File: 1566089250093.jpg (228 KB, 736x736, 1538801822184.jpg)
No. 449832
Cool thread idea.
I had a really strange upbringing, my parents were really strict and really lax at the same time. I posted about them in the vent thread once but I think it fits here more.
Basically my parents homeschooled me and my siblings for religious reasons. They never told us why exactly, when I was a kid I thought it was because schools taught evolution but now as an adult I'm pretty sure it had to do with sex education. They were really strict about what we could watch. We weren't allowed to watch any thing with magic in it, so no princess movies (cinderella, pocahauntas, snow white etc) or other kids movies with magic (pinocchio, sword in the stone etc). However, we were allowed to watch it if there was some kind of loophole, like we were allowed to watch pagemaster because it was imagination(I think?) and alice in wonderland because it was a dream.
But we were exposed to violent media way younger and my parents didn't seem to have a huge problem with it. When I was a little kid I played Castle Wolfenstein 3D, which has really bad graphics but still… you're going through a castle shooting Nazis. And there's this one level where you fight zombies, and my mom said that at first she wasn't okay with it because she thought they made the zombies with occult magic, but then was okay with it after she found out the zombies were made with science. Like…. okay.
They totally dropped the ball on homeschooling us and didn't teach us hardly anything beyond reading and writing and basic math. No history, science, or anything else I can think of, Idk what the fuck kids learn in normal school. They didn't even instill basic hygiene habits in us (I didn't know that you were supposed to change your underwear every day until I was like 18). The only things they really bothered to teach us were things relating to the bible/religion and the only time we got socialized was when we went to church. My parents never talked to us about sex, or almost any non superficial topic that wasn't religion, and now I feel really weird talking about these things as an adult. And what's funny is that my parents have a shit ton of old books and a lot of them are Christian "how to talk to your kids about sex" books. The only few times sex ever came up it was just "don't have sex til you're married or you'll go to hell".
And almost all of my memories of church are extremely negative because every time we went to church all they would do was talk about how the end of the world is coming soon and how the book of revelations was coming true. Or they would guilt preach (tell you you're not being a good enough Christian). This impacted me at a young age and I grew up believing the world was going to end, and I genuinely believed that I wasn't going to live to be 12 and when I turned 12 I was like "wow, I'm really old now". I felt like the future would never happen, which I still feel now, and I never plan for the future because I feel like it will never happen and constantly feel like the world is on the verge of ending and like every thing is pointless.
I can't watch any movies or anything about the world ending, even if it's a comedy because it's just really triggering to me. I am such a maladjusted adult, have trouble forming relationships and even relating to people and a million other mental health issues. I live such a stagnant life now, I feel extreme guilt for innocuous things like masturbating. I realize that it's not competely religion's fault and that it's motsly my parents neglect that made me this way, but I still believe religion heavily contributed.
Saged for blogposting.
No. 449846
>>449832>homeschooledsorry to hear that anon. Hope you've caught up on history and other important topics adults should know about to have properly developed ideologies.
I have nothing nice to say about religion. I hate the idea that one is so afraid of dying that they have to make shit up and act like they know the answers to anything. I also hate that they act like it's impossible to be a good person without religion. I respect an atheist trying to do the ethical thing over a religious person who is mainly doing it bc they think sky dad will punish them.
No. 450036
I was sent to a Catholic school when younger, later a Christian one. I know nothing about evolution, but have been able to recite The Lord's Prayer and my Hail Marys since I was 5. I had one weekend to learn them, or get paddled. Every day, my school made us recite around the rosary before we could eat lunch. That, on top of the fear of hell and my dad being a crazy clean freak narc, I developed OCD. Anytime I messed up the rosary by one word, I would become fearful and start over again.
My dad used to make me scrub the molding of the walls in our bathrooms when I was a little kid with a tooth brush. He told me it would "make me a good wife" and "(women) might as well be good for something."
He used to (and still tries) to cram religious bullshit down my throat. He's obsessed with Jews, Israel, and the end times. I never believed it as a kid, but my parents guilted me into it, but once I reached adulthood, I couldn't bring myself to keep regurgitating this dogma, especially with access to the internet and being able to vaguely learn how the earth might of come into existence without a creator.
I still feel so dumb, my education from those schools were so poor. I've wanted to be a scientist since I was a small child, I'd lie to my parents to stay after school and watch Bill Nye. I am absolutely in love with physics, but that's a degree that requires a bare minimum education to start, that I don't have due to being pulled out and homeschooled a few times. Fuck, my mother smashed my first grade project model of Jupiter I was so proud of.
Oh, I'm a welder, and my uncle got angry and told me that it's not a "woman's job" and I'd be to incompetent to do it; which is hilarious because my welding instructor told me the best welders were often women due to our patience and attention to detail, lol. My grandmother told me, "If a woman doesn't have children, what good is she?" because I said that women have more to offer the world than some stupid thing my dad said I can't remember. These were all in the context of a religious conversation. I swear religion only exists to create women into a form of bartering value.
I have too many stories for this thread.
No. 459545
>>459541there's a really good south park episode about this.
but yeah, it's an american spinoff of christianity. it was started by a guy (joseph smith) who claimed that an angel had visited him and given him golden plates that he had to translate, and that "translation" is now the book of mormon. it allegedly is describing what happened in america during biblical times and has a lot of fucked up shit in it.
No. 459573
>>459532I know too many families who have dealt with alcoholism and suicide as after effects of catholic priests molesting boys. My friends have alcoholic or dead fathers..or
abusive PTSD fathers. They are the first generation to decide they don't want to go to church every week and fill the donations bucket.. their mothers and grandparents still fill those donation buckets like idiots
Then every time we have a referendum to make gay marriage legal or have the right to end pregnancy you have church going pensioners barking the loudest when they aren't the ones hoping to get married or finding themselves pregnant..
No. 459823
>>459785They ignore or deny it completely because it doesn’t fit their narrative. I could t count how many people have said to me that adoption is easy and not expensive, and then revert back to ‘well she shouldn’t have sex if she doesn’t want babies’ as soon as it’s pointed out they are incorrect about adoption and every source proves it.
Hell, you get posters who follow this line right here on lolcow.
Adoption and foster systems are nothing but a virtue signal to point at, and turn the other way when the kids talk about how those systems abused,neglected, and molested them.
No. 459860
You know what i really, really fucking hate? People forcing their religion on me, OK, you believe in x thing but can you STOP trying to guilt trip me into liking it? Stop acting like i killed someone because i said "i don't believe in God", these type of people always get so weirdly defensive like, not everyone has to be religious and religion doesn't make you a better person. If you want to believe on God that's fine but why do you have to force YOUR rules on MY life? I always get on heated arguments with my family when they try to shill me religious shit when they know i don't believe on those things, specially when is misogynistic garbage, look at me John, im going to study on STEM and be childless, i don't give a fuck if the Bible says i should be cooking and wanting to die while waiting for some average joe to come at home. I'm also lesbian so fuck that noise even harder lmao.
