Merlin Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 There are real problems in the world today. There are numerous wars being fought in every corner of the world, there are diseases spreading around the globe that are killing off people by the thousands, there are nations veering towards the brink of economic and financial ruin, there are wealthy corporations sucking the planet's resources dry, and there are millions of people who are struggling to ward off the perpetual threats of starvation and homelessness. Yes, there are real problems in the world today... Unfortunately, the biggest problem of them all is the fact that the vast majority of people in the world are doing very little to fight these problems. This is not to say that people in general do not want to do anything to make the world a better place. Rather, it is to say that most people in the world feel helpless to do anything about these problems. Those of us who do try to make a legitimate difference soon find that our efforts are carelessly tossed into a deep pool of bureaucracy, public opinion, and political correctness where they quickly dissipate and weaken into diluted versions of their former potencies. The metaphoric pool is constantly stirred and disturbed by the fierce winds of left-wing and right-wing propaganda and ideology. The two forces clash and collide into each other like opposing storm fronts wreaking havoc on the very nature of what we know as reality. Does this sound 'over the top'? Does this sound pessimistic? Or, is this the truth - or, at least part of it? I honestly don't know anymore... However, if history truly does repeat itself, then the record of the past indicates that there will eventually come a point in the future when the balance of all that we know, value, love, hate, don't understand, and despise will tip in one direction or another. When that balance tips, there will be chaos. Out of the chaos a new order will arise, and for better or worse, the people living during that time will pick up the pieces and move forward. But, does it really have to be that way? Is there a chance that we as a people can come together to affect real change? Is there even a glimmer of hope that we as a united people are better than the sum total of our collective mistakes? Is there a chance that we can stop history from repeating itself? From the deepest part of my mind, heart, and soul, I truly believe there is... All of us here at Ex-C were at one time children. We were children who loved, laughed, hoped, imagined, and dreamed. Some of us wanted to be astronauts who grew up to explore the deep dark expanses of outer space. Some of us wanted to be warriors or princesses who lived in castles of wonder and splendor. Some of us wanted to be rock stars and football heroes. Some of us wanted to be adventurers who discovered lost civilizations and treasures. Some of us wanted to be doctors and teachers. Some of us just wanted to find the man or woman of our dreams so we could forever 'play house'. Whether we were raised in a lifestyle that was dictated and driven by all of the psychological and sociological horrors of the dark side of Christian fundamentalism or we came from the light-hearted fairy tale side of Christianity, we were all at one time children full of potential and hope for the future. We were happy to be alive, and we were enamored by the wonders of life. So what happened? Seriously, what happened? Did we all grow up to realize that the world was a cruel and unforgiving place? Did we suddenly feel the need for an external anchor to hold us adrift in the storm? Did these external and internal fear factors cause us to believe that only Jesus Christ could restore the world to its former glory before Paradise was lost? Did we give up on ourselves completely? Maybe at one time we did... However, each and every person reading this is a testament to the fact that there really is hope for the future of this world. Each and every one of us found the will, the strength of mind, and the courage to turn our backs on that which was killing us. Some of us embraced atheism, some of us embraced spirituality of a different form, but nonetheless, all of us turned our backs on the lies that are found in Christianity. If we were able to overcome the mentally debilitating trap that is known as Christianity, then I believe we can rise up and overcome so much more - even the problems I have listed above. I don't know about anyone else, but this gives me hope for the future. I truly hope that when you take the time to ponder what is written here, you too will regain that child-like hope that you once had. It is never too late to start dreaming, hoping, imagining, and living again. Maybe I'm crazy, but I believe that the sooner all of us turn our backs on our former fears and start 'living' again, the sooner the world can and will reveal itself for all that it was truly meant to be. I've posted a video below that is full of music and imagery that always inspires me. Enjoy! If Star Trek isn't your 'cup of tea' then try to find your own inspirational 'something'. The point is simply to get inspired and live. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarflungWanderer Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Mon Capitane, I couldn't agree more. I think mankind is slowly making it's way forward. We've only been here 8,000 years in a semi-civilized form; compared to history, we're new. I think that means that we're not running out of time at all. We've just begun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Thanks for posting that video Capt. I am an old original series fan. It was quite inspiring and progressive in its time (the late 60s) and of course the story continued through all these years. That shows that there is something of real value in it to many people. One of the great things about it is showing people cooperating and finding solutions to problems together. I think there are some real deep problems with human consciousness that no other Known life form exhibits - or if it does, not to the extent we do. And our civilization is beset with these problems and divisions, which are a reflection of our consciousness. So, I am more pessimistic. But I don't operate like that in everyday life, thinking how great these problems are. I just try to do my job the best I can so I don't end up homeless or dependent on others. I don't have any exalted idea about "changing the world" and I don't have a huge stake in the future because I don't have children. Getting back to another subject, I think all the Ex-Cs who have truly managed to free themselves from Christianity have done a truly great and remarkable thing. This proves that although it may take years or decades to change a mental pattern, it can be done, so, I guess that is reason for some optimism after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 Hi FarflungWanderer, and hi Deva. Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. I guess I just felt the need to add to my own testimony as it concerns the progression of my deconversion. A few months back, I posted a story that chronicled some of the really 'hard' aspects of my deconversion, and it felt good to share that part of my story with others. After I posted it, I found a lot of encouragement and support from the people here at Ex-C. The reason I posted this is because I've experienced a radical change in my worldview since that time that can only be attributed to the fact that I walked away from Christianity. Before I deconverted, I was very pessimistic about the world in which we all live. This is actually quite ironic when one considers that having Christ in my heart was supposed to give me 'joy, peace, and love'. I can honestly say that the years I spent practicing the Christian faith only served to strengthen my negative worldview. I began looking at the world from the standpoint that it was full of evil and that it was doomed for destruction. All I was able to see was that the world was full of hatred, dishonesty, and greed. Like many other Christians, I longed for Christ to return to the planet to set everything straight. It wasn't until I finally let that nonsense go that I was able to start looking at the world with a sense of hope and optimism again. Letting go of my Christian faith was, in a sense, the way that I took off the blinders that kept me from seeing the world for what it really is. Sure, the world can be a terrible place, and for some people it can be similar to a nightmarish hell... But all of us living here truly do have the potential to make it a better place in our own small ways. I don't claim to have any 'exalted ideas' about changing the world, but I do believe that each of us are taking steps in our own ways that will eventually make the world a better place whether we realize it or not. In chaos theory, the "butterfly effect" is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. So, in my mind, each 'small' positive change that we make as Ex-Christians will collectively cause much larger changes in the world at large. Maybe, it's nothing more than a 'hope and a dream', but it's a hope and a dream that I don't mind living for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
25YearsLater Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 all the Ex-Cs who have truly managed to free themselves from Christianity have done a truly great and remarkable thing. I do very much agree with this ^^ the sooner all of us turn our backs on our former fears and start 'living' again, the sooner the world can and will reveal itself for all that it was truly meant to be. ^^ and this. Very important, I think, not to get caught in a never-ending cycle of ranting about how awful it was being a Christian. Although an initial expression of the pent-up anger, and grief at time and effort wasted, is likely to be cathartic, if over-prolonged, it risks delaying becoming fully rehabilitated by constantly revisiting the pain from before. A thought that has crossed my mind recently, not sure what I think of it yet, is that perhaps an ex-Christian can potentially end up with more of an ability to appreciate the world for what it is, than someone that was never a Christian at all. So many people just live from day to day, caught up in the rat race, and before they know it, life is over. Just as surviving any life-threatening crisis tends to focus one's attention on how much there is to be glad for, the same can be true for emerging, butterfly-like, into the bright sunlight from the dark strait-jacketed chrysalis of religion 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellinas Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 One of the issue may be that Christianity is so determined to paint the world in the blackest possible colours that, even after leaving the strictures of the religion, we can end up forgetting the good things out there. Yes there are problems. And yes, there seems no-one currently able, knowledgeable enough or willing to come up with alternatives for society - let alone alternatives that those who are currently in control would allow to be given a chance. Anyhow, it cannot be a simple process to be completed in a short timescale. We're talking "incremental progression and let's hope we don't wipe ourselves out in the meantime". But let's be realistic as well. There is love peace and charity out there - and not connected to any particular religion as some would wish us to believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 A thought that has crossed my mind recently, not sure what I think of it yet, is that perhaps an ex-Christian can potentially end up with more of an ability to appreciate the world for what it is, than someone that was never a Christian at all. So many people just live from day to day, caught up in the rat race, and before they know it, life is over. Just as surviving any life-threatening crisis tends to focus one's attention on how much there is to be glad for, the same can be true for emerging, butterfly-like, into the bright sunlight from the dark strait-jacketed chrysalis of religion Hi 25YL, I really have to agree with you on this point. I can't speak for everyone, but I know from my own personal experience that my deconversion has put me in a much better position to appreciate the world for what it is. I spent so many years trying to fit everything about my existence into a little Christian worldview shaped box, and now that that I have freed myself from that kind of thinking, the world seems full of endless possibilities. It is amazing what the mind can conceive when it is not burdened down with the threat of eternal punishment in Hell... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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