I really am an atheist for all the wrong reasons.
Offline My biggest issue with Christians is not that they are following a lie and trying to force others to believe the lie, but because they rejected me ages ago even when I was still a Christian and I am now angry with them and wanting to attack what means the most to them. Now all the other good reasons are there too, but this is the top reason and what lead me to becoming an atheist in the first place.
There is a small part of me that wishes I was still a Christian. I was happy. Happier then what I am now. I'm angry, extremely bitter, full of nothing but hate towards most of the world, I find myself hating happy people more then I use to, especially if they are happy Christians, I am more like the bible's Devil then an atheist and I am getting older, I'm going nowhere in this life, I've become an even bigger outcast in my family then I already was and my co-workers and I have no one. I am all alone. I should be use to it, but when I had God, I didn't feel alone. And as far as love goes, a girl that I felt I had a real shot with dumped me for being an atheist. That's not the first time I've been rejected by Christian girls.
Are they wrong? Yes, but why does it matter? Why not just sell-out and wear that mask and be a fake? Those people seem pretty happy to me! Why not just be trendy and do what is popular?
Yeah, break out the violin...it's easy to make jokes when it's not your own problems you are facing So is where I am at...this pushing 30 slob in a messy apartment worth all of this all so I could know "the truth"? The answer: No. What is so great about the truth anyhow? Really? Why can't I just believe the half-truth like almost everyone else?
The next two examples may seem a little silly, but ignore the comedy of it and try to really pay attention to the message. There's a quote from the Miracle on 34th Street remake:
"I ask the court to judge which is worse: A lie that draws a smile or a truth that draws a tear."
Then there is that famous Simpsons episode where Lisa discovers the town founder is a myth. She considers telling everyone in town this and even thinks about showing proof, but decides against it because she sees how happy people are believing in the myth.
Now please...don't come on here telling me The Simpsons sucks or that the Miracle on 34th remake sucks or something like that and just look at the message and point I am trying to make here. I really am trying to have a serious chat here and I guess I've been debating with Christians too much because I can't help but suspect cheesy jokes and sarcasm to follow this thread.
I'd love to blame the atheists I use to debate with online for making me this way, but the seeds of all this were there long before I ever got hooked up with the net and maybe in due time, this would have happened but I do question if I could have become the more good side of me that is there in me somewhere if I had been Christian. I think there was a chance maybe. I mean, being atheist has helped me some, but perhaps just aging is what really helped me and I could have come to these conclusions even when I was a Christian. Who knows where I'd be if I was still Christian.
I know the real issue is within me. However, I am man enough to admit yes I am very weak and I needed God to be my crutch. Right now, I can't stand on my own two feet and I sometimes wish I still had God.
Having typed all that, is what you guys and me too...is what we are doing right? Why do we REALLY do it? It is really because we wanna see the violence stop? Or are some of us just bitter ex-Christians who had some very bad luck? It seems that is the case with most of us. At least with me. I see how much people love Jesus and it makes me jealous and I see how great their lives are, so I wanna attack their belief, not because I wanna help the world. Honestly, I have a "fuck the world" point of view for the most part. I attack their God because I want them to become as miserable as me. I wanna rip the smiles right off their faces.
I can admit that, that has been my driving force behind preaching all this stuff for three years now. I don't give a shit about changing the world. I just wanna hurt people and I wanna use what they love the most to do it and take it away.
This is the first time I have ever admitted it not only to a board full of strangers, but to myself.
But this thread believe it or not is not about me wanting help or advice.....
My point of this thread: Don't people have the right to be stupid and not be bothered with it? The bible is full of so much nonsense that can't we just post bible quotes that support what we believe and not attack the bible itself?
It's almost 4:00 AM where I'm at, it's been a rough few days, I'm not drunk, yet I feel it, so forgive me in advance if I've come across as a little crazy who rambled too much.
We atheists have a mark on ourselves in this world. I think gay people, black people in the 1960's south, etc....they were all born with their marks that made them "different", but I think they all really wish/wished they could be accepted and be among the norm. Yet we atheists actually mark ourselves to be different knowing full well what can be the results of that. And why?
