of their faith, while I've never met an Atheist who is.... And these are not faithful people who get persecuted or teased or anything about their religion at all. So that makes me wonder wtf they're so uncomfortable about. Perhaps they are insecure about it because deep down they know that a lot of it is pretty ludicrous, or maybe are afraid a non-religious person is going to be able to easily poke holes in the beliefs (I wouldn't do that in this scenario)... That makes me wonder if their faith is as solid as they seem to want it to be. Either that, or they are basically just a bunch of snobs who don't think an Atheist is worth sharing with. And no, I don't do anything to make them feel weird or judged. I show genuine, friendly interest and curiosity about it. I really enjoy hearing their perspectives about it, especially when they're converts from other faiths or something. I dunno... lately I feel like a lot of religious folks, particularly Christians, have a persecution complex that acts like a kind of defense mechanism.

That's exactly how I am. I like discussing religion, no matter what it is. I'm just curious and like to hear others' perspectives and experiences. I'm not going to convert to anything, but I still want to learn. There's no such thing as too much knowledge. 

Gern Blansten said:

rgambs said:

cincybearcat said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

bootlegger10 said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

I don't believe in God either. My religious parents don't get me.

My parents are very religious.  They've kept quiet for about 10 years but finally said something to me over the holidays.  It really bothers them that I don't go to church.  I feel bad because you never want to let down your parents.  I don't know where I am at with it though.   The religious person discredits evolution/big bang by saying what created the particles or whatever to make us (something from nothing?), and the atheist asks where did God come from?   

Don't feel bad.
It would be insane to believe in something someone tells you to believe in when there is no evidence to prove its existence.
Plus, they're letting YOU down by forcing you into believing something you don't want to.

1) It’s not insane. It’s faith. And you do this too I’m sure in other areas where you believe what people say.
2) how are they letting him down...or forcing exactly?

i wasn’t at the conversation so I don’t know if it was a good conversation or judgmental. For those of faith they believe that the other will not go to heaven. So I’m sure it’s uosetting to think your kid will not be joining you.  It’s all in how the conversation goes and the intent. Just because people talk about god or faith doesn’t make them wrong/evil. 

It's easy to make the argument that faith IS insanity.  
If you tweak the circumstances away from something that happens to be indoctrinated to the point where it's widely accepted, it begins to look incredibly insane.
If I start talking about faith in God it gives people fuzzy feelings so it can't be insane, but if I start talking about having faith that I AM God, it looks pretty insane.
Faith that the Earth is flat doesn't look very sane, faith in Scientology isn't usually regarded as highly sane.

That's the way I look at it....hearing someone say "I strongly believe in the tooth fairy" (or Easter Bunny, Bigfoot, Santa Claus) is equal to "I strongly believe in God"

If you give it some thought there is really no difference

i have given it some thought and actually, there is a difference. a pretty big difference. 

humans have a condition where they need to know where they come from, and why. there really is no purpose to santa or the tooth fairy except to have fun with our kids, to make religious holidays fun for them, to further indoctrinate them (if i'm going to be totally cynical). 

humans are constantly asking the question, 'why am i here?", 'what is the point of life?", independent of anyone else's thoughts/biases/beliefs. if a person were raised completely isolated and alone, i believe this question would still enter one's mind. 'what created me?". 'why am i here?". 

organized religion merely takes advantage of those insecurities and questions and attempts to answer them in exchange for money and power.