Minor Rant...
What turned me off of religion in the first place was hypocrisy.
My Own.
I went to the church, sang the songs, oggled the little cuties in their Sunday dresses, ate the food and jumped up and down like a trained ape for the prayers and tried not to snore during the sermons... just like everyone else.
But, at about the same time my voice changed I realized I simply didn't BELIEVE. But I stuck around for the company, the singing, the girls and the food for a couple of years.
But the feeling grew on me slowly, that I was lying to everyone around me and most importantly to myself. I quit, and never went back.
But I still see the hypocrisy... people who claim such great 'faith' in god's plan, yet look both ways when they cross the streets. Faith, yet they lock their doors, snap up those seat belts and you can bet that most of them, (the not quite insane bunch at least) put their faith in prayer yet go to the doctor when they get sick.
The majority of Americans say they believe in god... the god that keeps the hell fires burning. Now look around you... do your fellow citizens for the most part ACT like they really believe there is a horrible, eternal punishment waiting for them if they fuck up in the slightest, deviate from the divine game plan in the merest jot or tittal?
Their priest are banging alter boys, their preachers, the ones with the mega churches and the bullet proof coifs are slipping off with the cabana boy for some slap and tickle topped off with a snort or two of crystal... right after their scathing sermon about the evils of 'homa-sexuals'.
The 'faithful are making noise about the sanctity of marriage with trophy wife number 4 on their arm, jabbering about the 'right to life' while supporting a massive arms race that endangers all the little children... (particularly the brown ones who talk funny and don't worship the same name for the same damned desert megalomaniac as they do). They swill their booze and toss the dice in Vegas and their wives (numbers 1-4) choke down entirely too much prescription happy pills...
Face it people, you don't believe the crap any more than those of us did when we dropped out of our respective churches...
Atheists, we aren't quitters, we are just ahead of the curve..
[Bill Moody]
Christianity: A disgusting middle eastern blood cult, based in human sacrifice, with sacraments of cannibalism and vampirism, whose highest icon is of a near naked man hanging in torment from a device of torture.
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Awesome post.
Awesome post.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Christianity: A disgusting middle eastern blood cult, based in human sacrifice, with sacraments of cannibalism and vampirism, whose highest icon is of a near naked man hanging in torment from a device of torture.
fair enough rant in spirit,
fair enough rant in spirit, but i think it paints with a bit too broad a brush. there are certainly no shortage of christians as you've described them (ditto muslims, buddhists, jews, and atheists), but i think most christians are simply deluded rather than consciously hypocritical. most of them are trying to lead decent lives as they understand them, trying to get by the best they can, just like the rest of us. i don't think the majority of them could be accused of leading blatantly double lives. of course there's a generous amount of cognitive dissonance there, but atheists hardly escape that either.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
Ditto.
Ditto.
You described most of us
You described most of us former believers quite aptly. I did the same thing at my Catholic Church. Pined after one girl and that really was the only reason I went. I cared less about what that preacher said, other than thinking "if I don't do this I will burn in hell".
My Catholic church growing up was great exorcise STAND SIT KNEEL STAND SIT KNEEL. It was basic training and basic brainwashing.
"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
iwbiek wrote:fair enough
You don't really have to be aware of your hypocrisy to be guilty of it.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Vastet wrote:You don't
of course not, but my point is, most christians--most people--are not gambling in vegas, marrying trophy wives, popping pills, or illicitly fucking their masseurs. sure, most christians--most people--are rather materialistic and tend to compartmentalize their lives. i still do that. sure, they base many of their actions on what the opposite sex is doing and then are irrationally ashamed of that fact, and thus deny it. but i think it's a bit harsh to call that hypocritical. that's being human.
i started going to church because of two girls in particular, but i became a christian out of genuine conviction. i'm willing to bet that a few vials of sodium pentothal would reveal that plenty of atheists were led to their "de-conversion" more by a pair of tits than by the light of reason--god knows how many theists were lured away by kelly's low-cut top.
most genuine christians are keenly aware of their hypocrisy, and argue that that is precisely why they need the blood of christ to cover their sins as they actively try to close the gap between their actions and their ideals. admitting one's hypocrisy and taking steps to rectify it makes one the opposite of a hypocrite, and that is precisely what most everyday christians are doing. i know. i was one and i lived among them for about 8 years. there are plenty of problems with their worldview and their belief system, but as human beings most of them are no less decent than you or me. many of them are more.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
iwbiek wrote:knows how many
I always thought she wore too much makeup.
PS - you said "god knows..."
Did you convert for a great pair of tits?
digitalbeachbum wrote: PS -
i know. i say it all the time. i see no need to waste time trying to replace common idioms because of a philosophical position. i say "thank god," "thank christ," and "god bless you" a lot too.
no, for pretty faces. i was 16 and the girls i was eyeing at my church weren't that developed.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
personally, kelly wasn't my
personally, kelly wasn't my type either, but several girls on this site were. i have a monster crush on eloise, and i used to beg jill swift to change her sexual orientation.
i miss those girls...
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
I don't know if I'm lucky or
I don't know if I'm lucky or cursed, but sex has never driven me so hard the way it seems to the vast majority of my gender.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
The title is false
The title is false advertizement it says "Minor rant", but you are over 18. I want my money back!.
"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