Cruelty! RIP

As my wife was suffering with ovarian cancer my fundamentalist sister in law called to get her to “confess her sin so the she could be cured”. Earned sil POS status for a long time.

Too much

Miscarriage, cancer, sexual assault & domestic violence, etc. "Its god's will....there must be a lesson you need to learn. You aren't obedient to god's word & so he allows you to suffer. If you were faithful & lived by god's word, would reward you."

I cut that sister out of my life. I got tired of her holier than thou attitude & her revelling in being a public martyr for her religion.

To be clear, none of this happened to me, but extended family and colleagues.

Through extended family, I think the top marks are child molestation and my relatives agreeing to hide that it happened in collusion with the Church. Both parents of the children were given "help" by the church, bribe money monthly for works of helping the church. As well as free "labour" from church members cleaning their yard, taking out the garbage. As if my Aunt and Uncle were physically challenge (they were not). While their children were verbally and physically abused by their mother and sexually abused by the Church Priests.

It wasn't until the father died that the eight children sued the corporation (religious institution) and won restitution. Though the priests (yes it was multiple in the same church) either got a slap on the wrist or retired with no time served.

Still all of the children (now adults) are seriously F$cked in the head and can't lead a normal life.

Second place was a priest embezzling from members and conning older members out of their retirement before he skipped the country. Both a extended relative and the members all defended the priests actions even after he left the country and the church replaced him.

Third was a colleague who's priest actively tried to end his marriage and get the extended family to help him force the separation. He still believes in the christian religion, but has a strong dislike/distrust of organized religion.

Probably the worst I've heard of is a man abandoning his family because he thought God called him to. In my own life, I struggle with my parents' idea that my dad should be given preference because he's the man of the house. My thinking is that because he's the man of the house, he should be the most helpful, patient, etc toward others. He's an invalid now, though, so now I'm okay with him being given preference. It's not the weak who need to look it for the strong but the strong who need to look out for the weak.

My mother-in-law (not saying she is a "loved one", but I have my wife to consider) keeps sending my son (6 years old) books about god and jesus and how great all that shtuff is. She keeps telling me that I should love my son more and teach him about god so that he can go to heaven. It's so manipulative.

The idea that learning and reflecting too much about it instead of blindly following is wrong

My ex-girlfriend (we lived together 10 years) became a rabid catholic and was defending priests who were raping children and nuns, fathering children without getting married, the magdalene laundries in Ireland, and generally any crime committed bu the church. She now has early stage 4 breast cancer. Good for her-that's how out relationship changed.

In 3rd grade my mom had a religious schizo episode, pulled my little sis and I out of school, and we lived in a hotel for a week eating sharp cheddar and light bread because she thought the portals to hell were opening on earth and we were among the chosen to do gods apocalyptic work, and then be taken alive to heaven like Elijah. So you know, just normal stuff like that.

6 or 7 years later after mental help, a divorce from an abusive marriage n everything: my mother, a pastor, a judge, several congregations of duped people and a court ordered religious family therapist all took sides with a predator she met online, against me when I was trying to defend my family. My relationship with my mother will never be the same. I missed out on a lot of time I should have been prepping for college with, and I have a fair amount of PTSD, survivors guilt, anger issues, depression and anxiety because of it.

And then an even greater scale of betrayal triggered all these feelings again when she chose a second predator over family with Mango Mussolini.

Nobody that loves me would dare.

i have never had a loved one defend religion.

g

My loved ones know better than discussing religion with me.

My ex- father in law tried to tell me if I didn't have my son baptized when he was first born and he died before I did he would go to hell.
I think that was the first time he realize I was and atheist.

How about an adulterer demand that marriages are done in reverence to god. A pastor saying that a suicide was gods will. There is no end to rationalizing the follies of humanity. Things that people don't want to accept will be minimized by "gods will". Things that were worked hard for were granted as "blessings". There is no"chance" as a believer. They only need to make up a narrative for the things that happen to them in life. It's an effective strategy that cures them of all responsibility. And that is a cop out. I can't get behind that.

Not a loved one but the Protestant/Catholic divide in Ireland. Could kick off again if Brexit isn’t handled properly.

If it does we know we have learned nothing and are therefore, in the words of Private Fraser “we are doomed”

The Good Friday agreement seems to have put a lot of the nonsense to bed. Sensible people learn from their lessons. Probably won’t be the case in Britain. The precedents don’t look good!

I explained to my mother yesterday how scientists are sure the Universe was about 13,500,000,000 years old when modern humans emerged rather than rather than 6 days, and her response was, "yes, but back then a day represented billions of years"
facepalm.

Donald Trump...and racism...and Donald Trump.

I’d like to start with my own story. I have a best friend who I’ve loved for over 7 years. She is a jehovas witness. We were discussing Deuteronomy 22:23-27. The verse clearly states that a woman who is sexually assaulted and does not scream deserves death.
Before I continue let me say that this girl is the closest friend I’ve ever known. I love her to death. She’s always been the kindest, most gentle, most amazing person. However her response to these verses deeply disturbed me.
She argued that the verse was in reference to adultery and “does not mention rape”. That is an outright lie. Not only did she lie but she also, by that logic, insinuated that two consenting adults that decide to have sex are deserving of death.
Of course I was mortified. I am still heartbroken but I am still very close with her. I feel like that can never change.

What’s the saying? “Good people will do good things with or without religion. Bad people will do bad things with or without religion. But if you want good people to do bad things, that requires religion.”