Even all those angry teenagers who make themselves gothic and such....SOMETHING happened to them that made them that way. They were a victim of something. I don't think anyone wants to make themselves "different" without having a reason.
What is our reason? I know mine, but am I really the only atheist on here who can admit this? My atheists I come across are angry, sarcastic, and for people who don't believe in God....they spend A LOT of time talking about him. I agree there is no God, but why not just follow along to the bullshit so we can be happy? So *I* can be happy? I'll speak for myself.
I don't know...I'm rambling away like a drunk. Maybe if I didn't live in Texas and grew up around nothing but conservative redneck Christians both in my family and work place and heck, the whole area, I'd feel different instead of BEING different.....
A shrink....tried that before. They just tell me what I already know.
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So are you straight then?
Protip: "not gay" does not inherently mean "not attracted to the same sex". I noticed you forgot to mention which gender you have attractions to...
I'd go so far as to suggest that I could find you contradicting yourself in this post if I wanted to dig around a bit.
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
I'll admit the human mind is all that powerful the moment I manage to bend this spoon.
Personally I think we are unable to understand. Much like a worker ant is programmed to do it's thing so we are as well, we have more than an ant but we can only look at what really is from the inside out, and the shades are still drawn. Maybe we will evolve into the ability to think past ourselves one day.
/end randomness
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
'It appeareth in nothing more, that atheism is rather in the lip than in the heart of man, than by this: that atheists will ever be talking of that their opinion, as if they fainted it within themselves and would be glad to be strengthened by the consent of others.' Francis Bacon.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Anger is a NORMAL emotion. But to be angry at Christians, or any entire label is absurd.
You can be angry and even hate ANY absurd claim, without actually hating the person making the claim.
It would also anger you if someone went around claiming the earth was flat. You feel duped, but the people who duped you don't know any better, just as when you believed and were spreading those lies yourself.
Don't let your hate consume you and DONT make it about labels. There are decent people who believe but don't know any better.
Don't chase utopias. There will never be a time when our species doesn't believe absurd claims. Put up the good intellectual fight, but don't make your anger about a label. Use your anger and hate to motivate yourself to challenge others. Separate the person, from what the person claims.
You once believed in these same absurdities, you were not a bad person then, you merely got to the point where you realized your mistake. Don't treat people who disagree with you like a separate species. Believers are not a separate species.
Christians are not the only religion in the world and there are people who make absurd claims that have NOTHING to do with gods or religion. I see claims of little green men, and claims about JFK and claims of Big foot. Those too are absurd.
I suspect that your problems have more to do with YOU than it does that others believe absurd crap. Other humans are NOT responsible for your emotions or your life, YOU ARE. I do hate ALL absurd claims, not just claims of Christians or Muslims. If you claimed that you could make a Transporter like Star Trec, I would hate that too.
It is OK to feel emotion. It is ok to criticize and blaspheme religion and religious people. It is not ok to make your problems their problems. The way to get along with people, isn't to blame them, or yourself, the way to get along is to accept that humans are flawed and it is their thinking and their logic that leads them to their bad claims, but that doesn't make all of an individual bad.
I hate the claim of a disembodied brain with no brain with magical super powers. Christianity wasn't the first religion to claim such an invisible friend, nor is it the only in the world that claims invisible friends in the sky. But that doesn't mean they are inhuman or that we as atheists should treat them as a separate species. It merely means that we don't find their claims credible.
DON'T allow your past or your emotions to consume you so much as to ignore that you are responsible for yourself, not them. Use your emotions to challenge people to think for themselves and be individuals. But don't think you can create a utopia by trying to force 6 billion people to think like you. That wont happen.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
here's the context:
don't you think that slapping on a fake smile for the sake of others justifies a question regarding your susceptibility to the opinions of others?........no?.........ok.
well!!!!!! I do apologise for my failure to meet your expectations!
hmm, so do I........I promise not to assume you are a troll.
thank you for the implied concern........no I can confirm I'm my usual affable self.........I have no excuse.