I also hate when you're doing a debate and someone says "No, that's not correct", oh ok but why? "bEcAuSe ThE bIbLe SaYs So" bitch the fuck? What kind of argument is that? Use your brain or something this is embarrassing, you could give me a good answer based on facts or your opinion but instead you force your bullshit on a serious debate, the Bible IT'S NOT FACTUAL you just can't answer a question like that.
No. 459869
>>459811Oh yeah, I’m well aware of that but recently read about the wigs in Judaism which is why my thoughts were focused there for that post.
I’m gonna make a sweeping blanket statement but I just don’t see any benefit of being religious which I couldn’t find elsewhere and it’s always something paltry like "I made friends at church". As if you couldn’t find that elsewhere, like a hobby club? You’d probably be more into it too. I don’t need a religion to teach me how to be kind or love others. I’m lucky to live somewhere where the Christianity is tame to the point of toothlessness, all the stories I read about some parts of the US baffle and scare me.
>>459785I like the idea of Jesus, especially the joke portrayals of him where he’s just a friendly magical chill guy, not the rest of it.
No. 459907
I align more with atheism/agnosticism as an adult, but I was raised in a Christian household. Even as a kid, I noticed the inconsistencies and ridiculousness of the Bible and mainly attended church to see my friends lol. I think the biggest thing that drove me from religion is the sheer hatefulness of most Christians. My dad used to be somewhat chill until he started going to church more often, now he goes on crazy rants about how gay people can just find God and magically become straight and gleefully said that Kate Spade was going to hell after seeing the report of her suicide on the news. My mom baptized me in a Catholic Church when I was a baby and still brings it up to tell me that it makes me a Christian. Pretty much all of my family, extended relatives included, are outright hateful towards gays, women, minorities (even though we’re minorities lmao), and other religions.
I can’t see myself ever believing in God. Not to be 2edgy but after reading the Bible, i can only conclude that Yahweh is evil. How am I supposed to believe that he’s so good and loving when he purposefully flooded the globe, murdered Job’s family just to test his loyalty towards him, and wants anyone who doesn’t worship him to burn in Hell? I’ll pass.
No. 459919
File: 1568023531723.jpg (124.94 KB, 755x1000, c90ac0f6-5b66-4073-a4af-c78579…)
My family are non observant Jews. All my life I assumed that since religion wasn't based in fact or logic was the result of avoiding and shunning argument/debate, but recently I found out that there's actually a huge tradition of rabbis arguing over scripture and questioning interpretations - Passover literature is often designed to encourage children to ask questions about Jewish tradition and history. I'm just so confused that in thousands of years of religious argument, nobody came to the natural conclusion that God didn't exist?
Tbh I also used to hate most things associated with the Abrahamic religions but in the past year I've been obsessing over Christian hagiographies, religious art, religious buildings, choir music etc… I don't think we would have nearly as much beautiful art and genuinely lovely tradition in the world were it not for the Abrahamic religions, and I'm struggling to reconcile that with my feminist, pro-choice, anti-pedo beliefs. Anyone going through anything similar, finding out about the “good” sides of religion and ending up in a weird in-between?
No. 459937
>>459919>recently I found out that there's actually a huge tradition of rabbis arguing over scripture and questioning interpretations90% of Judaism is about arguing lol
>nobody came to the natural conclusion that God didn't exist?Because it would destroy their very identity. The Jewish religion was what helped Jews keep their culture alive despite constant assimilation attempts and violent pogroms made by Muslims, and especially Christians, towards Jews during their time as a diaspora. The Jewish god's existence is what was used to justify the extermination of the Canaanites and claim the Holy Land for the Israelites - the ancestors to the Jewish and Samaritan people. The crazy thing is though, historical evidence reveals that the Israelites were actually Canaanites themselves…which is a whole other story.
No. 459943
>>459919>finding out about the “good” sides of religion and ending up in a weird in-between?I'm very passionate in defending the humanitarian good that some religious people have done worldwide, specifically some historical medieval capuchin monks and a few ecclastic nuns, but also your garden variety types of charity that most local places of worship do. Some people argue that good deeds done by religious zealots don't count because it's just to get into heaven or to convert others etc but I don't agree completely. Instead I hate that religious organizations have been allowed to profit from the PR of genuinely good, empathetic people that just happen to also be religious. Why do the rich men at the Vatican get to preach about things that poor hardworking people did thousands of years ago? Especially when often these 'holy' people were disowned from the church and only spun as saints years after their deaths. They don't dare preach about living people in case that person uses that platform to go against the disgusting church. Most charitable lipservice work the Vatican funds would not even be necessary if it hadn't done so much evil over the years either.
I do also love most religious art and architecture. I wish there were better ways to support the conservation of historical religious places without indirectly putting money into the pockets of the current day leaders. The Notre Dame fire has been a mess for that.
>>459860>If you want to believe in God that's fine but why do you have to force YOUR rules on MY life? I have some theoretical sympathy for Christians who want to "save" people's souls from eternal damnation by converting them, if they are really motivated with a concern to stop someone they love instead of self righteousness. The sympathy stops once they actually become preachy or hateful though, fuck that.
I think I have a lot of tolerance for it specifically because I haven't had to put up with this stuff. If I was around evangelical types a lot I would probably burn a church.
No. 459952
>>459869>I’m gonna make a sweeping blanket statement but I just don’t see any benefit of being religious which I couldn’t find elsewhere and it’s always something paltry like "I made friends at church". I'm not anti, just trying to show a different perspective as to why some people are religious.
I was raised catholic, but for some years as a teen turned against it and even thought about joining buddhism - mainly because I was around some weird friends, who basically behaved like obnoxious yt atheist "intellectuals".
Right after I finished school I become depressed and one major thing that led to me breaking down and crying every single day was the sudden fear of death. Like I couldn't watch news or movies or listen to songs anymore, just the thought of me getting older or my parents dying made me lose my mind. Focusing more on religion again, on the belief that there is a heaven, that my dear grandparents are watching from above, that life won't just end after a couple decades, helped me a lot. Religion is supposed to give people hope, to help them if they feel scared or uncertain. And if every person on this planet would just abide by the 10 commandments, wouldn't this be a much better planet?
Even though the people there I live are very strictly catholic, we still behave a lot different from what I heard that american christians behave. So I guess that's why non-religious americans might be annoyed by them, but these "god created a flat earth, we must stay kissless til marriage" or the above mentioned spending time or finding friends/your partner in church-types definitely don't represent christianity in general, it's not a thing in other countries.
No. 459956
Oh boy do I have some anti-religion rants.
