SerenelyBlue Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 I was listening to this guy teaching, and he said, that if you tell a class of students that they are special and gifted they will likely produce good results. He says the Bible is filled with constant demoralization of the human race. In the New Testament people are painted as unworthy, wretched, evil creatures. I use to pray those same words over and over and I believe they contributed to me thinking I was evil and unworthy. Now that I am a non believer and a humanist, I place more value in myself. The Bible has literally contributed into giving billions over the years security complexes. Thank goodness that chapter is over in my life... 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjn Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 No kidding. When hardline Christian ideas intermingled with my intrusive thoughts and obsessions, I reached a new all time low as far as confidence goes, and it's not like I was feeling all too good about myself to begin with. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daffodil Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 It's amazing, isn't it! Despite supposedly living without hope, having no purpose in life, no reason to live, no reason to care about others or help others, I am now more free and happy as an atheist than I ever was as a Christian! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller2 Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 yep i agree.For my part I think it stopped my growth alot as a young man.even now i stll consider myself to be somewhat behind my peers in various aspects of life expereince and milestones. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator TheRedneckProfessor Posted February 6, 2016 Super Moderator Share Posted February 6, 2016 In April of 2015, someone told me a secret that has had a more profound impact on my life than anything I've ever read, or heard, or learned. This one phrase completely revolutionized my entire outlook on my own life, what it means to have my own life, make my own choices, and define who I am. Would you like to know the secret? The very thing that I missed out on for the bulk of my life so far? The one piece of information that has been missing my whole life? ... ... Wait for it... .... YOU ARE WORTHY OF BEING LOVED. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Furball Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 I was listening to this guy teaching, and he said, that if you tell a class of students that they are special and gifted they will likely produce good results. He says the Bible is filled with constant demoralization of the human race. I just saw this played out a week ago on a christian show call wretched tv. Todd Friel, the smirking used car salesman christian hypocrite, right before he plays the video says "see if you can spot the what this guy does wrong". So he plays the video and it is of a teacher in florida who teaches special needs kids. What he does every morning before he starts teaching is to sit down and have each kid come up to him one at a time and he tells them how special they are and picks out positive characteristics that he sees in each one of them. Each kid was smiling and having a great time. The video ends and this dumbass starts ripping on the guy saying he should not be telling them how special they are and how much they are loved and appreciated. He then goes on to say how the guy should have told them how depraved and wicked they were and that they needed to repent and believe in jesus or god in his love, would send them to hell forever. Then his little crony buddy comes onto the screen and says how the teacher should also have told them how they should give god all the thanks and the glory for whatever positive characteristics they had. It was just horrible to listen to this guy talking about how depraved these little kids were who were doing nothing depraved at all but sitting in their classroom and having a good time. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjn Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 furball, shit... That's like the most horrible crap I've ever heard. How do these people live with themselves? How can anyone believe a religion like that is "good"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violetbutterfly Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 SB...yep. Furball....I feel like vomiting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjn Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 That Todd Friel dude belongs to the same ministry as that moron Kirk Cameron. Apparently they're the ones who print those fake money tracts. Camerons "scientific proof" for God is probably the lamest thing ever. What a bunch of cunts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Margee Posted February 7, 2016 Moderator Share Posted February 7, 2016 The very second it hit me that I was not 'born in sin', my self esteem started growing again after many years of thinking I was a failure in the eyes of the christian god. Such a wonderful relief!! (hugs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycorth Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 I know that the basic Christian message of "I'm shit without God" had effects deep down for me, too. Thankfully, I was always too prideful and stubborn to actively believe that, though - but there was a brief time, and most recently, right before my last conversion and when my life was a real post-divorce mess. It was easy to succumb to the self-hate that Christianity all too easily induces and believe that I was just a fuck-up who deserves even worse in my life. Throwing all that away for the simple serenity of non-belief did more for my self-esteem than any amount of trusting in the mercy of a cruel and illogical god. An old and dear friend of mine is much worse. She clings to her Christian religion because she has virtually no self esteem at times; went for years without any at all, and held onto her faith with white knuckles. All the Christian tripe she heard about only having worth in God appealed to her very strongly, and I believe it was her way of trying to manufacture some sense of self worth; otherwise, she was deeply struggling with depression and not faring well against it. She's a good bit better these days, but still religious; without that panacea, I know she's lapse into self-hate. How many other people in the world suffer like that, because of the absurd mythology of a cruel religion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLyniezian Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I have to say I'm a little circumspect on this. When I was a Christian, I'd probably justify a lot of teaching in this area as, simply, none of us are perfect and it is right to have some check on a potentially over-inflated ego. But, at the same time, I suppose I took a lot of the whole "glorying in your weakness" thing a little too much to heart, and probably misinterpreted it; some have pointed out I can think too little of myself to almost pathological levels and tried to encourage me in this (some of whom were at least nominally Christian, though). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLyniezian Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 The other side of things is it can lead either to false humility, or perhaps not noticing/caring when you are making more of yourself as you like to think you are being self-effacing. Perhaps I have this problem too sometimes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searchinwithnoagenda Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 And for those that are xtian *and* have a healthy self image (that I considered arrogance for how could one have a healthy self image and still believe the xtian bs), do they really believe the self hate doctrine? Funny, those xtians with a healthy self image a lot of times seem to be in the upper income brackets. Me thinks the wealthy believe far more in money than their invisible friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLyniezian Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 And for those that are xtian *and* have a healthy self image (that I considered arrogance for how could one have a healthy self image and still believe the xtian bs), do they really believe the self hate doctrine? Funny, those xtians with a healthy self image a lot of times seem to be in the upper income brackets. Me thinks the wealthy believe far more in money than their invisible friend. Or perhaps they are actually able to avoid not focussing too much if at all upon themselves and derive joy and satisfaction from another source. Fine for some but I can't do that and I doubt most others can either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller2 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 And for those that are xtian *and* have a healthy self image (that I considered arrogance for how could one have a healthy self image and still believe the xtian bs), do they really believe the self hate doctrine? Funny, those xtians with a healthy self image a lot of times seem to be in the upper income brackets. Me thinks the wealthy believe far more in money than their invisible friend. Or perhaps they are actually able to avoid not focussing too much if at all upon themselves and derive joy and satisfaction from another source. Fine for some but I can't do that and I doubt most others can either. I used to wonder about this too! I judged them quite harshly as a christian and thought them less devout lol.I did genuinely wonder if they ignored certain scriptures that at the time to me clearly taught you should feel shit bout urself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astreja Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 One of My sayings is "The problems of this world will not be solved by people who see themselves as lower than dirt." Christianity is poison. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjn Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 It's fascinating how many different faces Christianity has. The Christianity I grew up with (even though my upbringing was largely secular, there was still some residual Christianity around, especially in school. Teachers were either conservative, or closet communists) and the one taught to me at confirmation was all about how special you were and how much God loved you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searchinwithnoagenda Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 @rjn and @traveller2: I too was taught the god loves me bs but in the same xtian environment I was *also* taught what a pos I am with and without the magic elixir of the almighty invisible friend. It seems like one is required to abandon all reason and logic to further believe the claims of this almighty invisible friend in order to prevent burning in he'll but even that is impossible to know with any certainty. This supposed grand plan looks a lot more like a shake down by a thug thirsty for power and money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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