SillyString Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Okay, so this is going to be a big time RANT. I am pissed right now! There was an article posted on a blog for my hometown newspaper's website (Franklin Graham's "Christians in Grave Danger"). People are allowed to comment on it, so I along with a couple of other posters made comments that have started an all out war of words with people who claim they are Christians. So far, my comments have been pretty mild, just mentioning how religion comes from a time when people did not understand the world around them and how no one knows that heaven and hell are real places. I also brought up all of the utterly disgusting things that the god of the bible did in the old testament. I mentioned that religion uses fear disguised as love to manipulate people. Another poster (obviously not Christian) commented to me that some of his posts in other articles were not being posted, as the comments are moderated. I live in the South, so I think the majority of people here are Christians of some form or another. How can anyone read the bible and not be completely disgusted with what they read? Why would anyone want to worship a god that senselessly murders people (babies and children for goodness sakes!) and allows horrible things like rape and incest? It makes me sick! I am a recent deconvert. I don't remember once growing up being told that all these horrible things were in the bible. You learn the story of Noah and the Ark when you are a kid, and it's all so colorful and sweet like a bed time story...all the little animals and the pretty rainbows and all that. Why, until now, did I not think about all the people that died in that supposed flood, all of the innocent little babies and children? And, that Noah and his family had to pretty much commit incest in order to repopulate the earth? The old testament is slap full of murder, committed either by god himself or by people who were commanded by god to kill. Why do people ignore these things and just pick and choose what they want to believe? Why would people want to worship and defend a god like this? You would think that any research outside of the bible would lead back to it if it were the TRUTH. That is not the case. Any research I've done outside the bible has led away from it. Far away from it! Who is REALLY being deceived here? Why does everything have to be so damned mysterious when supposedly people's "souls" are at stake? I'm just so mad right now. Shaking mad. I'm mad at myself for not realizing all of this sooner. I'm mad that people are so ignorant and blind and it seems like they don't want the truth; they would rather go on believing and defending such horrible disgusting things. Does anyone else feel like this? Does it get easier to debate with people and not get so upset? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Does anyone else feel like this? Does it get easier to debate with people and not get so upset? I used to. It gets easier over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Does anyone else feel like this? Does it get easier to debate with people and not get so upset? I used to. It gets easier over time. Yeah, I would just add to that that your anger is a reflection of your morality. Not to take away from the morality of others, which I believe is pretty constant amongst most of us, but you, unlike most, have the ability to reflect on the meaning behind the feelings invoked by the xian religion. So many just live in the feeling and don't reflect. That's a painful gift, reflective of intellectual honesty and emotional maturity most can't afford or reach. Welcome to the forum. And again, yes, it gets easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryper Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 There is nothing so passionate and one newly deconverted. Welcome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wondering Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 You would think that any research outside of the bible would lead back to it if it were the TRUTH. That is not the case. Any research I've done outside the bible has led away from it. Far away from it! Who is REALLY being deceived here? Why does everything have to be so damned mysterious when supposedly people's "souls" are at stake? I definitely understand how you feel. My whole "crisis of faith" began when I consciously decided to objectively research the Christian faith, as if I was new to it and an outsider. At the time, I thought this would be an exercise that would strengthen my faith, but as you said in your post, the more I read, the more I felt led away from faith. Now I would say if God is real, and if the Bible is truly his word, then I am pissed. If it's true, why does it appear that God is trying so hard to deceive so many people. If it's truth, as you said, objective research should make it plainly obvious. Why would God allow so many discrepancies in the Bible, so many inconsistent logical points, so much evidence for evolution, so little evidence for OT miracles such as The Flood or Tower of Babel? If God is real and the Bible is truth, then I have to confess I'm angry at God for making it so convoluted. And while I'm ranting, the idea of Satan and Hell also pisses me off. I mean, why the need to eternally torture? God supposedly loves everyone and wants them to be saved, but when the vast majority aren't Christian, why must those people be tormented forever? God could have created whatever he wanted for those people. If God truly loves all his "children", would he send so many of them to be tortured? What loving earthly parent would do such a thing? And then there's Satan. If Satan