Firstly, I attended two religious schools growing up. I felt like a lot of time was wasted on learning Bible stories when it could have been better spent learning first aid or sign language or even just an hour of reading. Different organisations would regularly come in to pass out flyers and give lectures which were labelled as "sex ed". Some highlights from that era were:
>flyers that said contraceptives don't work and that oral contraceptives are actually an abortifacient so you're killing a little baby when you take the pill :( and contained "horror stories" from people who got pregnant while using contraceptives or had some rare, serious problem with them
>classes where teachers would compare people who have casual sex to dirty/regularly used items (like a dishcloth and we were a nice, clean new dishcloth and every new partner makes you dirtier) with demonstrations ofc, telling us that being lesbian was a phase and we'd get over it, passing around little plastic foetuses, talking about how disgraceful teen pregnancies were (even though they happened regularly and visibly pregnant students would just…disappear)
>organising debates that were very strangely worded ("Do you think we should kill babies? Yes or no?" "Do you think we should allow people to have religious freedom or should we go back to the days of Roman times when Christians were tortured?" "Should we just leave people in third world countries to starve and die? Yes or no?") etc. and very few people would pick the "wrong" choice as they'd be ripped into by the teacher in front of the whole class
>not giving us the HPV vaccine which helps to protect sexually active women from getting cervical cancer
>encouraging us to do "feminine" subjects (and discouraging us from doing STEM related ones) and recommending we pursue "feminine" jobs like being a teacher, receptionist, secretary etc.
>bizarre pseudoscience related to sex for example, that when you have sex chemicals are released that bond you to that person forever and you never experience it again with anyone else so you should save yourself for marriage and never consider divorce
>classes on how to shave, apply makeup, cook and what to expect from pregnancy (although in that teacher's defense, it probably helped a lot of girls who didn't have a mom/sister figure and were too embarrassed to ask these questions but it was still patronising)
All of this while living in a country where abortion, gay marriage, contraceptives and divorce were ILLEGAL up until quite recently (like the last 40 years) and where women/gay people/children have been severely abused by the church.
Then I have people close to me who are religion-obsessed (they rejected the religions they were raised with but just latched onto something else which seems to be quite common) and it fucking annoys me. They go around telling people that they won't go to heaven unless they "accept Jesus" before they die. They're convinced that everything in the Bible is 100% the truth and if you attempt to bring up some bizarre Bible quote, they'll come up with some explanation about how it was a product of the time (then why tf are you still reading it in 2019?) or it's some kind of metaphor for something else. They try to drag people to church on a regular basis or hand out Bibles/flyers. They voted not to legalise all of the laws I mentioned above which disgusts me and they always claim it's "freedom of religion" but never seem to think about women or gay people's freedom to live their lives. They mentally can't accept that someone isn't getting the same wonderful, spiritual experience they're getting from religious services or by flipping through some old, archaic text (you must be pretending to not have the same experience, right??). They have actually told me that people who don't have a religion are rapists, murderers, criminals etc. because they aren't following a moral code (as if laws don't exist and honestly if you need a fucking book to tell you that murdering someone is bad then I worry way more about you killing someone than I do myself…) Their churches manipulate their followers into voting certain ways, donating all their time and money and tell people what to wear, what to listen to, what to watch…it's so sick that this is happening to this day.
I made friends from different religions later in life and realised that it's all just the same misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic bullshit but under a different name. I haven't seen one yet that isn't.
No. 460470
>>459956Man I really hate people/organizations like that. They're so fucking irrational it's ridiculous. It probably sounds a little contradicting coming from someone who's Catholic and believes in the weird laws from the Bible but these people take it way too far. I always felt that if people didn't put so much force onto children to get into religion and make them believe they'd be damned for eternity there would actually be more people interested in it. My younger cousins are forced to go to church every Sunday and they absolutely hate it. I was never forced to go to church but rather taught simple lessons from the Bible that just make you a decent person (and other supernatural stuff, idk) by my mother and as I got older I naturally developed an interest in religion.
I also really don't like imposing my beliefs onto other people. Obviously, like any other religious person, I'd like people to join or whatever. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna sit here and vote for laws that only benefit people who are in my specific religion. There will NEVER be a time that everyone collectively decides to join one religion, so I might as well at least make life easier for the people around me because what they do really isn't my business as long as they aren't sitting there doing the absolute worst a human could possibly do. I feel like I can barely trust churches at this point. They spout utter nonsense even though the scriptures suggest otherwise, and people believe it because they refuse to analyze things for themselves half the time. They could potentially put a lot of people in danger.
No. 462816
>>459943
>I think I have a lot of tolerance for it specifically because I haven't had to put up with this stuff. If I was around evangelical types a lot I would probably burn a church.Be glad you aren't exposed to evangelical types, anon. They are extremely cruel.
>>460219You don't even need to go to the deep south anymore to be exposed to nutty Christians. I'm in California and we have a lot of migrants from the Southern diaspora/Dust Bowl who moved out here and raise their children in fundamentalist Christianity. They are usually the ones who end up joining separatist shit like the John Bircher Society, or their kids grow up to become bitter asf Neo-Nazis because they get raised in these little suburban bubbles as their parents don't take them anywhere and don't teach them anything. They are typically always regressive conservatives, and yet benefit from living in a socially and economically liberal state with some of the highest incomes in the country, all the while complaining about America's lack of morales and blah blah blah.
My local community college had to change their free speech policies because we kept getting these extremely aggressive street preachers on campus who would verbally abuse you instead of being quiet like you're supposed to, or just say hello and ask politely if you would be interested in xyz.
One of the worst incidences we had on campus happened when this one nutty dude came up there for a week and would secretly tape record students (specifically women) while carefully editing out him making derogatory remarks to people passing by, calling people names like 'slut' and 'dyke', so that it would look like the students were attacking him and not vice versa. Come to find out he would later post it on his youtube channel so that men could harass the students anonymously.
No. 468524
>>468523Just let it go, anon, getting annoyed at this is similar to getting annoyed at someone saying ‘bless you’ when you sneeze. It’s more of a polite saying than it is a religious thing
If saying ‘you too’ doesn’t sit right with you then you could always reply with
- ‘hope you have a good one!’
-‘enjoy the rest of your day!’
- ‘stay safe’
- ‘enjoy (whatever activity they’re doing)’
I dunno, this just seems like such a nonissue
No. 468535
>>468523There is no reason to feel uncomfortable about it as this person is just nice and wishing you a good day. I would feel flattered if someone said that to me, or even something more extremely religious like "you will be in my prayers" if I am having a difficult time.
I am agnostic so to me it doesn't rfeally matter, but this person is saying/doing a positive thing according to their own personal beliefs.
It is only weird if you want it to be.
No. 468561
>>449751Religions are pyramids where the most outstanding members of the community are those with $$$ because they are
blessed (and they give money to the church)
eg the Catholic Church gets so many donations from companies lobbyists and more recently
young churches like Hillsong controlling media and stars
But why?
>They promote sheltering women to the point of making them stupid …so forcibly that they are submissive whilst also promoting anger and abusive behaviour in men to “protect the cause”
>That mix makes as many kids as possible so the stupid indoctrinated babies can fight the “holy war” or whatever tf that specific religion calls it
>Religious Conservative nuts are pro life so they can continue having soildiers for their war Welcome to the biggest MLM to ever exist
No. 468747
>>468735For the same reason some people need to go to the gym/library instead of just working out/studying at home, or need to be in a group setting to stop smoking/drinking or learn a new skill.
It's actually one of the good aspects of religion. It externalizes. Let's face it, we humans are pretty weak on our own, whatever we do. We find strength and guidance in others. There's no shame in it.
You delegate your education to the community, you delegate feeding yourself to the community, you delegate informing yourself to the community, transporting yourself, building shelter for yourself, etc. How are you even wondering why people delegate morale to the community? It's natural.
No. 470536
File: 1570543810027.gif (533.19 KB, 245x245, me_reading_reddit.gif)
As a secular, big city Euro-anon, I feel so bad for you guys. I have a higher education so I take it for granted that everyone I interact with is atheist over here.
I say somewhat offensive (but only if you believe in some magical dude up in the sky) things about religion when the topic comes up due to news and whatnot. So far, nobody's reacted badly to it since everyone's on the same page anyway.
I remember talking to some American girl about christianity and she was flabbergasted, like, "omg how can you say things like that so openly?" and, honestly, I was confused about what she was asking me about. Well, turns out she can't say things like that her in town (she's atheist but most are religious) and that sounds like hell to me. So unreal.
I feel sorry for you guys who have to live in an environment with so much bullshit.
No. 470704
File: 1570570750717.jpg (71.98 KB, 740x430, france-muslims.jpg)
>>470536>big city Euro-anon >I take it for granted that everyone I interact with is atheist over here. i laughed
No. 470713
File: 1570572093297.jpg (369.26 KB, 1600x854, the_family.jpg)
>>470699That's crazy! I'm not sure what I would do if I were in your position. I'm sure she meant no harm but that's a crazy amount of brainwashing she's under. Sucks to be her.
>>470704Ah, yes. I'm sure you know more about my country than I do.
—
As a side note, I recently watch Netflix's documentary called The Family. It's about some crazy christians amassing political power across the world. (Oh, and of course, it's all men in the political positions within the group. The women shown are all brainwashed into just wanting husbands. Gross.)
Be sure to watch it if you want to feel hopeless in today's political climate.
No. 470746
>>470713Speaking of that documentary, did anyone think that they’re interpretation of Jesus sounded really homoerotic? Like they apparently rejected the “all loving” Jesus and insisted that he was actually some super macho dude who would’ve been a marine if he lived in modern times. Which is ironic, given how a lot of them supported straight up supported homophobic policies. Also their excuses for politicians who got caught in sex scandals to stay in power. “But God wants them too!” Lol, I definitely not religious but even I don’t think God would give a shit about modern world leaders. Given that shit changes constantly in comparison to how old Christianity is.
I know most religious leaders a misogynistic and overall terrible but even when I try to look at the Family from a Christian perspective, it’s still bizarre as fuck to me.
No. 470799
>>470699What is it with religious people being so comfortable saying shit like that to people? A Catholic lady once straight up told my dad that his brother is in Hell for committing suicide. Why would you tell someone that they or someone they love is going to hell? It's the most autistic shit I've ever heard.
Also, how can you love a God who does this? How do you seriously believe anyone who is an athiest or commits suicide is going to Hell and not think "gee, that's pretty fucked up of god"?
No. 470803
File: 1570596741479.jpg (167.68 KB, 863x1024, andrea-yates.jpg)
I just went down the extremely depressing rabbit hole of learning about Andrea Yates a couple days ago. I thought I vouldn't hate extremist Christians anymore than I already did, but boy howdy was I wrong.
>Andrea Yates and husband are Quiverful (meaning they believe a woman's duty to God is to stay at home raising as many children as she is able to pump out)
>she gets post-partum psychosis, on top of being schizophrenic
>husband takes her off meds to get her pregnant with a fifth despite psychologist emphatically telling him that's a horrific idea
>she goes absolutely insane, has to go to psych ward multiple times, including for a suicide attempt where she admits she wanted to kill herself so she didn't hurt her children
>husband is instructed not to leave her home alone with the kids ever
>she is barely functional, displays inability to care for children by doing shit like trying to feed her baby solid food
>husband dismisses doctor's orders not to leave her alone with the kids as well as the fact she's obviously not fit to care for children, and gives her alone time with them for an hour daily
>she is convinced she is evil, and if her kids grow up they will be evil too and go to Hell because of her
>so she drowns them one by one in the bathtub to ensure they'll get into heaven
There's so many more awful details to this story too, like how her husband didn't allow her to use disposable diapers to make caring for all those babies she had back to back easier. Because he felt a simple life was "godly". He also had them all living in a 350sqft remodled school bus until the 4th or 5th kid (which should be considered chil abuse IMO).
Obviously, a lot of factors played into this tragedy, but if her husband wasn't more concerned with keeping his wife a baby factory for the sake of their toxic religion than he was for her mental health and his kid's safety, I really feel like this wouldn't have happened. Also, fucked up as it was, in her head she was "saving" her kids from burning in hell. Like, yeah… if you teach people that they'll end up in hell for pretty much anything, is it really such a shocker that someone suffering from severe psychosis thinks killing her children while they're still "innocent" is the best option?
No. 470916
>>470906Don't wanna antagonize you - but why is he so aggressive and genocidal then? Why does he not do good, but punishes so harshly if I am to criticize him? Has he given up? Why should I still grovel at his feet then? Has he become lazy with age and now just sends me to hell because I don't kiss his ass enough?
Can you explain? I just don't get this shtick.
No. 470924
>>470916>why is he so aggressive and genocidal then? Why does he not do good, but punishes so harshly if I am to criticize him? Are you being punished right now? I don't think so. Nobody says you should get punished for doing that. There's much more good than evil on this earth - we just tend to focus on the negative because it weighs more in our eyes or because it touches us more. Atm there are less disputes than ever in our history before, it just feels like there's more because we know so much (thanks to news, the internet,…). The average person thankfully can live a life free of hunger or war. And on the other hand, how could he have predicted or prevented that humans do awful things like producing and using nuclear bombs? The "he's not almighty but would want to help" bit applies more when it comes to illness and drought - but even those are partly caused or worsened by humans themselves (like certain people exploiting the poorer majority in 3rd world countries). But there are small miracles happening and I think that those are caused by him, like somebody healing despite being told that they basically have no chance anymore, a couple getting pregnant despite having given up hope already, somebody finding a matching donor, a family being saved because in the end the father/mother did find a job and so on.
>Has he given up? Why should I still grovel at his feet then? You shouldn't. "Groveling at hiss feet" has not been a thing for ages. It's more about respect and trust, to him and other people.
>Has he become lazy with age and now just sends me to hell because I don't kiss his ass enough?Like I said above, nobody thinks you deserve to get punsished for not believing or criticising him or christianity. Many christians don't believe in hell - and even if it exists you're not in danger of being thrown there as long as you don't commit a real crime. There even are some people who believe that rapists or murderers could be forgiven and could go to heaven because afterall we're all his children - which I disagree with.
No. 470953
>>470906I was always told/taught that catastrophes happen because "it's the devil's doing" (god's almighty but he couldn't prevent his own creation from unleashing hell on us, interesting) and they will continue happening until one day god decides to defeat and lock the devil in the literal pits of hell and return to earth and/or "it's god's will and he doesn't always need us to understand why he does something xyz way but it's for our best will"
In hindsight this is so stupid, because it excuses 'god' 100% of the time and it can be used to explain anything as god's doing and can't be argued against.
No. 470977
>>470906Fucking excuse me mate? Did your god NOT slaughter children in those tales? Yop it did. So what's good about worshiping that? How are you going to excuse a faith that is monotheistic? Did your god not create the "evil" and "sin" and punish it's own creation with such nonsense? Fuck that blatent hypocrisy. It claims omnipotence, yet was rebelled against by an angel that wasn't given the free wi it gave mortal man. It claims it is infallible yet, that was failed over and over again.
It is a failure of a faith that allows hypocrisy and nasty deeds be done, and I give a hearty fuck you to all that back that thought process. Do not excuse it.
No. 471002
>>471000>Nah, you're having a mental breakdown.nta but how is a text a mental breakdown. religious ppl sure are retarded.
>>471001hating on greta thunberg in 2019 is like hating on justin bieber in 2010.
No. 471063
>>4710441) Adam knew the apple was dangerous and didn't tell Eve, so it's his fault, too
2) The Bible is a work of fiction and none of this shit happened in the first place
3) Which means that some guy two thousand years ago decided to blame literally everything bad that's ever happened on women, despite the fact that men cause the majority of the world's problems
4) So this ancient book most "Christians" haven't even read has little relevance in a society that values women as human beings
No. 471076
>>471068He gave angels free will too. If no one had free will, then we’d all be mindless robots; how boring.
The devil influenced Adam and Eve to turn away from God which in turn got kicked out of paradise. Satan has rule over this planet which is why things are the way they are and the people in power do his bidding but it is up to us to come for him through faith alone and surrender ourselves to him, God’s just letting him have his fun, for now.
The old saying “the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist“ applies here.
No. 471082
>>470977>Did your god NOT slaughter children in those tales? Yop it did. So what's good about worshiping that?So you believe that "it" exists and all those stories in the bible are 100% true?
I think it's quite telling how you're absolutely losing you're shit over me answering some other anon's questions. Do I sound like I'd want you dead for not believing or being gay or whatever? No. So there's no reason for you to get so angry over that. I'm not doing anything to you.
Also interesting that 99% of the anons in this thread are solely shitting on christianity and not on any of the other religions. It's 2019, christians as a community haven't done bad things in a long time, most of us are normal citizens, yet you act as if we're out there crusading you right now at this moment. The world has far bigger problems, yet you choose to focus on getting worked up over what others
believe.
That's not how a normal discussion is supposed to go, you only want to accuse and to hate.
No. 471090
>>471082>That's not how a normal discussion is supposed to go, you only want to accuse and to hate.meanwhile in the OP
>A thread to bitch about religion and all the horrible shit it brings. Why would you expect the discussion to go any differently? I'm NTA and but personally it is beyond me that anyone expects religion to be taken seriously, or given any respect, or receive any responses other than disdain and bewilderment. If you believe in nonsense for no good reason people are going to respond negatively, what a shock.
>Also interesting that 99% of the anons in this thread are solely shitting on christianity and not on any of the other religions.Because we… live in western countries with a christian majority. I went to christian schools all my life, you think I'm going to be more invested in my opinions on hindus or buddhists or even muslims? And it's appalling that you're pretending Christians haven't had a massive resurgence in doing bad things lately, with the scary regression in abortion laws. You keep playing dumb and innocent like your beliefs aren't harming anyone just because you as an individual aren't hating on anyone. We don't need to be 'crusaded' to face ongoing residual bullshit because of patriarchal religious beliefs ingrained in society, and we are perfectly entitled to 'accuse and hate' in response.
No. 471094
>>471082> Also interesting that 99% of the anons in this thread are solely shitting on christianity and not on any of the other religions.I imagine that’s because majority of anons are from white majority countries, within which the major religion would either be atheism or catholicism/Christianity
Here’s a hot take though; each and every single religion is a tool made by men to shame and control women.
I was raised as chatolic and what turned me away as a twelve year old was the constant belittling of my sex, the disproportionate amount of evil women to men, the themes of ownership over women and children, crusades in gods name, dumbass shit like Eve coming from Adams rib, a whiny god that little to make my life good (has
abusive parents, like many children globally) that STILL felt entitled to my prayers, and the final straw was realising just how utterly fucked up it is to impregnate a woman with your child just so that you can later have said child tortured and murdered in an awful way.
No. 471106
>>471090>it's appalling that you're pretending Christians haven't had a massive resurgence in doing bad things lately, with the scary regression in abortion laws.That happened because americans are dumb, but it's got nothing to do with the over 1 billion non-american, normal christians in other parts of the world. Try to think outside of your own country for once.
>>471100 is right. Abortion and all other rights concerning gender equality and the likes mostly exist in countries with christian majorities. Be glad for not having to experience real oppression.
No. 471426
>>471100>>471106Christianity is the largest religion in the world.
I'm not white and I don't live in a white country, but this shitty religion has been forced on my people and now it's being used to perpetuate misogyny, homophobia and other fun shit. The abortion debate and the struggle for women to have access to them is NOT America-exclusive.
I'm tired of Christians pretending they're not responsible for prejudice and pain in the world. Because what, Islam is worse? Fuck off, that's your cousin.
No. 471466
>>470924If God still exists, they're not a very good one.
I think there's an equal number of bad and good in the world and you just choose to see the good more.
There aren't less disputes than ever, we have just moved on to dispute different things in more covert ways.
Those 'little miracles' are just coincidences to me.
If God has the power to create little miracles but chooses to do them to only a select amount of people, some horrible people, then God isn't just, smart nor powerful enough to deserve worship.
No. 471494
>>471082Do you think I use "swear words" because I'm angry? Sorry to rankle your christfag boots, but I say fuck like people say please. It's just a word, don't give it power.
Now, do I believe the tales of your bible, ahahahaha fuck no it's horrendously inaccurate. It's the fact that christians, jews, and muslims do that's terrifying. If you don't follow your own book of rules, well, don't know what to tell you. If you're willing to kill or die for your god, that's a sad existance and puts you up for Darwinian selection. Do I know decent christfags? Sure, but I still distrust their sycophantic ways. Just like I distrust atheists that say people of faith must die. Assuming dominance over another is wrong.
No. 471539
File: 1570802807657.png (684.82 KB, 987x555, IM0eYeA.png)
ok, this thread is epic
No. 471542
>>471537I've contributed to the PP threads in the past infinitely more than this one, but I've been done with them ever since they combined it with GC because I'm sick of seeing troons everywhere.
Also, my antireligion stance is largely because of my PP ideology. The main reason I hate religion so much is because of how it's been used as a tool to brutally oppress women. Between the quiverful movement and abortion bans, I'm at a loss how any PP person could possibly take issue with this thread.
No. 471925
>>471758Was it a medical ward or psych ward nurse?
I've had the experience of visiting someone regularly on a psych ward and hearing all the religious delusions that unwell people were screaming about.. then once a week the hospital let them go to a fucking in house mass.. ffs
No. 472024
>>471925Thankfully just a medical ward. I was hospitalized in a regular hospital and was awaiting judgement on whether to be sent to a psych ward or not. Thankfully i wasn't sent; i imagine the nurse problem just would have become worse.
