Atheist unite!!

[sunshinedaydream]

Can I come in? I’m an atheist. I also have religious trauma. From childhood.
When I visit family I get triggered by religious stuff.

 

[somerandomguy]

Welcome @sunshinedaydream - all atheists are welcome here!

I'm so, so sorry you went through that. :hug:

God's mystical plan of torturing us while we're alive and then torturing us again forever after we're dead sure proves he's a loving God, doesn't it?

 

[sunshinedaydream]

Welcome @sunshinedaydream - all atheists are welcome here!

I'm so, so sorry you went through that. :hug:

God's mystical plan of torturing us while we're alive and then torturing us again forever after we're dead sure proves he's a loving God, doesn't it?

Thank you! There is so much hypocritical stuff!
Visiting family is hard as they’re praying and bible studying the whole time and judging me on how I’m going to hell and everything. And judging me and worrying about my kids eternal salvation.
I remember closing my eyes when I was 7 and asking god if I was going to heaven or hell and seeing the word hell behind my eyes. Because of the Ten Commandments I broke. ?
Now I know it’s a lie.

I'm so, so sorry you went through that. :hug:

That ^ feels really helpful to hear. ?

 

[Lucycat]

I really fear religion. I hate the idea that there could possibly be a 'heaven' or 'hell' neither of which I wish to be trapped in for all eternity alongside my abuser and all other ( repentant or not) perpetrators of sex crimes, murders, etc etc.. If they only have to say 'sorry' to transfer from one to the other then I am doomed.

Atheism is a much more comfortable position to be in. No ambiguity.

 

[bellbird]

Can I come in?

Warmest welcomes!

If they only have to say 'sorry' to transfer from one to the other then I am doomed.

It's absurd, isn't it.
It's as though religion was just invented by people to circumvent their guilt about doing bad things -- just whack in a clause at the end about saying sorry at the last moment and you'll be greeted at the pearly gates with the same gusto as someone who's lived a good life their whole life :rolleyes:

Also, love how Amazon ads on this page are for the DVD of Let There Be Light (synopsis: An atheist goes through a near-death experience in a car accident before converting to Christianity).

Do you advertise atheistic materials on the Christian thread, Amazon? Or maybe even some Islamic film content?

Because let's rewrite that synopsis: mystical sky daddy severely harms a free-thinker and leaves them hanging on the brink of death because it's the only way he could force them into believing in him.

 

[somerandomguy]

I don't know where else to say this, but I'm so worried for our friend @bellbird. I miss her and hope she's OK.

 

[BlueBerry6999]

Just wanted to say hello to my fello atheists :)

 

[Chiqui]

Just wanted to say hello to my fello atheists :)

Hello and welcome ?

 

[longwaydown]

I'm still dealing with religious cult-based trauma suffered decades ago, but that experience had nothing to do with my atheism. I remember as a young kid listening to the fire and brimstone sermon du jour and knowing that I could never devote myself to a cruel god.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

God! So sick of Christanity being shoved down my throat by my family! Like, there is nothing good about it. If you aren't doing well it's because you didn't pray hard enough, do good enough, believe well enough, read the bible enough, lost your faith. I mean, f*ck! If you are not doing well, maybe stop throwing guilt trips at everyone that they aren't doing whatever enough! Maybe there are things that we cannot control that effect us. It is not all because we didn't do whatever enough! It is a lousy religion if you ask me. How can one be christian and not be majorly depressed all the time? Unless everything always goes their way. Or maybe they excuse their bad times in life to "god has a better plan" while guilting everyone else around them!

 

[somerandomguy]

In my neighborhood, there's a Catholic church with a school attached. This past spring, the diocese announced that the school would be closed - they're trying to consolidate parishes and schools as much as possible (I wonder why). The parishioners responded with an uproar and went to the bishop, who promised to keep the school open next year if they could raise $150,000. Certainly the bishop never expected what happened next ...

They raised a little more than $220,000, not just from parishioners but from many other people in the neighborhood. So the bishop said the school would stay open this year. I kept out of it, but I told my wife that it wasn't going to end well and that those people were wasting their money.

A week ago, word came from the diocese that the school wasn't going to reopen after all. And, oh yes, no one was going to get their money back, either. The diocese STOLE all that money! I knew it would happen because the church will NEVER allow itself to be dictated to by lay people. Never.

The Catholic Church is an abhorrent institution that only cares about money and power. And, of course, money IS power.

 

[bellbird]

I really wish that I could say that I am shocked. But, god, yes, it is utterly disgusting what they have done.

"Thou shalt not steal".
Cherry picking at its finest.