That gif just came to mind when I thought of people who actually believe the Noah story. Some of these fuckers are in elected office too.
that noah thing always makes me laugh.. some of the same folks who believe that would call someone who believes in aliens and UFO's crazy. (not a big UFO guy.. just sayin)
"I've begun worshipping the sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the sun. It's there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, a lovely day. There's no mystery, no one asks for money, I don't have to dress up, and there's no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to God are all answered at about the same 50-percent rate." -George Carlin
That quote is off, did you paraphrase? He didn't pray to the Sun, because he "wouldn't presume on our friendship" instead he prays to Joe Pesci.
Because he gets shit done, for years I asked God to do something about my noisy neighbor with the barking dog, Joe Pesci straightened that cocksucker out with one visit. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a simple baseball bat...
[quote name="RippedMonk" post="19380361" timestamp="1390322791"]That quote is off, did you paraphrase? He didn't pray to the Sun, because he "wouldn't presume on our friendship" instead he prays to Joe Pesci. [/quote]I got it from a website..maybe they wrote it down from memory and got it wrong
Anyone have experience with having Christian parents and being an Atheist? My mom already knows, I feel like she resents me more because of it. I was feeling shitty one day and she started talking about how prayer makes her feel better and I just couldn't keep lying or pretending to think that is an option. I used to believe in Christianity but no more, there is too much evidence stacked against it for me to believe it. Also what kind of God would create people who don't believe in him? Or people born in areas without Christianity? Where do they go? Hell? I guess I never really believed in it. I was just taken to Church and told that's how things were. I never questioned it until high school when there was more of a range of opinions and people to hear from. Mind you the first vocal Atheist I met was a total prick so I wrote him off I had to figure it out on my own. I'm of the belief that everyone is there own god. The voice that tells you what is right and wrong is you. You have to hold yourself accountable which, in some ways I think is more noble than doing the right thing because you are worried about being punished(hell) Sorry it's late and I know my post is all over the place just figured I'd get it back on topic a little.
[quote name="psychoperson25" post="19385460" timestamp="1390395272"]Anyone have experience with having Christian parents and being an Atheist? My mom already knows, I feel like she resents me more because of it. I was feeling shitty one day and she started talking about how prayer makes her feel better and I just couldn't keep lying or pretending to think that is an option.I used to believe in Christianity but no more, there is too much evidence stacked against it for me to believe it. Also what kind of God would create people who don't believe in him? Or people born in areas without Christianity? Where do they go? Hell?I guess I never really believed in it. I was just taken to Church and told that's how things were. I never questioned it until high school when there was more of a range of opinions and people to hear from. Mind you the first vocal Atheist I met was a total prick so I wrote him off I had to figure it out on my own. I'm of the belief that everyone is there own god. The voice that tells you what is right and wrong is you. You have to hold yourself accountable which, in some ways I think is more noble than doing the right thing because you are worried about being punished(hell)Sorry it's late and I know my post is all over the place just figured I'd get it back on topic a little.[/quote]I believe that everyone should be able to have their own beliefs or lack thereof, that's what makes us unique, and have wondered the same things you have about God and why would he create people that under Judeo-Christian dogma are destined to go to hell, either because of an incompatible belief system or due to there never having been Christian or Jewish communities where they live. IDK, part of the puzzle of human existence I suppose. Only issue with atheists I've ever had is the vast bulk of them I've ever dealt with are so condescending or outright hateful to anyone who's not an atheist that it drives most people awaySent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm with you a hundred percent on that. As well as the rest of what you said but that is my biggest problem with atheists as well.
I think most atheists come off that way because we live on a theist planet. It is preposterous to us Atheists that people believe a character from a book created everything and rules with all power over all of us. We watch suffering come from this belief, con artists rise to power due to this belief, and laws that govern us pass because of this belief. We are often cast aside by our family, friends, and co-workers and must keep our lack of faith to ourselves in order to avoid drama. Obviously this creates resentment and often isolationism. I think this combined with the frustration that it's all based on faith from old texts, which seems illogical as hell, makes most of us atheists come off as smug picks. I don't think being atheist automatically makes a person be this way, but being atheist in an overly dominant theist world can make one be this way.
How much historical evidence should we need to realize that religion has always been a tool of domination? There is an ever-absent all-powerful authority demanding the enforcement of outdated laws by death penalty. There are still people using this to dominate other people, such as the taliban. But we grew beyond that, and into the divine right of kings to dominate their subjects. Even beyond that, as we threw off the monarchies we were still left with the religious organizations trying to dominate us even while we thought we were free. Now that we have developed a secular form of domination, the religious institutions make more meaningless noise than ever but can only ever dominate a few thousand at a time, albeit a few thousand that will never stop trying to dominate the rest of us. There are genuinely nice people out there, but how even do they not see what this has been all this time? I won't be surprised if soon the monopolies of the world even start trying to douse the religions of the world. It's going to get to the point where that's their only competition left.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAjDlLDcVUY LOL The bird in this video is insane but the way this guy talks about it at the end had me LOLLERskating
Well Im Atheistic Agnostic, but thats the same thing as an Atheist to most. Besides being shenanigans when you sit down and think about the absurdities religion claim, the fact of the matter is people dont like being told what to do, unless they specifically ask for it, so why should we accept sky daddy, or any other Pantheon of deities? Religion at its core is supression and domination, no matter how you spin it. People have the right to believe what they want, but I cant help but wonder how people hear those stories and dont immediately realize its metaphorical at best, and instead take it as reality
because they hear them when theyre children and they learn to mold the world they experience to fit their understanding of what "the answers" are. there are some pretty effective tools involved to scar kids for life with it. if everyone was raised under the "religion" of "critical thinking," most religions would probably be reduced to cults
I was raised Christian, realized it was shenanigans at a memorial service when I was 14. I understand that children are easily brainwashed, but all it takes is the ability to think, and an understanding of the physical world we live in, plus just a few minutes to realize that the stories dont match up with the realm of possibility or even logic. As a kid, believing because your parents tell you to is understandable, but when you hit your teens, start thinking for yourself, getting hormonal, it seems so weird to think you wouldnt sit down and think about it
it also takes a lot of other things to stop believing what your entire family and everyone you love believes. and it takes even more to admit that you dont believe those things to them if theyre really serious and ignorant about it. like.. dude.. if your dad was like some of these religious people and found out that you didnt believe in what he believed in, theres no way youd be allowed to live in his house. people deal with so many different circumstances that basically just scare them/force them into being religious. it's sad and terrifying. and even if youre really smart, it doesnt always mean you have the courage to stand up to your loved ones or forsake the god youve been taught to fear for the first 14 years of your life. acting like every 14 year old that's raised that way should be smart enough to just let it go is fucking ignorant. it brings so much emotion into play even for smart people if theyve been raised that way (strictly) the first X amount of years of their life. alot of people who have questions wont even ask them out loud because they feel like they shouldnt question something that means so much in their life.
Im not saying every 14yr old should, I was just saying thats when I figured it out. I understand what youre saying about circumstance, and maybe its just me, but were I in a situation where I had to go along with it, it wouldnt reaffirm the belief, it would make me resentful and bitter.