Sperg incoming but psych wards and third world countries don't go together. Count in also what i said about poor people being extremely religious, and you've got a situation in which you're locked in a nut house with religious nuts. There's strong beliefs that the mentally ill and/or the suicidal are possessed, so if you're unlucky you'll get a nurse or a doctor that think the best solution is you praying your illness away. I'm in no way saying that's the norm, but imagine getting a doctor that thinks it's their job to convert you. That's probably where some of the more serious patients "break" and start screaming bloody murder about religion. At that point i can't even be mad, just sad.
No. 488044
>>487010This isn't exactly the same thing, but I hate people who put their entire fate "in the hands of god" instead of trying to build their own future. My brother liked this girl at his church, but she didn't want to be with him because she thought she was "meant" to be with this other guy that God had supposedly told her she was supposed to be with. And the guy had no idea, they had never dated or anything like that. She just picked him randomly and was like "yeah that's the one because god says so". Spoiler; it didn't work out. I've seen people do similar things with astrology.
>>487964I hate this so much, it's so depressing when people have that mentality. I've known so many people like that. And then if they fuck up and sin they take the blame for it, which doesn't make any sense.
No. 488462
>>487890Same, I'm agnostic but there's a lot of dumb criticism of christianity especially in more casual ways. Like when people get offended over people sending prayers or something like that. It's not like it hurts you. It's just them wishing you/others the best. What's that to be mad about?
Not that many are religious where I live anymore but I was baptized catholic and went to catholic school. Overall it was a pretty nice school but there was definitely some cult-like mindset going on. My mum wrote a piece in the local paper where she was critical of the catholic church and their power and a decent amount were being obviously cold towards her after that.
No. 489295
>>489238Okay wow I guess doctors being human and making mistakes means all doctors are worthless trash!
Go back to leeches and bloodletting, see how you like it.
No. 535536
>>449751I'm a muslim who wears a hijab, but I am very liberal in my viewpoints (Support abortion, gay marriage, basically anything that isn't my business to say is right or wrong) . I come from a family that didn't force me to wear hijab and If I wanted to I could take it off. What people don't realize is that although hijab is a requirement in islam, forcing one to wear it goes against the basic principles of the religion. The extremism going on in other countries (Outside America) is actually seen as sinful by those who are actually practicing the religion and not using it for political gain. I don't blame people who have an issue with the religion seeing as there is so much false information and representation out there.
With that being said, I have an issue with people who shit on islam but don't realize that so many of the same beliefs can be found within the bible. I also have no problem with athiests and am friends with many, but there are way too many athiests who shove their beliefs down people's throats more than religious people do, and so many of them are so fucking angry, disrespectful, and insufferable to be around.
No. 535542
>>535536I always wanted to ask someone this:
How do you feel about the fact that muslim men do not wear the hijab? Do you think they should wear it too?
No. 535556
>>535536The problem is that christianity - while
problematic for many reasons in it's own right - has gone through more reformation and changes throughout later history than islam has (depends on country and community ofc, there are differences in practice all over like within any faith). Even with the misinformation about islam there are plenty of horrific beliefs and social practices held up due to islam even by believers without interest in political gain. Within christianity most of the truly bad shit is in the old testament which quite many don't put a lot of importance on anymore compared to the new testament. There are plenty of ex-muslims who talk about the need of change within islam and I bet many others who don't even dare to speak up.
I don't think it's fair to go "well christianity bad" and ignore all the major issues within islam. I don't have any belief it'll change but one could hope.
No. 535576
>>535564>>5355563 of my Uncles have married former christians and christians who chose not to convert to Islam. I know quite a lot about Christianity through my christian friends, family members, and College classes that I took with the intention of learning about other religions and respecting them. But even if I didn't, "Muslims are allowed to be wary of christians talking shit about their belief' which we've dealt with time and time again, so I'm not sure why you're mad at me bringing up Christianity in way that wasn't even negative. Also, Islam is known as one of the only religions that claims to have a holy book that has been untouched/reformed. We believe the book was written by God himself, meaning we aren't allowed to touch it. We are taught that the questionable and yes, horrific things that can be found in the Quran are not to be mimicked in a society like ours where we've developed better ways to govern. You have to realize that at the time that we believe the quran was established, the practices found in the Quran were being played out by people of all religions. But again, I'm not ignorant or a know it all, I myself read things in the Quran and get taken aback. Though most of it ends up getting cleared up with some context, there are still things that make me uncomfortable.
No. 535595
>>535576Yes, I do know that the Quran is deemed sacred and untouchable. (First anon that made a long reply to you btw)
Even though you may have been raised to look away from the more horrid aspects of the teachings of islam many still aren't sadly. It hurts and kills the lives of so many women, children, men every day. Large parts of believers are stuck in pretty medieval ways still which hurts so many other moderate muslims who just want to pray to their God and live amongst others in peace without judgement.
I understand the huge skepticism towards islam amongst many in the west honestly. There are those who come here and take their horrid views of women along with them and act out on it. Or want sharia law despite living in the west. Things like that. It's bound to get understandably bad reactions despite some on the left crying out racism or whatever.
I think the problem is many have trouble differentiating the religion itself and the muslims living in their country - most of which are peaceful and just get on with their lives. There is no reason judging everyone for one aspect of their lives. I'm glad you can see there are troubling aspects of islam and I respect you practising your religion within values that fit into our modern world. That is what matters.
No. 535612
>>535576>me bringing up Christianity in way that wasn't even negative.Except you did…? You said something about Islam and then immediately "b-but in the bible too!".
I read through the entire thread and all but around 10 out of over 100 posts are discussing or rather shitting on Christianity (the rest is about religion in general). Which is fair imo.
Then one anon made a post specifically related to Islam
>>535500 - not criticising the religion, but the types of people who talk about it. And immediately another anon
>>535505 said that non-Muslim, specifically white people, shouldn't be allowed to talk about it. Because they're racists.
And then you came. First talking about your own religion, but then about Christianity too.
So, basically everybody, no matter what religious background, can say whatever they want about Christianity but not about other religions…? Is it really so wrong of me to ask for the same respect that I'm willing to give to others too? Shittalk Christians all you want if you are or were one yourself, but if you're Muslim (or of any other religion) then please abide by the same rules. Anything else would simply be unfair.
No. 535619
>>535612>non-Muslim, specifically white people, shouldn't be allowed to talk about it. Because they're racists. That's not what I said, stop playing the
victim and learn how to read. At least
>>535524 and
>>535504 got it right.
No. 535630
>>535619That's literally what the post you referred to says: that most white or non-Muslim people criticising Islam are racists. Which is a very bold accusation and definitely stops any fair discussion.
>>535621Like I said, I read the entire thread, it exists since over half a year already, I'm fine with it. I just don't like seeing other religions getting special treatment while my own is fair game. You were never having "open and honest" conversations about Christianity like you had about Islam. For example saying Christianity is abuse, bringing up cases of extremists - you know we could fill the entire thread with videos of Muslims justifying child marriage and rape with their religion, but we don't do that because that's not Muslim anon's doing. You defend Islam by saying there's lots of misinformation about it, but do take single cases to judge the entirity of Christianity. You might say, but in Murica Muslims are opressed while Christion have the upper hand and that's why we judge them by different standards, but not everybody here is American. And in this thread the majority very obviously aren't pro-Christianity and anti-Islam either. Again, please don't be hypocrites.