Shall we start this relationship again?
'It appeareth in nothing more, that atheism is rather in the lip than in the heart of man, than by this: that atheists will ever be talking of that their opinion, as if they fainted it within themselves and would be glad to be strengthened by the consent of others.' Francis Bacon.
You failed to take into consideration that a fake smile can become real*, thus completely ignoring the actual meaning of the statement.
I shall spell it out. Making an attempt will often succeed. It had nothing to do with being fake "for other people" but for yourself. You did not want to play along with the simple analogy and instead chose to belittle my statement by taking it out of context, I hope it is more transparent now.
Apology accepted.
I do troll on occasion, when I deem it profitable to do so.
As far as our "relationship" goes do as you wish. If you make bad out of context assumptions I'll try to ignore it or if you are fortunate give you my "huh" hillbilly that saw a ufo response.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Thanks
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
You, ma'am, failed to elaborate on your "I'm not gay" remark - have or have you not put your weewee into some point of entry on Whatthedeuce?
It's almost as if you said "I have not had sexual relations with that woman", but didn't quite pass that mark either. It would have given me a chuckle or two if you had...
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
Details and pics or it never happened.
edit: and what exactly do I need to elaborate on and why ? Are you depressed now because you find that I have no weird internet gay interest in you?
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Good for you, man. All the best to you.
I'm coming in a little late on this post, but i see church as a social event. i just replace it with other events, such as learn french (witch isn't going very well for me), lean to play guitar, go to the gym, I'm thinking about joining the rugby team. just get out. i mean you posted this on the 4th of July, go do something. hit up some bars, go to a show, i went to a social distortion (at the time, i didn't know who they were) show and had a blast and found some new music i like. try new things i recently tried kayaking, i had fun, but i don't think i will do it again. you like taking peoples smiles from them, who doesn't like that. go to a strip club and make fun of strippers. they will literally sit down with me at a table, and i make fun of them as long as i thrown a dollar on the table every 10 min or so plus there are naked chicks every where, who doesn't like that. people don't have souls, but strippers really don't have souls. i tried volunteering at a homeless shelter, but the times for volunteering are the same times i and most other people work. if you don't like this stuff there's other things you can do. find something you like and there are other people with similar interest somewhere. if your a hacker go meet other hackers, hell, the black hat event is coming up soon. video games, magic the gathering, even go to church just to meet people. if you have skills like carpentry you can help people at the church who need repairs, but can't afford it, because their widows, disabled, or just gave all their money to a preacher. find events even if you don't think you will enjoy them a whole lot, just go try something new. i plan on hiking the appalachian trail next year, and just getting all the stuff ready and finding out how to get food and stuff is fun. i can't wait to start the AT.
'It appeareth in nothing more, that atheism is rather in the lip than in the heart of man, than by this: that atheists will ever be talking of that their opinion, as if they fainted it within themselves and would be glad to be strengthened by the consent of others.' Francis Bacon.
I was hoping I could trick you into either a revealing moment of hesitation, or a defensive/disclamatory remark or two that would've have demonstrated you had something that needed to be covered up...
... and no, I'm not depressed, so much as somewhat disappointed over the fact I couldn't provoke you into revealing behavior as easily as I have with others. Then again "Details and pics or it never happened" comes pretty damn close to that. A more casual "if you say so" followed by some sort of offhand remark about the person making the accusation not having much of a private life if they try to scrounge about the sordid details of yours. (My personal life is pretty boring by the standards of nearly the people who post at RRS, but it should act as a pretty good diversion with anyone else
)
Protip: making an ultimatum for evidence is roughly equivalent -in terms of legal fiction- to a guilty party telling Perry Mason "You still have to prove I killed the victim"
And now I'm going to drop the subject, because I've threadjacked enough over trivial, tabloid nonsense enough already...
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
"Pics or it never happened" is fairly common, just ask your good friend Vastet. I added "details" hoping you would reveal some
I too apologize for derailing this poor guys thread with pointless drivel.. and a few points.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin