The truth shall set you free!
Sent in by Rob Johnson
My world was so small, so confusing, so depressing, so illogical, and so intolerant as a Christian. Whenever people claim that I didn't try to understand spirituality and belief I just have to laugh. I'm pretty sure I've read the bible more than the average christian--about 8 times. I not once found a cubic millimeter of comfort in the words found there and only had questions.
Why the ridiculous complications of a "perfect" all-knowing, all-powerful God making a "perfect" world and "perfect" people knowing they wouldn't be perfect and fail the absolutely superfluous test of not eating a fruit he deigned as "bad" and then blaming them for creating them perfect, giving them the unnecessary law of not eating from the tree...um, ad nauseum. As a literal OR metaphorical tale it's flawed so much that it hurts. So we have huge problems in the first chpater of the bible.
My parents won't let me listen to the Beatles because they were a "bad" influence. I was brought up thinking that sexual freedom is filthy. I was brought up by parents and church leaders to rejoice in ignorance--"faith of a child"-- instead of questioning. I always had questions.
I didn't learn the FIRST THING about evolution until I was 30 years old. I am so ridiculously giddy with happiness that I came across Richard Dawkins' books. He has been instrumental in answering all the questions I had about life and the world in a humorous and intelligent way. I strongly recommend any Christian with serious doubts read "The Blind Watchmaker" and, now, "The God Delusion". Also, Sam Harris has been a voice of reason in this Christian version of Afghanisthan we call America.
I'm happier personally than I've ever been. I have such a concern for all people--i'm not perfect, I get angry and cuss at people under my breath when they drive stupidly or something, but I generally understand that this life is precious, wonderous, full of potential and joys far beyond anything religion can offer.
On the other hand, I'm so sad for people who believe in myths. Sad for radical religious people and moderate. The sad for radical bit should be obvious--they're utterly in their own screwed up world. Sad for moderates who have that modicum of intelligence to realize that we shouldn't stone our wives for committing adultery, but still waste precious moments of their lives in church and trying to believe utter crap. Imagine what we could do if we released that intellectual capacity on, say, curing cancer, exploring quantum physics, genetic research instead of going to church on specious reasoning and wasting large amount of your life studying almost completely worthless nonsense. We'd almost definitely be better off than we are now hadn't we wasted time on men with beards in the sky.
It's so obvious. I can only hope that more and more people wake up. I did and I'll NEVER go back. Thanks for this opportunity...
Sincerely,
Rob Johnson
Chicago
Illinois
USA
Joined: Brought up since birth.
Left: 23
Was: Lutheran
Now: Atheist
Converted because: Parents brainwashed me.
De-converted: Because the answers never were forthcoming. Couldn't believe the grab anymore.
eamil: rejohnsonil At gmail Dot com
My world was so small, so confusing, so depressing, so illogical, and so intolerant as a Christian. Whenever people claim that I didn't try to understand spirituality and belief I just have to laugh. I'm pretty sure I've read the bible more than the average christian--about 8 times. I not once found a cubic millimeter of comfort in the words found there and only had questions.
Why the ridiculous complications of a "perfect" all-knowing, all-powerful God making a "perfect" world and "perfect" people knowing they wouldn't be perfect and fail the absolutely superfluous test of not eating a fruit he deigned as "bad" and then blaming them for creating them perfect, giving them the unnecessary law of not eating from the tree...um, ad nauseum. As a literal OR metaphorical tale it's flawed so much that it hurts. So we have huge problems in the first chpater of the bible.
My parents won't let me listen to the Beatles because they were a "bad" influence. I was brought up thinking that sexual freedom is filthy. I was brought up by parents and church leaders to rejoice in ignorance--"faith of a child"-- instead of questioning. I always had questions.
I didn't learn the FIRST THING about evolution until I was 30 years old. I am so ridiculously giddy with happiness that I came across Richard Dawkins' books. He has been instrumental in answering all the questions I had about life and the world in a humorous and intelligent way. I strongly recommend any Christian with serious doubts read "The Blind Watchmaker" and, now, "The God Delusion". Also, Sam Harris has been a voice of reason in this Christian version of Afghanisthan we call America.
I'm happier personally than I've ever been. I have such a concern for all people--i'm not perfect, I get angry and cuss at people under my breath when they drive stupidly or something, but I generally understand that this life is precious, wonderous, full of potential and joys far beyond anything religion can offer.
On the other hand, I'm so sad for people who believe in myths. Sad for radical religious people and moderate. The sad for radical bit should be obvious--they're utterly in their own screwed up world. Sad for moderates who have that modicum of intelligence to realize that we shouldn't stone our wives for committing adultery, but still waste precious moments of their lives in church and trying to believe utter crap. Imagine what we could do if we released that intellectual capacity on, say, curing cancer, exploring quantum physics, genetic research instead of going to church on specious reasoning and wasting large amount of your life studying almost completely worthless nonsense. We'd almost definitely be better off than we are now hadn't we wasted time on men with beards in the sky.
It's so obvious. I can only hope that more and more people wake up. I did and I'll NEVER go back. Thanks for this opportunity...
Sincerely,
Rob Johnson
Chicago
Illinois
USA
Joined: Brought up since birth.
Left: 23
Was: Lutheran
Now: Atheist
Converted because: Parents brainwashed me.
De-converted: Because the answers never were forthcoming. Couldn't believe the grab anymore.
eamil: rejohnsonil At gmail Dot com
Comments
You said, "Imagine what we could do if we released that intellectual capacity on, say, curing cancer, exploring quantum physics, genetic research instead of going to church on specious reasoning and wasting large amount of your life studying almost completely worthless nonsense."
And can you imagine the strides the scientific community could make if all of the money that goes to churches, shrines, mosques, etc, went to the advancement of science?
I enjoyed your second paragraph about Adam and Eve. That whole story is an insult to even a child's intelligence!
You also said that you never found any comfort in the words of the Bible. I'd have to say that there were plenty of scriptures that did in fact bring comfort to my aching heart in search of a loving and comforting God, but words of comfort can be found in other texts, religious or otherwise that lend a new perspective, reaffirm deeply held beliefs, or comfort us in such a way that only those words at that moment could. It's ridiculous to presume that the Bible is the authoritative, dictated, inerrant "word of God" just because it happens to have morsels of wisdom and encouragement in it, especially considering all the troublesome and downright loathsome passages that one has to overlook or wade through just to get to the good stuff, ya know?
Anyway, thanks for the post and as for the title of it "The truth shall set you free"-well that is probably the most illuminating passage in the whole damned book!
Yes, the truth HAS set us free!
Well if we had ditched religion sooner (or rather if we just sat down at the kitchen table and thought about it, which is all you need to realise it's bunkum) then the 800 years in which christianity dominated every facet of european society (aptly named "the dark ages"), and the accompanying anti-intellectualism, would never have happened. Considering the exponential growth of scientific knowledge, Imagine what the world would be like if we were 800 years more advanced. Sadly, we'll never know what marvels it could have held and for that you can point the finger firmly at rome.
As with the recent terrorism incidents and war, people tend to rally around negative situations.
Humanism,positive atheism and naturalism are too much for the average person to digest,(intellectually).
They prefer old pagan myths and bedtime stories over true history and science,...(it's the human condition I guess).
Now, though, I think that I understand why the Catholic church did not emphasize personal Bible reading, and rather kept the common man from reading it by only having copies of the Bible in Latin, the language of the educated: if you really read the Bible, you will not be able to stay a Christian. There are just too many holes, especially the fact that the Old Testament is pretty much a book of terrorism, lol.
"Yea, I was raised Catholic, and thought I was in the right religion. I now realize like you guys that religion is not the answer. I commend you writing your experiences. I'd like to show this writing to other Catholics and Protestants! "
posted: 11/20/2006 7:08 PM EST
Dano notices that:
Gareth says, he now realizes that witnessing to us ain't gonna work, and trying to have a relationship with a myth is futile!!
WILL WONDERS NEVER CEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dan (Can this be the real Gareth?)
Let's review---the "godless" can't know God, because their "wickedness" causes them to supress the plane "Truth", thereby, making God reveal his wrath on the "godless" from heaven.
By that logic, it seems God should be angry at "wickedness", not at "godlessness". Isn't it "Satan" who blinds us from the "Truth"?..who deceives us? Hmmmm....it seems that the wrath of God is misdirected---it seems it should be directed toward Satan, not the godless.
Again, we see a flawed concept---God allows the very problem that he seeks to have solved.....and then turns around blames and punishes the "pawns".
What part of EX do you not understand in EX-christian? I don’t care if this DOES sound rude and inconsiderate but were you born that stupid, or did you have to work at it?
Jesus says…blah-blah-blah….
God says…blah-blah-blah….
The bible says…blah-blah-blah….
JESUS H. CHRIST! Get a new script. You have not said ONE THING we haven’t heard a thousand times already and you may as well be speaking in Klingon-ese for all the effect this bible bullshit has on us.
Take your stupid bible and walk east until your hat floats!