No. 535645
>>535633Again, I am fine with anybody commenting on anything, as long as the same rules go for everyone. But if that's not the case, then please the same treatment for all religions.
>don't even try to say that christianity gets the same type of shit Islam doesYou're thinking too american-centric. And in this thread Christianity got vastly more shit than every other religion.
>the fact that most practicing Muslims are fucking normal as shit and don't go around shoving their religion down people's throats like the fucking christian girlsLike I said, you're judging entire religions based on your own single personal experience. Do you really think that's alright?
>>535639>You just disrespected Islam on all levels and with the most ignorant angleLiterally how? By asking for the same respect that all of you immediately gave her? Nothing I said every came close to what many others said about Christians. I wasn't even mainly arguing with her, but with the way others treat Christians vs. the way they treat Muslims.
>Go protest outside of an abortion clinic That's an american and not a christian thing.
No. 928881
I'm so glad this thread was brought back to life. I've been struggling with my disbelief in Chrsitianity for years and possibly have exhibited this skepticism even as a child. My parents, or my father more specifically, made it his mission to "convert" me throughout my life. Some of the antics I've seen people pull while growing up Christian have probabaly stunted my perception of what is absolutely batshit or not. Here are a few instances of insanty:
>I often got told that satan was the reason why I was sad while growing up
>At one point I mentioned feeling suicidal to my father and he screamed prayers at me in order to "exorcise" the devil I was supposedly possessed with while I was on the phone with him.
>I've had to attend conferences held by a licenced doctor made to "falsify" evolution. There would be a few hilarious attempts to show proof for the six-day creationsim narrative during these conferences.
>My father raised me to believe that black people were cursed as he believed that they were the descendants of Cain, the biblical charcter who was cursed and subsequently marked by God for killing his brother out of jealousy. He would justify this by drawing comparisons between black people and Cain.
>My father also makes a yearly effort to go to African nations and even teach people this interpretation of the story.
>Rampant racism is common, I have heard every word in the book by practicing Christians when think you aren't listening.
>I would straight up just mention any mundane thing (a Nat geo mag for example) and I would be sent into a political tangent by a religous cousin of mine about how our current government is communist.
>Rampant sexism is common, I get told I'm selfish once I disclose that I don't plan on having children.
>I attended Sunday school where I was told a woman was to be beneath a man, who is the head of the household, that this arrangement was merely part of a "Godly institution"
>"Men and women aren't of equal value/worth"
>A female youth leader of ours insisted that if a woman is beaten by her spouse she must stay and pray to God for wisdom, as there is usually a reason as to why a woman may get battered.
>Christians can harbour a temper; I've gotten screamed at over a few innocuous questions.
>My father told me that during a prayer session he saw a vision in which God was telling him that I was going to marry a good Christian boy, have kids and help out with his mission with my future husband. He is convinced that this will happen.
Anyway, I'm just glad I have this place to let off steam. I'd love to talk about this as I sometimes feel so alone when it comes to this. Everyone I know believes in this and I go about thinking I'm crazy, emotionless or soulless for not thinking God "talks" to me.
No. 928893
>>928860i think witchy/spirituality shit is retarded too. like, the ideas are kind of fun if you just take it as a bit of roleplay but taking it seriously and actually believe you're causing some sort of magic to occur is delusional.
it really annoys me when people bring up unexplained events and or weird coincidences and resort to calling it magic. our brains are wired to be pattern-seeking and you're likely just making something of absolutely nothing. as for unexplained shit, most everything has a rational reason behind it, you just didn't understand what was going on at the time. rain must have seemed nigh magical to ancient people, but we now have a set of very logically consistent reasons as to what it is and how/why it happens. jumping to gun to claim anything is magic will inevitably put you in the wrong in history.
No. 928904
>>928881It seems like a lot of people are raised in these kinds of
abusive Christian based environments. I'm sorry you went through that anon. It's okay not to be a Christian when its been such a horrible influence on your life.
Christianity exists outside of this
abusive paradigm if you wish to pursue it, but you don't have to if you don't want to. You've been through a lot and you can put it to one side if you want to. You don't have to keep engaging with it, it doesn't have to be a part of your life.
No. 929001
I'm more scared of religious leaders, primarily male ones, than religion itself. The combination of religion and narcissism can, in my view, breed a type of "spiritual" megalomania that men like the prophet Muhammad, cult leaders, Dostoevsky or Peterson (the last two examples to a much, much lesser degree than the former examples, but it's still there) possessed, where they seriously start to believe that God has destined them to be a prophet/VERY important man of god of some sorts, and I honestly think that is one of the most terrifying manifestations of narcissism there is. Not only because of the damage they can do to society for generations to come, but because there will always be a surplus of weak, frightened, vulnerable, stupid people in the world who are willing to give up their own autonomy/ability to form their own values to follow a father figure.
I'd love to believe in some kind of higher power and I do think there are some very beautiful aspects to religion, but based on what I've seen and experienced throughout my life, religious narratives almost always go hand in hand with a certain group's or a certain person's desire to aqcuire more power/influence in the real world, or for their values to become the primary values their society adopts (for selfish reasons, like reducing your personal fear of death by attempting to make your religious narrative the central, One True Narrative™ in your society). Most religious narratives also conveniently put women in a position of inferiority, so why would any woman (who wasn't conditioned into believing in religious ideas as a child) willingly adhere to such a narrative?
>>471100I know that you, as a religious person, are used to shaming and guilting people who are better off than you into shutting up, but people in the first world suffer too.
>>471106You are truly a prototypical christian.
No. 929013
File: 1633254372071.webm (2.11 MB, 540x960, 16263737638949.webm)
How do anons here feel about this
No. 929016
File: 1633255734873.webm (2.64 MB, 540x960, 7890996780.webm)
No. 929017
File: 1633255829003.webm (2.89 MB, 540x960, christmas.webm)
No. 929055
File: 1633264554664.webm (2.52 MB, 480x853, jerobe.webm)
>>929037You shouldn't
This guy is also an active member and turns out he IS a pedo
Tried grooming zoomers on tiktok
No. 929059
File: 1633265211312.jpeg (22.95 KB, 150x184, 581EEAE0-B184-4BFD-9A2F-3B3208…)
Gnosticism makes the most sense out of all of the organized religions and that’s why it’s been called heretical for who knows how long, that’s all I have to say
No. 929101
>>929059good for you,
nonnie. that's all I have to say
No. 929126
>>929016Fuck me, these progressive pricks are somehow more annoying than the preachers who gave me conversion therapy. At least they stuck to the rules of their stupid fucking book. This is literally fanon Christianity.
>>929055Lmao men always bitch about being the "less important" parent and then do nothing to make change in their
own lives and step up to the plate as a good father.
