Agnostic.com

20 26

Posting on here is like therapy to me. I was raised Southern conservative Christian. There is no one I know that doesn’t believe in Jesus or will admit to it. You would be ostracized for doing that.

It’s becoming harder and harder to listen to the bullshit. There are some very nice and sweet people I know but there are a lot that will get furious if you disagree with them on religion. A part of me wants to make a rational argument on why the Bible is flawed but I know that will never work because religion is not about logic it’s about control

abyers1970 7 Jan 25
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

20 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

0

anyway no, i would not be mixing meat (you, now) and milk (them), and congratulations on your escape from the cult of sol invictus, yeh. Some Scrip you may not be fam with yet, No son of man may die for another's sins, No one has ever gone up to heaven, et al. So maybe just maybe the Bible isnt as flawed as you believe?
try reading with One Eye maybe 😀

ah and fwiw this one was pretty eye opening, [biblicalhistoricalcontext.com]

1

fwiw may i suggest that the Bible is written in such a way so as to hide wisdom from the wise (in their own eyes) right? And who gets more furious than ppl who are convinced of themselves, eh?
Contemplate Jesus of Nazareth as a handy rabbi-speak way of saying "John Doe, from Nowhere," as hard as that might be to justify at first glance, but Jesus (Joshua) was the most common male name then, and Nazareth was literally "Nowhere," esp in the first century, when it apparently was not even inhabited, as near as we can tell? Before and after, yes, but i guess not then

0

Sometimes I wonder if there are intelligent individuals on here, other times I can sense there are!!!

0

It's nice to talk intelligent rational people

bobwjr Level 10 Jan 26, 2021

If only we could find some. 😉

1

Who is starting the religious discussion?

I live in a religious Southern community myself, however no one I meet makes religion a topic of conversation,

2

I know exactly how you feel.
I was raised in rural Alabama and had to attend an Assembly of God Church every time their doors opened where they spoke in tongues. My step mother was adult Sunday school teacher, church secretary, Choir leader, and janitor crew. I had to cut their four acres of grass as well as our two acres of grass every week.
My father moved us there to become the minister of this church, but he got a Charlie horse in his leg during an alter call and yelped as he jumped up, so everyone thought the gift of the spirit had been poured out on the congregation and they all started jumping around babbling as they do and he just wandered out and went to the house never to return again. He was brutally disappointed that his fellow Christians were so stupid having just seen what I had seen every time I had ever gone.
His absence made no difference to my Step Mother and we continued to attend until I graduated from high school.
Worse they were big supporters of G.C. Wallace the racist governor of Alabama.
Right after Nixon I was hoping George McGovern would become president and got labeled as a "hippie, liberal" and lost all respect from everyone in my entire world.
Imagine if they had known I was also trans.
Hell is for children.

Talk about immersion....geesh. At least your father saw the light....sorta

1

It’s really none of their business. There is no need to get adversarial about it. Just say you are not religious, if they persist walk away. You won’t change their minds and you still ( for the time being) need to live with them, and they are in the majority. Look around, I’m sure you will find others in the same predicament.

0

Consider also that the religious believe everyone in the family tree is in heaven. When you do not agree with that it is a real slap in the face to them. Heaven is a goal. Why was everyone wrong and what are we living for? The most ancient view of this is the religious killing you for non-belief.

0

@Somnium posted a video about coming out which I thought was good. Only you know what choices are good for you. While I admire atheists/agnostics who are wide open about their beliefs and advocate for them, I tend to hold my cards close and be selective about who I open up to.

Maybe the first step is taking it slow and finding one person who you can trust and will be sympathetic and keep your confidence.

"This is just brilliant!!! Never be afraid to be yourself
coming out | a road map for before, ...
"

3

My best advice is to just try to steer away from all talk of religion or belief in your everyday life, and save the venting for here. We are good listeners and you’ll probably find we’re in agreement with you, instead of being in a minority of one!

0

Try some science research from science versus religion sites. The only thing that will beat science is better science.

Agree. To be honest i'm actually amazed that i'm no longer a christian. It still baffles me how much my thinking has changed. I had a life changing moment with emergency open heart surgery and decided to question everything i had know so i went into my search with a completely open mind and looked at the evidence. When i realized that the only link to Jesus Christ was a man who was a historian that was born 5 years after Jesus was born it got me to doubting plus the fact that there was No Matthew , Mark, Luke and John as disciples. People found writings in Caves and do not even know who the authors were and gave them those names.

3

I long ago gave up giving rational arguments to all religidiots. Their refusal to use their brains is their problem, not mine.

0

Religion ... pure and faultless is this: to help widows and orphans in need and avoiding worldly corruption. James 1:27

When you talk about "religion ", you used biblical association for this religion you speak of, but it has nothing to do with biblical religion.

Word Level 8 Jan 26, 2021
3

I don’t care one rats ass about who likes or doesn’t like my opinions on religion. And it’s even better when I tell them I was once a believer but now no longer. Others opinions aren’t my problem.

I've noticed that once they realize that you really don't care what they think, they just stop talking to you.
I'm REALLY good with that.

@KKGator oh yeah, I don’t care if anyone calls me “Immoral” or “sacreligious” or whatever. It just serves to strengthen me.

4

been here done this...i don't attack the beliefs, if they claim ( really doesn't matter if they do) they want me to be honest. i just say that i don't subscribe to them notions.

4

I see nothng to be gained by stirring the anthill. Not so long ago it was considered the height of rudeness to bring up either politics or religion in social conversation!

But once you exclude those, the only other things worth talking about are sex and the state of your bowels. 😄

Yup, when did folk forget conversational manners?

@Cyklone You can resort to personal insults as well, though that may not count as polite.

@Cyklone umm, what? Your garden? Your kids? Your future plans? Food? The freaking weather?!

@AnneWimsey @Fernapple Sorry, I was making reference to an old Aussie saying that the only things in life worth discussing were politics, religion and the state of your bowels. Not sure where it came from.

8

I feel you.
I'm in the South, too, but I don't hide my atheism.
I don't care what they think of me, and I don't care who gets pissed off by it.
I don't miss the ones who've turned their backs on me because of it either.

It'll be okay.
When you're ready to let.them know, you will.

You speak wise words, as ever.

You said it totally!! BE PROUD!!

5

It is tough to be different in your way of thinking and trying to stand up for what we don't believe in. People are so quick to judge when they don't understand or even try to listen. I can't speak for everyone hear but I can bet there a lot of us that feel this is a sense of therapy and safe place to fall and feel accepted.

Judge judge judge then. Has no affect on me. By telling me it’s bad or wrong only makes me stronger about it.

@CuddyCruiser Yes, I don't give a shit either way, it was just a simple fact that people are going to do that no matter what because they fear what they do not know or understand.

10

Do they pay your bills ?
Will they wipe your behind if u are sick or broken ?
If the answer is no , u don’t need them .
And if they can’t accept u and love u the ways u are / not believing , and previous answer still no, then actually u don’t want them too .
Better alone than hiding with company .
My opinion , of course .

Matt Dillahunty (youtube channels) shares almost the same "opinion" with the added (roughly) our family is not defined by blood but by those who are a part of your community (not necessarily defined by miles.) Great minds think alike.

3

I've had to walk on eggshells in the presence of Xtians.

Write Comment More
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:571975
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.