So, it turns out God doesn't glow, It was just the tracers?captain static wrote:If you had "seen God" like I did back in the 60's you wouldn't be an atheist.
Atheism
Don't worry Piggie, you will find god when you watch your child being born as a nurse pulls out a gun and points it at your head while there's an earthquake and an asteroid misses the earth by a few million miles.
The theory of evolution is just as stupid as the theories of gravity and electromagnetism.
I wish there were a god or a few gods who were lifetime friends of each other. Their presence would make everything so much easier. We would make great pets...
It is no coincidence that the creator of the universe hates everything and everybody that you do. Since gods are not around we make them up. The Greeks did it so did almost everybody else for whom we have a story.
I was born into a serious Jehovah Witness family. My father was a missionary on the Island of St. Lucia, West Indies where I was born. I broke away when I was ~12 years old. From then until I left home for university I openly criticized JW doctrine. The brain washing was a constant current that had to be opposed to maintain my sanity. My family tried everything, multiple meetings with: the elders, school psychologist, principal. They forced me to think and rethink and rethink the last rethought. They changed me more than I could ever change them.
Beyond all this my parents did their best and I love them for it. If there was anything to forgive I have forgiven. I am not an angry man. Hate and anger eat one from within and turn the world into a place less worth living in. Like the Lurkist I am in utter awe of the world's beauty. Kipp, it is not all about rebellion. For me it never was.
It is no coincidence that the creator of the universe hates everything and everybody that you do. Since gods are not around we make them up. The Greeks did it so did almost everybody else for whom we have a story.
I was born into a serious Jehovah Witness family. My father was a missionary on the Island of St. Lucia, West Indies where I was born. I broke away when I was ~12 years old. From then until I left home for university I openly criticized JW doctrine. The brain washing was a constant current that had to be opposed to maintain my sanity. My family tried everything, multiple meetings with: the elders, school psychologist, principal. They forced me to think and rethink and rethink the last rethought. They changed me more than I could ever change them.
Beyond all this my parents did their best and I love them for it. If there was anything to forgive I have forgiven. I am not an angry man. Hate and anger eat one from within and turn the world into a place less worth living in. Like the Lurkist I am in utter awe of the world's beauty. Kipp, it is not all about rebellion. For me it never was.
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heidiramma
- Posts: 738
- Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:46 pm
So dropping acid may cure my athieism? I need help, since apparently no one likes a non-believer. I just don't understand it, I've tried.captain static wrote:If you had "seen God" like I did back in the 60's you wouldn't be an atheist.
It makes no sense to me. Especially since, although I have morals and the lot, I still am 'bad' and 'destined for hell' because I can't trick my brain into believing.
I have faith that if I'm a good person, I will benefit in life and after (whatever that may be), but as far as a god being involved, I can't see it.
So, really, should I just lose the 'nice person' thing if I'm doomed regardless of my actions? What would religion say about that? I'm going through the motions of being good, but not because I'm motivated by The Book. . .
The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own.
You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president.
You realize that you control your own destiny.
Albert Ellis
You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president.
You realize that you control your own destiny.
Albert Ellis
Andrew you are as cheesy as all get out- heidiramma I think your feelings are common and don't beat yourself up we are all fallible and undeserving, remember the 10 commandments? no one could live up to those yet they offer concise guidelines for your relations with God and other people, it reminds me of the book Everything you need to know you learned in Kindergarten, we know how we should treat others but the stacked walls of law books in law offices are proof we don't act on our knowledge but sometimes its fun to be a little bit bad, oh behave!
I was raised catholic. Went to church for 18 years. Can't say that I ever really loved it, but I didn't hate it either. I was always troubled by various church doctrines that didn't make sense to me, the constant lack of any prayer answering, the problem of evil, and especially the presence of so many other religions.
So I drifted to agnosticism. But I still followed the faith in a half assed manner, more of a hedging my bets type of thing, because I was still very unsure.
Then I took a bunch of philosophy courses in college. One course in particular, that focused on the mind-body problem and dualism, put the nail in my theist coffin. I always associated consciousness with a soul of some kind. After taking a course all about the subject, and delving into various cognitive science research, it became clear to me that there was no non-physical aspect of my mind, just a brain. With no soul left, I took a few more philosophy courses...one specifically focused on religion, and some other more generic ones.
I was still an agnostic, but was drifting ever closer to atheism. Then after much internal struggle, I finally accepted that it was foolish to even consider myself an agnostic, there was no reason for it other than fear, and made the jump to atheist.
Certain things are harder now, like accepting death, and things beyond my control. But I can accept them for what they are, horrible things, and I don't have to try to figure out how they fit into god's wonderful plan. The workings of the world make a lot more sense to me since I became an atheist. No more do I have to try to figure out why god would be upset with me for doing things that don't seem wrong, no more do I have to try to figure out how so many bad things could possibly be in god's great plan.
So I drifted to agnosticism. But I still followed the faith in a half assed manner, more of a hedging my bets type of thing, because I was still very unsure.
Then I took a bunch of philosophy courses in college. One course in particular, that focused on the mind-body problem and dualism, put the nail in my theist coffin. I always associated consciousness with a soul of some kind. After taking a course all about the subject, and delving into various cognitive science research, it became clear to me that there was no non-physical aspect of my mind, just a brain. With no soul left, I took a few more philosophy courses...one specifically focused on religion, and some other more generic ones.
I was still an agnostic, but was drifting ever closer to atheism. Then after much internal struggle, I finally accepted that it was foolish to even consider myself an agnostic, there was no reason for it other than fear, and made the jump to atheist.
Certain things are harder now, like accepting death, and things beyond my control. But I can accept them for what they are, horrible things, and I don't have to try to figure out how they fit into god's wonderful plan. The workings of the world make a lot more sense to me since I became an atheist. No more do I have to try to figure out why god would be upset with me for doing things that don't seem wrong, no more do I have to try to figure out how so many bad things could possibly be in god's great plan.