No. 929163
>>929001I am so on board with this. Something that is supposed to give humans guidance, moral pathways, spiritual quenching and real answers often gets tainted by humans.
Men who need to make it about themselves, feed their narcissism, or satisfy their needs and will force everyone to see their worldview to make it happen.
For instance, Muhammad conveniently having multiple brides, many too young, and preaching that Arab culture is above all, putting Arabic on a pedestal, music and culture constrained, and men having to have beards.
Mormonism. Some guy conveniently found an excuse to be revered and pampered, whilst having a 14 year old bride and multiple wives.
What these religious leaders have in common, is that the One Truth just happened to be convenient and great for them personally. The One Truth dictates that I am worthy of worship and multiple spouses, etc. So from that, I can say I do not believe in it, as this is religion to a self serving end.
But Jesus didn't demand to be worshipped, people chose to. He performed miracles and asked that people glorified God and His power. He did not live lavishly, demand statues, slaves, or wives. He lived knowing He would die, and forgave those who hated Him. Whilst many have tried to spread influence with sword and power, He chose to love us and forgive us. And His name is still remembered for years after this. So Jesus is nothing like all of these other profits, He gave instead of demanded, and was God in human form because He wanted us to know Him, us who betrayed Him.
Religion in the sense that a lot of you hear may be thinking of is highly organised, and influenced by humans. Humans like power, being heard- it's understandable that many of these institutions are corrupt and unfair. So I do agree with many points in the thread about religion being a way to control and abuse others, being money grabbing, and narcissistic for the leaders. I would hate to have gone through that.
Nevertheless, atheism makes no sense to me. Ambivalence about religion is entirely understandable, we don't KNOW anything for sure, but atheism is saying there's a definite nothing. And if you don't know God, except from a mental caricature, how can you say that everyone else's idea of God is false? We may have different ideas of this God.
Also, we are creatures of flesh, thus influenced by anger towards each other, pride, lust, and things that burn through and destroy. If some people want a set of moral codes, to have enough self restraint to be productive and build a more moral and cohesive community, that's ok.
Last of all is our source of morals in the modern age. A
valid point is that our parents and family influence our personal beliefs, which is true. But in many Western countries, due to unbridled lust, wrath, and other vices, the family unit is less intact and common. So the source of moral guidance is more from schools, the internet, and especially the media.
The media is the same body that has does not care about the individual, but wants attention, money, and influence. It is primarily responsible, along with Hollywood, for promoting an agenda that promotes narcissistic 'self discovery' that preaches 'nonbinary/trans' kids, hookup culture, and things that are, objectively, bad for the health. Christianity, as an organised religion, is imperfect, but I would rather that the teachings of Jesus Christ made a framework for society than the volatile and corrupting messages of Hollywood and the msm.
If you're Christian, you may be prone to feeling guilt for a lot of small things. Feeling down, you may blame yourself for sadness, and overanalyse things. Remember that God is forgiving, and He knows you're going to make mistakes. A big message of the New Testament is 'I love and forgive you'.
For those who have been hurt by human narcissism and feel residual guilt for your flaws and doubts- I am sorry, and I understand why it may seem like an unpleasant belief to you because of it. Nevertheless, I do not believe that believing in Jesus who lived died and rose again makes you a control freak or you support wife beating. Misogyny transgresses all cultures. I only hope you know that there is a God, and you are loved, and although we do not have all the answers, He speaks to us through nature, He will give you living waters, and many scientists believe in God. You don't have to go to a great controlling institution to be a real Christian. Just to open your heart and live in Christ. Ask Him, and use scripture for guidance.
Religion as an organised thing can be harmful and power goes to people's heads, because people. You can believe in God without the organised religion part nonetheless.
tl;dr
>>928904 i think i agree with this but i had to write too much lol
>>929059I don't know what Gnosticism is, but that's a cool dragon.
No. 929208
>>929197Anon, I grew up a Christian and was exposed to traditional Christian interpretations that go quite far back. I was told the reason why women could not become priest or even step on the altar was due to the fact that Jesus, the son of God "had male genitalia." Because Jesus was male it was only logical to assume that God "the Father" and the holy spirit to were decidedly male. You will even see a variation of this explanation in classical biblical exegesis that laid the foundation of the tradition.
This may be besides the point, but why would a true religion be so affected by society if its message transcended it? ATA, btw.
No. 929822
>>928920other thread got locked and we were redirected to this one. i think it's stupid to bump a year old thread instead of just having a new one, but whatever.
i also think tarot cards are very stupid btw. i dislike how popular spirituality is.
No. 931599
>>930017Buddhist nuns have been a thing since the time of the Buddha, but Theravada Buddhism doesn't ordain nuns anymore because they all died in some war so no nuns are ordained in that denomination
The real misogyny in Buddhism is a rule for nuns that state that even the most senior nuns would always have to show deference to novice monks, and there are some statements that women are awful and the biggest hindrance to enlightenment lol but this isn't in all denominations so there's theories that this was made up after the Buddha passed away
Also, some interpretations see being born a woman as a result of bad sexual karma in a past life
No. 931643
>>931626The times we experience cycle just like the seasons; They change and shift and run its course. We can't choose which we live in just like we have no power over whether we live in summer for a full year. We have to simply get through it, we're here for the experience. And when winter comes i.e. hardships, it's your choice whether you pull through or falter. So yes we as women have experienced misogyny and oppression and have been subjugated through the centuries, but just know, just like the seasons, the times change too. The tables will be turned and we will be living in a Matriarchal society once again (we originally lived in a Matriarchy which was the foundation civilisation was built on. The Matriarchy is our natural system and we should be living in but it was usurped by the patriarchy. The American Indian, Mayans, Druids and Upper Egyptians all operated under Matriachal rule. And remember how the American Indians were ostracised, oppressed and nearly wiped out, their land pilaged and their people slaughtered? Because their knowledge and Matriarchal system they operated under was a threat. Anyway, the patriarchy is coming to an end and men will likely be oppressed because everything comes full circle. These are the ages running their course just like the seasons. What they have done to women, they will have to live through an age where they will be subjected to the same treatment.
You do have control over your life however, and have more power than you realise and it's up to you. You were given free will and it's a gift. And simply put, our creator doesn't want to interfere in your experience on this earth too much.
No. 932326
>>931998>no one is forcing them to be atheistsexactly that, I have never encountered an atheist trying to make me one. I never walked in a pedestrian zone getting asked by an atheist if I want to talk about not believing. I was never forced to take a class at school because the atheist wanted it, I never had to worry about getting fired because an atheist was the boss of my workplace. The basic mindset of religious people is that you have to believe the same thing that they do so you can be saved from eternal damnation. An atheist doesn't believe in eternal damnation, so he doesn't have to annoy you.
>>931796that's one of the reasons I would love to move farther to the north in Europe. In Germany the relationship between church and state is just way too strong. The catholic church even has an ecclesiastical court and is the major employer in the social working field, some people got fired for marring twice or you won't be employed if you don't have the right religion (for example in a public hospital or kindergarten). From the outside it seems very nice and modern in Germany, but the secularism is such a big work in progress and I think that we will never make a step forward.