were real, when God banished him from heaven, why send him to Earth? I mean, he had the whole universe at his disposal, and he chose to put Satan on the same small planet with his children, whom he loves? Supposedly, Satan's whole purpose is to deceive and lead people away from Christ. Why would God allow that? It just doesn't make sense. It's like an earthly parent finding out their pet pit bull has rabies, yet deciding to put him out in the backyard to play with the children. What loving parent would do that? Nobody I know. I'll stop ranting now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyString Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 You would think that any research outside of the bible would lead back to it if it were the TRUTH. That is not the case. Any research I've done outside the bible has led away from it. Far away from it! Who is REALLY being deceived here? Why does everything have to be so damned mysterious when supposedly people's "souls" are at stake? And while I'm ranting, the idea of Satan and Hell also pisses me off. I mean, why the need to eternally torture? God supposedly loves everyone and wants them to be saved, but when the vast majority aren't Christian, why must those people be tormented forever? God could have created whatever he wanted for those people. If God truly loves all his "children", would he send so many of them to be tortured? What loving earthly parent would do such a thing? And then there's Satan. If Satan were real, when God banished him from heaven, why send him to Earth? I mean, he had the whole universe at his disposal, and he chose to put Satan on the same small planet with his children, whom he loves? Supposedly, Satan's whole purpose is to deceive and lead people away from Christ. Why would God allow that? It just doesn't make sense. It's like an earthly parent finding out their pet pit bull has rabies, yet deciding to put him out in the backyard to play with the children. What loving parent would do that? Nobody I know. Me too. None of it makes sense. I have so many questions. But oh, we are not supposed to question anything! I never read the whole bible when I was a Christian. As a matter of fact, I never read much of the old testament at all. Starting April 1st, I'm going to read the entire bible chronologically. I know I won't find the answers I need (to all the whys), but at least I'll be ready when people ask me why I don't believe in it anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Welcome to the world of an ex-xian. Grab hold and hang on, it's a wild ride. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagickMonkey Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Starting April 1st, I'm going to read the entire bible chronologically. So you're going to start reading a foolish book on April Fools Day? How appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyString Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Starting April 1st, I'm going to read the entire bible chronologically. So you're going to start reading a foolish book on April Fools Day? How appropriate. I know. Perfect timing right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chosendarkness Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Does anyone else feel like this? Does it get easier to debate with people and not get so upset? Yes. It pisses me off because it's all bullshit and it makes people act like complete douchebags. .It drives some to destroy each other, some even to suicide. So yeah it pisses me off to no end. Debating with them is a good way to get out the anger, but it's really a waste of time an energy in the end. I'd rather spend my time doing fun, productive things. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disEnchanted Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Starting April 1st, I'm going to read the entire bible chronologically. I know I won't find the answers I need (to all the whys), but at least I'll be ready when people ask me why I don't believe in it anymore. This is exactly what my daughter and I are currently doing. We started reading the bible chronologically 2 nights ago. My 14 year old daughter has never read any of it, so it's really eye-opening to see how someone who's never been indoctrinated, reading the bible for the first time can see all the nonsense and hypocrisy immediately! If you're already a non-believer the Skeptic's Annotated Bible online is excellent for pointing out all the inconsistencies, atrocities, and downright craziness of this ridiculous "holy" book. I've just finished reading Drunk with Blood: God's Killings in the Bible by Steve Wells (also the author of the SAB) which enumerates all of the deaths sanctioned by god. The results: God has killed 24,634,205 people. And Satan? He killed 60. Good book by the way. Not serious like Dawkins or Harris. I laughed out loud many times while reading this book, even though the subject matter is not even funny! Biblegod is just plain laughable!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyString Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Starting April 1st, I'm going to read the entire bible chronologically. I know I won't find the answers I need (to all the whys), but at least I'll be ready when people ask me why I don't believe in it anymore. This is exactly what my daughter and I are currently doing. We started reading the bible chronologically 2 nights ago. My 14 year old daughter has never read any of it, so it's really eye-opening to see how someone who's never been indoctrinated, reading the bible for the first time can see all the nonsense and hypocrisy immediately! If you're already a non-believer the Skeptic's Annotated Bible online is excellent for pointing out all the inconsistencies, atrocities, and downright craziness of this ridiculous "holy" book. I've just finished reading Drunk with Blood: God's Killings in the Bible by Steve Wells (also the author of the SAB) which enumerates all of the deaths sanctioned by god. The results: God has killed 24,634,205 people. And Satan? He killed 60. Good book by the way. Not serious like Dawkins or Harris. I laughed out loud many times while reading this book, even though the subject matter is not even funny! Biblegod is just plain laughable!!! Thanks disEnchanted, I will definitely look those up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disEnchanted Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Thanks disEnchanted, I will definitely look those up. Good luck to you Beth, in your examination of the truth. Maybe we should start a thread about ex-christians reading the bible? Maybe there are some already - anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzy Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I feel you. I too wonder in the hindsight how on Earth could I overlook the Biblegod's evilness for so long? I think it's that Xtianity is an utterly egoistic religion. As long as you are convinced you are saved you don't care about the atrocities your god did against others. The only important thing is that your place in eternity is secured. And for that you are ready to give up basic morality and values and overlook things those normally would make you disgusted with God's actions. The Xtian way to rationalize God's action is either: 1) "He's god, he is entitled to do anything he pleases, he doesn't owe us an explanation." You can say that of course but in case this god would really exist, this would mean he might exist but he is an evil God. Would I want to serve an evil God? No. 2) "God is not only love but he is also justice. He needs to be just even if it's painful." This is based on the notion that harsh punishments are automatically "just". They are not. The Biblegod is anything but just! He sometimes cruelly kills people for minor mistakes (such as holding the Ark of the Covenant the wrong way, or young boys mocking a prophet calling him "bold") and other times overlooks lot bigger crimes. Or kills the wrong person for it (such as God killing David's son for David's sin and not David....). Or he is simply cruel with people because of a silly bet he did with Satan. This God certainly doesn't know anything about the punishment fitting the crime. How is he "just" then? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Hello and welcome to the forum. I once made the comment to a fundy friend of mine that the Bible made more sense when read upside down and from the back to front. He didn't take my advice well. However, the reason, as I see it, that people continue to promote any religion is the fact that their dear old mommy told them it was true and everyone's mommies always tell the truth. I came to that conclusion when another fundy friend got in my face over this discussion and asked, 'are you calling my mother a liar?' I said 'no, I'm calling the person that told her it was true a liar.' Then I got, 'are you calling my grandmother a liar?' And so it goes .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyString Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Just checked the blog again to see if I had any responses. This was a response from one of the fundies: Scientific evidence supports creation equally with evolution. What a joke. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that there is NO evidence that has been presented for intelligent design (creationism) that is accepted by the scientific community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzy Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Just checked the blog again to see if I had any responses. This was a response from one of the fundies: Scientific evidence supports creation equally with evolution. What a joke. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that there is NO evidence that has been presented for intelligent design (creationism) that is accepted by the scientific community. You are correct. There is no evidence supporting ID (creationism), unless you consider the Bible irrefutable proof, which Xtians tend to do. However I'm afraid that won't qualify as scientific evidence. At the same time there are plenty of very strong evidence for evolution. Evolution is a fact. There are biological experiments where it can be very well seen in work. For example the lizards of Pod Mcaru: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417112433.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I am a recent deconvert. I don't remember once growing up being told that all these horrible things were in the bible. You learn the story of Noah and the Ark when you are a kid, and it's all so colorful and sweet like a bed time story...all the little animals and the pretty rainbows and all that. Why, until now, did I not think about all the people that died in that supposed flood, all of the innocent little babies and children? And, that Noah and his family had to pretty much commit incest in order to repopulate the earth? The old testament is slap full of murder, committed either by god himself or by people who were commanded by god to kill. You're focusing on the wrong part of the story. Focus on the part where "god" imparted all of the history of the world, knowledge of himself and even future of mankind to the incestuous drunk Noah. It's not an outrage. It's a comedy. Because if it's true we're taking an incestuous drunk at his word. You know, that "god" got mad at everyone and everything, even the ground and plants, and killed everyone except him, his family and all his special animals on his magical boat. And there was also the Skipper, and Gilligan and ... Same with Lot and his daughters. This guy sure loves his incestuous drunks and their stupid kids. He's not setting the bar low follower-wise. Does anyone else feel like this? Does it get easier to debate with people and not get so upset? For the most part, yes. You'll probably always find someone or something that will touch a nerve though. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ireckinso Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Nice rant! I can relate to you about making comments on certain news articles and then getting bashed left and right by so called xtians. I recently made a comment on an MSNBC where others were commenting that it was gods plan; god had reasons for this tragedy to happen…blah blah blah. So of course I had to throw in my two cents about why is it always in gods plan with xtians to make them make sense of something, yet they believe they have freedom of choice. Why is it that when people die from a bombing its gods plan but if someone shoots someone the devil was in them. I made other comments and of course within minutes was being slammed with comments like, “ why do atheists always blame xtians.” “I feel sorry for you and will pray for you.”(I hate that one) “If atheists claim to be so intelligent why did Einstein believe in god?”(makes no sense.) I had one person tell me that “god does not require proof of existence because he is god and that would negate the need for faith.” I have been called names and actually cursed by so called xtians. I believe that one of the reasons that xtians get so mad when someone asks them questions about the stories of the bible and the existence of god is that it makes them start not believing. They themselves have somewhere inside of them a part that doesn’t believe and they don’t want to lose that security blanket. Its an easy and lazy way to answer any question. “why did this happen?”… It was gods will. “why did this person die?”… It was gods will. I usually when a conversation starts up about god with a xtian, I will start talking about aliens and UFOs. Almost always they ask how I can believe in UFOs and I will ask them how can they believe in God. Someone sees the face of Jesus in a potato chip and everyone says it’s a miracle. Several people spot a UFO and they are all called nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzy Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Nice rant! I can relate to you about making comments on certain news articles and then getting bashed left and right by so called xtians. I recently made a comment on an MSNBC where others were commenting that it was gods plan; god had reasons for this tragedy to happen…blah blah blah. So of course I had to throw in my two cents about why is it always in gods plan with xtians to make them make sense of something, yet they believe they have freedom of choice. Why is it that when people die from a bombing its gods plan but if someone shoots someone the devil was in them. I made other comments and of course within minutes was being slammed with comments like, “ why do atheists always blame xtians.” “I feel sorry for you and will pray for you.”(I hate that one) “If atheists claim to be so intelligent why did Einstein believe in god?”(makes no sense.) I had one person tell me that “god does not require proof of existence because he is god and that would negate the need for faith.” I have been called names and actually cursed by so called xtians. The comment section of Yahoo News and CNN is full of religious nuts as well. They also like to judge people, don't day?. When I read a news about Elizabeth Taylor's death people with incredibly judgmental and rude comments were usually made by the Xtians. How she won't go to heaven bla-bla-bla. (I guess they don't like her because she supported gays, AIDS victims and because she had eight marriages.) I answered to one of these saying true, she won't go to heaven, because there's no heaven as well as there is no hell. But if there would be heaven I'd rather have her in there than all these awfully judgmental and self-righteous Xtians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 When I read a news about Elizabeth Taylor's death people with incredibly judgmental and rude comments were usually made by the Xtians. How she won't go to heaven bla-bla-bla. (I guess they don't like her because she supported gays, AIDS victims and because she had eight marriages.) I thought she was Jewish? Yep. I just looked and it says she converted. So there's your problem. Them there Jews don't get past old Peter at them pearly gates. Now she'll have to try to remember what Michael Jackson's original face looked like so she can hopefully locate him in hell. Ah reunions. I bet things are swinging down below with her in town. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FourDogBrewing Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I understand they way you feel. I too have been there with similar threads on local news stories etc.... Flash forward to today, and my over-riding motto is "meh". lol Perhaps someday you will join the land of meh as well. There is only so much ignorance a person can tolerate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albino_Raptor Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Christians suffer from Stockholm syndrome on an epic level. That is really all it boils down to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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